A Change for the Better

At seventeen years old, I had my first baby, received my first welfare check, and started drinking and using drugs. For the next ten years, my drinking and drugging progressed to daily using and I had a total of three children. On Good Friday, after seeing my mother in the hospital, I experienced my first major blackout which lasted two days. When I got home I finished my children's Easter dresses and sent them to church. I felt so scared, embarrassed, and ashamed. I went to see my doctor and he suggested very strongly that I go into a treatment program and complete it. He also told me that he had sent five other black women there and they didn't finish. His last statement to me was that the people at the treatment center could help me if I let them.