Our addiction heartbreak
Addiction: No family is immune
Years ago I wrote a column about addiction. In particular, I wrote about how much I hated when people made jokes about ‘crackheads.' I outlined the devastating impacts of addiction not only on those suffering through it, but their families pulled into this misery.
In that column, I referred to the mom at home, curled up in a ball crying daily, because addiction felt so hopeless.
That mom was me.
I wrote about how when children are younger and asked what they want to be when they grow up, they'll say: a policeman, a fireman, a carpenter, a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, a fisherman, etc.
Never once do you hear them say, “I want to be a drug addict.”
That was my son Justin.
Justin never hoped for a life of addiction, but he got pulled into it in his early teens.
People often look down on those with drug addictions. They say these people made the choice to be an addict, and they are making the choice to stay one. But there's a reason why it's called addiction.
Yes, an original choice was made. Let's all agree it was a bad choice.
When your body now holds you hostage because it craves that drug or pill so intensely that you'd do almost anything to feed that addiction, it destroys lives.
Addiction was part of our family's life for the past seven years. I couldn't believe it was happening to us. Hadn't we done everything right?
But addiction does not discriminate. I always tell people that no family is immune.
Justin battled very hard against addiction. He and I never gave up the hope that he could find recovery. But it was not meant to be.
Last week in this newspaper you read Justin's obituary. He was 21.
This week, on pages 6 and 7, you will read about our story – his and mine – and the promise I made to Justin after he died on Jan. 25 to continue spreading awareness about addiction.
What do I most want people to know? That addiction does not happen to bad people, it just happens to people.
Justin battled very hard against addiction. He and I never gave up the hope that he could find recovery. But it was not meant to be.