Hello, my name is Emily Hammett and I have been in recovery since May of 2012.

 

I was a happy, outgoing, and “normal” kid. My parents were married and in fact still are, over 40 years and I have two older brothers. I was the baby and only girl. I was definitely spoiled. But I was also spoiled with love.  Not only by my immediate family but extended family that included Aunts, Uncles, grandparents, and cousins. I was in brownies, girl scouts, and played sports. I did after school activities. We took family vacations to Florida, Chicago, and Niagara Falls.  I had lots of friends.

Alcoholism does not discriminate. Does not care how old you are, how happy you are, how much money you have or what color your skin is.

I started drinking and smoking cigarettes around age 14 and smoking pot about a year later. My friends and I drank every weekend. I started blacking out in high school. I continued my drinking in college. I didn’t start taking opiates which were my true love, until I was in my mid-twenties. This would ultimately become my downfall.

I began with taking Vicodin for energy. A woman from work said it would give me an xtra boost. I remember taking one and instantly loving it. My tolerance eventually built and I ended up graduating to IV Heroin. This lead to my demise. It took over my entire life. My love of family and friends was gone. I bought drugs over paying my mortgage. At my worst I had no running water or heat in my condo. I lived to use and used to live. I was living a hell on earth but I didn’t care. In my addiction I visited jails, institutions, and almost died numerous times.

When my family eventually intervened I agreed to go to rehab in Battle Creek. Basically I said yes because I knew I would be given suboxone while I was there. After this 28-day treatment I went into sober living in Grand Rapids. I went to meetings but that’s all I did to try and maintain my recovery. I eventually started drinking again and not long after was back to heroin. I went on using for about another year.

I had planned a trip to Florida to meet all my closest childhood friends for a wedding. While there I continued using and they quickly realized my secret. They had an intervention and called my family back in Michigan. The plan was to take me to a local free detox center. Little did I know I would start my journey to a new life free from drugs and alcohol. I stayed at detox and from there went to inpatient treatment for almost 90 days. After treatment, fighting it the whole way, I went into transitional housing.  I was becoming a part of the community by then and I actually loved living in transitional housing. I made lots of friends, got 6 months sober and started supporting women in treatment.

Today I love my life. I am engaged, and buying a house. I have a great job.  I’m a good daughter, a good aunt and a good sister. I have a handful of sponsees and even more friends. I am a big party of my recovering community and I like it that way. My heart is full and I’m grateful to be alive, sober, and happy! I thank God every day that I decided to stick it out and give this crazy thing called life a chance. Never give up and never lose hope there’s so much help and its worth it, you are worth it!!!