Drug Addiction Stories

The thing about drug addiction is that it does not only affect the addict. Not only are the addict’s family and friends affected emotionally and spiritually, but also the chances are good that at least one other person in the family will be or become an addict.  Statistically, it is almost assured that the addict’s child will be an addict or perhaps they already have a sibling or parent that is an addict.  People do not normally live with only one loved one who is an addict, but two or more.  This takes a great toll on the family unit and it also affects friendships to a great degree.  The addict does not realize the turmoil and upset being caused because they are not seeing reality.  They are seeing a drug induced version of reality that obscures the truth of what they are doing to the people who love them.

Yet, silently and without notice, the very affliction that is destroying a person’s life is going to be passed down to another family member.

While in the clutches of drug addiction, the abuser does not see what they are doing to harm themselves and the people who love them.  Many cannot even admit they have a problem.  Yet, silently and without notice, the very affliction that is destroying a person’s life is going to be passed down to another family member.  It may not hit every generation, but families are forever affected by drug addiction.  It is a family affair in the truest sense. If there is someone today with a drug addiction, chances are they had parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents who were either drug or alcohol addicts.  Not only that, but the chances are good that their own children and grandchildren will be more likely to be addicts.  This fact only solidifies the truism that they need to get help as quickly as possible.  The person who is the addict now could very possibly be the one who saves another family member from the same fate, if they get help.

Why addiction affects some families and not others is not known. Perhaps it s a genetic condition and the gene just has not yet been identified, or personal choice due to not handling life’s problems.  For whatever reason, some families are just more predisposed to become drug and alcohol addicts than others.  There are preventative measures that can be taken if one’s family is predisposed to drug addiction.  Those who are already addicted can get help before another life is destroyed due to drugs or alcohol.  Addiction is not an individual problem.  It is indeed a family affair.

The thing is, Diane was heavy, hard core.  She injected too, but a lot more than Kelly did.  We didn’t think much of it.  Diane must know what she was doing.  It sure hit her differently than it did Kelly though.  We decided to go out for a walk by the river and then went back to the railroad car, just like any other normal night.  What we didn’t know was that it wasn’t going to be all that normal at all.

We all slept until afternoon the next day.  I guess we had done a little more than we had planned.  I woke up first and nudged Kelly.  After groaning for a minute, she sat up.  She reached over for her morning fix.  I called out to Diane but she didn’t answer.

I said to Kelly, “She’s probably in a coma after all of that stuff she did last night”.

We both laughed and I got up and nudged Diane.  No movement.  Now I was getting nervous. “Diane!” I shouted; again, no response.  I reached down and took her hand.  It felt cold.  I felt for a pulse and there was none.

I scooted back against the wall of the railway car as Kelly continued to make jokes.

“She’s dead,” I said flatly.
“What?  Oh stop playing” Kelly replied.

I simply pointed and Kelly went to check for herself.  Her face went pale and she asked me what we were going to do.  Like I knew.  If we told anyone, we could be blamed. If we left her in our “home”, we could probably never come back.  What little we had of lives were falling apart.  I reached for my morning fix so I could think clearly and decide what to do.

We decided to move her away from the railroad cars and to a place where she could more easily be seen by passersby or traffic.  We didn’t spend that day looking for tricks.  We spent it in a place where we could see Diane, but weren’t likely to be seen ourselves.  We didn’t say much to each other.  After what seemed like hours, someone finally spotted her and within minute’s cops and fire trucks and ambulances surrounded the place.  It took everything I had not to run to get into that ambulance with her but then I would have had to explain everything.

Kelly and I went about our business.  That is, for about 3 months when we realized we could not shake the memory of our friend dying.  We made a pact to get help and get off the drugs.  That was 3 months ago and life is better, but some days are still a struggle.  We are still going through drug addiction rehab but I have her and she has me and together, we will beat this.

We don’t want to end up like Diane…