Isabella warned that it’s easy for children as young as 12 to get hold of the Class B drug.
When Isabella Gawley was first introduced to ketamine, she had no idea that it would nearly claim her life. The teenager was just 16 when she first experimented with the drug at a party in 2021, an experience that spiralled into a £30,000 addiction.
This addiction caused her weight to plummet to a mere three and a half stone and led to a near-fatal cardiac arrest just three years later. Now, Isabella, from Liverpool, is raising awareness about the dangers of the drug, warning that children as young as 12 are using it.
Ketamine, an anaesthetic used on humans and animals, is classified as a Class B drug, making it illegal for recreational use, possession, distribution or sale. Recent government data reveals that ketamine use among 16 to 24 year olds in England has tripled since 2016. Approximately 269,000 individuals aged 16 to 59 reported using ketamine in the year ending March 2024.
Chronic use of ketamine has been associated with several severe health problems, including bladder damage and increased heart rate. Earlier this year, drag star The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, tragically died from a cardiac arrest induced by ketamine use.
Now 19, Isabella has opened up about her own experiences, expressing that she could identify with The Vivienne. She remembered how she managed to fund her habit by sharing the drug with friends, describing it as “readily available”, “easy to source”, and requiring only “pocket money” to purchase.
Isabella became addicted to ketamine after her grandmother’s death, resorting to daily use. The habit got out of control, resulting in agonising chronic pain in her bladder and kidneys.
The substance abuse ravaged her body, leaving her at a mere three and a half stone and confined to her bed. Despite being five days clean, she suffered a cardiac arrest, unable to move from her bed that fateful day.
Paramedics performed CPR on Isabella at her home and in the ambulance, relentlessly continuing their efforts at the hospital with the aid of defibrillators to revive her. Recalling the ordeal, Isabella said: “I woke up in the morning and I couldn’t feel my whole body. I was paralysed from head to toe. I couldn’t move my body, or my legs or my arms.”
Struggling even to speak, she managed to alert her mother, who immediately called for an ambulance. “I could barely project my voice to tell my mum I needed help,” Isabella said.
“When she came up she rang the ambulance straight away and the paramedics had to slide me off my bed – I only had a dressing gown on.” That experience was a turning point in her life.
Isabella reflected: “I realised at that point what I’d put my mum through. I could see the trauma in her eyes.” She emerged from the life-threatening event with a new resolve.
“It was the realisation that enough was enough – I thought to myself ‘I’m so much better than this’ and I stopped for good, so I guess the cardiac arrest was the best thing for me,” she said. “I needed that wake-up call – no one would make me stop but myself.”
The doctor had told her she would be reliant on incontinence pads forever, but having remained sober for more than half a year, she’s beaten the odds. Her body has healed and she is no longer facing incontinence or severe pain.
Isabella reflected on her past struggles. She said: “I used to sit on my floor instead of my bed because I was buckled over in pain. I’d put heaters behind my back because it was the only thing that would help. And one time one hairdryer melted into my bed.
“But now my body has made a near-full recovery. The doctor said I’d have to wear nappy pads for the rest of my life, but I don’t any longer as my body has healed after three years of near constant [ketamine] usage.
“I turned from a physically active, sporty girl into a literal bone, there was no fat, no muscles, and my face drooped. And it caused some of my relationships with family members to sour too.”
Determined to raise awareness, she said: “I’m quite young and I feel like I have to speak about it and break a taboo around it. It’s hard but it’s going to be the best thing to do. I’d rather tell people and help them than keep it to myself.”
Isabella is also worried about younger generations’ awareness of the drug’s effects. “Kids need to understand that your family are going to watch you and see your gravestone, which I didn’t realise at the time – I know that there are 12-year-olds who are just damaging their bodies from ketamine,” she said.
“I’ve come back and I’m a million times stronger, both mentally and physically. I came out of hospital and, although it has left me with permanent damage, the pains now and again are nothing compared to what I used to feel.”
Speaking about the death of The Vivienne, she said: “The Vivienne died in a bathroom because she was alone and there was no one there to do CPR. It’s lucky I wasn’t on my own, because my mum was around – she stuck by me the whole way.
“I feel like I can really appreciate life now and the extreme situation I was in and that’s why I don’t care if people laugh about me coming forward, as I’ve turned my life around and I want to help other people do that.”
Isabella is grateful for another chance at life. She added: “When my heart started again, I was fortunate. I got given that second chance that so many don’t get. But it wasn’t the cardiac arrest that scared me into stopping my ketamine addiction – it was the look on my mum’s face.
“My mum watched me effectively die in front of her eyes and no mum should watch their 18-year-old daughter nearly die in front of them. I really feel I wasn’t meant to come back. It was a living miracle.”
If you or someone else needs urgent help after taking drugs or drinking, call 999 for an ambulance. To find drug support advice near you, visit talktofrank.com/get-help/find-support-near-yo u.
