Recovery Stories From St. Christopher's Alumni

John & Jordan's Story

A family's account of their son's second DWI and the decision to seek treatment.

When our son got his second DWI, he asked us to send him to a rehab facility. Everything in his life was spiraling out of control and he was terrified at the direction it was going and knew he needed help. We got busy searching for the best facility we could find for him, and we chose St. Christopher’s in Baton Rouge.

Within a few days we were taking him to a place totally unfamiliar to all of us and we, as parents, had an empty feeling. It was about 10:30 at night when we arrived at St. Christopher’s, and we will always be so grateful to Katrina, the nurse, who checked us in. She explained the program to us and was so warm and friendly. By the time we left our son, we knew we had made the right decision. We were at peace with it. The counselors called weekly with a report for our son, and we soon got totally comfortable with him being there. After 30 days in primary, he was begging to come home, but we knew he needed to stay longer.

He ended up completing the entire program and graduating. If we could give a parent any valuable advice, it would be to encourage your son to stay the entire length of the program (30 days is NOT long enough). It was amazing to see the stages our son went through in the treatment program, and how after the 30 days, he was so glad he stayed. We got to know and love the staff and clients at St. Christopher (from weekly visits) and they began to feel like family to us. We also found it so helpful to get to know and visit with other parents who were going through the same thing we were. The parent education classes that we attended with other parents were most helpful because we were so blind to addiction. This is not an easy program and it takes a lot of hard work for the client but upon completion, they have lifelong tools to work with. Our son also made some great lifelong friends, and they still keep in touch and keep each other accountable.

We will be forever grateful for this treatment center and to the staff that helped our family as a whole.

When our older son needed to go to rehab, there was no question as to which one because we had already experienced St. Christopher’s first hand with our younger son and knew what a great rehab facility it was. Our older son DID NOT want to go there at all because he didn’t want to go out of state, but we insisted on St. Chris. He was mad at us for sending him there for a week or two then he began to settle in, embrace the program, focus and work very hard. He stayed the entire program and graduated and is so thankful he did so. He has been sober for almost 2 years now. We are so thankful for the tools and education that this program gives for clients as well as parents. I would recommend it to anyone struggling with alcohol issues. Now, as a family, we have much needed peace after years of trials with addiction.

Jacob's Story

Homeless, living in his truck, addicted to pills and binge-drinking before finding his way to St. Christopher's.

Homeless, living in his truck, crashing on friends’ couches, addicted to pills and binge-drinking for 4 solid months, he decided it was time to make a change. His family told him that they were unable to support him as long as he wanted to be active in his addiction. But he also knew they were his only hope.

Desperate and broken, he called his dad to ask for help. He was surprised when his dad welcomed his call and told him “as long as you do the right thing, you always have a roof over your head.”

Trying to get sober was more difficult than he expected. He would go to 12 step meetings but then go drinking. When he finally got caught, he was given only one option – go to treatment. When Jacob entered treatment at St. Christopher’s Addiction Wellness Center, he was not sure he was able to quit drinking and drugging. During his family session, his dad was there to support him, and, with tears streaming down his face, he told his son that he had accepted the fact that he was going to die.

In that moment, Jacob made a commitment. It wasn’t necessarily a commitment to stop partying, but he was committed to not hurting his father anymore. Jacob did 8 months of treatment at St. Chris, moving through the phases of inpatient, extended care, and sober living. His relationships with the staff and the long-lasting bond he formed with the other young people in treatment are what, he says, have allowed him to be successfully sober for almost a decade. Jacob continues to volunteer his time as a weekly meeting leader at St. Christopher’s and says his favorite thing about being sober is having the ability to help other people. He says the brotherhood at St. Chris changed his life as they helped teach him the way, gave him rides to 12 step meetings, and he is still in touch with many of his fellow treatment-mates and alumni to this day.

Jeff & Lynda's Story

A parent's account of the fear, devastation, and eventual hope of watching their son go through treatment.

When our nightmare with our son began we were scared, devastated, mortified, embarrassed and at a loss on what we needed to do. Our son was always happy with personality plus, very athletic, and a standout in high school and his beginning years at college. Going through something of this nature was never on our radar.

Of course, in the beginning, our son was not a willing participant in any program. He fought with us every step of the way until we got “tough” and let him know that he was going to get help or no longer have a home with us. Our immediate families were brought into our world and promised to support us in all of our decisions. He stayed on the streets for a few days then decided to enter treatment in order for him to have a life with his very young daughter. We came to St. Christopher’s by way of referral from another outpatient program that did not work for our son and family. Our family embraced the treatment plan laid out, and we slowly began to include our immediate family with positive results. Our son came around a little and began to take the program seriously. I won’t say that going through every step of the program was easy because it wasn’t. In fact, it was anything but easy. There were curves and bumps along the way, but with the continued support of the counselors and family sessions, we were able to hang in there. Most importantly, our son was hanging in there. Our whole family has learned greatly about this debilitating disease that affects so many people all over the world. The education that St. Christopher’s provided was enlightening and informative – we truly have a new perspective on drug and alcohol addiction and have learned that it doesn’t discriminate. These addictions touch people who are down and out, successful, poor, middle class and privileged alike. We are very humbled and happy to say that our son graduated St. Christopher’s program recently and agreed to stay on with St. Christopher’s Sober Living program. His commencement ceremony was a celebration for everyone in our family – I believe we set a record with having around 40 family members and friends attend this joyous occasion. I do feel that family and friends make a huge difference going through this program; it’s not only helpful for them but integral for the addict to see that he has that support behind him. Our son has learned to live independently, be accountable for his actions, hold his brotherhood accountable for their actions in a positive way, hold down a full time job, and keep up his commitments to the program by attending AA meetings and group sessions. He still has a long way to go, and we pray for him daily that he continues his path with St. Christopher’s, receiving the support that has gotten him this far.