TIMP gives hope and saves a life

Dave cannot hide the emotion when he talks about where his son could possibly be today if it wasn’t for The Ice Meltdown Project.

He fights back tears and puts his head into his hands. “If TIMP wasn’t around, I don’t think we would be here with Ryan today. They saved his life.”

Dave and Jane still clearly remember the night their 20year-old son stood before them crying for help.

They were aware of his battle with a methamphetamine addiction. Ryan had had some tough times and some good times when he took himself off the drug.

One night, after what Ryan describes as a “bender,” he broke down, crying and pleading with his parents to help him.

Ryan was using ice for about three years before he hit rock bottom.

Ryan had a good job and started “doing ice” with a few mates. He admits he was using pills and ice was just another thing to try.

“For two years it was just another drug. I didn’t think it was a big drama.

“By the third year, things got hard in my personal life and I turned to the drug to escape things.

“I just never imagined how addictive it would be. It’s in a whole different category to other drugs.

“When I first started it was a party drug, it was enjoyable and it didn’t faze me if I had it or not.

“But as time went on, I didn’t care where or when, I just wanted it.

Ryan said there were times when he would take himself off the ice and try to overcome the addiction.

But, he said, not having the education or knowledge of the drug’s impact on his body, he always relapsed.

“I was stuck in a hole and I couldn’t get out.

Living in a small town, Jane and Dave soon learnt about their son’s drug problem – from others.

Jane said she was sick in the stomach at the thought. They were determined to support their son and help him wherever he needed.

Ryan was clean for about six months and Jane said they thought “everything was good.”

“We kept trusting him and putting faith in him that everything would be ok,” Dave said.

But it wasn’t. Ryan was still using but most of the time he tried to hide it from his parents, and regularly lied to them.

“I wanted to get off it but it was beyond my control. I was waking up every day worrying about how I was going to go to work.

“The effects of the drugs makes one little thing seem so much bigger.

“There were times I just wanted to stop and I kept thinking, how can I get help.

But then, one weekend, Ryan went on a “bender” – taking a cocktail of GHB and ice.

“It sent me loopy. I was hallucinating, seeing cows and demons,” he said.

Dave said it was that weekend that Ryan’s drug addiction came to a head and he broke down before them.

“He told us he was on ice again and he can’t get off. He wanted our help. He was crying, hallucinating and then just collapsed.

“The next day we rang Janice at TIMP,” Jane said.

Ryan is one of TIMP’s hundreds of success stories over the past five years.

He has been clean for seven months and continues to attend weekly support group sessions with his parents.

“The program has taught me a lot. There’s a difference between thinking about it and wanting it and I don’t want it anymore.

Ryan had many friends who had spent thousands of dollars attending rehabilitation centres and then re-using as soon as they left.

Dave, Jane and Ryan all agree it is the “cold turkey,” abstinence approach of TIMP that is the key to its success.

Like all program participants, Ryan gave up his phone and deleted social media accounts. Dave and Jane shared 24 hour support to him.

As well as withdrawing from the drug, TIMP focusses on an education program where clients like Ryan learn how to deal with the cravings and the triggers.

“They helped me to recognise the red flags. I have learnt how to overcome the cravings and I’ve got more control now.

“I have been offered ice since I have been on the TIMP program, but I can turn it down now…I’m not so vulnerable,” Ryan said.

TIMP’s support group and therapy sessions also have been a strong part of Ryan’s recovery.

“There’s a stigma and attitude about addicts but in the sessions we have hope. Everyone is in the same boat, it’s a supportive environment,” Ryan said.

As support carers, Dave and Jane went through the education program with Ryan so they could help in his rehabilitation and understand what the drug had done to his body and brain.

“If we didn’t have the education that TIMP provided, I would’ve dealt with it a lot differently,” Dave said.

For Dave and Jane, TIMP has given them back their son.

“TIMP has given us hope. It has given us our boy back and the confidence we can do it.

“Janice was just amazing from that very first day. She said this is what we are going to do and we did it.

“There were doctors visits, therapy sessions, no phone and no Facebook.

“We just did what we had to do. We just wanted Ryan to get better.

“We rang Janice and Megan anytime of the day for support. They are our angels,” Jane said.

* The names of the family quoted in this story are not their real names. Their names have been changed to protect their identities.