Rayne Thompson took an overdose response training course over the weekend, but had no idea she'd have to use her knowledge so soon afterward.

The 16-year-old learned how to administer naloxone, a medication which reverses the effect of an opioid overdose, on Saturday.

Hours later, Thompson was walking around downtown Victoria with a friend when they came across man who was unconscious in the street.

"We saw a bunch of people huddling," she told CBC's host of All Points West Jason D'Souza. "They seemed like they were really panicking."

She and her friend walked over to see what was wrong and found a young man lying in the street. His friends said he had taken heroin.

"He was unconscious and gargling and wasn't breathing," Thompson said. "It was terrifying — no one had called 911 at this point."

Thompson said she immediately called for an ambulance and pulled out her brand new naloxone kit.

"I gave him one shot and then waited two minutes," she said. "Another shot and waited two minutes and then another shot."

He was still unresponsive. Thompson gave the man three more shots before he finally responded.

"I started CPR and he gargled a little bit and then started breathing again," she said.

Paramedics arrived and in a flash, Thompson said, it was all over. She accompanied the man to the hospital in the ambulance.

'It's just a good thing to have'

Thompson said she encourages everyone to learn how to administer naloxone and carry a kit with them.

"It's just a good thing to have. If you can save a life, I mean, why not? No matter what the person does, they deserve another chance," she said.

Thompson's mother, Terri, said she was very proud of how her daughter responded.

"As scary as it is that she's out there interacting with this, I'm so proud of her," she said. "It's not very often that your daughter comes home and tells you that she saved a life."  

The teenager's mom said she now plans to learn how to administer naloxone as well, and emphasized that you never know who you might end up helping.

"She helped somebody around her age," Terri Thompson said. "Just thinking about that — he's a youth, he's not an addict like has been assumed numerous times, and he got to go home to his family."

More information about overdose response training and and where to pick up a naloxone kit is available online.