I didn’t even know there was such a thing as RECOVERY!
From the time I was young, I was exposed to my mother’s excessive drinking. By the time I was 10, she was on cocaine and really bad off. Drugs were all around me. My older siblings were on drugs. All of my cousins were doing drugs. Eventually, I tried to find my real father, and he was on drugs too. My grandmother tried to intervene. So, my mom took us and moved away.
Mom was the kind of woman who had to have a man around and chose her men first over us kids. A lot of the men she was with were abusive. I was abused by one of them too. I didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
I fell into the same addictions as everyone else. I started smoking marijuana and skipping school at age 13. I never could see a future where I wasn’t getting high. I believe in order to make something happen you must see it first. No one talked about getting sober.
I have been alone and on my own since I was 17. By the time I was thirty, I had 3 children and was charged with aggravated possession of methamphetamines. I went to jail and child services took my children away. Eventually, I was introduced to the idea of being sober at West Central Correctional Facility. They were actually trying to help me. To have someone help me who didn’t even know me made me feel I was worth something.
From Marysville, I went directly to Amethyst, an Alvis program. Amethyst gave me a home where I could have my kids live with me and receive treatment. I was finally able to see that there might be some light at the tunnel for me. I wish I would have heard stories about people getting sober a lot sooner in my life. If I would have known what I know now, I wouldn’t have spent so much time being stuck in what seemed to be a never ending cycle. I would have grabbed the opportunity of recovery sooner. Recovery is possible.
I love Amethyst. It has literally given me the opportunity to work on myself and teach me what I need to do to be a better parent. All I want is to see my kids succeed. And the only way to do that is for my kids to see me succeed!