by AnnMarie

Created on: August 11, 2008

I often wonder if the healthcare system really knows what to do with substance abusers and how to treat them. Unfortunately, I have known too many young people and their poor parents who have lost the battle with drugs. It is a sad state of affairs in the United States.

Recently, I watched a co-worker suffer through the agony of losing her young son from drinking and drugs, and she did everything she could for him. She finally thought that he was turning a new leaf, but all it took was one mistake...one late night...a party with old friends...and a car ride down a dark country road. Her son died in the car crash and his young friend, the driver, will spend a year in jail and 12 years on probation. What agony...and as a mother, how do you face the child, who was responsible for your son's death?

As teens my sister and I both experimented with drinking and drugs, but it always appealed to my sister more than me. I had dealt with enough alcoholism in my home and I did not want to be like that. My sister believes that I have more inner strength and I know I do, but don't know where it came from. Sometimes, I believe that it came from the close knit family of my mother's that I grew up with, and unfortunately, my sister did not get to experience that love and support. So though, I had a horrible home life their love offset most of my bad experiences at home and maybe that was the key.

My sister and I are some years apart and when I finally moved out my sister was just beginning her teen years. She went to business school after highschool and always held good jobs and eventually got married and had children. Everything seemed pretty normal to me. I never knew how she fought to keep her drinking and drug addictions in check all those years. She often went to the doctor and was prescribed one drug or another, but I never put two and two together.

A few years ago she went through a very difficult divorce and that's when I found out the extent of her addictions. We attented AA meetings at first and it helped for awhile, but a year later she was arrested for trying to buy crack cocain, and what a shock it was to find out that my seemingly normal sister was a drug addict. She often told me that the counseling she went to was a joke since all everyone did was meet other addicts and find ways to score more drugs!

Needless to say, the next year was a roller coaster ride for both of us. AA meetings, counseling, sick days and phone calls back and forth late at night. I spent many

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