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While my story is not as dramatic and hard core as some, you will soon see that even the best of us can fall
into the trap of drug and alcohol addiction.
I grew up in a very loving family environment. A Mom and Dad, 3 brothers a sister and at different times, both
sets of grandparents living under the same roof. My parents were a lot older than most when I was born and being
the youngest, I was especially close to them. All in all, we were a close knit, picture perfect family.
When I was old enough to have a job, I went to work for a doctor. He was a very kind and generous man who always
had his patients best interests at heart. After working for him for nearly 10 years, I continued on in the
health profession, currently working as a Licensed Practical Nurse.
With my job came the ability to begin to get out on my own and experience what life had to offer. In doing so,
I fell into the same trap as many with nightly parties, and drugs etc, but for me it was never a way of
life. It was more of an experience.
After meeting Mark, I continued on with using drugs to try and fit into his world. Somehow it never seemed to
feel right, but nevertheless, I continued on.
My parents relocated to Central Florida and I would visit as I could until my Dad had a massive heart attack and
passed away. Not wanting my Mother to be alone, and regretting not being there for my Dad, I made the decision
to move also. Mark and I got married, I moved first and he followed soon after.
Life was different here, a much slower and more peaceful place. While I still would occasionally have a drink
or use mild drugs on social occasions, it still was not part of my life. There were still difficulties, but
life was good. Soon, I would be blessed with two children. I continued on in the medical profession, working
for a doctor and finally the opportunity opened to go to nursing school, so I grabbed it.
Following graduation, I worked for the hospital home health agency for about 10 years doing Quality Assurance.
During this time, we were involved with our current ministry and Mark went to work for them as an unpaid
minister. Where we had been a two income family, which was tough enough, it soon became tougher with only one
income. At the same time, God was very good to us, blessing us with a home without a mortgage. We also had a
third child to add to our numbers. Now here is where the twist to my story comes in.
A spot opened up for full time weekend work at a local nursing home. The money was very good, but I also
continued to work during the week at home health. This meant I was working two full time jobs 7 days a week.
The extra money helped, but the mental and physical toll it would take on me would soon be too much. I
finally quit home health and maintained my fulltime position at the nursing home, working many overtime
hours.
It seemed like the right thing to do as the sole support of my family, but the stress involved finally wore down
my body. I started experiencing problems with my health but continued on. The mental anguish with working in a
nursing home took its toll on me too. I would interact with these residents daily, and it was heartbreaking
when they would die.
As a healthcare professional, I know the benefit of prescription drugs and I also know the legalities related to
prescription drugs and consequences for fraudulently obtaining them. Even so, I began to divert medication
for my own personal use.
I was tired, in pain and felt terrible most of the time, so I would take another pill and keep going. I was
functional though, not missing time from work, I kept going. Things continued on, and one day my whole world
came crashing in. I GOT CAUGHT. I finished my weekend shift and was called back to the facility by the
Director. They confronted me and thankfully God had me in His hand. I was addicted to drugs. I needed His
help. I was on suspension for 1 week and immediately went to Apostle Jacqui, and came clean with everything I
had done. It was a blessing, after much prayer by my leadership, that I did not face criminal charges.
Finally I received a call from my employer saying that they were referring me to Florida IPN which is an
intervention program for professionals, that would allow me to continue to work as a nurse without discipline
on my license. For the next few months, I was without employment or income, but our family managed to survive.
I entered the IPN program with a 5 year contract which involves regular drug testing, support group meetings
for professionals and regular evaluations. While all of this is of good intentions, the best move I made was to
go through Isaiah ministry to be totally set free of addiction. Looking back over my life, I now see that
addiction had its way with me, to some degree, most of my life. If it wasn't drugs and alcohol, it was men,
food, cigarettes or overworking. While I will still complete the Intervention program, I maintain the
confidence that I am totally free of addiction and that is what counts. It just goes to show you that it can
happen to the best of us, but if and when it does there is hope.