Patricia Sullens is K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Clinic's Mother of the Year

Patricia Sullens and daughter, Christian.

Patricia Sullens is attending the University of Houston with aspirations of eventually enrolling in graduate school and becoming a social worker, possibly in the area of addiction recovery.

She can offer to her clients not only her textbook knowledge, but a perspective from someone who has lived through it.

"Once you get in such despair when you think that no one is out there who cares or loves you, then you just practically give up and drink yourself to death to get rid of the pain," she says. "There are a lot of people out there who don't know that there is a way out. And there is."

Sullens' own journey to recovery began approximately five years ago when she moved to Houston from Florida seeking treatment for alcoholism and addiction. While in treatment, her husband asked her for a divorce. She describes her family life as "suddenly torn apart," with her sons now living in different parts of the country.

"When you lose everything and when you have a spiritual experience - as far as a life and death experience - that is when you are able to completely give yourself to a higher power and start living a different way," Sullens reflects.

Sullens says she suffered from years of untreated depression as well. "Once I was able to get a handle on that and get help, I was able to stop self-medicating," she says. "My children were a very big factor. I thought, `I've got to recover. I've got to be the mother I know I can be.'"

Sober now for 2 1/2 years, Sullens will be recognized on March 23 as the K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Clinic's Mother of the Year at the annual K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Awards, which honors individuals in the community who have contributed to the well-being of children at risk.

Sullens has been taking her daughter, Christian, who will turn 3 years old this month, to K.I.N.D.E.Rx. since she was born. "They truly care. They go the extra mile for us," she says of the K.I.N.D.E.Rx. staff. "They understand where I am coming from."

The K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Clinic, which stands for Kids In Need of Drug Evaluation and Rx-Treatment, was founded by Dr. Maria Ferris in 1994 with a grant from the Texas Department of Health. Dr. Ferris saw a need for a clinic in the Houston area that provided long-term medical care to children who had been exposed to alcohol and/or drugs during their mother's pregnancy. Her initial goal was to treat 75 children in the first year. The need was even greater than what Dr. Ferris had anticipated; 120 children came to K.I.N.D.E.Rx. in the first six months. Since then, the clinic, which is affiliated with The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, has treated more than 1,000 children and has expanded its services to treat children exposed to HIV in utero as well.

"The mission of the clinic is to break the cycle of alcohol and drug abuse which runs in so many families so that these families can become more self-reliant and lead better lives," says Dr. Ferris, the clinic's director. "There are so many members of the community out there making a positive impact on the lives of at-risk children, and the K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Awards event gives us an opportunity to honor them for their dedication to this special population."

Sullens will be joined by Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane, television personality Kathie Turner, Dulles High School student Jonathan Wang, and Anna Scallion, a grandmother of 10, as this year's honorees. All proceeds from the March 23 luncheon go to benefit the K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Clinic.

In addition to being a full-time student, Sullens has already begun to help others in recovery by acting as an advocate to bring the concerns of clients in treatment centers to the boards of the centers. She serves on the Volunteers of America Consumer Advisory Board and acts as president of the HALT Lands, a transitional supportive housing program where she currently resides with her daughter.

But no distinction compares with her role as Mom.

"To be told that I am the Mother of the Year - that is everything to me," she says. "That is what I pray for everyday - to help me be the best mother I can be."

Tickets to the 2000 K.I.N.D.E.Rx. Awards are $50 per person; corporate sponsorships are also available. For more information or to make reservations, please call Elisabet Chow at 713-500-5746.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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