A shockwave went over our community today when a key staff member relapsed and vanished from sight.
He'd been sober for over 10 years and had been a TLC client on and off for some 10 years before that.
For years he's been an integral part of our operation. He had many creative ideas and helped build TLC into the kind of organization that it is today. He was loyal and had nonstop energy. He was liked and respected by all of us who worked with him. When asked to do something he never said no.
So what happened? How does someone with this period of sobriety, working for one of the largest recovery programs in the state, up and relapse? He had a ton of resources at hand, had he chosen to use them. He had friends, coworkers, and a network of people in the twelve-step programs that he could've asked for help at any time. He had the support of his wife and family.
But his relapse is one more illustration that if we're not spiritually fit, and our lives are not in balance, that any of us can get caught up in our disease once more. Without extrasensory perception, we can never see what's going on in another person's head. But for those of us who have any involvement with the twelve-step programs, we know that our disease is very stealthy and can creep up on us if we are not spiritually fit.
All of his friends and coworkers here at TLC are praying that he's able to return to recovery and rebuild his life. He's not the first addict who's gone back out because he became overwhelmed by our disease. Nor will he be the last.
We only hope that he's one of those who makes it back.
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