Narconon® Arrowhead - Share Your Success!

The ultimate game is life and I'm a winner! (Over 5 years clean)

2011-01-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

On March 3rd 2006, my life changed forever, I confronted my drug problem head on and admitted that I needed help. I came to the doors of Narconon Arrowhead and instantly, things got easier. I found that in just admitting that I had a problem and then reaching out to those around me for their support was the first step towards getting my life back together.

It took me some time to get through the program, and likely so, it took me a long time to get down into the condition I was in, of course it would take some time for me to get out of it. I noticed a radical change in my behavior, I became more honest, more willing to see the other person side, and more myself, which for me was very new.

As soon as I completed the program I turned myself in, to Craig County in East Texas for a warrant that was out for my arrest. I can honestly say that if I had not completed the Narconon program I would not of been able to turn myself in and assume responsibility for the actions that got me there in the first place. Once I finished my stint in the county jail, I came right back to Narconon and started training which was on Dec. 3rd of 2006.

Since then I have accomplished so much and have put myself in a position that requires a high level of responsibility. I have had the opportunity to reach over 150,000 students with effective drug and alcohol education throughout the mid-west. I have organized groups, put on events, partnered with community leaders, and the list goes on and on.

My family, whose trust I had betrayed time and time again, now are extremely proud of my work and my success, a success that was achieved through the staff and technology of the Narconon Arrowhead program. Life is not only worth living, it is the ultimate game for me where every day I end up a winner.

John Bitinas
Dir. of Drug Education

My life had totally fallen apart.

2011-01-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

I came to Narconon Arrowhead after 30 years of alcohol and marijuana abuse. My life had totally fallen apart. I had lost to many career opportunities and relationships to even keep track of anymore. I was 48 years old and had basically wasted my life chasing the false high of drugs and alcohol.

Upon arrival at Narconon Arrowhead I immediately began the life changing recovery that Narconon is famous for. Withdrawal, was amazing. All the help and assistance one could ever ask for. Then it was on to the New Life Detoxification Program that was vital to physical recovery. People often consider withdrawal and detoxification as the same thing, but they definitely are not! On the detoxification program I was able to get decades of stored drugs and toxins fully out of my system, while restoring the nutritional balances vital to a drug free and happy life. I literally felt 20 years younger after this part of the program, and any physical craving I had were gone.

The rest of the program addressed all the mental and emotional damage I had inflicted on myself. My ability to confront the “here and now” and the relief from the quilt and depression that comes from the drug and alcohol abuse were all majorly alleviated.

Most importantly, Narconon gave me actual tools to use in my everyday life to actually go for and reach my new found goals with out drugs and alcohol. I have been drug and alcohol free for almost 10 years now and I can honestly say I have never once had the urge to return to the old life or to use or drink. I now enjoy a very fulfilling career helping others to get the Narconon Technology that saved my life.

Believe me, no matter how hopeless it may seem and no matter how many times you have already tried to get and stay clean, there is hope and there is a workable solution. There is a whole new world out there, full of life, joy, happiness, and fulfillment.

I owe my life, and a great life it is, to Narconon Arrowhead!

Mike Otto CCDC
Narconon Graduate – September 2001

I have never looked back...

2011-01-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

A wonderful Success Story sent to me from a 2005 Narconon Arrowhead Graduate.

Enjoy!

Hi DannaSue,

Went to get the mail today and in the box was your Holiday Card. It came at a very appropriate time for me. Today marks my 5th year admittance to the Narconon Arrowhead Family of Healing. It is hard to believe how life and all it has to offer was restored to my "Being" from the very first step taken into the program, followed 10 months later to my very first step out of the program. I have said it before and I will always say it again and again; "I have never looked back". You, the program and the entire staff remain my daily bread. I cannot begin to tell you all the people who I tell my story to and what Narconon is about, respond with such curiosity and amazement. Many feel they could benefit from the teachings regardless of having an addiction or not. I have received such strong support to be more active in public speaking and being a voice in a more dramatic way than being my simple self and I feel a strong urge/need to write it down. It is so inspirational to read and see familiar faces of those who continue to lead a wonderful life, the kind of life we all are deserving of.

I'm packing to leave for northern CA to be with family and friends as well as build a basement for a friend's bed & breakfast in Redding. They watched my demise with alcohol and were there to say good bye in March of 2005 when I was given 3 days to live. Now we just laugh, hug and remain kids true to the heart as we grow old together.

I am including a picture. This is me and my daughter Madi spending time together. Madi is 17. She enjoys spending time with dad.
Thank you for always making the effort to keep in touch and being a constant flame in the spirit of life at it's purest of mind, health and action.

"Everything about you,
Because of you and for you,
Comes from you,
Through thought......."

Love,
Russ D.
2005 Narconon Arrowhead Graduate

It Completely Changed My Life.

2009-12-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

Today I am very proud to say that I have been drug free for more than eight years thanks to the Narconon® drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.I started using drugs and alcohol at 13 years-old and went from marijuana to LSD to cocaine and finally ended up hooked on heroin.

At one point my addiction was so severe that I would use over $100 dollars per day of the drug and was going to all lengths to get my next high. I couldn’t hold a job, stole money for drugs, and alienated my family and friends and anyone that cared about me.There were many times that I was so close to death and I would just wonder what was wrong with me that I couldn’t just stop using. And even though I pushed those away that tried to help me, deep down I knew that I didn’t want to be a drug addict. I had fallen into a trap.

Thankfully, I had a family that loved me so much that they never gave up on me. My dad spent months searching for drug rehab programs that might help. He finally found Narconon through the Internet and after speaking with someone at the center I decided to get on a plane and do the program.I completed the Narconon program in a few months and it completely changed my life. I no longer physically craved drugs. I actually felt stable for the first time and was able to get life skills that I could use in any area of my life.

Most of all I was finally happy. Even after eight years, I still use the things that I learned through Narconon to handle my life.

And since completing the program some of the best things in my life have happened, including meeting a wonderful man that I have been married to for nearly seven years and being a mother to our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.When I look at my new daughter I can’t imagine one day of my life without her. It’s hard to believe that I was almost not here to have this amazing experience of being a parent.

If there is anyone out there who is addicted, or if you are a family member or a friend who knows someone who is struggling, please don’t give up. Do whatever it takes to get help; it is possible to permanently recover from addiction.

Erica Catton

Narconon Arrowhead Graduate

(photographed, Erica, Ella, and Luke Catton.)

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Representative program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for DannaSue Pruett.

Visit our websites at: www.stopaddiction.com or http://www.narcononarrowhead.org/

To read more success stories please visit: http://www.narcononarrowheadshareyoursuccess.blogspot.com/

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

©2009 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All rights reserved.NARCONON and the Narconon logo are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.

A Strangers Kindness Gave Me A Chance At Life.

2009-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

A Strangers Kindness Gave Me A Chance At Life.

My life has been a rollercoaster since as far back as I can remember. When I was 13 I did two years for a crime that I committed. Since that time I’ve been doing drugs and just anything I could get my hands on. For the last three years I was doing Oxycontin and I was heading down a dead-end street. I woke up one day and looked at myself in the mirror and hated the person staring back at me. I knew I needed to change my life.

I went on the Internet to find some help and I found Narconon®. It said it had an 76% success rate. So, I called them up and told them, “I need to come.” Luckily I had some good insurance and I had a chance to come. While coming there I started to do great things. I could feel myself changing. I felt my life was going good for once.

