TESTIMONIALS

TEEN STORY OF RECOVERY - PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE

When I was younger my parents got divorced, they were always fighting. That was very hard for me because I like a family to be together. When I was ten I was raped by my dad's roommate. Around that same time my grandma had a one of her three strokes. These are things that led me to do drugs. I started drinking when I was about 13, then started smoking pot because the drinking wasn't doing enough for me. When the pot wasn't satisfying me I started taking pills. I became addicted to Xanax. I would wake up and the first thing I would think of is how I would get my pills today. I didn't have a job so I would steal from anybody: I didn't care about hurting people as long as I would get my pills I would be okay. I went to a high school where there were drugs everywhere and it was so easy to get high, the teachers didn't care about the students. So my parents thought if they transferred me into a different school everything would be better, but it just got worst. One day I stole a lot of money from a very close family member and spend all of it on drugs and alcohol, I hid everything in a shoe box in my closet so my parents wouldn't find it. On May 30th, 2009 I went to hang out with my friends and took about 20 pills. My mom called my dad and told him I needed to be picked up from my friend's house. The only thing I remember was being in the hospital, I don't remember getting home or anything. The next day my parents told me they found the shoe box I hid in my closet, and I overdosed on Xanax. My parents told me that I needed to go to rehab; I knew I needed help but I was scared. I was withdrawing from the pills I was taking, that was the worst part. On June 4th, 2009 I had an intervention. Everyone in my family was there, they all read their letters and then I went to Inspirations. Now I realize that was the best thing that ever happened to me. I slept there for one night and I ran away with one of the girls that were there. The police found us and took us to the psych ward, I stayed there for 72 hours and they sent me back to rehab. While in the psych ward I had a lot of time to think. I realized I am an addict and I need help if I want to live, it was a life or death situation for me. So I stayed in Inspirations for three months. While there I worked out my problems with my therapist. They taught me relapse prevention skills, to cope with things without using drugs and just how to live without the drugs. I met some really nice people at Inspirations the girls that were there helped me through so much and I don't think I would be where I am today. While there the obsession to use was lifted, I didn't feel like I needed the drugs to live. They taught me how to have clean fun and just live my life. When I came home from rehab the first thing I did was attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Without this fellowship I would not be where I am today. I met some of my very good friends in Narcotics Anonymous is to take it one day at a time, not to think about what's going happen tomorrow or a year from now, just to worry about today, and do anything you can to keep your clean date. The best thing about being clean at 16 years old is I can do anything I want with my life the possibilities are endless.

................................................................................. Cynthia S.

PARENT JOURNEY THROUGH RECOVERY WITH DAUGHTER CYNTHIA

My name is Stephanie and this is a story I thought I would never have to tell. About three years ago, I started to see a change in my daughter Cynthia. She started cutting classes which led to her cutting school all together. She changed her whole network of friends. Within the three years my daughter started to become a total stranger to me. She was always angry. She always had an excuse or story for every action she took. Her anger progressed so much that we made a few trips to the hospital due to her punching walls. She started stealing from me. I would find money missing all the time. Then I started seeing my jewelry disappearing. I knew she was acting out but I also kept making excuses for her. She didn’t have the easiest of childhoods so it was very easy for me to believe her stories. She was my precious little girl that could do no wrong. I knew she had tried marijuana and even come home drunk one night. What I didn’t know was the extent of her using the substance that she used to erase her problems. Let’s just say that I was in total denial. I kept blaming my divorce from her dad and some extreme family problems for her anger. I tried many different approaches to try and help her but never succeeded. I felt like a failure as a mom because I couldn’t help my own daughter. The scariest day of my life was May 30, 2009. Cynthia was out that day. My son Thomas called me in her room and showed me what he found. It was a box of pills and some money. That was when I opened my eyes and realized that my daughter had a severe problem. I believe to this day that if my son, who is only one and a half years older than his sister, saved his sisters life by showing me what he found. I am sure it was the hardest thing for him to do. Later that night, after a phone call to her dad, I knew we had to go pick her up form a friend’s house. At that point we knew she was in bad shape so we rushed her to the emergency room. She had taken many different pills that night, I actually felt like shipping her away from me.

Through a friend of my ex husband, we found a wonderful rehab facility called Inspirations that I can say saved my daughter’s life. After researching, we knew that this was the place for our daughter. The first step of the process was getting Cynthia to realize that she had a problem. With the help of Inspirations Teen Rehab, we had an interview for Cynthia. This included our closest family members and friends, the owners of Inspirations and a very special man named Nathan Fears. He was in charge of the whole intervention process.

Let’s just say that I was an emotional mess by the time the interview was over. Now it was time for me to let go and let them take my daughter. The only way I can describe my feeling is to say that it felt like someone was ripping out my heart. It was very hard to let her go but I also knew that if I didn’t, the next step would be her death. It was a very rough beginning for my daughter and us at home. We live in New York and we were sending her to Florida. But with the help of the wonderful therapists, staff and God, I actually started to see some hope for my daughter. Cynthia spent roughly three months at Inspirations. Gradually we started to see the change in Cynthia. She learned many new skills while there but most importantly, Inspirations taught her how to live without using substances.

One year later, May 31, 2010, my daughter has one year clean time. She is very active with her fellowship Narcotics Anonymous. I have learned so much about the disease of addiction by attending NA meetings with my daughter. Words cannot describe how proud I am of my daughter today. It’s almost like giving birth all over again. She now has her whole future in the palms of her hands. I know today that she has her whole life ahead of her and will accomplish any goals she strives for. The most important lesson Cynthia has learned is that you have to take life “One Day at a Time.”

...................................................................................... Stephanie S.