Hi! My name is Jennifer, and this is my recovery story.
I started out not knowing much about addiction. I had two emergency back surgeries at age 25, and my doctor put me on a high dose of strong pain medication. I went through a lot of trauma with my children’s father and began self-medicating to cope with life. Over the years, my doctor raised my medication several times—giving me stronger and higher doses each time.
But he eventually died, and since I was so young, I couldn’t find another doctor to legally prescribe what I was used to taking. I went through miserable withdrawals and felt as if I was dying. I called up a friend at 4am, and she told me to come over. I didn’t know she was selling heroin at the time—I thought what she handed me was a crushed-up pill. She told me to snort it, so I did. The withdrawals immediately started to subside.
She then told me it was heroin, but I really didn’t care—because it helped, it was cheaper than pills, and I didn’t have to take much at one time to feel better. I continued my heroin use for several years.
Eventually, I got DCS involved in my life and decided that rehab was best and what I really wanted. After completing rehab, I had a new fiancée standing beside me, and life was going well. I enrolled in college. We moved into a house with my kids. Life was great—or so I thought.
In reality, I was depressed and lonely—and didn’t even know it. My fiancé was always working, and I was always home, since I was getting an SSDI check every month due to my back. I decided to get in touch with a cousin and an old friend who were both still in active addiction. I wanted to help them so we could all be sober together. I had already been sober for two years, so I thought I had it together, right?
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Eventually, the addiction in my mind got the best of me and told me I could just do it one time and be fine. WRONG! This sent me back into a full-blown spiral for six more years, worse this time than ever before. I began shooting up heroin and fentanyl. I started smoking crack and meth.
DCS got involved again, and this time I was removed from my parent’s home because I had overdosed in their bathroom. Sure, I’d overdosed before, but Narcan had brought me back easily. This time I barely lived and woke up on a ventilator. While in the hospital, I found out that a child I had nearly helped raise had been murdered.
I still didn’t want to take accountability and used this—along with DCS removing me—as justification to keep using. But this time I was done with heroin. I started taking Suboxone off the street and just smoking crack and meth. I did this for another year. I was homeless and stayed wherever I could, in the worst part of Louisville, KY. I had outstanding warrants in Indiana for missed court dates, and blamed this on DCS for making me leave my parent’s house.
But God had better plans, because on June 15, 2023, I was arrested by the Louisville police. I spent four months in the county jail. I drew closer to God, had time to think and evaluate my own and my children’s lives, and even built a relationship with my DCS worker.
I was released from jail and knew I had to do something different. I decided to enter a long-term treatment program. This helped me build a new life for myself and my kids.
I started working at Avenues Recovery after a year of sobriety while still in sober living. I lived there for 16 months and took my time as I got better. I now have my own apartment, a job I love, and forgiveness from those closest to me.
Thank you!