I was about half-way through the program when they dropped a bomb on me. They told me my insurance had run out. My policy didn’t cover the entire program fees. At this point I started to fear for my life. I knew I wasn’t ready to go home. I started to do everything I could to do to stay. I started volunteering my time anywhere I could. I was talking to everyone here, staff and students trying to get some help anyway I could. Then, a good friend of mind told me to talk to Chris Wilcox a counselor at the center who also worked in the sauna purification area. I thought to myself, “How could someone that ran the sauna program help?” But, I talked to him regardless. I thought at this point, “Why not?” And, as I talked to him he had a very good friend who sponsored a few other people to stay in the program. It so happened, that she was visiting that weekend. I remember him telling me, “I told her about you, but if you want this bad enough, you need to go talk to her.”

This was probably the hardest thing I ever had to do. I’ve been on my own my whole life and never had to ask anyone for help. But, I sucked up my pride because I knew that I needed to stay here. So, I went up to her and told her the story of my life. She told me not to worry that she would get back to me. It was about a week later when Chris came up to me and told me she sponsored me. I went into shock and then I started to cry.

I thought to myself, “What an amazing woman. I didn’t even know her and she did this for me.” No words can describe what this meant to me. A complete stranger just saved my life.

To me she’s a super-hero. I was falling off a cliff and half-way down and she swooped down and save me, picked me up and put me down on my feet. Now I’ve just completed the
program. I came in a boy and I’m leaving a man. I owe it to a stranger. Out of the kindness of her heart she gave me a chance to be somebody. I wish everyone that was in my position had that super-hero to come down and put them on their feet.

Jon C.
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate

To receive information about the “Save a Life Fund” or to make a donation to this cause, please contact DannaSue Pruett at 1-800-468-6933 ext 795 or dannasue@stopaddiction.com.

Every person deserves the chance to receive the life saving program that is offered at Narconon Arrowhead.

You can make a difference in someone’s life TODAY.

Mail Donations to:

Narconon Arrowhead
Save a Life Fund – DS
HC 67 Box 5
Canadian, OK 74425

Thank You For Saving My Son's Life.

2009-07-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a few minutes to say “thank you” for saving my son’s life.

Last summer my son confessed that he was using drugs. I started trying to find help for him, but there weren’t a lot of facilities around and not many had intense treatment. No one talked of detox or long term help after treatment. 30 days is not enough time to get clean and learn the skills needed not to relapse. Then I found Narconon®.

I called the 800 number and was immediately directed to someone that specialized in the type of drug my son was using. They were supportive and understood what we, as a family, were going through as well as my son was going through.

At the time my son was not willing to get help, but several months later he hit bottom. He was scared—afraid of what was going to happen while getting the drugs out of his system— but knew he couldn’t go on the way he was. Once I got him in the car, headed for the detox facility, he kept trying to back out. I remembered Narconon and told him we would go there to talk to them. He agreed. I knew if he got out of the car at home, I’d never get him back in to get help. As a parent you want to fix all the wrongs and you can’t fix this.

The staff at Narconon Arrowhead were great in getting my son to agree to detox. This was his first step to recovery. They transported him to a hospital, did all the paperwork and reassured me that they would be there for the family throughout the entire program, and after. They helped him with legal matters so that warrants, which would have only created more problems, weren’t issued.

Our son had some hard times while in the program. It’s hard to face your mistakes, to change your whole life. But through it all the staff was there for us and for him, encouraging him to stay when the going got rough and supporting us, so we could stand strong and not give in. It was so hard not to give in and to be firm in insisting that he stay in the program. It’s really hard to tell your kid not to come back home if he does not finish the program.

I have had so many people tell me they have never seen our son look so good and happy. Through the program he has gained confidence, better communication skills, better control of his emotions and is aware of “the good type of people” and “the bad ones” that will lead to trouble. He is no longer an angry young man with no direction and no will to do anything but get his drugs. For the first time in years he shows respect for his family and elders, and goes out of his way to help when needed—without an argument.

Our son knows he is a drug addict. He knows that each day is a new day in recovery, but he now has the skills he needs to survive.

Thank you for giving our son back to us.

Sincerely,
A Grateful Mother.

Visit our websites at:
http://www.stopaddiction.com/ or http://www.narcononarrowhead.org/

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

When I was high on Methamphetamine, I didn't care about anything!

2009-04-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

I started smoking methamphetamine when I was twenty-two years old, traveling around from town to town, participating in rodeos on the weekend. One weekend before the rodeo, I told a friend of mine I didn’t feel good and he said, "Here, take this." It was meth. That was my first time.

Well, I tried it. I won that rodeo and left town with a new saddle and some money. That felt pretty good but what happened later sure didn’t.

After I went through a divorce, things started going downhill. At first, I was just using meth on the weekends, but after the divorce, it started being three or four times a week, then it was every day. That habit was completely out of control. I was spending $500 a week on drugs.

Meth gives you a rush. Coming down from it, you get grouchy and irritable. It causes problems in relationships because if things get tough at home, you just want that fix. You don’t care about the bills. Nothing else matters but staying high. When there’s no money to get meth, you will pawn or sell what you own that you never would have gotten rid of before.

I don’t care who you are, when you come down, you come down hard. You are up for three or four days and down for five. When I was high on methamphetamine, I didn’t care about anything. I didn’t care about food on the table. I didn’t care about the bills. I just wanted to fish, hunt and get high. I ended up being addicted to meth for 15 years. My family was very religious which just proves that this can happen to anyone.

When I came to Narconon Arrowhead in August of 2005 I was beat down and felt terrible. I thought no one cared about me. I had sold and pawned everything. I was at rock bottom. As a result of the Narconon® program, I turned my life around completely. I have a loving wife a good job and I feel awesome. I never knew that life could be so good.

S.M., Oklahoma
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate
November 3, 2005

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Mike Otto. Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. www.stopaddiction.com

©2009 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All rights reserved. NARCONON and the Narconon logo are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.

I am unbelievably happy, confident, and healthy.

2008-09-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

It was just three short years ago that I was smoking crystal meth and snorting OxyContin every day. I was completely hopeless and out of control. I had scars on my arms and legs from the cuts that I inflicted on myself just to be able to feel something. My life was spent dancing on a pole, letting men put their hands on me, just to be able to afford the next hit that I was going to take in the club’s bathroom.

My body had just become a thing to me. Self-respect did not exist. Instead, it was replaced by a false sense of confidence that I exhibited to all those who came in contact with me. I hated my parents, my life, and myself. I thought I was crazy – bipolar, schizophrenic, manic-depressive, and every other thing I could self-diagnose by looking on the internet.

I thought that drugs helped me feel "normal." I didn’t realize that my problems and emotional distress went far beyond the drug use itself. The drugs were my comfort because they kept the other, more basic problems out of sight. On October 9, 2005, I hit that "bottom" that you hear addicts talk about. That moment is as fresh for me as yesterday.

That moment came when I was all alone, sitting in a hospital emergency room. I was covered in blood and looking through my cell phone for someone to come help me. I saw the other people in the ER all had family or friends with them. I had no one. None of the "friends" I had been getting high with for years would come help me.

I’d started bleeding heavily a few hours before. Just before I drove myself to the ER, I had crystal meth and OxyContin. In the ER, I found out that I was pregnant and miscarrying. I was so out of touch with reality that I didn’t even know I was pregnant. Because I was getting all my energy from the drugs, my weight was down to a skeletal 82 pounds.

