Harmony Recovery has been providing addiction healthcare services in Estes Park since 1969. We would like to offer these stories from our alumni to show the humanity, strength, and perseverance of those working to recover from addiction. Often stigmatized and misunderstood by society, people on their path to recovery are managing a chronic illness which is a unique journey for each individual. Here is one such story. – Shane Hudson, CEO, Harmony Recovery
I started drinking in high school. Scoring beers from a local liquor store that looked the other way when it came to things like having a valid ID. I joined the United States Navy at 19, and in San Diego we were allowed to drink on base even though we were underage. I moved to Colorado when I was 26 and shortly thereafter was a regular pot smoker. Somewhere around 27 or 28, I tried cocaine for the first time and liked it. Add hard liquor, psychedelic mushrooms, acid, ecstasy, MDMA and occasionally meth to the things that I was known to partake in, and you get a pretty clear picture of what I was involved in. You name it, I’ve probably tried it. If you had it, I wanted some.
As an active addict, there were a lot of words that a person could have used to describe me. Words like: son, brother, husband, father, friend, co-worker and veteran. Also, words like: liar, thief, adulterer, controlling, arrogant, selfish, emotionally immature and afraid. I was not someone worth knowing.
On March 9th, 2024, I was fired (for the 2nd time) from a job that I loved (driving high-end transportation) for using narcotics while operating a vehicle. On March 14th, 2024, I reached out to a medical practitioner in Grand Junction, CO that had previously offered to help. I was put in touch with an organization called A Way Out, who in turn got me accepted into Harmony and on March 25th, 2024, I checked into Harmony. I smoked marijuana that day before leaving home, so my sober date is March 26th, 2024.
I had never tried to be sober before. I did not know what to expect. In retrospect, Harmony was a gift. While there, between the staff and the other residents, I was given the blueprint on what to do and what not to upon graduation. I discovered who I was. Through the program itself, observation, and listening to the counseling, I was able to start a new journey with a new ideology about myself, my behavior, and my purpose going forward.
When I graduated Harmony, my wife refused to come get me and left me to my own devices to get home. When I returned home, she was gone and the house was empty. I was sober but I was separated, unemployed, sheltered by friends but homeless and didn’t have a dime to my name. I had been out of Harmony for a matter of hours and I was already on Plan C…but I was prepared.
All the negatives in that moment equaled one thing: opportunity! Opportunity to work on myself, opportunity to grow, opportunity to move forward in a positive manner. After being homeless for 110 days I moved into my current address. My son now lives with me and I’m an active single parent. I currently maintain two jobs. I went back to school to finish my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services, and I am also on track now to become a Licensed Addiction Counselor in the State of Colorado. My life is full, meaningful, and I have never been better. That’s the truth.
Dave L.