I Feel Like a New Person, the Loving and Caring Person I Know I Am!
I would say my life growing up was pretty normal. I was active in softball, cheerleading, National Honor Society, FFA, and band. I always had the love and support of my parents. I graduated from high school when I was 17 and went on to study criminology and psychology. I continued with being active in cheerleading and softball. When I was 23, I lost a very close person in my life and my world fell apart.
I did not start using drugs until I was 32. I was diagnosed with a brain condition, and when the pain got very intense, I sought out opiates. I was first given Percocet, then moved to Oxycodone. I began doctor shopping when the doctor I originally started with stopped giving me a full prescription. After my brain surgery, I was able to get clean and stay clean for 4 and a half years. My life with my family while clean was amazing. I could do things with my two boys because I had the extra money. My parents trusted me again. It was the best feeling and I felt on top of the world.
When I was 36, I relapsed. I went back to the Percocet and then tried crack. The good life I had started to slowly disappear. I eventually let my oldest son go live with his dad. Addiction robbed me of my true love and happiness. I lost a great job, my apartment, even my car. Everything that I had worked so hard for was ripped away from me. Addiction destroyed my life. I lost the faith and trust of my boys and my parents. My family wanted nothing to do with me. They could not trust me or talk to me anymore. I was there physically, but not mentally. I lost my parents’ trust. Even living on my own, they did not trust me.
After an overdose, I almost got into trouble with the law. The police were going to charge me with felony possession, all because I was getting high. The officer that came to my house sat and talked with me. I begged him to let me go to rehab. He gave me two hours to pack and find a treatment center. I went to a place in Ohio for 30 days. While there, I knew I needed more time and something different. I started doing research for another rehab that would give me the help I knew I needed. I wanted to find something far away from Ohio.
As I was googling drug rehabs, nothing seemed to fit what I was seeking until I found Narconon Suncoast. I had reached out via their chat and spoke to Justin. We stayed in close contact over the next week or so and he and the staff went above and beyond to help me find my way to this program. I expressed to him how much I wanted to come and that I knew I needed more help. I expressed my fears about going home after only 30 days of clean time. I did not think it would be enough. Before I knew it, after only being home for 48 hours to see my family, I was on the next flight to Florida.
When I got to Tampa, I began to question myself and wonder if I was doing the right thing. Yes, I wanted to stay sober, but was all this actually necessary? I met two smiling faces at the airport. They both explained to me what to expect when I arrived at the center. I was scared, what was once normal to me was about to be a part of my past. Even though I only had 30 days clean from crack, fentanyl, and meth. While I was worried about this, I knew this is what I wanted and in my heart that this was the best solution for me.
When I arrived at Narconon Suncoast, the staff greeted me with lots of smiles and positivity. For the first time since I got started getting clean, I felt a sense of hope. The encouragement that I got from not only staff but also the other students on the program, is what kept me going. When I wanted to give up, they saw something in me that I could not see in myself yet. They believed in me when I did not believe in myself.
While doing my program, I found out who I was. I began to love me again and that was something I did not think was possible. I was able to feel the feelings I had been masking for years. For the first time, I was able to sit outside and smell the rain. I began building relationships back with my boys, and my parents and I can have a good conversation without fighting.
“I am ready to go be with my family and show them the new me. I have never felt so good in my life.”
I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to come to Narconon Suncoast. I am confident that I can now go home and not pick up a drug. I am ready to go be with my family and show them the new me. I have never felt so good in my life. I feel like a new person. I am looking forward to going home and seeing my boys for the first time in a long time. I will be able to be the mom and daughter my family deserves. My future is so much brighter than anything in my past. Please, do not ever give up in the fight to overcome addiction. You are not alone, and you are worth the fight. Narconon Suncoast helped save my life and I get the chance to be the loving, caring, person I know that I am.
