Sadie
“I was really a good person. But then when I started doing drugs, it took all the good away from me," she says. Sadie lost jobs, lost family, was stealing and streetwalking.
"I was walking the streets and flagging down cars so I could prostitute. The last car I flagged down turned out to be my son." She pauses to let the shock to sink in. "He pulled over and said, 'you've got to get some help, Mama. You can't keep going like this.' I got in treatment the next morning."
"Thank God for the program at Nexus!" she exclaims. "I had tried other treatment, but Nexus got down to me. The counselor (whom she still keeps in touch with) met me eye-to-eye and said, 'I know who you are, and we're going to get to you.' And when she hugged me, I knew everything was going to be all right."
"It worked!" she declares. And my husband - he had seen what recovery had done for me and wanted it - also cleaned up. And it's been good ever since!"
Today Sadie runs a halfway house for formerly addicted women. "We help them get jobs, go to court with them, if necessary. Whatever we need to do, we're there."
Not surprisingly, she is also in demand as a public speaker. "I go all around the world speaking and there's never been a time that I've left Nexus out. Because if it hadn't been for Nexus, I would not be able to stand and speak."
Now on good terms with four of her five children (one remains estranged), her goal is to provide service for other women with children. "Because of what I learned at Nexus, I know that things I think can't happen can really happen. I see women who have lost their kids to CPS and I see them get back together. I treasure the day that I came into Nexus. March 10th, I'll have 10 years clean!"
Melissa
Before I came to Nexus in 1993, my life was very unmanageable. I was mixing Vodka and cocaine daily so sleeping at night just didn't happen. I barely kept a roof over my head or food on the table. Keeping a job for a period of time was next to impossible. I guess you could say I was lucky to work as a bartender because showing up with a hangover was accepted in that field. One of the hardest things was not being able to look in the mirror. When I did, all I saw was this lifeless person who no one liked anymore, including me.
I was fortunate enough to stay at Nexus for about six months. While I was there I was able to get a job and keep it, learn about my disease, and learn how to love myself again. I learned how to respect others and that if you want something you have to work really hard for it...and along the way I saved enough money to move out on my own.
Today, I have a wonderful life. My husband and I just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and I just celebrated 11 years sober! Yea! We have been blessed with a lovely daughter, Kenna who is almost 18 months. What a gift from God!
I helped out with the adolescent program this past summer and it was a very rewarding experience. Hopefully, I will be able to begin doing that again soon. I also joined the Jr. League of Plano this year so I can help someone here in Collin County. I am looking very forward to that.
I attend and participate in the Aftercare Program at Nexus. It is so wonderful to give back today instead of taking. I owe my life to all the wonderful people that are a part of Nexus today and in the future. Sobriety is what you chose to do with it. I have chosen to live life on life's terms, not mine.
Robbie
My Dad was an alcoholic. When I was growing up I was a Daddy’s girl because he always had cold beer and I liked the taste of it the very first time I drank it.
My Mom died when I was 17 years old and from that very day I started running from life and how I felt about things. I am 47 years old now and for 30 years I drank and I drugged. I really never knew there was any other way to live.
My husband died December 23, 2003 and I really hit bottom. I lost everything due to my addiction. I just wanted to die. I made several suicide attempts and by all rights I should be dead.
I checked into Nexus on August 7, 2003 and really had a rough time for the first couple of weeks. I just kept doing what I was told to do. After 22 days in residential, I went to live at Vision House (a recovery house) and attended Intensive Outpatient (IOP) and completed that, completed Supportive Outpatient (SOP) and am now in Aftercare.
I just had to trust the process and in doing that I now have a little over a year clean and sober, the longest time in 30years to have that much time. I am a miracle from God…one day at a time.
Diane
After 30 years of drug use I am thankful for Nexus Recovery Center and its staff for helping me change my life and support me in my recovery. I started using when I was 17. I started out with pot, beer then cocaine. I was not a nice person. I left my children with my family while I got high. I ended up leaving my husband, breaking up my family, closing myself off from the rest of my life. Finally I asked for help from my brother and sister-in-law. They called Nexus. September 9, 2003 I entered these doors, in residency, then IOP, then SOP and now I am in Aftercare where my life has really come back to me. I have a great support group and the best counselor. I love the Aftercare and Nexus, and I thank you.
Ronda
I am 42 and sober. August 13, 2004 was one year. Both of my parents were alcoholics who managed well, or so I thought. I did not know any different.
