Our journey

Our daughter has been out on her own for 8 years.  She is college educated and has a very successful career.  She was in a car accident resulting in several herniated discs.  She was prescribed pain meds and took them regularly.  Over time she developed a tolerance for them.  She even discussed with her Mom that she was worried about becoming dependent on them.  Then the docs prescribed Oxy.  It worked great for a short time, then the dependency and addiction started.  We should have seen the signs, but in reality we did not ignore, just did not know to look for them. She was on top of the world... doing great at work, nice boy friend and great long time friends.

Over the past 2 years when we look back, the signs were very evident.  She distanced herself from us and we only saw her on holidays or once in a great while.  We wrote it off to long hours at work, time with her boy friend (great guy BTW) and the fact that she was sick allot.   When we did get together for holiday events, she would sleep allot.  

Well it all ended... she had a falling out with her boyfriend, and while she received great reviews at work and was doing great in terms of sales.... she suddenly lost her job.  Everything was everyone else's fault.  She also had falling outs with her close friends... we started to worry but did not put it together.   Her friends staged an intervention telling her she had a problem and would lose her job....  we did not know.  A few weeks later we thought she as deeply depressed and were concerned that she were suicidal.  She would not return phone calls... sleep all day, was sick allot and had excuse for everything.    Her temper was volatile and she would go off and the smallest thing... then the friends changed... new friends that we had never heard of before (drug connections)

It all ended when one of her good friends checked in on her... she will not admit it, but she was out of control.  We were called and when I arrived, it was a horrible situation.  She had not been to bed in days, was completely wired and when I confronted her she went off... I called the police, and there was nothing they could do.  I asked their opinion and they told me it appeared to be crystal meth...  My heart sank... people seldom recover from that... the end game is death.  We now know if was Oxy and coke.  She was perhaps weeks away from death.

Though intervention with friends we convinced her to go to treatment... it was a learning experience... there is not much information during crisis mode and the police are not readily equipped to provide information... everyone one at that level is treated equally... a drug addict is a menace to society, a criminal and are just in the system... the hospitals are the same way...  not much information.  My daughter came home with us and slept for 2 days straight... major withdrawals and feeling like ****.  We found a private treatment center and they are great... All of the staff room the attorneys to the physicians to the counselors are in recovery.  They have walked tin their shoes.

She is detoxed and now learning to live a new life.  This is hopefully her ground zero.. she is surrounded by the love of family and friends.  We are embracing our recovery and learning how to cope.   We pray that our daughter's life will once again be what she had hoped for.