A Phoebe Resident’s Story
D’s
life started with a mom that had “alcohol issues.” When she was
8, she, her sister and brother were left with someone they didn’t know
while her mother went to a bar. Unfortunately, their mom was
decapitated in a horrible accident. D and her siblings found out
about it on the television. They were taken in by family members…
but the two girls were sexually molested by an uncle during their
stay. Her adverse childhood experiences were imprinted by the
time she was eight.
The trauma of that was great.
Fortunately, all three were adopted by a loving couple who had been
trying for 8 years to get pregnant. An instant family was created with
the adoption of an 8, 6 and 3 year old.
D attended private
school up to age 17. According to D, when she entered public
school during her senior year, “all hell broke loose.” She had a
pregnancy, got kicked out from her parents’ home and stopped going to
school. Her principal came to see her. Knowing she had potential, they
worked out a way for her to pursue finishing school. She passed all her
finals with flying colors, graduating in the top ten with honors. D
used drugs for 7 years… weed & alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine,
methamphetamines and crack.
D’s best friend informed her mother
that she was using. Her mom called Child Protective Services. D
reported her mother for kidnapping. CPS had her do a urinalysis, which
was off the charts. She was given the option of going into treatment or
permanently losing her child. It took 2 months for her to finally go to
treatment. D struggled with OCD and was diagnosed as
Bipolar. She was in and out of psych wards 3 times, placed on
drugs that zonked her out making her feel incapable of caring for her
child.
She stayed 4.5 months in chemical dependence inpatient
treatment. She was asked to leave and went to her mother’s home
for two weeks. During the time at her mother’s, she felt her OCD
out of control and took a friend’s ADHD amphetamine medication. She
cleaned her mom’s house top to bottom for three days! Her mom had her
do a urinalysis. It was dirty and she went back to using, on drug
spree for another three months, living with her child’s father. During
the drug times, she was a skilled thief. She actually cooked and
sold methamphetamines as well.
D came to New Phoebe House in
October of ‘07, against her mothers wishes. Her mother felt she needed
more help than Phoebe House could give her. This was also the opinion
of CPS. D knew deep down that she wanted something different than
going in the same chaotic circle. She came in loaded with
methamphetamines, with the intention to sneak more drugs during her
stay. Fortunately, she was too paranoid and never relapsed during
her stay. Three days after she was here she knew she could
recover. What kept her clean were her enhancement period (two
weeks) and the recovery meetings. After a month, her daughter
started coming 2 times a week. By February she had regained
custody. D graduated intensive outpatient treatment and began
school in March to become a surgical tech.
While waiting for
housing, she completed 480 hours of community service at Goodwill and
daily reporting to work off fines. A became employed
mid-December. She earned her housing in March of 2009. She
continued her parenting classes, financial literacy and her education
at Clover Park. In March, D had paid off her fines for accidents that
occurred during her “drug time” and now she is free and clear…paying
off her credit card debt of $4,000 now down to $600. She is an
excellent example of why funding should continue. Some might have
considered D to be a “throw away” but we think she is a gem. Her slight
OCD keeps her workplace organized. She is an asset to women in
recovery and her community-at-large.