Katie Frohlich
“I thought I could get past the gene…but I didn't”
Who is Katie Frohlich?
I’m incredibly excited to dedicate this month’s post to an incredible being and my dear friend Katie Frohlich. Katie is a senior at Brentwood School, aspires to go down the Pre-med track and become an ER surgeon, and is an addiction awareness advocate. Her personal experience with addiction began at 11 years old after surgery.
Her Story: For Katie, addiction is not a new concept. According to her, her struggle with it began before she was even born. Being the daughter of a heroin addict, she has genetically been predisposed to having an addiction. She began learning about the role it can play in one's life from the moment of her birth through her father's struggle with addiction, however, she experienced her struggle after her back surgery. Katie had to undergo multiple surgeries after being diagnosed with scoliosis. She was prescribed a high dose of Oxycontin immediately after her surgery. What started with prescribed painkillers soon became alcohol, cocaine, molly, acid, mushroom, and Xanax. She began stealing and found herself in a relationship with a drug dealer making substances very accessible to her–furthering her addiction.
One night, in desperation to get high, Katie ordered mushrooms from Etsy–an online shop. Eating the entirety of what she bought she began having a bad reaction. “I could not breathe nor move. I couldn't talk. It was like I forgot words. I was making noises. I thought I was going to die,” she says as she describes her experience. She called her sister sobbing asking for help. She began in-patient treatment soon after. In in-patient treatment, she was asked to spend an entire weekend being sober. Failing to do so, she knew she needed more help than just in-patient treatment. “I was on a path to self-destruction,” she says. Katie believed that she would experiment with substances as many teenagers do but never did she think, “I'm going to be an addict.” She began inpatient treatment in May of 2022.
The Beginning of Her Passion: In treatment, she learned about the role of neuroscience and genetics in addiction. Becoming fascinated, she has now devoted her life to addiction awareness advocacy. Katie has since joined the Teen Advisory Council for the Friends of Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and become a prominent leader in the Brentwood School B-Well Club focusing on mental health in relation to addictions. She has been teaching lesson plans around substance use and abuse in 9th-grade health classes and has shared her story with a true passion to teens and adults all around her community.
Her Hopes: A change Katie hopes to see is specifically within the medical industry. As an 11-year-old, she was prescribed a high dose of Oxycontin which is something she believes should never be allowed at such a young age. She compared the dosage to one for a grown adult male with severe pain. Katie advocates against these extreme prescriptions at such an influential age.
It is a true privilege to not only have interviewed her for this month but to have seen her growth and to be able to call her a friend!
