The Last Year Has Been Wonderful

Tia recently shared her incredible story “Ice: to hell and back” about her recovery from ice addiction. Now Orazia, Tia’s mother, has kindly shared her side of Tia’s addiction and recovery.

Hello, my name is Orazia and I’m a business owner and wife. I’m also a mother to three children.

My youngest daughter, Tia, is an addict, and participated in The Hader Clinic Queensland residential addiction rehabilitation program, as well as the transitional housing program.

I am happy to report that 21 year old Tia has remained clean since attending rehab and is currently over a year clean.

She has turned her life around for the better.

Since leaving the transition housing program in January, Tia has participated in the intensive outpatient program, which she found very beneficial.

We also moved from Brisbane to the coast, which was also helpful as it provided all of us with a fresh start.

Through the Hader Clinic Queensland’s Family Education program, I have learned that relapse can be triggered by people, places and things. I remember Tia telling me that when she came home to live with us in our old place in Brisbane that it was challenging because she had previously used in our home.

She reported “feeling constricted” and openly shared that she was feeling a bit wobbly and uncertain. Whereas on the coast, she feels good.

It took a little while before I understood the trouble that Tia was in.

My older children warned me repeatedly that something was “off” and as time went by, we could see that she wasn’t doing well. Something was not right.

Eventually we discovered that she’d been using drugs and what started was a four year cycle where she’d come home for a bit, then leave for days.

We never really knew where she was or what she was doing. I remember taking her to family functions where I could see that she was using to try and cope.

I soon came to learn that this was typical addict behaviour.

We investigated things a bit more and discovered that we were stereotypical enabling parents.

If she needed a bed, we’d provide it. Food? Of course, no problem and money? Well we thought that we were helping her out. Eventually we noticed that money was being stolen from our home.

What brought everything to a head, was that I went away on a pre planned trip overseas. I arrived home to see Tia passed out in her bed and strangers in our house coming and going. It was the final straw to have my home violated like that.

We kicked Tia out of home and changed the locks so that she couldn’t come home.

We decided that we needed to get Tia to rehab and we tried some government funded ones but could not get her to go.

Every time I thought we had a chance, she’d do a runner. I’d stay up most of the night watching her and when I thought it was finally safe to go to sleep, she’d be off again.

Eventually we got in touch with Hayden and Olivia at the Hader Clinic Queensland and forced Tia into rehab. She was starting to become more ready as without access to home or money, she was starting to consider rehab as an option.

Eventually we got her into the residential rehab program, a day later than planned as she’d done yet, another runner.

As parents, we felt a wonderful sense of relief knowing where she was, that she was safe and that she was being treated.

At this point, we had felt that her only other options were being on the street, overdosing, dead or in jail. I remember her doctor not having so much concerns about her habits but wanting to immediately address that her organs were likely shutting down.

It was a grim time.

As parents, we found The Hader Clinic Queensland’s program amazing.

The clinic educated us as parents and gave the addict what they needed – time away from the distractions of life and technology to really focus on their issues. We were always kept in the loop about Tia’s progress and we found the family nights invaluable for both giving and receiving support – it was comforting to know that there were other parents battling the same issues.

I think we were lucky that Tia got into rehab when she did – her brain wasn’t completely ‘fried’ and as she detoxed, she became more articulate and reasonable. She was always an intelligent kid and quickly worked out that she didn’t want to be in a using environment.

Rehab wasn’t without bumps though.

She got kicked out for having sex with another resident attending rehab.

Second time around, however, she returned to rehab with a better mindset. She stayed in residential rehab for another month. Then realised that if she was to go home immediately, that she would have “nothing to support me” as we were still working and doing what we needed to do in our own lives.

The transition housing program was the best option for us. It gave Tia some freedoms, yet it put structure and the all important accountability in place. She craved structure and wanted recovery.

I was so impressed and grateful at how the whole program runs as a whole. I remember Mel from the Hader Clinic Queensland telling me that if a client says that the “program didn’t work” then that client was probably “not working the program”.

She was 100% correct. I

have a background in counselling and the tools that the clinic give you to manage life and recovery are just amazing.

I also learned that Tia was not being an addict to be malicious towards us, she was just doing what addicts do.

I believe that it’s important that you want recovery. Tia wanted recovery and I think that is one factor that keeps her clean today.

Since leaving rehab, Tia gave plenty of thought to what she wanted to do and is completing a Certificate of Mental Health at TAFE. I

t’s kept her busy and doing exams and assessment is completely new for her as she left school after Year Ten. She reckons it’s been a bit of a learning curve, but a good one.

I want Tia to make sure that she’s working on herself, doing things for herself and having her own career and most of all, having the capacity to become self sufficient.

Especially as Tia is six months’ pregnant. Initially it was a bit of a shock, but she is determined to have the baby and be a mum. She met her partner at NA, and they are both committed to staying clean.

In fact, if anything, since falling pregnant, Tia has cut even more ties with previous associates etc. She wants this baby to have the best.  We, of course, will support her in every way we can.

We are impressed by, and grateful to, The Hader Clinic Queensland, for changing our lives for the better.

The last year has been wonderful, and we are looking forward to the future.