Voices of Recovery: A Mother’s Journey Through Her Son’s Addiction and Recovery
“I will be forever grateful to everyone at Back2Basics for helping us get our relationship back.”
Sharon Lee felt helpless when she discovered her son, Justin, was experimenting with drugs during his teenage years. Having recently separated from her husband, Lee was working long hours to provide for her family, yet some things at home slipped through the cracks.
Justin was always an excellent student, so Lee figured if he was keeping his grades up, he was doing fine. This couldn’t have been further from the truth as Justin fell deeper into his addiction. Luckily, over time, with the help of counselors, family members and the Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery Program, Justin was able to find sobriety as his mother found relief and the help she needed to work through her own struggles.
“During the early days of Justin’s addiction, I just didn’t know what to do,” Lee said. “I was working long hours and trying to keep an eye on him and help him any way that I could, but it was just never enough.”
As Justin got older, his personality began changing as his addiction progressed. Isolating from family and friends, blatantly disrespecting the rules of the home and even once stealing his mother’s car to purchase drugs, led to an out-of-control situation for Lee.
“Justin graduated high school with honors in 2018, but by the following January, I was afraid to be in my own home,” Lee said. “Justin made it a habit to never see me. He would smoke cigarettes in the home even though he knew it wasn’t allowed. I was so afraid that Justin would overdose and there was seemingly nothing I could do about it. He just wanted nothing to do with me and every attempt I made to speak with him or connect was left on deaf ears.”
As time went by, Justin sunk deeper into his addiction. Justin’s siblings tried to watch out for him but had no luck in connecting with him either. His health began deteriorating. He needed to use a nebulizer regularly and was losing a lot of weight. Finally, one day Justin was found passed out at a gas station and taken to the hospital. While he was going through withdrawals and looking at potential legal problems, his sisters began searching for ways to help their brother.
“His sisters started looking for rehab facilities,” Lee said. “Many health professionals were suggesting 28-day programs, but I knew this wasn’t long enough for him to get the help he really needed. His sisters found Back2Basics, which seemed like the perfect fit.”
Throughout Justin’s childhood he enjoyed the outdoors, his mother said. Hiking trips in the Adirondack Mountains were a regular event for the family. So, once the family found Back2Basics, they deemed this the perfect place and scenario to help Justin beat his addiction and get sober.
“Out of all the places we found, Back2Basics just seemed to tick all of the boxes,” Lee said. “It was far away from home so he wouldn’t be able to just run away, and the program had the counselors and staff needed to get to the root of his issues with addiction.”
In August 2019, Justin entered the Back2Basics program. Lee and her son still were not on speaking terms, so she would receive updates via her daughter, who was living in Scottsdale at the time.
In November 2019, Lee joined one of her daughters at a family weekend with Justin in Flagstaff. Lee was happy to see her son looking strong and healthy once again, but the weekend wasn’t fully a happy reunion.
“During the family weekend we had family counseling sessions and some of it just got a bit too deep for Justin at the time,” Lee said. “He had to step away a few times from the sessions, but it was that crack in the door we needed to help start rebuilding our relationship.”
Through the help of counseling sessions and long discussions with Dr. Natalie Rudolph on a weekly basis, Lee began to realize she wasn’t helpless when it came to Justin’s recovery. She also realized she wasn’t alone in dealing with the situation. Finding the help she needed for her own mental well-being allowed Lee to be more open and understand better where Justin was coming from and how the family dynamics played a role in the entire run of things.
“Everyone at Back2Basics was great in helping Justin begin his road to recovery,” Lee said. “Things weren’t always smooth, but we pushed through as a family and now things are going great.”
If Lee could give advice to other parents who have children suffering from addiction, it would be to ask for help early on and to find the right help for your child. Doing these simple steps can make a world of difference.
“I would tell any parent going through a similar situation to seek out people who can help you and your child,” Lee said. “Many parents may feel like they can deal with the situation on their own, but I realized that I needed help in my own way. Finding the right people makes a major difference and with the right help you will eventually see that things can and do get better.”
Since graduating from Back2Basics, Justin has received his associate’s degree in human services and is currently in a pre-med program working toward becoming a psychiatrist. Last semester he received all As in his classes and the relationship with his mother and family are continuing to be rebuilt.
Justin is back on the path to success having set goals he wants to achieve and has a brighter outlook on life while being sober. Lee and his mother are continuing to work on their relationship to rebuild trust and are connecting better than ever.
“I was so afraid of losing my son just a few years ago,” Lee said. “Now I have him back and I couldn’t be prouder of the person and man he has become after going through all of this. I will be forever grateful to everyone at Back2Basics for helping us get our relationship back.” FBN
By Roy DuPrez
Roy DuPrez, M.Ed., is the CEO and founder of Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery in Flagstaff. DuPrez received his B.S. and M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University. Back2Basics helps young men, ages 18 to 35, recover from addiction to drugs and alcohol. Back2Basics is an adventure recovery program, up to six months, for young adult males ages 18-30 with substance abuse issues looking for a positive and meaningful life. In our program, clients are exposed to a weekly combination of both wilderness adventures and residential programming. For more information, visit https://back2basics-soberliving.com, call 928-814-2220, or email rduprez@b2badventures.com.