My drinking and drugging started at 13. By the age of 16 I quit school and received my GED several years later. My partying started to take off. I moved to Houston where life became one big blackout. I remember my health and finances were at a low, so I called my mother and asked to come home. Once home I still continued drinking and using. Many jobs and relationships fell by the wayside. One night a friend I had been using with decided to check out AA. Months later I asked her if I could go with her to check things out. Of course, I didn’t belong, “I am not like y’all, I am not that bad!” Well, after about six meetings I began questioning my life. In 1992 I picked up my first 24-hour chip and stayed sober 5 years.
By 1996 my father, who tried all his life to kill himself, finally did. I also had lost my older brother the same way eight years prior. The last five years I have been in and out of four rehabs, trying to get back what I once treasured. Finally on August 13, 2004 I ceased fighting and had a moment of clarity. With the help of Nexus, a sponsor and a home group I have found my higher power by working the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The sunlight of the spirit is shining on my life and I have peace of mind.
Chelsia
I am a 25-year addict who needed a mixture of drugs, alcohol, crack and marijuana to make me not feel. I put myself in danger many times hopping in and out of strange cars to get my fix. I’ve been raped and beaten time and time again. When I came to Nexus I was so hopeless and the feeling of despair was deep in my soul. After completing all my cycles of treatment, I’m learning to live life as it comes. Some days are harder than others but for the most I have learned how to be grateful. I have tools that I can apply in my everyday living. Aftercare, which I am truly and extremely grateful to be a part of, has and is showing me how to meet life’s challenges daily. Today I am very grateful to be sober.
Tonnia
My name is Tonnia. I am an addict. I have been an addict for at least half of my life. I’m from a family upbringing that has always been involved in drugs. I guess you could say I thought it was okay. Well I’ve never had a manageable life. I’ve got a 13 year old who had been to seven different schools by the time he was in second grade. I couldn’t keep a job or a place to live. I had tried stopping many times, but couldn’t. I didn’t think I could live or function without it! Thanks to Nexus I learned different. I also have a three year old who isn’t with me, due to drugs. I’ve living in an Oxford house http://www.oxfordhouse.org/ now, learning how to live life clean. I am a grateful person today…I choose not to use!
Kim
I have been an addict since the age of 17. My addiction got me to the point of a count of four felonies. My probation officer sent me to Nexus IOP for a failed UA. After about one week of sharing with other women and counselors, my mind started opening up to the possibility of change and looking at what got me here to begin with. After completing IOP I was sent to Aftercare. This has helped me a great deal being a part of the “family” we have here, the loving support and still learning every day about my addiction and myself. I truly love this program and my Aftercare family.
Gail
I started using my first drug at the age of 11 and continued to use for many years before seeking treatment – 27 years to be exact. I am 40 years old now and so glad to be able to say that I’m clean and sober today. I grew up with an alcoholic father. I was always scared, unstable and insecure. My first drug let me feel carefree, not worried and at ease – things that I never felt before. So I continued to hide and escape. When one drug didn’t work, I moved on to the next and so on. Nexus taught me about my disease, addiction, and that it is a disease that I suffer from. Nexus taught me what to do and gave me the tools I needed to be able to do it. Nexus has taught me how to save my life. Nexus truly makes miracles happen. I’m living proof. Thank you Nexus for giving me my life back and helping me to learn how to live it.
Frances
I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t come to Nexus for help. Nexus has helped me with my alcohol problem. My son wasn’t so lucky. He passed away in September of 2003 from this disease. It’s been real hard for me. Being here in residential, IOP, SOP and now in Aftercare is helping me. Thank you.
Daniele
The worst of my addiction began in December of 2002. I was 21 and just started hair school. I made some really cool friends who liked to party six nights a week and go to school every morning with three hours of sleep and a hangover. I kept up with them for a few months; actually I was really good at it. My family, friends, teachers and church could see my life slowly going downhill. I was out there trying every drug. And I had a lot of drinks in between. When I was introduced to the needle and crack, it was over for me. I lost everything. My family that enabled me for so many years finally cut me off. I was hopeless, lost, lonely and full of fear. Being at Nexus began a new and amazing chapter in my life. I found that there is hope for a girl as sick as me. My journey began. I’ve found that there is a solution. I just finished my 12th step and miracles are happening in my life daily. I owe all of this to my higher power that I call God. And I continue to learn how to live my life sober, happy, joyous and free.