Statistics are 600-1000 people daily are getting addicted to drugs. 100 overdoses daily and every 19 minutes someone dies. Chances are you have seen, known or are an addict. Your my son, daughter, father, mother you maybe me! Safe to say when you look into a crowd you are seeing people who are fighting, submitting or about to lose their battle. Most people who are not in that 600-100 or are not the family, are one those living in a glass house that can easily be broken.  Non the less they can hide behind the sheer luck they are not affected by this terrible disease but for those of us that deal on any level with this beast daily you know it’s a life you don’t want. Not only the addict hates the disease and themselves but for us who stand in the shadows or maybe you have stepped out and are right there holding them up keeping them from falling you are suffering as much as them. You cry, plead, negotiate, offer your life for theirs if only they will be sparred.

From one day to the next is the same agonizing cycle of events. Addiction takes you and them to the brink of what you can handle.  Hearing my son say “if I can’t hold on mom I know you’ll understand as though he’s asking permission to end his suffering, How do i convey strong enough to him that this is not just his life but mine also. His heart beats mine beats in unison. That his pain is my guilt and his struggle my burden. I want to scream to him you are not just an addict you are my son. You are not this disease you are a soul. Gods creation not the devils bidder. How can I make him see what beauty there is underneath where I know he still lives. How can I reach through his pain and help him find the acceptance and faith I have in him. The unconditional love that can break down those walls of feeling unloved, unwanted and unappreciated.

Sadly for an addict the amount of love you have does not rid them of this and often they will find a way to allow it to actually aid in it. The average addict will relapse ten times before reaching sobriety and maintaining it is where the work really begins. If they become complacent recovery wont last long. Diligence in finding what works for them is the key to long-lasting success. The family of the addict has a crucial role in helping them maintain their goals and often we need as much help as they do. Our focus has to shift to ourselves so our actions support recovery not addiction. My son is one of the 600-1000 affected by drug abuse and he has been one of the hundred who has overdosed but I pray to my God he is not one of the 19 that every minute die. I will be one of the million moms to do whatever It takes to save my son… because I wont let him be one of the sad stories. One of the examples of what could happen. I wont allow him to be just a statistic!