HEROIN AND FAMILIES

My name is Katie, welcome to my story.

I have decided to share my knowledge and give my support in any way I can to help your family with this horrific war on heroin. So please take this walk with me, lets join hands together, through a journey only a loved one could share.

I am a mother of five sons and two beautiful stepdaughters, a grandmother of fourteen grandchildren, five of which I am raising; ages 15,10,7,4,3. One of the boys have a diagnoses of attention deficit disorder and his sister has been diagnosed with autism. Throw in the fact that two of my sons are taking care of their own brothers children. While we struggle to raise these children, their parents struggle to stay clean from day to day . They have to walk every day to the methadone or suboxone clinic. Suboxones and Methadone are substitutes for heroine or pills such as Percocet's, Oxycodone, or any other opioid.

My knowledge and experience to this horrific epidemic is within my own family ,having two of my own children suffering from this addiction for years .When doctors feel that young and old people come in with aches and pains for whatever reason the doctor will prescribe narcotics to them, after a few appointments, they can call over the phone pick up a prescription and have it filled month after month, then when its to late the patient is already addicted, boom! they are cut off! For many years people were being prescribed these pain killers , What is the cheapest way to get the same high? or the same affect no pain, heroin and they get this on the street at five dollars a bag, and now the individuals are addicted to heroin. When I asked my son? How did you get addicted why and where? His answer was : When I hurt my back at work I was given Percocet's, when the Dr. said I could not have them anymore the pain was horrible so a friends grandmother had them available , He said: (my friend would steal them from her, after she passed away I had no way of getting them, the pain was horrible” he had told me the pain, unlike no other sweating, aching, crying I would do anything to stop it! This when I was introduced to heroin. Years of stealing ,lying, doing anything to get this drug, first it started with a straw up my nose then it was needles in my arm and from that point on I was a n active heroin user”

From a mothers point ,I struggled to find out why and where did I As a parent go wrong? was it the divorce? was it hereditary as the Dr. say ? My step daughter struggled as well she has a biological mother that struggles with addiction uncles also and alcohol was a big problem in her moms family, so back to the questions were we not hard enough with discipline? What caused two of my children to use and one step daughter? I never had the answers.

OPEN YOUR EYES INSTEAD OF YOUR HEARTS

There are signs to watch for, do not pretend its not there wearing long sleeves in 80 degrees,to cover the bruises on their arms “they call track marks ,loosing weight ,sleeping all day, passing out’ “they call nodding out” at any giving time ,either working having no money or loosing a job, they once loved ,then the lies , and stealing, when your looking for that money that was in your purse ,and its not there! and you as a loved one off looking for it’ asking yourself did I spend it? or did I loose it? what the hell am I crazy? No your not crazy”! or your favorite piece of jewelry, you know damn well where you last put it.

FAMILIES RAISING THE ADDICTS CHILDREN

This is the most important piece I want to share, like I told you earlier I am raising five grandbabies, from two different sons, not only has it taken my life my husbands,it has confused these little innocent childrens lives ,as much love and consistancy you give them, they will struggle as to why are my parents drug addicts? just like we as loved ones have asked why? we dont need to blame our selves, it isn’ t anything you or I HAVE DONE!

MY MISTAKES

As a loving caring mother I thought I could help them,I thought I could save them from this evil drug that I THOUGHT WOULD KILL MY CHILDREN! I would follow them, if they were suppose to be somewhere and they were not, I gave them money so they wouldn’t be hungry, A place to live so they wouldn’t be cold and rides to rehabs, as their bodies would shake, on the way to the hospitals so they were not so sick. I thought I could cure this horrific disease!! A family member and I tried in every way possible to help them, her and I drove four of them around as they cry and shook the entire way ,leaving them at different locations rehab centers/hospitals, at that point I believed I helped them they were cured! A week later all of them were using heroine/cocain, and in the same predicaments they were in before I hepled them.

MY CONCLUSSION

DO NOT INABLE THESE ADDICTS! DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT COMES FROM THEIR MOUTH! if I could tell you readers one thing that would help your pain and suffering ,do not enable your loved ones ,if they fail let them fall if they steal for the drug they go to jail, its Gods way of stepping in ,they will suffer like hell, withdrawing will not kill them ,the streets will! jail to me is an actual safe place, when I say safe; they have to do as they are told, they are clean, they eat, bath they have counselling, but they are alive!!!!I HAVE lied ,given them money I raise their children ,I lost my entire family ,I gave up a career I loved ,I moved to get the hell away from this !heroine has no limits its nation wide killing our young people ,be aware ,open your eyes, not your hearts, stay strong do not bend at the knees as I did so many times, because when you fall the heroine beat you as they beat your child!