- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Friends & Family
submitted by: Susanne Johnson
Jim joined the Heroes in Recovery 6K run in Atlanta to support the recovery of his 17-year-old grandson who is in treatment and just got his three-month coin for sobriety. He is the oldest of Jim’s ten grandchildren (number eleven is on the way), and the whole family supports his efforts to battle the disease and get back to a wonderful life in recovery.
Jim never did drugs or drank excessively, but he was a cigarette smoker for over 30 years. Seventeen years ago he decided to quit this habit and addiction and go for a more active and healthy life. He and his wife were both smokers, and his wife learned from the doctor that she was in the early stages of emphysema. Jim quit smoking that very same day to encourage her and for himself. She needed another five years to make this important step towards her health. Jim has not had any alcohol in the past twenty years either, even though he never had the problem of alcoholism. He made this decision for healthier, better living.
Shortly after he quit smoking in October 2001, he started to run. He has not missed a day since. He is on day 5,018 of running and averages over three miles a day.
Jim’s grandson made the decision to seek help as he knew he had a problem with drugs. He reached out to his mother and asked for help. Jim’s daughter and her husband, the parents, spend every weekend at the treatment center to engage in family activities. Jim’s grandson entered treatment during his junior year of high school, and he didn’t finish that year. It was more important to get immediate help. The family hopes he will go back and finish high school when his treatment is over. They didn’t try to make any arrangement with the school as the most important thing was to get him into recovery as soon as possible. For now the entire family is very happy about the progress he makes in his recovery and hopes it will lead to long-term recovery.
Jim recognizes the stigma that surrounds people in recovery and that many people don’t understand addiction is a disease and not the person’s fault. Many people falsely think this way, and Jim sees how easy it is for people to fall into that belief. He hopes further education and support will lift the stigma and help young people like his grandson re-enter a healthy life.