Spider Man

By Author: Jamie Hanson
Total Articles: 3495
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Dan Bigelow could hear his friends talking about what to do with his body. He'd collapsed at a friend's house after a drug overdose. One person wanted to throw him in a ditch. Another argued they should call an ambulance. Fortunately for Dan, someone called for help.

He told his story recently to Discovery Academy students as part of an experiential activity. But his brush with death wasn't the only thing that had students mesmerized. Bigelow replaced doing drugs with studying spiders. Specifically, tarantulas.

As a teenager Dan told students he had used milder drugs. Time in a residential treatment center didn't help him overcome his habit. He went on to cocaine, heroine, and then meth.

After his overdose he spent a year in rehab. That's when he decided if he wanted to kick drugs for good he would have to fill the void with something else. He decided to collect spiders. An older sibling had a tarantula so Dan decided to study that species.

D.A. students were fascinated as Dan shared his story and his hobby. He explained unique characteristics of the spiders and talked about his life now.

Bigelow ...
... says he's been drug free for the past eight years. Married with a young daughter, he says it's a struggle to stay clean. "There's temptation around every corner," he told the students. "But fill your life with good things and don't leave room for the bad."

Discovery Academy runs a therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens in Utah.