Do we Heal?

I had an accident about six weeks ago while I was working out in my home gym.  Somehow I'd gotten tangled in a stretch band and found myself on the floor with three broken ribs and a few other scrapes and bruises.

I usally don't go to hospitals or doctors but my ribs were hurting so bad that I found myself in the waiting room of a nearby urgent care around 15 minutes later.  After x-rays of different parts of my body  the doctor came from his office with  a smile.

"I've got good news and bad news," he said.

"Give it to me," I replied,

"The bad news is that you have three broken ribs and there's nothing I can do to heal them but let nature take its course."

"And the good news?"

"The good news is that I can give you somedthing for the pain.  And you'll be better in about six months/"

So he handed me a couple of prescritions and I went to Walgreens to have them filled.

I hadn't asked him what he gave me.  And it was only when I picked up from the drug store that I noticed what they were:  a dozen oxycodone (percocet) and a dozen 800 miligram Ibuprofens.  

Since I've been sober 30 years I wasn't worrying about relapsing on the opiods.  In 2004 I had stomach surgery and wouldn't take the fentynl they were giving me for pain until I spoke to my sponsor.  He explained to me the obvious: that pain medication had legitimate uses other than for partying in our addictions.  And I came through that okay.

So I took the prescribed amount of the Percocet and went to bed, expecting the pain to subside.  Instead I awoke at 3:00 am in pain and a little nauseous.  I took another tablet and went back to sleep but woke up still nauseous and still in pain.  I switched over to the Ibuprofen 800s and the pain went away.  Today I still have 10 of the percocets in my medicine cabinet and half of the Ibuprons,

I write this because I'm wondering if any other opiate addicts have been prescribed opiates but had bad experiences with them?  It  makes wonder if we become immune to the pleasureable effects they once had on us?  Please comment if you have,

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Living Free

When I entered one of my favorite cafes today for lunch I noted that I was one of the few wearing a mask.  And there was no distancing requirement as there had been last week.  Most of the customers seemed cheerful.  It was almost as if life was back to normal.

Since rhe governor lifted the mask mandate last week it seems that life has become a bit more relaxed in some areas of the city.  For example, I went to a meeting at a law firm today and the use of masks was optional.

But then I read of the varients of Covid in other countries and I know that we're probably somewhat more optimistic than we should be. Maybe optimistic is the wrong term; engaging in wishful thinking might work better.

For me there's too much of the unknown when it comes to things like pandemics.  I mean one day we hear that this or that drug is more effective than another - but does one really know?  Even so-called experts change their minds from day to day. And one wonders whether it's a political statedment or is something meaningful really happening in the scientific world?

I bellieve we must each make our own decisisons about what will be.  Then we won't be really shocked when life takes one course or another.

For me this is a time to practice acceptance of whatever comes our way then we having a better chance of living in freedom.

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Thinking of the Pandemic

I recall last year when the pandemic first came to our shores that many of my friends and associates said they weren't wearing masks or doing social distancing.  That the government wasn't "telling them what to do or how to run their lives."

But when they began attending their friends' funerals and going into quarantine themselves, things changed.  All of a sudden they began following the guidelines.

The interesting thing the last few days is many people are still wearing masks and keeping their distances from others.  Including me.  Although government control is something I disdain I figure the precautions are a small thing compared to the potential tradeoff.  Besides I was locked up for so long that the government telling me what to do is part of my DNA.

While right now we have a slowdown in new cases I'm prepared for another tidal wave of infections.  None of us saw this last one coming and there are still countries in Central and South America that are raging with new cases.  Who knows when some of that will come our way.

The people I've seen who come through this the best is those who have healthy living habits.  They don't smoke, they're not fat, they exercise and stay positive.  The successful are those who are responsible for their own health.

And some use this pandemic as a lesson that they should enjoy life and have gratitude for what they have now.  They know that things could get worse so they should enjoy the present.

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Message from the Past

 While I was on vacation in Mexico last week I received an email from a client who was here 15 years ago, maybe longer.

I was surprised to hear from him and happy to find that he was doing well.

He wrote to tell me that he had retired from his job with the state of Arizona, probably the one that he went to when he left TLC many years ago.

Actually I was sorry to see him go. He was one of those guys who maintained himself. Kind of like someone who worked for a large corporation. Always well-dressed, neat and clean. Serious about his recovery,

In any event, he wrote to say how he was was grateful for the time he spent with TLC. He said the experience changed his life. He'd been sober for many years. Had a nice home in Scottsdale, good relationships, and was thoroughly enjoying a sober life.

While his email gave us a lot of credit for his recovery, reality is that he did all the work himself. We get letters all the time from people who give us credit for their recovery. But the reality is that all TLC provides is a framework for people to work on sobriety, healthy living habits, and a different outlook on life. If they are motivated we 100% guarantee them that they will stay sober for life. While that may seem to be a brash statement, those who stay sober and follow our guidelines always succeed because we give good them continual good information about recovery.

In any event, it's nice when you return home and hear that the good you did 15 years ago is still bearing fruit today. His message shows that the program works if we're willing to put in the effort.

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Home Again

Tomorrow back home again.  Once more to the office to deal with the unexpected issues that come up when you're housing 600 addicts.

After 30 years there aren't many surprises in a day's work, but still they happen and I'm blessed with a staff that has been with us so long that they know what to do and when to do it.  I very rarely get calls from home because someone has an issue they can't deal with.  It happens, but rarely.

I usually come here to the Mexican Riviera at least four times a year.  But this year Covid intervened and we couldn't get reservations until late February.  Once I got the tickets I was pretty pleased,  But then I broke three ribs while working out. I almost canceled, but went anyway - bad idea.  

It''s hard to have fun while in pain but we went anyway.  When I got back I made reseervations for this month to play catch up.  Good idea.

But now it's time to get back to work and in fact I'm looking forward to it.

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No Blog?

The last couple of days readers have come to this page and guess what?  No blog.

I right  away  started getting messages from some of my followers about what was going on?  Had I quit writing it?  Had an angry reader tracked me down and gotten even for what I said about them?  No, it was something much simpler than that.  

Believe it or not my computer, because I'm in Mexico, didn't want to publish the blog in English - something that's never happened in the 30 years I've  been visiting here.  It's a little more complicated than that but I don't want to bore you more than I already do.

Part of it was my fault because a reader wanted to leave a comment, but couldn't, so asked me to put in a comment sectiom.  So I thought I would try to accomodate them.  And that's all I'll say about that.  However there's an option section on this page where one can leave a comment.  But I'm not sure it works.   And I'll leave it at that,

Also, I must thank my new assistant, my youngest daughter, Veronica, who solved the problem in a few hours.  So when I awoke this morning she let me know that it was now working.  What a relief after writing over 2800 blogs in over nine years to not lose them in cyberspace.

And thank my loyal readers,  Except for the one who suggested that I restore the comment section.

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Reporting from Mexico

A friend who reads my blog once in a while has asked me to put in a section for comments, something I did when I first started around ten years ago.  I resisted his suggestion for a while but I think I'll give it another try.

The reason I took that section out over five years ago is because most of the comments were written by angry former residents who found it a good place to vent their anger.

Clients who were expelled for not wanting to work or submit to a drug test found the comment section a convenient place to vent their anger. 

Even though 95% of them were homeless  and unemployed when they came to us they always had complaints about something:  the food, the housing, the bedbugs and cockroaches, the random drug testing, and on and on.  Even though we're inspected and licensed by the city and county, have contract pest control, and are inspected by the Arizona Health Department, they still complained.

So to  repond to my friend's request I'm restablishing the comment section.  We'll see if people have changed.

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