Riches to Rags

by Randall Sprague

(Carthage, New York, USA)

All of my teenage, and most of my adult life was one or another addiction. Alcohol, weed, and finally opiates took everything, and everybody away from me.

I walked away from a marriage and two great kids to befriend as many dealers as I could afford, or at least the place I worked could afford. I dragged a garbage bag of dirty, torn cloths from my house of 27 years which I sold for 15k.

There’s more, trust me, it just gets worse, it’s the way of the addict.

I entered a detox when backed into a corner, no more money and notta for sale. There was one difference this time around, I was honest with myself and others. To accept a weakness, or a choice, or to accept the fact that I had a disease, a fatal disease of addiction, that was all I needed to learn and everything else fell in place.

Armed with this new knowledge I started my own meetings, meetings for addicts, not alcoholics, not drug addicts, just addicts.

A.I.R, or Addicts in Recovery turned from three to over 30 in just 6 months, why? Because we were not book smart, we lived it, felt it, and got over it, turning our disease over to a higher power, and putting it in remission.

I help others now who are prejudged, asked to jump thru hoops, or play a game in order to get their disease treated. A doctor would not hold a diabetics meds from them because of a behavior related to their disease. A heart patient would not be told she or he could no longer get nitro because they had a slip and smoked a ciggy or two.

I understand these are not quite the same diseases, but I would imagine you get my drift. I have so much more to say, but if I can not, I will recommend every recovery facility, and every patient, all groups, and outpatient be based on the book, The Recovery Book, by Al J. Mooney, M.D., and the Eisenberg family.

This book became my sponsor, my healer, and sort of a maintenance, well being entity. It has the symptoms, and what to do about them. As much as I would love to set and recite, I know I can’t.

I hope this will help someone, like I always say, “I would be happy if I can only help one addict, at a time that is, but many overall.

Thanks,

Randall Sprague

and Finally Remember:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
– Matthew 7:7-8

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