“Everyone deserves life,” Narcan revival inspires Lincoln woman to spread awareness

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Dani Hill spends a lot of her day mixing and pouring resin art. It keeps her mind busy. It is a trick she learned in rehab.

“The more time I have not doing something, the more time I have to wander, you know, and so I just stay busy,” Hill said.

Just over two years ago Dani overdosed and was revived by Narcan.

“We had did some cocaine that had fentanyl in it,” Hill said. “And at first, like, I didn’t feel anything, I was fine. I looked over and my friends were passed out. And I like instantly went into panic mode, didn’t know what to do. But I eventually called 911, and they talked me through giving CPR to both of them. They were both in chairs, I had to like pull them to the ground. I was intoxicated. It was scary. And then once the paramedics got there, and the police got there, like, I remember, the officer like shining a light in my eyes. And that’s the last thing I remember,” Hill said. “I had four doses of Narcan in the ambulance and then I was in the ICU on the Narcan drip for 20-some hours.”

She checked herself into rehab shortly after in April of 2022. That moment in 2021 came after five years of sobriety. It’s not something Hill is proud of, but it’s a moment she’s willing to share to change other people’s lives.

“When I woke up in that ambulance, I was bawling. And all I kept saying was Thank you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Like, thank you... I do remember one thing, the one paramedic saying ‘If you want to thank me, stay clean.’ Hill recalled. “We have to be willing to admit we have a problem, that was hard for me.”

Narcan has given Hill a second chance at life. She’s started Elevated From the Streets Customs, an art business with her friend, got a new job and rebuilt relationships with people around her.

Now she’s stepping into the spotlight to highlight the importance of the drug. Her face is on billboards in Lincoln with a simple message: “Narcan saved my life.”

“We don’t recover in silence, and if my story can save one life, I don’t care what anybody thinks about me, because I can look myself in the mirror today and know that I’m okay with who I am,” Hill said.

The billboard is a campaign from Stop Overdose Nebraska. (Find more resources and signs of an opioid overdose by following this link to their website.)

Now, on the other side of things, Hill is determined to show that an overdose doesn’t mean it’s over.

“Everyone deserves life,” Hill said. “No matter the struggles are going through.”

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