29 Years & 1 Year Ago

Kevin, front and center, was born October 10th, 1979. You probably know the Kevin-type: loves fun, knows how to work very hard; took control of his life to rise from the depths of adolescence to Phi Beta Kappa at Purdue! Oregon, then Lewis & Clark for Law School, and off to Alaska with Kate (pretty, at the right of the photo), also a L&G grad. By the way Kevin is a "potato expert", skilled at street art, an outdoorsman, and someone I love to call "son!"

Now he's a Public Defender with an attitude: everyone deserves the best defense he can deliver. His skills were forged in a life where he can rightly proclaim "Been there, done that!" That gives him soul, which contrary to the stereotype for a lawyer, makes his work more notable for his caring style. Works hard, plays hard. Kate is a jewel and the unfortunate of Juneau are fortunate to have these two advocating on their behalf. We as a family are lucky to have them, too. Happy Birthday Kevin!

Sarah at the left in the photo. She loves all her siblings!

At the time of this photo, we were visiting K&K inOregon in 2006. Between then and now, in fact it was October 11th, 2007 that Sarah and her boyfriend were celebrating his (BF's) birthday. Celebration took a turn for the worse as Sarah couldn't be awakened after taking something - maybe a lot of something. Curfew was 1 AM but the call from St. Vincent Carmel - ER came before curfew. Our first asssumption that it was the regular routine .... "I'm not coming home at curfew and you can't do anything about it."

So this call was more than an inconvenient exercise in disobedience and disrespect. Susan was quick to react and fortunately she knew the pills Sarah was prone to abuse. Using that information, the emergency personnel saved her life. She had no pulse and was turning blue by the time she was dragged into the ER.

It is fair to say we were pretty bitter about the drug abuse. Addiction was undeniable. We sure weren't happy with BF, and like many hard-of-heart, protective parents, we moved BF to the bottom of our list of favorites. While he wasn't capable of getting her to the hospital, his friends had recognized the signs of distress and they "dropped her at the ER!" Not his fault. She took the drugs. Who knows?

At this point, we deal with what is, living in the moment with an eye to tomorrow. Addiction had her in its ugly grasp. By mid-week we made appropriate arrangements and then gave the "of legal-age" Sarah an ultimatum: go to in-patient recovery and get back on a healthy track - or else!

We had some experience 10 years earlier with a great recovery place in Rockford, IL. Good start! We learned a lot in their family program and Sarah learned some very useful tools. We drove lots of miles each weekend and so did our extended family. They all helped. To learn more go to this website: http://www.rosecrance.org/

The story of the last 12 months dragged on: drama, complexity, and a worsening addiction that tightened its grasp, pulling Sarah toward death of spirit, mind, and body.

Thanks to the faculty and staff at CHS, but most especially to Susan for her persistence and borderline enabling, codependence. Sarah graduated with a 3.0 in 4 years from CHS. A "high" school experience, some of which she may even remember.

Thanks to "Amy" at Fairbainks IOP, probably the best person in Sarah's treatment chain. She was the best of many excellent people who devote their lives to the recovery of others. The best seem to be recovering addicts themselves. Thanks to family, friends, and strangers whose prayers and wishes sustained us and enveloped Sarah.

Thanks to "The Ranch" in Tennessee. Thanks to the people in treatment and the staff - folks who want to recover and those trying to help them.

We celebrate a year in Sarah's life. She is alive. Thanks be to God!