09/01/2026
‼️‼️LONG POST BUT PLS READ ‼️‼️
💃 Today marks 1️⃣6️⃣ years clean from drugs and alcohol after over 22 years of insanity.
👉 Some may watch me on social media and never dream my past was as insane/scary/death-defying as it was. I barely made it thru, folks. I have kicked, clawed and scratched my way to where I am today and it was NOT easy.
😱 I remember when my credit score was below bankruptcy level. I also remember when I had FIVE at-fault car totals on my record (I’m so lucky to have lived thru a few of those!). My insurance had climbed to over $300/mo because of it. But I STILL wasn’t ready to change because I couldn’t even imagine not living the way I was living. It didn’t seem possible.
🎉 In 2010 I reached a turning point. I had overdosed 3 times in one week. I had banged up my knees and face from seizing on concrete at various places (one was outside of a Starbucks) that I could barely walk by the time my mom and brother got to me in Austin (my knees were swollen HUGE). I hadn’t answered the phone in 3 days because I was GONE - had been hallucinating for all 3 days due to the seizures, etc. Doctors didn’t know if my brain would go back to what it was…..they said they’d never seen anything like it.
👉 But I ended up in detox then rehab. It took my brain the full 30 days in rehab to go back to somewhat normal. Then I moved into an Oxford House for 8 months, which I’ll always say is one of the main reasons I’m clean today.
✅ So the moral of this story is you never know someone else’s story (never assume) and that addicts CAN recover. Our chances are slim to none, but it can be done. To say I’m thankful is an understatement. On these anniversaries I always think back to how bad it got - to remind myself of why I’ll never go back. It makes me CRINGE today but those replays in my head keep me on my path.
🥰 PS - feel free to share this post. I want my story out there for as many as possible to see. It’s important. Most people are ashamed/embarrassed but I am not. I feel PRIDE instead 💪
