“Without the pills, I was sick. I couldn’t afford to be in withdrawals and take care of a baby. On my first Mother’s Day, I tried heroin. The emptiness I felt was unbearable. I had to fight for our lives.”

‘That’s enough to knock out a horse.’ I sobbed, begging the nurses for help. I can’t blame them. I was pregnant junkie.’: Woman recovers from drug addiction, ‘There’s always hope’

‘Sis, I love you and I’m so sorry.’: Sister details drug abuse of twin brother, begs addicts and family to ‘TALK. Be a friend, it’s not too late, recovery is worth it’
‘Mom, what’s wrong with my uncle?’ He moved on to trying new, stronger drugs. My twin brother died that day.

‘I found chewing tobacco stuffed in a couch cushion, bottles of mouthwash, empty bottles of vodka stashed in the drop ceiling. How did I not know?’: Mom recounts 15-year-old son’s battle with alcoholism
“He was 19-years-old with acute liver failure. As the hospital elevator doors opened, the words ‘Solid Organ Transplant Unit’ were burned into my brain. How can we be here now? He is so young with so much to life to live.”

‘Your sister’s been in an accident.’ He broke the news. ‘Where are the kids?!’ CPS had no idea they ever existed.’: Woman adopts long-lost nieces and nephews, ‘Our hearts are so full’
“I called my husband, worried what he would say. I wanted my nieces and nephews. He responded, ‘Let’s go get our kids.’ We had no idea what we were getting into. We had never even met the children, and we didn’t have a plan. One by one, they entered the room. I sat there quietly, although inside I was screaming, ‘I am your aunt!’”

‘We heard this loud, echoing bang above us in the bathroom. Thirty seconds later, this scream came from upstairs. I can still hear it to this day. There she was, on the bathroom floor.’
“My best friend entered before me. She begged me not to come in. I did anyways – I had to see for myself. All of her shoes were neatly lined up next to the foot of the bed. Her clothes were hung up, and her beauty products were organized.”