Families

THORPE RECOVERY CENTRE WINTER 2015
We were introduced to (TRC) Thorpe
Recovery Centre in December,
2013 after our young son Tayler was
hospitalized after reaching a critical
state in his drug addiction. The details
of how he got there are really not that
important now as I look back over the
months leading up to the climax. These
stories are often riddled with feelings
of fear, despair, disappointment,
betrayal and an overwhelming feeling
of isolation and lack of control. Hold
that thought because by the end of
it you will realize you really never had
any control anyway!
In the detox centre in Calgary, Tayler
was introduced to the tough reality
of addiction. He learned that he
was actually being sold a lethal drug
(Fentanyl) used to treat patients who
were in severe pain, laced with heroin.
He also learned at detox that his road
would be long and hard through
recovery. For a 20 year old man who
should be out in the world making
a mark for himself working hard and
playing hard, this was not good news.
But he was alive and that was a
miracle.
We arrived at Thorpe Recovery Centre
on a very bright and cold day in
December. They were expecting us,
and after Tayler mustered up enough
courage to enter those doors we were
met by a staff of professional and kind
human beings who knew how hard
this was for all of us. They invited us to
come in and stay with him for a few
moments. We noticed how warm and
inviting the facility was. The people
with whom we interacted seemed
to understand the emotions we were
going through. Todd (Counselor
Supervisor) met with us before we left
and I will never forget something he
said. I told him how afraid I was to lose
my son to drugs. He sat quietly and seemed to click because over the next
allowed me to talk about my fears and few days he was able to let go and
my feelings before he said something embrace the program and the people
along the lines of, “Jessie, you really who were a part of it. Our weekly
don’t have any control over whether conversations were different. He was
or not your son lives or dies. He may expressing his feelings and I will never
die yet. All you can do is get out of ever forget the day he told me that he
the way of the disease and allow it wasn’t a bad person after all, and he
to unfold the way it needs to. That is felt almost normal for the rst time in a
how your son will have a chance at very long time.
He felt he’d been placed
there against his will and
couldn’t envision 6-8
weeks of being there
alone, without his family.
He was ying solo for the
rst time in his life.
recovery”. I thought he was speaking
a foreign language at the time. I was
used to ghting! As a parent, aren’t
you supposed to do anything and
everything to protect your child?
It was after a conversation with
Tayler’s counselor Tammy, that I made
the decision to attend an Al-anon
meeting. Tammy called me at work
to check on me. We chatted for a
few minutes and at the end of the
Within 24 hours, Tayler was angry. He
felt he’d been placed there against his
will and couldn’t envision 6-8 weeks of
being there alone, without his family.
He was ying solo for the rst time in his
life. Again, Todd was there to talk with
him, allowing him the space to process
his feelings and talk it out. You see, this
young man was really good at hiding
his feelings. He could put on a bright
call she quietly said, “Jessie, all we
talked about today was how Tayler
was doing. Next time we talk, I’d like
to talk about you. What you are doing
to get the help you need.?” I hadn’t
even considered that before. She
suggested a number of books to read
while Tayler was in treatment and told
me that Al-Anon was a great support
for families going through similar issues
cheery smile and make you believe with their loved ones. I promptly
everything was OK. But, it wasn’t. He
had been spiraling downward into
depression since high school and using
drugs to self medicate. Something
downloaded a number of the titles on
my i-Pad, but it was slow going. I could
only manage a few pages before
the feelings overwhelmed me. I was
13