- Alcohol
For Cheryl, the problem was never drinking when she was out with others. The trouble started when she’d go home alone – especially if the liquor store was still open. Despite her drinking, she looked like a health nut. When she had to stop running due to some physical issues, a coworker suggested cycling and Cheryl just fell in love with it.
It wasn’t enough to keep her sober, though. A divorce was the trigger at one point. The bad economy and a stressful job provided other reasons. Working from home, on call, she started drinking again. When she didn’t answer any of her pages, a concerned coworker came to check on her and called 911. Cheryl wound up in ICU in a coma. They told her later, they were literally ready to pull the plug. She went to in-patient treatment after that but only lasted two weeks. The first thing she did was go to the liquor store.
Sobriety eventually clicked for Cheryl and she completed an Intensive Outpatient program. It was there that she first heard about Denver-based Phoenix Multisport. The group offers rock climbing, hiking and other outdoor activities to those in recovery free of charge, helping them to keep busy, get fit and find a new group of safe friends who understand the road they’re walking (or climbing, as the case may be).
While the group was a perfect fit for Cheryl, she didn’t get involved for about two more years. She was in a chronic relapse cycle, but she really wanted to do a triathlon. She didn’t have a license due to a DUI, so she asked if someone at Phoenix could give her a ride. Someone in the next town was willing and that was all it took.
“I just did a head-first dive,” Cheryl says. “So many people need to find all new friends. Left to my own devices, I tend to isolate. Now I look at the calendar and think, ‘What do I have next? Can’t drink tonight, I have a hike tomorrow!’ It’s one thing to hear about a different lifestyle, but now I’m doing it and it’s a whole new community.”
For others who may still be at the starting line, Cheryl offers these words of wisdom: “You need to find a meeting. Have a plan. Even to this day I only plan out a couple of days because that’s all I can handle.”