For hours, the nurses monitored my hormone levels as I waited for my unborn child to die inside me. Finally, the doctor came in and let me know that the drugs I had taken had killed my baby. I hit the floor in utter panic. Trembling and hysterical, I called my mother. She didn’t believe anything I told her because, like a typical addict, I had been lying to her and manipulating her for years. That was the moment I hit bottom. Instead of calling anyone else to help, I turned my cell phone around and took a video of myself, makeup smeared down my face from crying. I told myself in that video, "Remember this moment." I kept that video on my cell phone for the next couple of years.

I left that hospital completely numb. I was slowly realizing that I had no clue what I was doing, who I was or what I wanted to be. The Emily I thought I knew was gone and had been replaced by this addict. I got home and lay in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to search for answers. Once again, I called my mom. I uttered the words "I am ready...I need help." Within the hour she had plane tickets for me to fly to her house. I left everything – my clothes, my car, my jewelry, everything, and made it to the airport, falling and trembling the whole way.

When I got to my parent’s home, they talked to me about going to Narconon® Arrowhead for a drug rehabilitation program. I really wanted help but I honestly didn’t think it was possible for anyone to help me. I thought I was meant to be this completely miserable person that I must have a chemical imbalance or some other thing that taking medication would cure. I couldn’t even hear the words of the people who were trying to convince me to get help; it was all gibberish.

My step-father finally got me to an airport to fly me to Oklahoma for the Narconon program. We got into a screaming match at the ticket counter but it wasn’t really me that was fighting him. It was just my hopelessness. He finally said, "Fine. I will buy you a plane ticket back to Louisiana but don’t you dare ever talk to us again because you are already dead and we are done." I realized that from the outside, someone could see just exactly how I was feeling on the inside. I had felt dead for many years but no one could ever tell. From that point, I begged him please to get me to Oklahoma.

From the time I entered the doors to Narconon Arrowhead, the real Emily started to come out of hiding. Now, three years later, I’ve made a complete recovery. I’ve been clean since that day in the hospital. I don’t have to carry the guilt around from those years any more because I’m now unbelievably happy, confident and healthy. I have formed relationships with my family that were not even possible before I started using drugs. I am a dedicated, responsible mother of a beautiful 20-month-old son. I have learned how to communicate and form meaningful relationships that don’t just dwindle down to nothing within a few months. I owe my life and happiness to Narconon and the methods it uses.

I just wish that other people who are caught in the trap of addiction could find the kind of help that Narconon Arrowhead gave me. There’s a portion of their program that uses a sauna and nutritional supplements to flush drug residues from the body and that helps eliminate the cravings. There’s counseling and life skills courses that help restore the self-respect that drugs destroy. It saved my life and the lives of the other people I met there. They can find that help by calling 1-800-468-6933 or at their website http://www.stopaddiction.com/.

Emily Fudge, Narconon Arrowhead Graduate, January 2006

©2008 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All rights reserved.
NARCONON and the Narconon logo are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are
used with its permission.

I am grateful that I am a Narconon Graduate.

2008-08-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am happy and truly grateful that I am a Narconon® graduate. I am the happiest I have been since I got my first pet hamster Crystal when I was 11 and having the best days of my life. A year ago my perspective was far from blissful. I was drinking 30 beers a day and swilling half a gallon of dark rum a day. I was waking up with nightmarish delirium tremens oblivious to the night before. After losing lucrative employment as a stockbroker, my family, friends, cat and condo I was living at an extended stay motel paying rent weekly simply to afford my drinking career. In hindsight, I am aghast at the squalid lifestyle I had and it makes my stomach churn in disgust. My family brought me to Narconon when they received word that I was in a coma at Allen Presbyterian Hospital in Texas because of alcohol poisoning and a futile effort at wrist dismemberment.

As we approached the Narconon campus, I saw the breathtaking vista of the main building against the backdrop of the glistening lake Eufaula. It is one of the few things I recall but at that moment I was overwhelmed by the intuitive happiness of knowing that everything was going to be alright. My severe withdrawal symptoms were mitigated by the care I received from the withdrawal staff. The drug-free withdrawal step coupled with a regimen of potent vitamins and minerals, was precisely the raw material my body needed to nourish itself back to rejuvenation. Book one empowered me to develop poise and focus my attention so that I could make the most of the program to come. In Sauna I felt my body revitalize and the mind sharpen as a decade of residual alcohol and assorted toxins came pouring out. My biggest wins came from objectives when I learned that the key to long-term happiness is the awareness of knowing that the seeds of depression can never spawn in a grateful heart. I also learned that time management is life management and life is no more than a string of present moments. The key to living a full life is to be perpetually engaged in the present moment –and be comfortable there. What makes me happiest is the knowledge that the best is yet to come.

I was recently selected as one of ten lucky individuals for the University of Oklahoma ‘s prestigious Legal Scholar Program. A 5-year accelerated program that leads to a baccalaureate and a law degree. Yes! The future looks bright indeed. It is high time to break out the sunglasses.

Gratefully,
Dean S. Daredia
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate February 2008

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Representative program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Mike Otto.

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

Knocking Out Addiction

2008-07-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

I am a 32 year old Hispanic/Italian raised in New York and on my own since the age of 14. Crack, weed, alcohol and LSD took over 15 years of my life. I have been in over 10 rehabs, group homes, military school, and spent 4 years in prison. One third of my life has been spent in prison and rehab. I also lost a boxing career due to drugs and destroyed my relationship with my family.

As if being an addict wasn’t enough, I had guns pointed at me on the street, was shot at and later nearly committed suicide. At this point I desperately needed a change from addiction and the feelings of hopelessness, fear, anger, and failure.

In November of 2007, I packed my bags and I drove 20 hours to Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma. After being embraced with love and care like was never given to me before, I successfully completed the Narconon® Program. There is nothing in this world that could replace that first feeling of love and care that I received.

I have a great relationship with my family. They have accepted me back. I am trusted, reliable, and a very stable man today. I love my life and all of the things I was taught at Narconon Arrowhead. They have instilled ethics and personal integrity. They instilled responsibility, reliability and most importantly, true enthusiastic interest in building a new future.

Thank you Narconon for being the best that you are.

Brien Carella
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

I found myself and my music at Narconon.

2008-07-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

When I was 3 years old I picked up a violin for the first time. By the time I was 5 years old, I was performing. My parents were very supportive of me, I did great in school and had a bright future. Throughout my childhood and early teens my ability to play music was one of the most important things to me. I felt I was destined to be a professional violinist.

At the age of 16, I started smoking pot, and my grades started slipping. I quickly stopped caring about school, and my parents noticed that something must be going on. They sent me to a psychiatrist who decided that I had ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) - his explanation for my poor school performance. My parents and the psychiatrist decided to have me start taking large doses of Ritalin. The first time I took Ritalin, I knew I was in trouble, because I felt better than I had ever felt before. However, as soon as the drug started wearing off, I had to have more - more at any cost. If I couldn’t get more Ritalin, I had to have some other drug to substitute for it. Within months, all I cared about was Ritalin, and I felt I could do anything if I had "it" and nothing if I didn’t.

