Lori grew up in a loving, middle class family with non-alcoholic parents. She is a mother of five with a BA in Nursing from Marshall University.
At age 28, Lori was a practicing nurse with two children and dealing with depression. She felt like a miserable person. She felt useless and not of any benefit to others. She didn’t fit in and she wanted to die. She needed a new reality. And alcohol provided the outlet she was looking for.
Her addiction moved fast and before long she was dependent on IV drugs. She completed a 21-day program but didn’t stay sober for an entire week. Her depression worsened and she had two more children over the next several years. She entered her second treatment center. After 44 days she was released….and got drunk on the flight home. She continued to struggle but eventually lost her job and her license. Now she really believed she was a terrible wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.
In late 2009, Lori was pregnant for the fifth time and delivered her daughter at 27 weeks. Then she signed over custody of her kids. She couldn’t do it anymore. She was sick and needed to get well.
I was trying to manage and unbearable life and it got to be too much.
In January 2010 Lori called about getting into the program at The Healing Place and was told there wasn’t a place at that time but call back. “I was homeless. I had just signed over the custody of my kids,” says Lori. “I was broken in every way. And I called everyday for two weeks until I had a place because I wanted something more.”
“Are you tired of living like this?” Lori asks. “Do you want a way out – a solution? If you have this disease, you have not become the man or woman you are intended to be. You have been altering your reality so you can’t really be you.”
The program at The Healing Place works because of honest, program length, and the social model.
Alcoholics and addicts don’t start a habit in 21/30 days and it is not enough to break it and deal with it. The social model – allows others to lead by example. You have role models who are living proof that you can be sober and have a better life. But more importantly, the program tell the truth – the problem is YOU. The problem is how you think. The program at The Healing Place teaches you a new way of thinking and establishes new behaviors though the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Change is possible with a new focus, new reactions, and new behaviors.
Alcoholics and addicts don’t start a habit in 21/30 days and it is not enough to break it and deal with it. The social model – allows others to lead by example. You have role models who are living proof that you can be sober and have a better life. But more importantly, the program tell the truth – the problem is YOU. The problem is how you think. The program at The Healing Place teaches you a new way of thinking and establishes new behaviors though the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Change is possible with a new focus, new reactions, and new behaviors.
Lori wanted to leave the program many times because she missed her children but she says she “couldn’t because she needed to live for them.” Today she has a relationship with all of her children and her dad, who brought her to the program, is very proud of her. When asked about how long the program is for most clients (10-12 months), Lori simply replies, “Do you want to live or die? How long have you used? So what is one year to gain the rest of your life?”
“I have a story and I can bring light to others. I want to share the hope because I know what it feels like.”
