A recovering person walks into an Emergency Room...

...and what happens next ain't no joke.

Popular recovery wisdom suggests that you disclose to the physicians treating you that you have a history of chemical dependence or abuse. 

Sounds good.

But what happens next?

After decades of prescribing serious pain meds (the various 'codones and 'contins) the medical types are starting to wake up to the fact that people get hooked on them. And then what? Well, they show up looking for more where they got them--the Doc!

I am sure that no one needs me to explain the legitimate problem of the sick addict tying up a busy ER while looking for a medical fix. But what about the hapless soul who has worked hard to maintain recovery, only to be treated like the scammish conniving junkie they left behind years ago, just because they were honest enough to tell the truth about their history?

Fortunately, we are beginning to see some glimmers of common sense shining through the messy confusion in the way of ER protocols designed to accurately address the problem. It is possible to separate the med-seeker from the recovering individual in a dignified manner that allows both to get the treatments they need.

But let me be clear. These protocols, at this point, are a flashlight in a mine shaft.

The bigotry and ignorance couched in phrases like "once an addict, always an addict" are hard to eradicate. And the medical field is the same as any other in that respect.

New Years Revolutions!

That's right, Revolutions.

Not a Typo.

2011 is the year when pursuit of maintaining the status quo faded into oblivion because the status just ain't so quo anymore. Treading water is not enough.

We're sinking. We've spent way too much time and energy "accepting the things we cannot change" and not nearly enough showing "the courage to change the things we can." The climate for recovery from addiction in our society sucks. Despite state-of-the-art research yielding incredible results, damn little of it finds its way into actual treatment.

And when it does, it's not the best and the brightest, it's the quickest and the cheapest.

Unless, of course, you have an extra $25,000-$100,000 laying around to pay for one of the "Rolls-Royce" programs where they actually utilize the latest research in their treatment techniques. If you have public insurance, the story is different. You barely see a counselor and you're lucky if your roommate isn't dealing Oxycontin.

And there is only one reason why. Because we allow it to be.

How many people in this country are in recovery right now? Recovering addicts? Alcoholics? Family members? Gamblers? Etc., etc.? Who knows, it's a tough statistic to ascertain. When many people recover in fellowships that stress anonymity as a spiritual foundation, it's safe to say that a statistical researcher is going to be about as welcome as a census-taker at some Red-State outpost of the local militia.

Add to this the real danger for many people of arrest or incarceration if they admit to a drug history, due to our outrageously primitive narcotics laws, and guess what?

You aren't going to come away with any numbers except the ones that identify the individuals most spectacularly unsuccessful at recovery.

So, call for Revolution number one is for recovering people to begin to recognize that if things are going to get any better for the many, many, recovering people in our society, as well as those struggling with addictions, it's up to us to make it to.

We need to start a revolution in how we are defined, identified, treated and regarded by the rest of our society.

And then we demand a place at the table.

Happy New Year!

Too Important To Fail

The kid with the black eye showed up for group, as usual. He had tried to pour his dad's bottle of liquor down the kitchen sink drain. Dad had caught him in the act.

Dad wasn't happy, hence the black eye.

This wasn't the first time, but hopefully it would be the last.

My experience working with children from families with histories of addiction and alcoholism, has been frustrating, illuminating and sometimes terrifying. It has also been rewarding, beyond anything I could have imagined.

Each week, somewhere between six and ten young teenagers meet with myself and co-facilitator Lacey Chandra Macauley to share their experience of living in in a family dominated by the disease of of addiction.

There are sad stories, angry stories, frightening stories and sometime bizarrely funny stories.

There are tears, sorrows, joys and fears--some shared for the first time--in an environment that puts the lie to the addictive message "don't tell anyone." Here, it is safe to tell.

The group was originally funded by a small grant, but in this economy, grants have become scarce. The funding ended years ago, but the group does not. It continues to run during the school months, at no charge.

I believe that it is too important to let it fail simply because money has dried up. Miracle of miracles, this year some funding came through the Delaware County Office of Behavioral Health, (Division of Drug & Alcohol) that has allowed Lacey to come to this group and be the valuable asset that she has been to other groups in Delaware County. She is a most welcome addition.

So, we begin another year of Children from Addicted Families Group. There will be sad stories, but there will also be warmth and tolerance and support. There will be scary stories, but there will also be reassurance and hope. There will be black eyes, but also some help for them to heal.

Please support us.

If you have a young teenager you feel would benefit from this group, please contact us:

Ken Williams  484 431 2931   kenwilliamscac@gmail.com

Lacey Chandra Macauley   484 444 0412   lmacaule@holcombbhs.org