I was still playing the violin, but it wasn’t as important to me as it once was. When I was 19, my parents thought I was getting high and gave me a drug test. This is how they came to know I was smoking marijuana. They sent me to a 12 step rehabilitation center, which I faked my way through. As soon as I graduated the program, I was off to the races; I pawned my violin to get more drugs, and by this time I was using every and any drug I could find. Because I no longer had a violin, I started DJ’ing in night clubs and at raves and I was selling drugs and getting high 24 hours a day. The more drugs I used, the less important everything else in my life became. I quit talking to my parents, I had no real friends, I had no responsibilities and often no place to live. I traveled around the country getting in trouble and getting high, and by the time I was 29, I had been shooting cocaine and heroin for nearly a decade, been in at least 10 rehabs and had absolutely no hope. I thought the one thing I was supposed to do in life was to get high and sell drugs. I knew sooner or later I would be arrested or die from an overdose, but that was okay with me.

When I was 30 years old, it finally happened. I was arrested and I went to jail. My lawyer recommended I go to another rehab, and he told me about a place called Narconon®. I did not want to get clean, but I wanted to get out of jail, so I agreed to go. By the time I got there, I had not played the violin for 12 years. I had no idea what it felt like to have hope, and just wanted to escape, to run from life and my legal problems.

Detox, while never pleasant, wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Narconon’s drug-free withdrawal got me out of my head, and before I knew it, I wasn’t thinking about drugs 24-7. The sauna program was one of the parts of the program that I will never forget. It was an amazing feeling to be free of all the harmful toxins and drug residues that my body had been storing for all those years. I could think clearly again.

One of the students in the program had a violin, and I began playing music again. Music came back to me quickly and I learned how to communicate with others again. I saw what was really happening around me. Narconon taught me how to live again! How to hope and fulfill my dreams! The staff were friendly and supportive and I made life long friends. I still had legal issues, however I now knew that I had the ability to face these challenges and no matter what the outome, I knew I would be okay.

During my time at Narconon Arrowhead, I regained the ability to play music, I rekindled my relationship with my family, I learned who I was, and what I wanted to be. After graduation, I stayed in Oklahoma, teaching music and talking to kids in schools about the dangers of drug use. I was the happiest I had ever been. It has been 2 years since I quit doing drugs, and now I love life.

I finally took care of my legal issues. I was sentenced to 2.5 to 5 years in prison. I am writing this from my jail cell. Little did I know it, but while at Narconon I gained the ability to confront any situation and be okay in it. Even though prison isn’t where I want to be, I know what I am capable of, and what I will be doing when I get out. I am still amazed that not only have I been clean for more than two years, I have absolutely no cravings for drugs!
M. G., Narconon Arrowhead Graduate (January 15th, 2007)

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Representative program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for DannaSue Pruett-Lafitte.

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. www.stopaddiction.com

I Feel Love and Happiness Again.

2008-06-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Almost three years ago, I was very addicted to crystal methamphetamine. I was losing my mind, my pride, and my health. Basically I was dying.

I am a professional musician, and I had gotten to such a bad point that I had completely stopped playing my guitar.

My life was completely out of control. I could not feel any kind of happiness, and I cannot put into words how horrible I felt both physically and mentally.

Then I came to Narconon Arrowhead, and with my determination to live, and the incredible help from the staff (and I mean INCREDIBLE HELP), and with the drug rehabilitation technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, I not only got my life back, I gained the ability to be happy again. To me, that is priceless.

After completing the Narconon® program, I now have integrity and the ability to face whatever comes my way--in all areas of my life. I play my guitar more than ever, and my creativity is more alive than it has ever been. My relationship with my family is better than ever, and I now have a desire to help others do well in life. Most of all, I feel love and happiness again.
Narconon not only helped me get off drugs, they helped me gain the tools to lead a happy, successful life. I am very proud of myself! And I cannot put into words how grateful I am to Narconon and L. Ron Hubbard for helping me.

I graduated Narconon Arrowhead March 4th, 2005, and went out to the world with a whole new outlook, and the tools to finally make my dreams come true, and most of all, not resort to drugs
when things get tough, or use drugs to try to feel good. I now can go out and create a great life on my own.

It is now 2008. I am happily married to my beautiful wife Christina and raising our boy Bryan, working, writing music, and playing guitar better then I ever have. Instead of constantly needing help from others, I am the one that is helping others. I can honestly say that Narconon saved my life, and after 3 years of being out here in the world meeting other people that are on drugs, I know that Narconon is the only solution for a person addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Thank you Narconon Arrowhead for helping me.

Mark D. Reale

Narconon Arrowhead Graduate

March 4th 2005

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. www.stopaddiction.com

Narconon Arrowhead Saved My Life

2008-05-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is a typical story of an average teenager going through life wanting to be a part of something and becoming a drug addict. When I was thirteen years of age I was at a summer party and was confronted for the first time with marijuana. I found myself in the predicament of, "I want to fit in and be a part of this group but I don’t think this is right." I then found myself thinking, "It’s just a little pot what’s the big deal?" Well needless to say I smoked pot that day, which quickly turned into an every day habit.

As I became older my drug use continued to grow as well. By the time I was fifteen I was doing cocaine, acid, crack, and pain pills. Not only was I using these drugs but I was selling them as well. I had the popularity that I was looking for but at what cost to myself, my body, and my life. The great relations that I had with my family slowly began to fall away as I sought to separate myself from them in hopes that they would not discover my addiction to drugs.

Physically my body began to deteriorate and my performance in school began to decline greatly. I went from being a straight A student to barely passing my classes, when I attended them at all. Eventually my family caught on to my addiction and confronted me on it. This led to family therapy, which did not even come close to handling the true problem at hand (my drug case). I was then kicked out of my home for a period of one week in hopes that I would wise up and seek the help that I so desperately needed. Of course at age fifteen I did not think I had a problem and had the typical teenage attitude of, "I am invincible and immortal nothing can hurt me.

As several more years passed my drug habit increased along with all the negative effects it had on my body and my family. When I was 18 years old I was arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and placed on probation for a year. During this time my drug use increased and I found myself now using heroin. My probation was revoked due to violation of probation conditions and I was sentenced to 100 days in city jail. After I was released from jail, I instantly returned to my old habits of selling and using drugs.

By the time I was 21 years of age I was shooting up 300 to 400 dollars a day worth of heroin along with using cocaine and marijuana on a regular basis. Through my selling of drugs I was able to purchase a house, spa, big screen TV and live a life of wealth and women. Yet, I was still living the nightmare of my drug addiction and eventually lost everything that I had worked so hard for over the years. I finally came to the realization that I had to do something about my addiction but had no idea where to turn for help. I decided to call my mom and let her know, fully, the condition of my drug addiction. That’s when we found the Narconon Arrowhead drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.

I admit that at first I was scared and skeptical about the success that I would have overcoming my addiction, yet as my time at Narconon Arrowhead progressed and I completed more steps of the program, I quickly began to realize that there was a great possibility I would be able to live my life without drugs. I graduated from the Narconon Arrowhead program on March 23rd 2001, and have been completely clean and sober since then.

The program at Narconon Arrowhead has completely changed my life for the better. I no longer have any doubt about completing anything I wish to accomplish and have the ability to confront anything that I am faced with. The relations between my family and I are more than I could ever have hoped for. I am in complete communication with all members of my family and am an inspiration to them. Since the Narconon program I have become a successful contributing member of my family and society.

