For many years, I was just trying to survive. What started as recreational use in my early twenties slowly turned into dependence. Between ongoing medical issues, a serious car accident while I was pregnant, and emotional trauma I didn’t know how to process, substances became my way of coping.
Before I realized it, my life began to fall apart. I became involved with the child welfare system and eventually lost custody of the four oldest children I had with my ex-husband. Leaving the hospital without my baby was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life.
Addiction took everything from me — my stability, my sense of self, and the future I once imagined. At my lowest point, I experienced homelessness and isolation. I was no longer living — just trying to make it through each day.
Everything changed on August 15, 2017. A close friend refused to give up on me. She drove me to the clinic, supported me, and helped me start medication-assisted treatment. That day became my second chance at life. MAT gave me stability when I couldn’t find it on my own. For the first time in years, I could think clearly, function, and begin rebuilding my life.