- Drugs
- Friends & Family
Hi, I’m Jeff, and just over a year ago, I was on the fast track to the grave, but got saved. I told my story here about 10 months ago, and I wanted to give you an update one year from sobriety. Last year at this time, I was a mess. Name the drug, I was doing it. I had been abusing prescription drugs for years, but after 2 of my very best friends died, I went into a worse downward spiral. I ran into a tree and could have killed myself. I was always high. Then my sister died very unexpectedly while giving birth to my niece. At that point I didn’t care if I lived or died. I was suffering inside so badly. I just didn’t give a damn. Drugs and alcohol were the only things that dulled the pain.
My parents sent me out of state to live with my aunt and uncle. Everyone thought I was clean, but I wasn’t. When it was time to leave, my parents thought it would be best if I didn’t live in my hometown where all the triggers were, so I went to stay with my friend’s mom. Her son was one of my close friends who died less than a year before. He died of a heroin overdose. As soon as she saw me, she saw the truth and how desperate my situation was. She said “I love you too much to enable you to kill yourself. You can go to rehab and I will help you every step of the way, or you can leave. But you can’t stay here in your condition.” You see, she had researched a lot since my friend died, and she knew better now what would really help me. I know how hard that was for her, but I am so grateful she took the hard stand.
After a very rocky 24 hours of waiting, waiting, waiting and no sleep and a hospital visit, I was finally accepted into a local inpatient program that would take me. But the program was only 10 days. I suffered for days, but I also became immersed in step work, and I started to feel a little better. I decided on my own that when the 10 days were up, I would go to a 90 day program in TN. Those 90 days saved my life. They really did. I got truly clean for the first time in years, and it felt good. When my 90 days were up, I still felt like I needed a structured environment, so I did something really brave. I moved to a halfway house in the mountains of NC where I didn’t know anyone.
Let me tell you about my life today. I am still sober and I am happy. I have a job, good friends, a place of my own, and I started college in this past January! Hard to believe I had one foot in the grave just over one year ago, and I truly did. It isn’t always easy. I still struggle, but taking things one day at a time, I‘ve been able to stay clean, and boy has my life improved. Without rehab I might be dead today. I’m so glad to be alive.