I can honestly say that Narconon® helped me save my life and continues to do so for others on a daily basis. I married another successful graduate and have two beautiful sons. We are living and working in Colorado. My wife is going to school to become a Registered Nurse and I am a corporate representative for a fortune three hundred company. We are two successful graduates who are active in our community and always available to help others who are in need.

Thank you Narconon Arrowhead for giving me the chance to be not only a son but a husband and father too. And I want give a special thank you to L. Ron Hubbard for providing me the technology that saved my life.

Chris Red
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate (March 23rd 2001)
(Angela Red, Narconon Arrowhead Graduate, October 25th 2002)

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities
through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

I have Purpose.

2008-04-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

Back in 1991, I slipped and fell at work on my tailbone. I was struggling with the pain that ultimately resulted in many back surgeries and an addiction to Vicodin, Loritab, Percocet, Methadone, Oxycotin and whatever opiate was available. My mother became very ill in 1997, so I quit my job and began taking care of her in Bella Vista, Arkansas. It was a trying time, but I would not have given up taking care of her no matter what.

My survival was diminishing and I really was not aware of that until after Mom passed in February of 2007. I was out of work, all alone, and lying in a hospital bed after another surgery in my home. I woke up one morning to find I could not use my right arm or hand nor could I feel my right leg. Of course I took a handful of pills and tried to shake the feeling into my body, but it would not wake up. Finally, I called the paramedics and was taken to the hospital. The diagnosis was a stroke but I took off out the doors from the hospital and went back to duplicating my same routine of pill taking and laying in bed. I can remember thinking, "Who cares if I can not use my hand, I don’t need to play the piano anymore, I don’t have to work." Nothing mattered, until I ran out of my drugs and my bottle was empty. I was a mess, my mind was not clear, and my body was not healthy. I was dying, 5’8’’ and 90 pounds.

My brother was on a airplane and was seated next to Holly Conklin. Through conversation, my brother discovered Holly was an interventionist and she worked with a company called Narconon® Arrowhead. He took her card and six months later I was ready to talk to Holly, she then answered all my questions and personally escorted me to the center.

Narconon gave me the tools I needed to apply and survive that terrible cycle of addiction. I am not afraid to confront myself or others and I will never go down that road of depression, guilt and anxiety again. My mind is clear, and my body is healthy. The big win is, "I am alive and I have purpose." I am in control, the drugs are not in control of me. I am productive, energetic, caring, understanding and frankly, "Loving who I am and all the beauty that surrounds me everyday".

Thank you.

Diana Smith
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate October 25, 2007

Note: Diana Smith is a Registrar for Narconon Arrowhead if you know someone who needs help, she will do anything she can to assist them. Please give her a call at 1-800-468-6933 or email her at dianas@stopaddiction.com.

© 2008 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All rights reserved.
NARCONON and the Narconon logo are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.

The best decision I ever made.

2008-03-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

"This is my story of how I changed my life and overcame addiction. I came into drugs and alcohol at an early age. I was twelve years old when I took my first drink; I’ll always remember that feeling I had. That type of mentality followed me into my teenage years. At fourteen years old I started smoking marijuana to fit in with the older crowd.

"Before I started using drugs, I was doing well, either playing sports or busy with school. The older I got, the more I was smoking marijuana. It got to the point where that wasn’t enough for me anymore, which is when I started to drink socially. At sixteen years old I began mixing the two at parties or when hanging out with my friends. I was still showing up for school and my social life had never been better, but something was different. I noticed that I was more devious to my family and friends by making excuses and lying to them about where I was going and what I was doing.

"As I got older and continued to use drugs and drink alcohol, I found myself losing interest in my goals and my desire to better myself. I became anti-social and completely oblivious to anything or anyone around me. I wasn’t getting high like I was before; the feeling would wear off in an hour so it would take more drugs to sustain my high. I started experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and psychedelic mushrooms. This, added to what I was doing before, brought me to a new plateau of what I thought was just another high. I completely blinded myself to the cycle of drug addiction that I was creating in my life--a cycle that would almost claim my life many times.

"After graduating from high school, I was ready to go out and make things happen for myself, completely neglecting the fact of who I had become--an alcoholic and daily drug user, trying to push myself to just accomplish anything so that I could earn money to support my habit. At this period in my life, I went to college and failed out my freshman year due to poor grades. On top of drinking heavily, I began using cocaine and ecstasy at parties. I got into a bad car accident with a telephone pole while driving under the influence. I was going nowhere in life.

"At this point, my family sat me down and did an intervention. They said, ‘John, you need to get your life together. We found this place in Oklahoma called Narconon Arrowhead that can help you.’ At that point my reality was so skewed that I said, ‘Sure, if it gets me out of Lowell, Massachusetts.’

"The next day I was at Narconon® starting the first step of my program. The people at Narconon were very nice to me and helped me feel comfortable in my new environment.
"My program was not easy; in fact, it was the single hardest thing I have ever done! I rid the toxins from my body and let go of the desire to want to use drugs. Then the life skills courses gave me the tools needed to succeed in life.

"After graduating the Narconon program I made the best decision I’ve made in long time--to stay and work at Narconon Arrowhead. I now go to schools and do presentations to students about the dangers and truth about drugs. I take this very seriously because I know the power that drugs can have over the body and mind. This program gave me my life back and now I look forward to sharing my experience with younger minds."

-- John Bitinas

Narconon Arrowhead Graduate October 19th, 2006

(Story written March of 2008)

If you would like more information on Drug Education for your community please contact John at 1-800-468-6933 or email him at druged@stopaddiction.com.

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for DannaSue Pruett-Lafitte or Richard McNamara.

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities
through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. www.stopaddiction.com

Over and over again I tried to stop.

2008-03-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

There is a drug and alcohol problem within this country that rivals all the success in the world. Countless victims fall prey to its devastation every day. The death toll in this country alone is staggering as addiction can be a silent killer too those of us who suffer from addiction do so in absolute secrecy.

I remember thinking that it could never happen to me. That I, the successful wife, mother, business owner and all around good girl, would never be a drug addict. I looked at those who did suffer with a critical eye and often times wondered "why" and quietly whispered "that will never be me". I was wrong!

My name is Holly Conklin and throughout my life I have been many things, not the least of which was a drug addict. I never thought that in my 30’s I would fight the battle of a lifetime and struggle with a debilitating addiction to drugs. What I didn’t realize is that I had been struggling with it for years. You see, even the most successful people can and do suffer from addiction. Most addicts are amazingly adept at hiding the problem, that is, until it takes over your life and rips it to shreds, leaving in its wake the devastating destruction that is your life. Addiction affects mothers, fathers, children, siblings, parents and countless others who only want to see you survive.

As addicts, we have an innate desire for sobriety. So many times it is just outside our reach and even though we try, overcoming a serious addiction in a world so geared towards drugs can elude us for years. Outsiders looking in on our lives, astonished by what we have become scratch their heads in wonder. And we don’t even see it coming. Methamphetamine is one of the most difficult drugs to overcome and in combination with other drugs getting your life back seems impossible.

I was addicted to Methamphetamine. I lost my marriage, my children, my business, my freedom and nearly my life. Over and over again I tried to stop. Even with support of family and friends, doing it alone is not an option. Most treatment centers totally defeat a person on the way in the door with statements like "once and addict, always an addict", "you’re powerless over your addiction" and "this will be a struggle for the rest of your life, take it one day at a time." I didn’t want to be an addict anymore.

