Joey Pagano sat on the sidewalk across from the Charleroi police station.

The year was 2011.

He called his mother, Cindy Pagano, and told her he couldn’t take it anymore. He had just robbed a gas station. He needed drugs. His life was unravelling.

“I wanted to die,” Pagano said. “My mother was crying on the other end of the phone, and I just kept telling her this was it. I told her I was sorry. When I hung up she thought that would be the last time she talked to me.”

With that last ounce of hope, he got up and walked toward that police station and asked for help getting out of the lowest of the lowest point in his life.

“Something told me to walk into that police station and surrender,” said Pagano, who grew up in Charleroi and now lives in Monongahela. “The police chief gave me a hug. He told me it would be OK. He didn’t label me.”

Pagano spent time in jail and entered a rehabilitation program. He kept notes. His journey in recovery, over more than a decade, is chronicled in “No Addict Left Behind: It’s a Recovery Medicine State of Mind,” which published on April 25.

He decided to write the book last July. It is co-authored with Dr. Scott A. Cook, chief medical officer at Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Inc., where Pagano is a project supervisor. Its mission is to identify and provide for health and social service needs throughout Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

The book will be for sale on Amazon and eventually in stores and in an audiobook form.

The story is described by Pagano as “a journey of hope built on hard-won experiences, overcoming the stigma of addiction, and realizing that our struggles do not define us but refine us into who we are today.”

Pagano’s mother recalled that fateful phone call.

“I remember that day he called me,” Cindy Pagano, of Charleroi, said. “I will never forget that day. I was in tears and thought, ‘This is it. I am about to lose my son.’ ”

Her son’s addiction was stressful for the entire family, she said. As a mom, she so desperately wanted to fix it, but she couldn’t. Cindy Pagano recalled one night following her son when he went out to walk the dog. She had the feeling he might be buying drugs.

“A car pulled up, and I leaned in and said to the guy, ‘I am going to call the police,’ ” she said. “He drove away and my son said, ‘Mom, you could have been killed.’ ”

She said she knew the danger of approaching that vehicle, but saving her son was worth risking what could have happened. Being that kind of advocate for others has now become her son’s passion. He is focused on helping others overcome addiction through this book and his everyday mission with Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services.

“I am so proud of him,” his mother said. “I am excited for his book. It was the toughest time of my life knowing he was using heroin. We tried so many different ways to make him stop. Him going to prison was the biggest relief, because I knew he was safe. While he was in there he asked for help. He loves the Lord.”

Many bad days stick out to Pagano. There is definitely one good one. In the book, he said “June 1, 2013, is a day I will keep locked in my heart forever, for it is my clean date.”

Addiction is a lifelong process, according to Pagano’s wife, Jodie.

“It’s an awful feeling and not just for your but for family members and friends,” said Jodie Pagano, who met her husband in recovery. “It gets a hold of you. I don’t wish that on anybody. I am here to support him in any way. When you have experienced addiction, people look at you differently. You have to push through and keep going.”

Joey Pagano wants to help save everyone, Jodie Pagano said. When she began to read the book, the tears flowed.

“It’s very deep,” Jodie Pagano said. “I believe it will help so many people. It’s about overcoming things in life.”

Joey Pagano wanted to share his story because he believes it’s a miracle he is alive. He describes what he went through to help other addicts. People need to feel like they aren’t alone, he said — they need someone to believe in them.

“One of the hardest parts of recovery is stigma, and with that comes the directives of the masses who are sure they have the right answer,” Joey Pagano said. “Sharing stories of these struggles is an important part of the journey.”

One particular struggle he mentions in the book was a night he spent in the emergency room after one of many overdoses. It was 2009:

“I was treated horribly. I heard people call me a junkie and that screwed me up. You get called that and you start believing it. Those words cut so deep.

This was a dark moment in my life, and death almost had its grip on me. It was 1:30 a.m., and I could barely see the clock with my eyes wanting to stay shut. I kept nodding out as I tried my best to raise my head. I slowly lifted my head and yelled, ‘Where am I?’

Several people were dressed in scrubs in my room, with one trying to put an IV in my arm. The nurse spoke loudly. ‘Keep your arms still, sir.’ She looked at the phlebotomist and said, ‘You try. I can’t stick him.’

Looking back at the nurse, she smirked and said, ‘Addicts are the worst to stick.’ The nurse and phlebotomist were exhausted and seemed to be at their wit’s end with me. The room was edgy and full of tension.

Finally, my eyes opened, and I spoke loudly, saying, “’I’m in the hospital. Wait, how?’ They had me hooked up to several life- saving devices, and I felt so horrible, with my body still shaking.

I yelled, ‘It is so freezing in here!’

“’ ‘Sir, quiet down!’ said the nurse, looking disgusted while the doctor talked to me. I glanced over at the table and saw three open Narcan packets. I started sweating even more and yelled frantically to everyone in the room, ‘Did I overdose?’

The room echoed with multiple people all saying, “’What?’ The doctor nodded his head yes, along with the rest of the staff.”

Addiction was more than just drugs, Joey Pagano said. Sometimes when you meet people in your life, they help keep you connected to your purpose and take you further than you can go alone. He said Cook is that person.

“Our shared beliefs would complement values like self-determination, empathy and compassion, which are vital to serving our clients,” Joey Pagano said. “As this relationship grew, it indeed embodied the shared attitude of ‘no addict left behind.’ ”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---