Editor's note: Dalynn Kee's age was incorrect in a previous version of this story. She was 21, an adult, when she died in 2019. This version has been corrected.
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Registered nurse Kathy Lalli treats Ellwood Warren's injuries at the Kensington Hospital wound care outreach van, parked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 23, 2023. In humans, xylazine can cause breathing and heart rates to drop. It’s also linked to severe skin ulcers and abscesses, which can lead to infections, rotting tissue and amputations. Experts disagree on the exact cause of the wounds, which are much deeper than those seen with other injectable drugs.
A box of Narcan sits in the Savage Sisters' community outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. Generically known as Naloxone, the medication used revive people who have stopped breathing, doesn’t reverse the effects of xylazine. Philadelphia officials stress that naloxone should still be administered in all cases of suspected overdose, since xylazine is almost always found in combination with fentanyl.
People gather outside the Savage Sisters' community outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Volunteer registered nurse Jennifer D'Angelo treats a person's skin wounds the Savage Sisters' community outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, speaks with community members at her outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. “Nobody asked for xylazine in the drug supply,” said Laurel. “Before anybody knew it, the community was chemically dependent on it. So now, yes, people do seek it out.”
Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, speaks during an interview at her community outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. “Nobody asked for xylazine in the drug supply,” said Laurel. “Before anybody knew it, the community was chemically dependent on it. So now, yes, people do seek it out.”
Dominic Rodriguez speaks with registered nurse Kathy Lalli after she treated his skin injuries at the Kensington Hospital wound care outreach van, parked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 23, 2023. Xylazine’s effects are easy to spot: users experience a lethargic, trance-like state and sometimes black out, exposing themselves to robbery or assault. “It’s a delayed reaction, I could be walking down the street, it's 45 minutes later,” says Rodriguez, who is homeless and battling addiction. “Then I wake up, trying to piece together what happened.”
Dominic Rodriguez walks away after receiving treatment at the Kensington Hospital wound care outreach van, parked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 23, 2023. Xylazine’s effects are easy to spot: users experience a lethargic, trance-like state and sometimes black out, exposing themselves to robbery or assault. “It’s a delayed reaction, I could be walking down the street, it's 45 minutes later,” says Rodriguez, who is homeless and battling addiction. “Then I wake up, trying to piece together what happened.”
Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, checks on a community member at her outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. “Nobody asked for xylazine in the drug supply,” said Sarah Laurel, founder of Savage Sisters, a Philadelphia outreach group. “Before anybody knew it, the community was chemically dependent on it. So now, yes, people do seek it out.”
Kensington Hospital wound care outreach van is parked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 23, 2023. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Nick Gallagher reacts as volunteer registered nurse Jennifer D'Angelo treats his skin wounds the Savage Sisters' community outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. Xylazine can cause severe skin wounds, but whether it is leading to more deaths — as suggested by officials in Washington — is not yet clear, according to health and law enforcement professionals on the front lines of efforts in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
A community member holds a hot cup of coffee at the Savage Sisters' outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 24, 2023. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Sharday Miller, walks away holding extra bandages she received after having her skin treated at the Kensington Hospital wound care outreach van parked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 23, 2023. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Dominic Rodriguez speaks with registered nurse Kathy Lalli after she treated his skin injuries at the Kensington Hospital wound care outreach van, parked in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on May 23, 2023. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.
Contact Analisa Trofimuk at 219-933-3321.