I consider myself very lucky. I have a family that loves me. I have an older brother who was not willing to give up on me. I have children who needed their mother and parents who were willing to try again after so many failed attempts.

My brother contacted a woman by the name of Dena Boman at Narconon Arrowhead. She explained the life cycle and mechanics of addiction so that he could understand what was happening to me and explain it to my parents. She told him that the program was such that I could complete it and return to a normal life. She told him that I didn’t have to struggle with addiction anymore. That I could be saved. And even though my family had their doubts, they decided that I was worth saving. They decided to try yet again to save the girl who was hidden behind a wall of severe addiction.

Dena Boman knew that she was saving my life. She knew that I could be successful. She doesn’t see an addict when she looks at people who are addicted. I struggle for words that can adequately describe what happened to me through that program. Simply put, my life has changed so drastically I sometimes wake up in shock at the happiness and satisfaction that I feel. People who meet my children are astonished at the relationship we have. You can see in their faces how proud of me they are. It’s amazing how they don’t hold my addiction against me. They brag about what I have overcome. They have become crusaders for kids who suffer like they did. They offer my help to anyone who needs it. My life with them that was so ruined by drugs is now the most amazing experience I could ever imagine. I didn’t think I could ever live a life without drugs. I was wrong. That program saved my life and, in essence, theirs.

After completing the program I became a counselor and work to help save the lives of others. Yes, I am that girl. I have no fear of addiction. About a year and a half ago, I became an Intervention Specialist. I have dedicated my life to helping people who can’t see their way out get the help they need. I offer my hand as someone who has been through the most difficult time and say "let me help you." And they do. In 2006 I opened my own intervention company called Angel Intervention and I have been able to assist over 100 people in getting their loved ones into Narconon Centers around the world.

I hope you will let us help you. You can contact the Narconon Arrowhead Program at (800) 468-6933 and speak with a counselor. The person that you love can have a healthy, happy, productive life. I know, because I have been that person.

Holly Conklin
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate January 5, 2005
Story written March 2008

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for DannaSue Pruett-Lafitte or Richard McNamara.

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. www.stopaddiction.com

Thank you for saving my life.

2007-09-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am a 12 ½ year Graduate of the Narconon® Program. Narconon not only saved my life, it gave me my life back.

I was a real mess, strung out on crack cocaine. I was at such a point in my life where I was just spinning in circles. Drugs had truly taken control of my life. I had become the type of person that most people would not want to be around. I became a liar not only to myself but to everyone around me and I did not care who I hurt in the process. Drugs cost me several jobs, cars, and it even cost me my marriage, but the most important thing it cost me was my relationship with my family. I was at such a place in my life where I just did not care.

Then one day my dog, of all things, ran and jumped into my lap and just sat there and looked up at me as if to say, "What are you doing to yourself?" It was at that very moment I just completely broke down and I got on the phone with my mom and dad and, admitted I had a problem and that I needed help. My dad came and got me from my apartment and took me back to their house. Now it must have been faith because before I called my parents they were watching a talk show that was talking about the Narconon program. They called up Narconon and they told them that their son needed help. When I got to my parent’s house my mom told me to call Narconon, that there was a gentleman there that wanted to talk to me, so I called him.

I can say now that it was the most important call I have ever made. His name was Gary Smith, and he talked to me, not like I was just another crackhead, but he talked to me like a friend. The next day I was on a plane to Narconon Chilocco in Oklahoma. Once I arrived at Narconon, I knew this is where I needed to be. I was scared to death, but I had to do this or else I was going to end up dead somewhere. At first I thought that the program was a little silly, but as I went through the program and with the help of the wonderful staff, I really started to see a difference in myself. I began to believe in myself again. Now I am a real person again, and I owe everything that I am today to the Narconon Program. If you or someone you know needs help, Narconon is truly the place you need to be. To the Staff here at Narconon I thank you again for saving my life.

Glenn Sadler
Narconon Chilocco Graduate (Oct. 26, 1995)
Story written August 2007

Narconon Chilocco is the original Narconon of Oklahoma. In 2001 it moved to Canadian Oklahoma and is now referred to as Narconon Arrowhead.

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

©2007 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All rights reserved.
NARCONON and the Narconon logo are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are
used with its permission.

I was in serious depression and despair.

2007-08-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

I am completely amazed at the success and gains I have made in both my personal and professional life since graduating the Narconon® Drug Rehabilitation program at Arrowhead. I have regained my self-respect, ethics, and morals as a result of the methods used to treat my addiction. My friends, family, and peers are constantly remarking about how much happier and healthier I appear to them.

Prior to coming to Narconon I was in serious depression and despair from my failures to stop drinking. Nothing worked for me; not the thirty day 12-step rehab places, Alcoholics Anonymous, or drugs prescribed by my Doctor. Now my desire to drink alcohol has completely gone away. I am working again and have a rewarding career ahead of me.
This success is due to the unique philosophy that Narconon takes toward drug and alcohol abuse treatment.

Michael A.
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate
Story written July 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

I'm not alone anymore!

2007-08-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

I didn’t know where my life was headed, and I didn’t care. I was doing as many cocktails of different drugs as I could. I was 18 and had been using drugs for four years. It started by using only on the weekends, using with friends at parties, wherever. It quickly escalated to using methamphetamines along with other drugs daily and before I knew it, I was shooting up as much as I could, whenever I could. The whole time I was doing it, I thought I was alone.
You would think that after getting arrested for possession at the age of 16 that maybe I would turn my life around. Needless to say that didn’t happen. I continued using more and more. I threw away any hope and help from my family. All I cared about was using the drugs that made me feel like I had some worth. I thought I was only affecting myself, but my friends and family were on the downward spiral as well.

Before I knew it the people who surrounded me were dying or going to jail. In my head that was all a part of the game. You had to stay one step ahead or you would fall six feet behind. I watched my boyfriend and good friend of 5 years overdose, and that showed me there was no hope.

I was making runs all over the state to get my drugs that would fix all my problems and it was always one shot or one pill away. I never found what I was looking for. I also never found out what I was hiding from. What I did find was myself sitting in a jail cell. I sat there for almost a month and I realized that I was sick of losing everything. I had NO idea who I was, and I didn’t know anywhere that could make me feel comfortable being me. I had gone to a 3 ½ month rehab before and it had done nothing. So I was not looking forward to going to another one…I expected the same results.

When I walked through the doors of Narconon®, it was a fresh, friendly, active atmosphere that I never would have ever expected. The first thing I heard was that I was NOT addicted or a slave to any drug. I found that I was able to sit in a room with people and feel as though I didn’t need anything to make me comfortable. The entire experience showed me new ways to look at life. I found that every time I got high was because I wanted to. No one made me and I had no excuse of depression. The sauna got all of the toxins out of my body and the life skills got me well rounded. They prepared me for what I was going to deal with when I left. They helped me disconnect from the people who I had been hanging around with. They were not going to let me leave and fail. They gave me every single tool I needed to succeed.

Today I stand today at over a year sober. I have no urge to use. I know that drugs are out there and I know they aren’t going anywhere fast. Most importantly I know that I DON’T need or want to use them. Not because I fall a victim to them, but because for the first time in my life I feel as though I can be happy without them.

I love life now, and I wake up every single day and am happy I am alive. I have lost a lot and been through even more. If a year ago someone would have told me one day I would be successful, happy, and drug free, I would have laughed at them. Now I know that all along I had it in me to do just that. I am not alone anymore.

