A successful mortgage
broker seeks help for his back trouble and finds himself in legal trouble. A.J.
was a 21 year old up and comer in the real estate business when a back injury
sent him to the waiting room
of a South
Florida pain management clinic. With nothing more than a description of his
pain and a quick exam, he was prescribed high doses of oxycontin , xanex and
soma. Within 2 months he was “doctor shopping” and selling pills to feed his
addiction.
Florida received
the unwanted dishonor of leading the country in prescription pain pill
distribution at over
500 million in
2009, coinciding with A.J.’s downward spiral from being a broker to just being
broke. He was not the only one so quickly addicted to “oxy’s”, in 2009 the list
included 56 Florida government employees, 14 school employees and even two
grandmothers. With a pain management clinic opening every 3 days in several
Florida counties between August and November of 2009, having several doctors
writing several prescriptions, turned honest people into addicts and criminals.
A.J. was fired from
his job after an obvious decline in his performance prompted his employer to
administer a “random” drug test; a drug test he failed miserably. Along with
the prescribed drugs, A.J. also tested positive for cocaine and marijuana,
drugs he stated he never used until becoming addicted to the pain meds. Soon
after his dismissal, the lack of a paycheck and the inability to hold down a
job sent him into the world of drug trafficking. He began paying others to fake
injury in order to get even more prescriptions filled, to have more pills to
take and sell.
He was arrested the
1
st time for D.U.I. with possession of oxycontin and methadone and
the spiral continued. A.J. was placed on felony probation until his 2
nd
arrest for almost the exact same charges just a few months later. He entered a
12 step program at a cost of $14,000 to his parents that actually had him
leaving the program with prescriptions for the same drugs he was in treatment
to overcome.
The “doctor shopping”
and pain management clinic cycle continued with several overdoses and even
showing up to his 24 month drug court judicial review, “high out of his
mind”.
This disrespect of the court
order to remain drug-free landed him in a department of corrections 18 month
inpatient rehabilitation. He eventually left this 12 step program as well, a
decision that would cause a warrant to be issued and another arrest imminent.
This arrest
occurred at his parents’ home and with prison a certainty for A.J., he recalls
the good-byes as very difficult. He remained in county jail for 4 months
awaiting his sentence to prison which would exceed a year. During this time his
mother called Eric Mitchell of Suncoast Rehabilitation Center in Spring Hill,
Florida. After hearing A.J.’s story told by a mother running out of hope, Eric
agreed to speak to the judge for a chance her son be allowed to enter the
program at S.R.C.
With reluctance the
judge agreed, ruling that if A.J. failed he would be sentenced to 2 years in
prison, instead of the previous year and a day.
A.J. began his
program in November of 2009, with no idea what to expect, he did know he needed
help for his addiction before an eventual 3rd overdose killed him.
The program at
S.R.C. was unlike any other I had been to, people wanted to be there and so did
I, he stated. After the sauna phase of the program he said he truly felt his
body was cleansed of drugs and he was returned back to his normal physical
fitness. “I had the ability to think clearly for the first time in a long time”.
One of the difficult things about addiction is the realization of what has been
lost when the drug fog has been lifted. “This was a big part of the program for
me, but S.R.C. gave me the tools to overcome anything”.
“This program made
me take responsibility for everything that happened, it made me look at my
decisions, my choices and taught me to how to deal with life on life’s terms “.
“ I feel emotions now and the one I feel the most is happiness”.
I asked A.J. to sum
up how he felt about himself since his graduation from Suncoast Rehabilitation
Center in 2010. He did not hesitate in the least and stated…
“ I feel as if I am one of the luckiest people on the planet that I was
able to come here and get a 2nd chance, it has been the one of the
best years of my life hands down. Most importantly, I have my family back; this
is something I thought I would never get.”
This interview was
done one year to the day after A.J.’s successful completion at Suncoast
Rehabilitation Center. He is now in charge of the sauna program that was such
an important part of his rehabilitation at S.R.C.. Thanks A.J.
For immediate help, contact Suncoast Rehabilitation Center toll free at 1-800-511-9403.
