Finding Freedom and Happiness in Recovery

At 45, "Dan" seemed to be hitting the peak of his personal and professional life. Taking personal inventory, he noted his prestigious university and law school degrees, his successful legal practice, his car, his house and something else – his 30-year alcohol and drug problem.

Instead of hitting his peak, Dan hit rock bottom in winter 2000.

"I had become a slave to alcohol and cocaine," he says. "I was possessed by a sense of pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. Life as I experienced it was futile, yet I lacked the courage to end it. I was hopeless."

Dan says he called his boss one morning in tears, telling his supervisor he couldn’t come to work because he’d been up for days. On the advice of a friend, Dan called the Memorial Hermann Prevention & Recovery Center, located at 1550 LaConcha (behind the Astrodome between Kirby and Greenbriar). He visited the center for an assessment and soon checked himself in to the 40-bed facility for detoxification.

"I had no idea how they were going to fix me, but the staff assured me I was fixable," he says.

Dr. Eugene Degner, the center’s medical director, says the detoxification program is based on a medical model of recovery using established medical protocols.

"Our goal is to provide quality treatment using the most effective and least restrictive methods available to aid patients in their recovery processes," he says. "During the three- to five-day detoxification period, professional nursing staff, in collaboration with the attending physician, monitor the process around the clock."

After detoxification, Dan transitioned into the center’s residential treatment program, which offered a structured therapeutic and educational environment with 24-hour supervision. A transitional living program is available for patients in need of a safe, structured environment where they can continue their recovery. A partial-hospitalization day program is also available for individuals who require structured care, yet are not in need of 24-hour close supervision.

"To my surprise," Dan says, "I met people with degrees and nice houses, and people who knew what the inside of a jail cell looked like. People just like me – drug addicts and alcoholics. Dr. Degner told us we had a disease and that all the things we did from which we derived so much guilt and shame were a product of our disease, not our failed character."

While in residential treatment, Dan was introduced to on-site Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous meetings, both of which employ 12-step recovery programs.

Counselors at the Prevention & Recovery Center encourage family involvement, which includes individual group and family counseling, family day visitation and family aftercare.

"We believe addictions affect the entire family, not only financially and emotionally but spiritually," says Jane Barnes, the center’s community liaison. "We offer a four-week series to help educate the family so they can understand the disease concept and be more supportive to the recovering addict."

Following completion of his residential stay, Dan attended four weeks of the center’s intensive outpatient program, which requires a minimum of 10 hours per week of evening educational and therapeutic services.

"It was extraordinary for me – sort of a postgraduate course in living," he says.

Dan became active in the peer-led aftercare program, chairing 12-step meetings and continuing to attend weekly meetings at the center, sharing his strength, hope and experience with others in treatment.

This month, Dan’s personal inventory includes 17 months of sobriety, acquired one day at a time, and a newfound serenity in his daily life.

"I’ve learned living skills rather than survival skills," he says. "Today, I am content."

Dan is an active member in the Prevention & Recovery Center alumni association, continuing his path of wellness along with more than 2,000 alumni members. Seven days a week, the center hosts open 12-step meetings, which are free and open to the public. All meetings are nonsmoking and wheelchair accessible. To arrange an assessment or for more information, call the Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery Center 24 hours a day at (713) 578-3100.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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