How I Found Recovery! Part1

I HAVE BEEN CLEAN FOR 14 YEARS, 11 MONTHS, and 12 DAYS!
A TOTAL OF 5461 DAYS!

I thought I would share my story with you all of what lead me to recovery.

My Story!

I was born and raised in a small little town called Dunmore, Pennsylvania. My father was a chemist and my mother was a school teacher with the local school district. I have 1 brother who is 8 years older than me. The town I grew up in had two types of people, Italians and Irish. The Italians lived on top of the hill and the Irishmen at the bottom of the hill. So needless to say everyone knew each other in the whole town. I kind of lead a sheltered life, my father was very strict and whatever my father said my mother just went along with it. I went to a private school for grade school and when we graduated the 8th grade most of my friends were going to the local public high school, however my father wanted me to go to the Prep school so I would be away from the drugs. One thing he didn't realize was that the kids who went to the private school could afford the good drugs, so I guess this is where my story of my drug addiction begins.


The first thing I ever smoked was marijuana and boy did I love it..... but after a few months I smoked joints like they were cigarettes. It just became normal to me to get high before, during and after school and then at night I smoked, and smoked, and smoked until I fell asleep. After about a year my body was immune to weed and it just wasn't getting me high anymore, so a friend of mine whose father was a doctor told me I should take this little white pill that it would help me get through my days and boy did it, after taking a hit of speed I could conquer the world. My grades were in the high 90's so my parents would have never guessed that I was slow but sure becoming a drug addict. After my first year at the prep school my father gave in and let me go to the public high school where all my friends were.

During the course of my high school years I continued to get good grades, I was a cheerleader and in my senior year I was a class officer. I actually had the world by the tail but at that age I didn't know it. Although my parents were strict they provided all my needs and most of all my wants. When I was applying for college by father told me if I went to the local college which was the University of Scranton that he would give me a blank check to buy whatever car I wanted, so I'm sure you all know what my choice was.

My semester at the University of Scranton was less than enjoyable. You see my brother went there and was a great athletic who excelled not only in sports but also academically. So he was very well known throughout the college. I have always gotten compared to him, growing up as a child, teenage years, high school and now college. I escaped all those feelings of being less than and turned to drugs even more so then what I already was doing.. After long talks with my parents they finally agreed to let me go away to school. However the choice of school that I attended wasn't totally up to me, my father agreed to let me go to the University of Maryland only because my brother at that time was living in Maryland himself coaching basketball at one of the local High Schools. So in my fathers mind I would still have someone to watch over me. My brother was a big help with getting me connected with a job on campus, he was friends with LD so I became the team tutor. The basketball players that I tutored became like big brothers to me. Most of them liked to party and at that time being away from home for the first time ever was like giving a kid candy for the first time. There was one player in particular that I was very close to, he was an outstanding player and was drafted by the Boston Celtics, He would watch over me and make sure that I made it back to my apartment when I couldn't see two feet in front of me. He wasn't someone to do any of the things I did, he did indulge in having a few beers but he never used any kind of drugs. At this point of my life I was introduced to cocaine and it slowly became my best friend. I could remember him saying Lori you need to stop you're going to end up dying. Well we all know that we never think it could happen to us and instead of slowing down I was using cocaine very heavily. The night that he got back from just being drafted he called me and told me to come out and party with him and his friends, I told him I would meet him in about 1 hour or so, but by the time I got over to his house they were bringing him out on a stretcher and the end result was death. The word devastation is nothing compared to how I was feeling and instead of dealing with the grief and pain I medicated myself very heavily not only that night but for a lot of years to come.

I graduated from the U of M with a degree in education and began teaching in Hagerstown Md, my first class was 6th grade. I was what you call a very functional addict. I went to work everyday, paid my bills like what every grown adult does, however teaching under the influence of drugs was not such a good thing, after doing that for 2 years I began to feel really guilty, so as always I call home to ask my dad if he would allow me to go back to college for a nursing degree. It was really what I wanted to do from the beginning, but my mom talked me into following in her footsteps. Not that at this point did I need my fathers permission but I needed him to pay for it and to help me pay my living expenses so that I could continue to embrace my first love.(drugs). I choose to stay in Maryland and decided to go to George Washington University to pursue my nursing degree. I graduated two years later with a Bachelor of Science degree. I was offered a job right after graduation at GW hospital.

To be continued...........