My sister’s story- the life of a heroin addict.

How are you doing?

How is your nephew?

I'm doing good! My sister is still in FL, she has moved there. She has made several friends that went through rehab with her. She seems to be doing well.

My nephew is good as well. He went pumpkin picking with us today. So far (knock on wood) things have been looking up.

I'm glad to hear all of that

Good to see you! I used to address you by your first name sometimes, but that might be invasive or annoy you - let me know if it's ok to do.

Pumpkin picking, wonderful.


This is by a northern California watercolor painter, Eric Fidgeland, who showed with us in a gallery I used to co-own. That was ten years ago that I was last there, but I remember his paintings well. Bought one myself, a still life of garlic in a bowl. You could almost smell the painting.

Be well, and keep in touch.
Jo

Just an update. She came back home. She alleged that her roommates were using again and that they locked her out of the house. She drove from Ft. Lauderdale to Boston by herself.

We went out together for a night, when she was back home. She said that she had been clean for 3 weeks (she relapsed again) and I honestly thought she may have been that night.

She overdosed last week. Her friends drove her to the ER (in my mother's car) and dropped her at the door. It took two doses of narcan to revive her. Two... that's how bad it was. My aunt is a nurse at the ER that they took her to.

She was held for only 6 hours and then she refused treatment so she was just discharged from care and put back on the streets.

Her father (we have different dads) went to the court the next morning and was able to get her sectioned. She is in a facility right now. It's the same place she has been to several times.

The fact that they brought her back to life, I had hoped it would wake her up. To actually die and then refuse help... I don't get it.

During my alcoholism period (more than 30 years ago), I've been brought to ER's several times by ambulances and emergency doctors.
Every time I came back "to live", I dismissed myself ... even before they could tell me something about therapy and all that.

If the psychological strain is big enough AND you aren't ready to change your life - you die, slowly or suddenly.
Hopefully, your sister will manage to change her present attitude.

Thank you for sharing that information Walter. I appreciate it. I hope so too.

Hi, Christine (I hope I am not remembering your first name wrong - I don't like calling you Crazy..), good to see you and hard even from here to read the tough news. I feel for both of you, different ways, but you are the one I feel long time connection with (oh, yes, just semi-connection, we do hardly know each other, just a2k talk, but it's there).

Walter knows 'whatof he speaks'.

Me, I think she was trying, at least momentarily, and fell. Not sure, of course.

Thank you and yes that is my correct name :-)!

I think she was trying too because, that night we went out, she seemed like my sister again.

I think she just went back to her "Friends" and fell back down the rabbit hole, so to speak.

Hopefully this will be the thing that pushes her to get help.

I remember visiting your home in Germany many decades ago, and you served me beer even though you do not drink. Even at the meet in Chicago, where we met at a bar, you didn't have any liquor. I don't know why I remember those things.

A glimpse of hope with an update. She has hit 7 months clean. The longest ever. She has held down a full time job and is looking healthy. We've spent more time together and so far so good.

Good luck to both of you! Our younger son graduated cum lade from college, and he killed himself with opiates. We didn't know this until his autopsy.

I am very sorry for your loss.

Yea, one of the saddest day of my life; November 30, 2013.

I am so glad to hear that and I keep my fingers crossed that she's finally
realizing that life is good without drugs or booze. You're the best sister to have and I commend you for not giving up on her. You probably helped her more in staying clean than anyone else. You should be proud of that!

Me too, Tak.

This breaks my heart, and I'm sad to learn this. This shouldn't happen but it's happening in many many families. My sincere condolences, Tak, to you and your wife and family.

A positive update. She's coming up to her one year mark clean after she had overdosed. She's held a steady job the whole time and lost contact with all of her old friends.

She just received a job as a recovery counselor helping others get through addiction. She looks healthy and we've gotten together more times in the past year than we had in the past five years.

Unfortunately a cousin just passed away from an overdose a few days before Christmas. She was 31 (we are literally a day apart in age).

That's great! Hope she can continue her battle. We are losing too many people from opiates.
http://theweek.com/articles/541564/how-american-opiate-epidemic-started-by-pharmaceutical-company