Hi! My name is Brittany, and this is my story.
I grew up in a sheltered household, and my mother worked as a nurse at a pain management clinic while my father was a police officer. I was a nerd in school and never really fit in anywhere. My parents divorced when I was younger and had both remarried.
As I grew older, I realized that my mom was saying things about my stepmom like "you're just a pill head" or "she is doctor shopping." I didn't know what she meant by these things and just ignored them. I then began to notice that my stepmom was always nodding out when she was at mealtimes, would be in the restrooms for long periods of time, and would always ask family members for money. I still didn't understand what any of this meant, but I slowly started to distance myself from her.
My father and stepmom ended up getting divorced, so I didn't have to see her as much. I would still call her occasionally to check in on her, and would visit her once in a blue moon. I had started college at this point, and couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I wanted to help people. I then learned about social work and the many places where I could use such a degree.
I was on campus attending my social work orientation when I received multiple back-to-back phone calls from my father. After the meeting was over, I called him back. To this day, I will never forget that phone call. He had asked me where I was and if I could sit down for what he was going to tell me. My dad told me that my youngest sister had found my stepmother passed away in her bed from an overdose. I just remember screaming out loud and saying that it couldn't be true. I told him that it was her birthday, and that I had to call her to wish her a happy birthday. But he told me that I had missed it - her birthday was actually the day before, and she had passed away sometime on the night on her birthday. I instantly felt sick to my stomach and fell to the ground.
From that day on, I always had questioned myself: What if I had gone to see her, or called her and wished her a Happy Birthday? Would she have overdosed and died? I was angry with myself because I had neglected to act on the signs that were in front of me for so long. From that day on, I knew that I wanted to better understand the disease of addiction, and to help anyone that I possibly could who struggled with this disease. I want people to know that they do not have to fight this battle alone, and there are people who care.
I have worked in the field of substance abuse treatment since 2014, and there hasn't been a day that I regret my decision.