‘For me recovery is a selfish thing and
anyone should put themselves first’
By Heppilena Ferguson
Introduced to cocaine by a woman with whom he had an extra-marital affair, Jeffrey R, 52, was hooked from his very first sniff and remained addicted for the next seven years of his life, throwing away his family, health and all that he worked for until an old schoolmate intervened and encouraged him to seek treatment.
Leon W, 43, did not realize when he crossed the line as his addiction started out from the casual use of drugs on holidays, birthdays and events when he and friends met, then weekly, daily and subsequently several times each day. He was hooked on cocaine for 23 years of his life. Today he proclaims that he would give all he has to help anyone suffering from the disease of drug addiction which had him gripped for nearly half his life.
What these two recovering addicts have in common is a passion for helping drug addicts to walk the road they are travelling, while pleading for more government assistance to fight drug addiction with as much intensity as against the other major diseases.
Both Leon W and Jeffrey R say their recovering effort could not be possible without intervention. With addiction a life-long problem, they believe their primary purpose is to assist the sick and suffering and argue that “there must be intervention at the lowest level.”
While the Salvation Army had launched its own privately financed drug-rehab programme several years ago, they pointed this newspaper to the specific criteria instituted by the Ministry of Health for access to a government-funded programme under the Salvation Army which should come on stream when the government donates the promised $5M.
An addict must present himself along with a support person to the office of the Salvation Army for an interview when and assessment would be done of the addict’s readiness for the recovery effort.
Information regarding the addict is left at the office and the addict is sent away and has to await word for admission.
The government-funded programme also requires the addict to be between the ages of 18-35 and must not have been in a rehab centre before.
Obstacles
“We believe that these are obstacles rather than criteria and taking into consideration the whole mindset of an addict, we cannot deal with disappointments. If a person makes the move to come and seek help, the persons should not be turned away. It’s a stepping stone and this is why the intervention is so critical,” Jeffrey said.
They also questioned the age criteria. “Why in other areas of health there is no age limit, how come everyone who is infected with HIV for instance is able to access free treatment. It shows that there is differential treatment. Treating drug addiction could also mean treating HIV,” Leon argued.
The men believe that more could be done to reduce the drug demand by targeting the active addicts and giving them a greater opportunity at rehabilitation. They also said that while the treatment works with some persons from the very first intervention, there are some persons who need several doses of treatment before they became totally abstinent.
The road to recovery, Jeffrey R found, was not an easy one and after two relapses he is now back into full-time employment and on his way to reclaiming his rightful place in society. But his experience doesn’t stop here as he believes that his role is to help those who are currently where he was.
Though his road was tough and he continues to contend with slight urges which cross his mind intermittently, Jeffrey is pleading for more to be done in terms of intervention by government to assist drug addicts to take them off the streets and give them hope of a normal life.
He is now totally abstinent from any alcohol or drugs and is still an active participant in the Salvation Army Drug Rehabilitation Programme. He has set for himself a tight regimen and along with spiritual guidance it is safe to say that Jeffrey is officially on his road to recovery.
“I left my job as an engineer and I drove a minibus because that allowed me to take a smoke whenever the urge came and it got from bad to worse. I never wanted to go home anymore because I wanted to stay on the road where I was close to the drugs and I slept on cardboard on Robb Street and just threw my whole life away because of the love of crack cocaine, though I used other drugs …, he told Stabroek News in an interview.
Anxious as he was to tell his story out of concern for persons who continue to suffer from their addiction to alcohol and other drugs, Jeffrey believes that active intervention is crucial as his life is one example that “change can happen.”
He recollected that his wife and children had moved away from the matrimonial home and he continued to use crack which was supplied to him free of cost by his lover.
“And in a matter of six months I was no longer going home and I spent all my money I worked for on drugs and I went on like that for seven years,” he said.
During his years of drug abuse, Jeffrey also contracted tuberculosis through the sharing of the pipe stem [a utensil used for smoking crack cocaine].
Jeffrey said his first intervention was a brief period of withdrawal in 1999 when he was taken by relatives to the psychiatric ward at the Georgetown Public Hospital, but this did not help his situation. It was one of his schoolmates out of concern at the fast rate at which he had deteriorated who helped with his breakthrough. She contacted his mother and informed her of the drug rehabilitation programme at the Salvation Army.
“I went there and the treatment is good but maintenance was extremely important and it was in this area that I felt I was lacking. I met the same old friends I had – I continued to go out and I got back on the drug,” he said.
However in 2005 Jeffrey was fortunate enough to be able to access treatment and this time around he stuck to maintaining the treatment which he continues until today. He has now been completely abstinent for almost three years.
“I attend all my meetings and fellowships of narcotics and we recount experiences and pull from each other’s strength and I have embarked on a spiritual programme. So I do regular prayers and meditation and guide my life by spiritual practices,” Jeffrey said, describing his way of staying away from drugs amid temptations which lurk everywhere.
However he said that his urges are “far and in-between.” “They say once an addict, always an addict and so they come as flashes and thoughts but I put them away. What I do is remember the end of my story and remember when I was lying on the street on cardboard and I remember that all the good times didn’t end well. I still get dreams that I am using it because it can’t be erased out of my mind because the disease is always there.”
Jeffrey’s relatives could have afforded to place him in rehab but he feels that there are many persons who could be useful in society who remain a victim to the disease and are in dire need of intervention.
Compulsion
The road to recovery for Leon W was no doubt very hard as being hooked for 23 years on crack cocaine seasoned him to a lifestyle that quickly progressed into obsession and compulsion.
“I did not know when I crossed the line and never knew that I was addicted until I got intervention. I took alcohol and other drugs at intervals and there was a quick progression because I doubled up and all I thought about was the feeling I derived from the addiction,” he said.
Leon said it was no less than a struggle for 23 years of his life since he became an addict at the tender age of 15, but he felt his addiction grew more after he lost his only brother. He said his brother was his only support base to help him to curb his obsessions.
“When he died I had nothing and so I hung out with the people who used the drugs. When someone is addicted they feel like everyone around them is hostile and so even if someone tries to talk them out of it, you sit there thinking what you could do to get another fix. And so I lied and I stole and did whatever I had to do to get a fix,” he said.
Back in early 2004 Leon W. entered the rehab programme at the Salvation Army and this first intervention marked his road to recovery. He said he has not consumed alcohol or any other drug since then. However as he tries to ensure that he remains abstinent, Leon even stays away from any sort of fermented fruit juice, cakes with an alcohol content and cough syrups with alcohol as an ingredient.
“I have also taken examples from the experiences shared by others at meetings which is important for us but as to my cravings, they come but I don’t have to feed into them. God has also helped me to take away from the desires. For me recovery is a selfish thing and anyone should put themselves first.”
He along with many others were able to access the rehab programme at the Salvation Army free of cost owing to support for the programme by the British High Commission and other diplomatic missions here in Guyana.
