Monica was introduced to painkillers by her grandmother and mother when she was in middle school. At that time, her mother, grandmother, and brother were already addicted to pills. Monica had difficult menstruation cycles and so they gave her Vicodin and they kept supplying her all the way through school. Eventually, she graduated to norcos and oxycontin and began buying her pills on the street... always fearful that she might accidentally encounter counterfeit pills laced with Fentanyl. Her sister was on a similar path. At one point, her sister actually broke into a doctor’s office to steal medication and ended up in jail. 

 

But for the most part, the family kept their drug use hidden, never used with friends, regularly attended church, and held down jobs. Monica even managed to hide it from her husband. Through several years of marriage, Monica suffered multiple miscarriages. While she tried to stay clean during those pregnancies, she feels that her continued drug use likely played a role in those losses. 

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Monica finally confessed her addiction to her husband after falling asleep in the middle of a dinner out. He was supportive of her seeking treatment and has been by her side throughout. Monica chose Valley Health Associates for treatment so she could continue to work.

 

“I thought our family would be like this forever,” she said, “until my brother started with VHA.” Now, Monica has two years of sobriety along side her sister and brother. “It feels like we are true siblings now,’” she says.

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Monica and her siblings understand how lucky they were to go into treatment when they did. In her first bloodwork findings, Fentanyl was found in her system. She encourages anyone struggling with substance use to seek treatment before an accidental overdose occurs.