The tragic death of Karl Wilgar after three weeks taking street Xanax may be saving the lives of his grieving friends and strangers, his dad has said.
Karl, 27, from Belfast, died last month after being taken unconscious to the Ulster Hospital Dundonald by two men.
His father Michael received a knock at the door of his family home at 4am to say his eldest son has passed away due to a “cardiac episode”.
Michael from Bangor, Co Down, said: “He had really been getting on his feet. He had a lovely girlfriend and they’d been planing to get married and have a family.
“But for some reason which we will never find out now, Karl went on a blow-out of some sort and started taking Xanax. It killed him in the end. It killed him very fast.
"All his plans died with him, all our hopes for his life died too. His death is such a waste of a wonderful life ahead of him.
“The only thing we are holding on to is the fact that I’ve had contact from a number of his friends, who are grieving for him, and from strangers to say they’ve either come off the drugs they were taking, or are getting help to get clean.
“This is all we have of Karl. He could have been here making a difference while alive, but sadly his influence is a result of his death. I know for a fact that he helped a number of his friends in the past come off drugs. He would be very proud of the people who have stepped up and made the decision to stop.
“When he died I thought of all the good he had done over the years, all the good stuff he’d been involved in and that chances for him to do good just vanished with his last heart beat.
“But now I know that because we’re talking about what he did and how he died, other people who are caught up in the same habits and thrills are looking at their risks and behaviours, and some of them are turning their back on it too.
“It’s too late for Karl but it’s not too late for anyone else who is living and breathing today.
“I’d ask absolutely everyone, every man, woman and child, every teenager, every young person to look at the photo of my son and see the life in his eyes, the smile on his face and know that that is not how he looked when he died.
“Those eyes will never crinkle with his big laughter again and we’ll never see that smile again and we are left with devastation in our heart and our home.
“I had hoped one day to see Karl’s children, my grandchildren. That’s never going to happen now.
“Karl’s use of Xanax took all of that away. It was unnecessary.
“I don’t want Xanax or any other drug to take everything away from anyone else and that’s why I am speaking out.
“I’m only just beginning to understand that there is an epidemic here in Northern Ireland. These drugs are everywhere."
He added: “It’s time for people to talk and keep talking. Get into nature, read, learn, find real friends. We need to get high on the life we’ve been given, not on the drugs that are altering and stealing lives.”
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