Today I stand strong with so many positive influences that surround me and I never expected to be this happy without having to use drugs or alcohol.

Emily Milburn
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate December 2006
Story written July 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

Narconon Arrowhead Contact Information

2007-07-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Narconon Arrowhead

HC 67 Box 5

Canadian, OK 74425

1-800-468-6933

1-918-339-5800

info@stopaddiction.com

http://www.stopaddiction.com/

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction please contact us.

If you would like to submit your success story (with or without a photo) please send it to success@stopaddiction.com or mail it at the above address.

Prayers can be answered!

2007-07-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

My name is Anthony. I am 16 years old. I have had a rough life just like many others. I wanted to share my story with you.

My mom was an idealistic type of mom. She had raised me by herself for many years and then remarried and had my little brother. She had a degree from Oklahoma State University. We lived in a nice house. She drove a nice car. We were a happy family. Then things started to change. In 1999 my mom decided to divorce and packed me and my brother up and moved us back to her home town in Eufaula, OK. She became involved with a man that had just gotten released from prison. They fought often and drug use began to enter the scene. People were constantly over to the house. She would take me and my brother with her to strange houses where there were people doing drugs and cooking methamphetamine. There were over 20 people there with guns. The kids there were teenagers. While the adults were off making drugs, these teenagers taught me how to smoke pot.

We moved again. People would come to the house and scream and fight with my mom. They would come there to buy drugs from her. Once they stole our car. Fights were constant. My mom often feared for her life but was so into getting high that she was willing to risk her life and ours to get the drugs. It was really scary.

I started getting more and more pulled in. The guys that my mom ran with were teaching me how to be tough, how to fight, how to speak like them. I learned how to guard and protect our home at the age of 10. I got in trouble for spray painting trailers and threw a rock at a cop car and remember running from the police as they patrolled our trailer park trying to find me. I remember being cheered on by my mother’s friends. I began to feel very powerful and bulletproof. But I wasn’t, this was all a smoke screen.

I went to my dad’s house for a visit. He had remarried and had more children. It seemed like a family. Like what I had lost. But things went really bad there. I got 3rd degree chemical burns during a mishap of abuse. I am scarred for life. His wife often hit me and was very verbally abusive. While with my dad, I became totally isolated. I couldn’t see my mom, my grandparents, no one. I began to get withdrawn and wanted to die. I was very sad. I felt I had nowhere to go.

My mom felt horrible. She decided to get help. My aunt worked at a rehabilitation center called Narconon Arrowhead. She set it up for my mom to come in. My mom had a court appearance, her boyfriend showed up and convinced her to leave with him. She left my grandpa at the court house and was missing for 19 days. I didn’t know where she was and my grandma hadn’t heard from her. My aunt finally tracked her down. She had been arrested in Dallas, TX, high on methamphetamine. She had parked at the cargo section of the Dallas Airport in the middle of the night. The police surrounded her and her boyfriend and took them to jail. During the court proceedings a lot of truths started to come out. Her boyfriend had tried to kill her. She had stolen stuff. She had lied. She had thrown away everything through her drug use. My aunt went to Texas, worked with probation, the attorneys, and the staff of Narconon® to get my mom released and to the drug treatment program.

During this time a counselor at school who was watching my struggles with life and with my dad stepped in. I was taken from my dad, couldn’t go back to my mother so I ended up in a shelter in Eufaula. The people at the shelter took good care of me but I felt I lost everything in my life. I had no family. No friends. No stuff. The people at the shelter gave me a white ball cap that had college teams on it. On the inside there was a tracking device that would signal them if I tried to run or someone tried to take me. People in town knew we were the shelter kids just by those hats. I got severely depressed. One night during a hard rain I cried and prayed to God, "Why are you doing this to me? Why do you hate me?" I never got an answer and I cried myself to sleep. I was now 11. I stayed there for 3 weeks, which seemed like an eternity when you are 11 and alone.

My mom wasn’t doing her program correctly, was interfering with other peoples programs and was dismissed with the option to return if she chose to follow the rules. My mom went back to court. She was able to get me out of the youth shelter but was under surveillance by the state to assure my care. She had a new boyfriend, had secured a house and a new job. We were going to be a family again. However I had never dealt with my anger. I was still mad at my mom. I started to rebel. I started running with some older kids, was smoking marijuana and getting into trouble. My mom and her boyfriend were fighting. I got caught up in the middle and took off. I went with my 1/2 brother and stole a car. I was angry, hurt and upset. Most of all I feared going back to the shelter. I loaded my brother’s nine millimeter hand gun stuck it in my mouth and prayed for the will to just die. But I thank God for intervening. I wasn’t able to do it.

I went home and my mom had been in my stuff and found marijuana and a pipe. She felt betrayed because she was trying to stay drug free and she sent me to live with my grandmother across town. I had not seen her for 2 years. My grandma was reluctant at first but she took me in. I have lived there since this time. I started passing school. I got back into sports. I felt loved. My grandma and grandpa have been really good to me and gave me the stability that I needed. I will be forever thankful to them.

My mom got pregnant and seemed to be doing ok. She was still with her boyfriend. She had been clean for over a year, but when she delivered the baby he was taken by social services at the hospital. This was a very confusing time. My mom tried to do right. She went to several different types of rehabs but it just wasn’t like Narconon. She had failure after failure. She needed to complete her program at Narconon. She ended up leaving the state and was arrested for transporting methamphetamine and lost any chance of getting the baby back. My aunt stepped in and adopted the baby. My mom went to jail, only to find out she was pregnant again.
She decided she needed to get straight and didn’t want to lose another child. She stopped all drug use in March of 2005. She left the state to live with her brother and delivered a healthy drug free baby girl. She has been clean and sober for 2 years now! I still live with my grandma but my mom has moved back to Eufaula. She is healthy and strong. She lives with me at my grandma’s with her baby girl. We are a family. My mom still gives credit to my aunt and to Narconon Arrowhead for saving her life. When things got truly bad Narconon taught my mom life skills that she needed to get herself straight. She still regrets not finishing the program but now that she has 2 years clean she is in the process of doing everything she can to make things go right and she will be returning to Narconon soon, so she can help others.

My aunt was able to get me a summer job here at Narconon and it has been a life changing experience for me. Everyone here has a story and I have learned after everything that I went through in my life so far, there are people who have been through much more and they survived. I now understand what my mom went through and it has helped our relationship. Narconon Arrowhead makes me want to succeed. I can rise above my hardships, get past society and the drugs, and come out shining in the end. At 16 I can tell you that Narconon saves peoples lives! It saved my mom’s life and made us a family again. For that I will forever be thankful. I wanted to share my story because I know there are other kids out there who are struggling. Kids that may feel they don’t have a chance. I just want you to realize, God may take a while to answer your prayers but he always does. Thank you Narconon for giving me my mother back!

Anthony
Story written July 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.

Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

Today I'm living the life I always wanted.

2007-07-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

My life was in shambles at the age of 28 and had been for years. I thought I was living "the life" in my swank uptown loft apartment with my fly-by night friends. I was on top of the world and no one could touch me. The cocaine and ecstasy I was selling to my so called friends was the best you could buy and I was the leader of the pack or so I thought. I had lots of drugs and lots of money and people always wanted to be close to me. I was the most popular woman in town.

