- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Friends & Family
submitted by Susanne Johnson
At the age of only twelve, Chris started using drugs. His parents were alcoholics and drug users as well. He ran the streets and did all kinds of crime. He considered himself a bad person at a young age even though he always cared for his family. Both his mother and grandmother died in his arms after he cared for them. His father never found recovery, but his mother had seventeen years of sobriety when she passed away. Chris tried to get into recovery several times. He made it to a month or a year here and there but never reached any long-term success. Cocaine was his drug of choice, but alcohol came with it. He somehow managed to stay out of jail. His environment was far from good. At age 17 he witnessed somebody be shot to death.
In 1975 he had a severe motorcycle accident and traumatic brain injury. In 2008 he finally got sober through extensive work with a 12-step fellowship. He found a sponsor, worked the steps, became grateful and accepting, and as a result of that found recovery. He was still obese and a smoker, he suffered from diabetes, chronic back pain and COPD. He was also diagnosed with a stage three kidney disease. His life needed a drastic change, and Chris decided to get well in addition to being sober. He went to healthy living classes and started doing yoga. The yoga allowed him to look at his body through his mind. He started to take his health back, got his diabetes and chronic kidney disease under control, stopped smoking and lost 50 pounds.
Chris says, “Today I’m free.” His recovery gave him a healthy life, and he became a responsible member of society again. “You have to help yourself first before you can help others.” Chris is so glad to have the choice to spend his days happy and free or mad and hateful. He likes to tell everybody who has not yet gained the gift of sobriety to, “Keep coming back.”