November 26, 2007

Responsibility - My Kid's Gettin' It

My daughter called from her apartment about a medical bill she'd received. She'd seen the doctor a few months back but had panicked that it amounted to $2,000. For normies, a bill in the mail for $2,000 is unsettling. For a recovering addict it can be a trigger, something that instantly generates or provokes a strong desire/need to use a drug.
Instead, she called the medical offices to make arrangements to pay, and was graciously told her bill would be reduced to one third of the original amount, due to her efforts.
The action of calling to try to establish payment is just huge. It is progress. This is so much progress. Narcotics Anonymous, thank you!
My kid is almost 3 years clean and she is paying her own bills, and showing progress across all levels. This is major news for those parents who still have children under meth's power. My notes I scribbled from the telephone call with this recovering addict kid of mine say this:
"payin bills, $2,000 bill, do you remember it?"
"doctor cuz' dizzy, heartbeat going fast, and skipping"
"OMG"
"empowering, awesome"
"delayed growin up"
"wanted to do 'retail therapy' but knew didn't really need anything, made a healthy choice instead"
When the life of your child (and consequently the life of your family) is destroyed by drugs and addiction, you don't know if there is hope, if so, how much hope is there, and how big can your hope be.
Well, this is good news and I wanted to share it.
Patricia
For More Info On Recovery: What Is Recovery By New York State Department Of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services

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