Back in 1991, I slipped and fell at work on my tailbone. I was struggling with the pain that ultimately resulted in many back surgeries and an addiction to Vicodin, Loritab, Percocet, Methadone, Oxycotin and whatever opiate was available. My mother became very ill in 1997, so I quit my job and began taking care of her in Bella Vista, Arkansas. It was a trying time, but I would not have given up taking care of her no matter what.
My survival was diminishing and I really was not aware of that until after Mom passed in February of 2007. I was out of work, all alone, and lying in a hospital bed after another surgery in my home. I woke up one morning to find I could not use my right arm or hand nor could I feel my right leg. Of course I took a handful of pills and tried to shake the feeling into my body, but it would not wake up. Finally, I called the paramedics and was taken to the hospital. The diagnosis was a stroke but I took off out the doors from the hospital and went back to duplicating my same routine of pill taking and laying in bed. I can remember thinking, "Who cares if I can not use my hand, I don’t need to play the piano anymore, I don’t have to work." Nothing mattered, until I ran out of my drugs and my bottle was empty. I was a mess, my mind was not clear, and my body was not healthy. I was dying, 5’8’’ and 90 pounds.
My brother was on a airplane and was seated next to Holly Conklin. Through conversation, my brother discovered Holly was an interventionist and she worked with a company called Narconon® Arrowhead. He took her card and six months later I was ready to talk to Holly, she then answered all my questions and personally escorted me to the center.
Narconon gave me the tools I needed to apply and survive that terrible cycle of addiction. I am not afraid to confront myself or others and I will never go down that road of depression, guilt and anxiety again. My mind is clear, and my body is healthy. The big win is, "I am alive and I have purpose." I am in control, the drugs are not in control of me. I am productive, energetic, caring, understanding and frankly, "Loving who I am and all the beauty that surrounds me everyday".
Thank you.
Diana Smith
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate October 25, 2007
Note: Diana Smith is a Registrar for Narconon Arrowhead if you know someone who needs help, she will do anything she can to assist them. Please give her a call at 1-800-468-6933 or email her at dianas@stopaddiction.com.
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