Page 104 - KCN 2020

I used to be a committed employee and a dedicated father, perhaps to a fault. This drove me down a path of crippling
substance abuse because I just couldn’t endure the stress. I started with alcohol and marijuana, then transitioned to hardcore
drugs like meth and coke. Getting hooked on these ‘monsters’ completely turned my life around. I lost my job after I showed up
to work a few times drunker than a sailor. Just a few weeks after being fired, my wife left with the kids. My now empty home,
once filled with the laughter of family, awakened my long-dormant conscience. I decided to go to rehab.

Well, it wasn’t that simple. To be frank, the thought of rehab scared me. I couldn’t imagine a life without the euphoric
high I got from drugs. I met with one of my old junkie buddies who, a year ago, had successfully overcome his addiction. Even
though I had made fun of him mercilessly at the time, he pushed through, as he was determined to turn his life around. He
helped me register for rehabilitation therapy in a convalescent home a few miles away from where I had lived.

The day finally came. We left for the rehab centre right after I snorted the last of my powder.

It was a tense car ride. I started dripping sweat from the nervousness and anxiety I had suppressed in my soul.

Once the car stopped, I stepped out reluctantly and strutted towards the big white building. I was greeted with a
genial smile and a handshake. Immediately after that, I was brought into a small room. They checked my bags like the TSA
agents of JFK Airport and confiscated the last of my pills. To ease the process, I decided to be compliant and just hand
over all the drugs I had on me.

My initial impression of rehab was a far cry from what it is. Those urban legends about the nurses not tending to you
when you are suffering were not true at all. The therapists, nurses, and doctors were the kindest and most caring people I’ve ever
encountered. Whenever I needed help of some sort, they’d be by my side, ready for anything that was about to happen.
Escaping tial drug containers everywhere around me, and became disheartened whenever I cracked open a nondescript pill bottle
Though, the first day was tough. All I could think was “DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS”. I saw poten-

to discover there was nothing in it.

Rehab “It’s time for some exercise. Let’s get it going! You need to get your heart rate back to normal!”
I got up reluctantly and headed over to the gym.

They made me exercise every day to create an artificial high which was similar to the euphoria I had experienced
Blaine Boxwell after injecting heroin into my veins. Although I was a weak link, the therapists forced me to persevere through the stren-
uous exercises. I made it clear to myself that I would never go home until I overcame this addiction.

After I had lunch, I started shaking violently. My craving for LSD had gotten to me. I needed a needle and syringe,
I needed a pack of crystals, I needed a capsule of pills. Having heard my cries for help, three nurses rushed to my assis-
tance. After some relaxation, the tremors finally stopped. These violent convulsions weren’t going to be the last of them.
My body definitely had some more surprises in store for me.

Day by day the convulsions got weaker. My body was stronger and my mind was clearer. I could finally get through
the day without craving for some sort of antidepressant. The thought of drugs left my mind, and I was soon to be dis-
charged from the rehab centre.

It was finally time to go home. My friend, who was supposed to pick me up, informed me that he couldn’t make
it. He said he had arranged for another person to drive me home. I shook my legs impatiently waiting for my driver to
arrive.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman walk through the front door. She rushed towards me and hugged me.
I was lost for words. My wife, of all people, had come to pick me up. She heard from my friend that I was going through
this difficult recovery just for her and her family.After she left me, I thought I had nothing to live for. I thought I was going
to be a lost man. But she decided to give me a second chance.

We got into the car and started driving. I chatted with the kids in the backseat, just like the good old days.
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