My name is Dan and I’ve been in recovery since 1992.

Decades ago I had a young family, a promising career as a doctor and a bright future ahead of me. My opioid addiction threatened all of this. The police were questioning me about opioids I took from a pharmacy and suicide looked like my only solution.

I drank half of bottle of antifreeze, and drove my car over a 900 foot ledge at the Columbia River Gorge. A tree stopped the car on a ledge 50 Ft. down from the road. I ended up in my own teaching hospital with three crushed vertebrae and kidney damage.

Sadly, the only thing I learned was to do a better job hiding my drug use.

It took another 14 years for me to finally lose everything and seek real help.

23 years later, I continue to practice medicine with the trust and respect of my colleagues.

More importantly, I am at home. My new blended family consists of 8 kids, a beautiful new wife, 3 grandkids, and our two favorite “new babies” (our dogs).

Tonight is the annual family celebration of Chanukah. In a few hours all the kids their spouses and the grandkids will arrive.

A lost life has actually been replaced by a one far superior than I could have ever dreamed.

Thank you the community of people who have supported me and the G-d of my choosing for all the gifts of sobriety