Oklahoma Parents Share Their Experience with Narconon Arrowhead Program
Canadian, OK (PRWEB) October 13, 2013 -- Linda and Lyman S. watched their son struggle with his addiction for 10 years. He was 32 years old and no matter what he tried, he couldn’t stop. After a stint in a 30-day program he did manage to stay clean for 6 months. Much to the surprise of his parents, he went back to drugs. But this time the situation was worse than before. Drugs took him to the deepest depths of despair. He was addicted to methamphetamine. He lost his job and became homeless.
“The heart breaking truth was that the kind, Christian, fun-loving son that we had raised was no longer the same person on meth,” says Linda in a recent interview. “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 that in my mind I was preparing myself for our son’s funeral.”
As time went on Linda knew she had to do something to help her son regardless of what others thought, regardless of her own fears, and regardless of letting out the “dreaded” family secret. Their son had gotten to the point of selling meth on the streets. Linda and her husband met with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics as well as their county District Attorney hoping to have him arrested.
Much to Linda’s disappointment, they did not have any suggestions about what they could do.
After searching on the Internet, Linda found a successful treatment program in Oklahoma called Narconon Arrowhead. She contacted the facility and spoke with a counselor who worked with her and her husband for 5 weeks to get their son into treatment. Linda’s son agreed to go.
The Narconon program specializes in all types of substance abuse problems ranging from alcohol to prescription drugs, as well marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Approximately 70% of Narconon program graduates have been reported to live drug abstinent lives for time periods ranging from 6 months to several years, based on decades of graduate surveys, reviews, and reports from staff and recent outcome studies.
Narconon Arrowhead has helped over 10,000 people get on the road to recovery since the program began in Oklahoma over 22 years ago. Like any program, addicts go through many emotions while undergoing the treatment process. Linda’s son was no different and faced his challenges at the beginning of his program at the Arrowhead facility.
“As the first weeks went by, my son said that he was only doing the program for me and he did not want to be there. It was tough,” said Linda. “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 the phone. I was in touch with their family counselor throughout this time. 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.”
Linda’s son decided he needed to do the program for himself. He told his mother he prayed out loud at night, asking for help with his own and his roommate’s recovery. He successfully completed his program and stayed at the Narconon facility for a series of comprehensive training and skill building courses so he could someday work with others struggling with addiction.
“I hear quite often, ‘Thanks Mom, for saving my life.’ I guarantee you that is from his heart,” says Linda.
In Linda’s struggle she found answers. She knows that her son never wanted to be a drug addict, and she is thankful that she and her husband didn’t give up on him.
For more information on the Narconon Arrowhead drug rehab program call 800-468-6933.
To read Linda’s full story go here.
Clark Carr, Narconon International, 323-962-2404, [email protected]
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