In February of 2005 my world came crashing down. I was almost sent away for a long time. Luckily for me I really wasn’t the big dealer I thought I was and all of a sudden everything made perfect sense. I was just another pawn in the drug game trapped inside my own addiction to the drugs. I was not invincible nor was I living "the life".

I had pushed my family and real friends away for the fly-by night ones who were now gone. The drugs and money were gone and I was lost completely. I moved out of my swank loft apartment and put all my belonging into storage and moved in with my best friend and her husband. I was still using but not as often. I had it a little more together. I couldn’t seem to get stable though, something wasn’t right. I couldn’t hold a real job or be the mother to my children that I wanted so desperately to be. I was in a state of confusion and had no idea where my life was headed. There were a lot of ups and downs in my everyday life just trying to manage. I was scared to death all the time that I was going to die because someone was going to kill me. Finally, I asked for help. That’s when my family and I found Narconon®.

I arrived in Oklahoma two days before Thanksgiving Day and started on my new life. The staff at Narconon Arrowhead made me feel very comfortable and safe and at that moment I knew I was in the right place. I started getting better as I went through the different parts of the program. I began to see where I had gone wrong in my life and started taking responsibility for my own actions. Narconon gave me all the tools I needed to get my life back in order and be the mother and the individual I wanted and needed to be. I can resolve issues now that before seemed impossible barriers to overcome. I am aware of my own actions and how my actions affect everything and everyone around me. I can make decisions based on rational thoughts and ideas. I am a whole person again where before I was just a hologram projecting myself on the world.

Today, I am happy, productive, and living "the life" I always wanted. I am helping others and their families, who may suffer from an addiction to get the help they need. My own family and friends are once again a major part of my life and my children have their mother back. I am working for Narconon now with a purpose in life. That purpose is to save lives and make the world a better place for our future generations to grow up in. I now understand the true meaning of happiness. I can handle anything that comes my way. All the money in the world isn’t worth the love of your family and friends. To have love is the greatest gift one can have. I am thankful to Narconon for helping me get the love back in my heart and the addiction out of my life.

Melissa Hallmark
Graduated February 17, 2006
Success story written June 14, 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

©2007 Narconon of Oklahoma, Inc. All rights reserved. NARCONON and the Narconon logo are registered trademarks and service marks owned by Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission.

An angel delivered me to the doors of life.

2007-06-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

My life was miserable. I had lost my husband and was soon to lose my children. I felt helpless. I was a clinical drug addict. My nightstand beside my bed held Xanax, Oxycontin, Lortabs, Somas, and some other kinds of sleeping pills. All prescribed to me by medical doctors.

At one time I had my own business. A beautiful family. Everything a person would want. But my life had turned into a living nightmare. I didn’t eat food. I took drugs. I didn’t clean my home. I shot up drugs. I didn’t love my family. I didn’t love myself. I was a wreck.

I made several reaches for help. Doors were slammed in my face. I was told I would always take medications. I could not come off all the meds without dying. Doctors told me this. Several rehabs turned me down, I was too addicted. Society turned its back on my screams and cries for help. What’s the use, I’m doomed to live this life of misery. I overdosed on October 14th of 2004. My 6 year old daughter found me with no breath, no heart beat. She called for help.
Somehow, I made it through the night. I refused emergency services but agreed to go to the hospital with my father. Everything was such a blurr. The pain and anguish I saw in my father’s eyes is something no parent should feel.

I was the true example of what clinical drugs can do to a human being. I was walking death. Just a body with no mind or spirit left. Narconon® accepted me. An angel delivered me to the doors of life.

I went through the program and I stayed to train. I am now a living, loving, productive human being. Narconon gave me the tools to remain clean, the tools to pick myself up and to keep myself out of danger.

My parents have a daughter. My sisters have a sister. My children have a mother. My future grandchildren have a grandmother, someone they can be proud of. Not a drug addict.
Narconon gave me back my will. My God did not condemn me to a life of drugs. I chose to do drugs.

My biggest win, is I’m helping in the war against drugs. I know within every cell of my existence that we can save lives from drug addiction. I have purpose.

Patricia Bean-Meyer
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate, February 18, 2005
Story written May 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

Being here has changed my life.

2007-06-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

When one finds happiness, success, peace and fulfillment in life, what more could one ask? Winning the lottery, however big, wouldn’t provide the same feelings, those same feelings, that working at Narconon® Arrowhead provides.

The professionalism, which is demanded, makes it possible for the staff to change the lives of the students (clients) for the better. Being part of that professionalism, that caring, honest, clever, and committed group is a breath-taking experience.

After stumbling around most of my life searching for just this total happiness, I stumbled onto Narconon Arrowhead. I was, as always in my life, very, very lucky to find all I found here. Being here has changed my life. Staying here changes my life for the better every day.

Bob Wilkins
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate, July 2005
Story written May 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program
please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities
through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. http://www.stopaddiction.com/

I was losing my mind!

2007-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

I went to a prestigious private school and grew up in an upper class suburban neighborhood. I was not the type of person that anyone would think was using drugs. But I was, and it nearly killed me. It started when my doctor prescribed me Ritalin in high school. From there, things went into a downward spiral. I discovered that I could crush and snort my Ritalin, because it is a form of speed. I stayed up for days and hardly ate. I was able to maintain my good grades and I got into Georgetown. My addiction got worse and I was going to two different doctors to get prescriptions for Ritalin. I was at the maximum dosage, but still, they would be gone in a week. I stopped going to class and stayed up for days at a time. I was losing my mind.

I ended up having to withdraw from college and went back home to live with my mom. It was then that I got into cocaine heavily. I went back to school and got my teaching degree from University of Maryland. I was teaching during the day, 8th grade English, and I was bartending at nights. I was functional for quite some time. But then my cocaine use took over. I would stay up all night using and go into school the next day. It got so bad, that I was using cocaine at school just to get through the day. I went on a binge and didn’t show up for work for three days. Needless to say, I lost my job. I started selling drugs for income and got involved with a bad crowd. I was running drugs, bartending, and staying up for days at a time. My car ended up getting impounded, I lost all of my friends, family, and everything that I had worked for. I did drugs all day and all night. I was killing myself.

Then my mom found Narconon®. She begged me to go get help. I fought it for a long time. Then I came home one day from being up for nearly a week. I was exhausted and sick. I looked at myself in the mirror and I knew right then that if I continued like this I would die.

My mom handed me the phone and I talked to someone from Narconon Arrowhead. His name was Paul, and he told me that I couldn’t live my life like this anymore. I was on a plane within 2 hours on my way to Oklahoma.

The Narconon program saved my life. I am happy and successful. I have found my purpose. Before I was lost, now I have goals and stability. I never thought that I would be able to stop using drugs. But now I can say that I never even think about it. Narconon taught me how to handle my condition in life and keep my ethics in. I saw how my life spiraled out of control and finally I was able to take responsibility for it and fix it. My relationship with my family is better than ever. I am happily married and working here at Narconon. I know that my purpose is to give to other people what this program gave me, my life back. Thank you Narconon for saving my life.

G. B.
Narconon Arrowhead Graduate, August 22, 2005
Story Written May 2007

If you know someone who needs help with drug or alcohol addiction or would like more
information about the Narconon Arrowhead Field Referral program
please call 1-800-468-6933 and ask for Desiree Cardoso or DannaSue Lafitte.
Together, we are saving lives, reuniting families, and making stronger communities
through effective drug and alcohol rehabilitation. www.stopaddiction.com