heart in handsThe Narconon program saved my 32-year-old son’s life and probably lengthened mine, his fathers and the rest of our family’s as well. Our son struggled with drug addiction for 10 years. He wanted to stop on his own, but could not. He enrolled in a 30 day treatment program in 2008 that used the 12 step system. After completion we let him live with us so he could get back on his feet and try to stay on track. He was employed by an oilfield company, but after 6 months we started noticing a change in his personality again. He was back to using drugs, only this time it was meth. We were horrified beyond explanation. We found that we could not reason with him at all and had to make him leave and stay off our property. He lost his job and was homeless. The heart breaking truth was the kind, Christian, fun loving so that we had raised was no longer the same person on meth! I cannot tell you how many nights I cried and prayed, all the while trying to keep it our “family secret”, because I no longer wanted to go to the gym, or spend time with our friends. I just went to work and went home. I told my husband in my mind I had to prepare myself for our son’s funeral.

I August, 2011 I knew I had to do something for our son regardless of whether people found out about our “family secret” or not. Our prayers to God continued. Our son was homeless, selling and using meth. He never had drug charges filed on him, but we called the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics to have him arrested. Nothing happened. I met with our County District Attorney and Judge to telling them our story and asking where I could send our son for long term rehab. They didn’t have any suggestions. I began searching on the internet and found Narconon. The counselor I talked to thoroughly explained the program and answered all of my questions. He worked with me for 5 weeks before my son finally agreed to go. I cannot thank the counselor enough because had it not been for him, we would never had gotten our son there.

The First Weeks at Narconon Arrowhead

As the first weeks went by, my son said that he was only doing the program for me he did not want to be there. It was tough. He would call me telling me how much he wanted to leave the program. I would tell him to “make it work” and hang up on him. I was in touch with the family counselor throughout this time and she encouraged me to stay strong and not to give in and the staff encouraged him to stay. In the following months we could tell that we were getting our “old son” back! He admitted he was now doing the program for himself! He told me every night that he would get on his knees and pray to God out loud for himself and his roommate’s recovery. He knew he could not come back to our town. He had to break all ties with former friends. Fortunately for us, he was able to become employed by Narconon. He is now a course supervisor and I hear quite often, “Thanks Mom, for saving my life”, and I guarantee you it is from his heart!

He is so happy and appreciative of his new life. Much to our surprise our son still has a very high I.Q. Through the Narconon program, all of us have learned that no one wants to be a drug addict; none of them want for their lives to be totally lost and to have their families turn their backs on them. It starts out slow, but then it snowballs. It’s a miracle that he didn’t commit suicide. I am so very thankful that we did not give up on him. I had told myself that the Narconon Arrowhead program was my last attempt to help him and if it didn’t work…well I, didn’t want to think about it. To our family, his recovery is a miracle! I will never forget what the staff at Narconon Arrowhead has done for us.

Sincerely,

Linda &Lyman S.

Grateful Parents