My name is DeAnna and I am a 40 year old recovering addict.  I have been clean and sober for 18 months and I’m very proud of the person I am today.  My road to recovery began when I finally realized that what everyone was telling me was true... I was addicted to drugs and alcohol.  And, if I wanted to live, I was going to have to seek and accept treatment.

            So, on February 14^th, 2006 I was admitted into the medical detox unit at Pikeville Medical Center in Pikeville, Ky.  Not only did the specialized team of doctors, nurses, and counselors rid my body of the potentially lethal dose of chemicals coursing through it, but they also helped me to understand that I am the victim of a fatal disease.  A disease of which many, many people suffer from, yet so few understand and/or seek treatment for.

            They also told me that there was a drug and alcohol treatment center in Dryden, VA that was willing to accept me into its long term program.  They said the treatment center was a relatively new one but that it was well staffed with trained counselors, techs, and medical personnel who truly cared about and wanted to help addicts.  They said the people at this new facility wanted to help save my live and that they would do this by teaching how to live with my disease instead of dying from it.

            So, on March 1^st, 2006, I left the medical detox and headed straight for New Beginnings Southwest Virginia where I was to re-learn how to live again.  Upon arrival, I was greeted by the facilities director who seemed genuine in expressing how glad he was that I had chosen to learn a new way of living.  Next, I was introduced to the rest of the staff and other residents.  And, finally, I was shown to my room and helped to get settled in.

            And, although I was feeling a little overwhelmed, it felt good knowing I was in a safe place, surrounded by others like myself…People who were sick and tired of being sick and tired.  That night I fell asleep for the first time in 20 years without the influence or drugs and/or alcohol secure in the fact that I had made the right decision.  And, it also felt good knowing that my family was going to sleep peacefully, too.

            Well, just as promised, over the course of the next five months I did learn about the disease of addiction and how to live with it.  I was taught that not only did I have to change my habits, but my ways of thinking as well.  I was taught the warning signs of triggers and the types of people and places to avoid.  I was taught that relapse is definitely a possibility; therefore, I must never get too comfortable in my sobriety.  I was taught that although I can never change my past, I can re-shape my future.  I was taught that all addicts are deserving of treatment and that I can keep what I have only by giving it away. I was taught that treatment works and recovery is real.

            I am a living testament to that last statement.  I am alive, healthy, and happy today thanks to the dedicated and caring staff at NBSWVA.  They took the fear out of treatment and never gave up on me.  They showed me that I was not a throw away and that I was worth saving. 

            Therefore, I urge all those suffering from active addiction to admit that you have a problem, seek treatment, and work the program.  If I can do it, so can you.  You, too, are worth saving.  If you, too, are sick and tired of being sick and tired, ask for and accept the gift of a new way of live. 

            In conclusion, I want to thank the entire staff of Pikeville Medical Centers’ detox unit.  If you had not saved my life, initially, I would not be living my new, clean and sober life today.  I also want to thank the staff of NBSWVA for your patience and dedication.  Without which, I would be just another relapse story.  I also send thanks to the Director of NBSWVA for allowing me to join your team of life savers.  Where my new position as counselor in training further allows me to keep what I have (sobriety), by giving it away (helping other addicts).  I am also grateful to and thank my family for loving me no matter what.  Today, life is good.  And I am very grateful that…Treatment Works and Recovery Is Real.

 

 There once was a girl

Who was miserable and blue

She cared not for herself

Least of all for you

 

She drank and snorted

Smoked dope and lied

She did so much so often

She almost died

 

Though kicking and screaming

She checked into rehab

And after a while

Life seemed not so bad

 

She went into treatment

Hating it at first

But eventually she relented

And New Beginnings became a sort of rebirth

 

Where once she resisted

She finally gave in

Where once she only “existed”

She now “lives” again

 

~DeAnna~

May 5, 2006