“‘I don’t look the same as when you last saw me. I’m not doing too well,’ I said. My face was a mess. I had cuts and blood in my nostrils. In that coffee shop, I sat across from him crying. I was scared of telling anyone.”
‘I bumped into an old childhood friend. ‘What have you been up to?’ ‘I’m in rehab.’ I laughed, thinking it was a joke. Soon after, I asked him to meet me. I warned him about my appearance.’
‘If my mom wouldn’t have called the cops on my brother, I would have, without thinking twice. He is on a $10,000 unsecured bond. The person pressing charges—our mom.’
“He made the decision to uproot his life and move 1,200 miles to become our full-time ‘manny.’ Sadly, today, I wouldn’t DARE leave her in his care.”
‘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.”
‘It was a busy day for me in the ER. I had 5 very sick patients. When I checked my phone, I had 10 missed calls. I called my dad back and he told me to sit down. My heart instantly sank.’
“I scanned the monitors and medications as any good nurse would do. I then saw my sister. And I knew.”
‘Their engagement ended, and he had an extra 6 months to look forward to in the jungle. He is a Vietnam Veteran. He is tougher than nails. He is often on the verge of tears.’
“His sister was enjoying the freedom that came with being a hippie. He went to her home, in uniform. That day, she overdosed on drugs. When the ambulance came, she looked at him and said, ‘I wish you had been killed over there.’”
‘Hi Mom, I’m home, wake me up for school at 9, ok? I love you.’ I looked right at him. ‘I love you too, Alex. Get some sleep, it’s late.’ Off to bed we both went.
“When I went to wake him for school, the moment I saw him and touched his arm, I knew he was gone.”
‘I gave birth to my first daughter when I was 21. I was in college and barely knew this baby’s father before I got pregnant. Here we are, about to be parents to 6.’
“My father’s wife passed away. They had a 2-year-old son. Biologically, he is my brother. My dad had to make the heart wrenching decision on who would be best fit to raise him.”
‘He wanted to go get meth, so we did. I’d been clean about a month. I took a pregnancy test, and there was a tiny faint line.’
“I was so excited listening to his heartbeat that drugs didn’t cross my mind. I was terrified after he came I’d get bad off again, but there was no way I was going to let someone else raise my baby.”
‘I discovered cocaine in my mom’s purse while we were shopping. She had it hidden in a mint case along with a razor blade and a straw. Then she married her drug dealer.’
“She stayed with him because he was always ‘sorry.’ He ‘never meant to hurt her.'”
‘I was in 40 foster homes, I was told I was broken and would spend my life in prison. As a father of 3 amazing boys, I know my path has always been my choice to make.’
“My father had just gotten out of prison. I hadn’t seen him since I was 4 years old. He asked if I wanted to do drugs. He had a syringe full of dope, had me sit on the toilet, and then proceeded to inject meth into my arm.”
