Before addiction, I had a picture-perfect life. I grew up in an amazing household with my mom, dad, and two younger sisters. All our needs were provided for and most of our wants. I was never around drugs or alcohol throughout my childhood and I lived a normal, happy life.

I started experimenting with alcohol and marijuana at the age of 16 when I was in high school. I started using prescription pills around the age of 21 and that was when my addiction started to take over my life. I hid my struggles from everyone around me. I was enrolled in college, working, and taking care of my son while actively using pills daily. As time went on, I started slowly losing things that were important to me. I lost the home I was living in vehicles and sold most of my possessions to feed my addiction.

Around the time I turned 24, I started using heroin. Everything around me started to spiral. My family found out about my addiction and threatened to take custody of my son if I did not take action to get my life together. I stopped using pills around this time and switched to alcohol because it was legal, and I thought it was better than using illegal drugs. I was a daily drinker, and this went on for several years. I started to gain back the trust of my family as well as a home and a vehicle. I married my husband and got pregnant with my youngest son. My husband and my mom were a huge support system for me. I did well for a while. I stopped using everything while I was pregnant but quickly turned back to alcohol after my pregnancy. I started using heroin again in March 2020. I overdosed on 4/15/2020 and was administered Narcan twice. This was the wake-up call I needed.

I battled using substances for 14 years and the road finally led me to Recovery Point Charleston on May 20, 2020, when I realized I truly needed help.

I am scheduled to graduate from the program on March 29, 2021. I am taking Recovery Coach classes while here at Recovery Point and hope to gain employment in the recovery field upon completion. I plan to go back to college and finish my Bachelor’s in Social Work.

My children give me the hope and drive to keep moving forward in my recovery journey. I have learned a new way to live since coming to Recovery Point Charleston. I used to look at people who were sober and wondered how they could be so happy without drugs or alcohol, and I get it now. Recovery Point has given me my life back. I plan on taking the tools that I have learned here and incorporating them into my life daily.