It's happened. We put Garth in rehab last Friday. I never thought I would come to the point I have to put him in rehab although when I was filling forms for health insurance, I chose the plan with 100% coverage for rehab because way back in my mind, I knew I might need it.
Why? Because of Garth's casual attitude about drugs. He thought Ecstasy was a "soft" drug and was not harmful or addictive. He thought he could control his use of the drug. He used to go to Raves with friends where Ecstasy was apparently plentiful. I tried to talk to him that ANY drug could not be considered "soft" or non-addictive, including weed, or cannabis as my sister likes to call it, and alcohol. I was alarmed about his mellow attitude about the whole idea of using drugs but he was a teenager. Who could talk to teenagers? They think they know everything and are practically adults, our equals.
They could not see beyond the fact that their parents were once upon a time teenagers. We were there at one time and we went through the same trials of teenagehood as they do. Garth liked to say our time was different - a different era. Hey, in that case, his grandmother's time was ancient history. In Grandma's ancient history, there was LSD, heroin, meth, cannabis, cocaine, opiates, acid, mushroom, among a few that came off my head. All of which have carried over the decades to his time which is now. His grandmother smoked cannabis and drank alcohol - that is what we know. I know she did more but wasn't telling. She also smoked cigarettes. She gave up smoking entirely - both weed and cigarettes at one point. She continues to be a social drinker. Tom experimented with weed, cocaine, mushroom and was regular user of weed and a beer drinker. Me? I tried acid, mushroom, cocaine, all of which I tried only once. I smoked weed only occasionally at parties and drank the same way. I smoked cigarettes seldomly when I drank, as had Tom, and smoked cloves a few times. So, what "different era" did Garth thought he knew about?
The only difference is he got hooked, and we three did not. My mother was from the same generation as Tom's mother and she also got hooked and still is today at age of 61. It is quite amazing she has lived that long. Most people as far gone as my mother die within or less than 20 years of continuous usage. Drug addiction is hereditary - of which I tried to get through with Garth. I apparently skipped that gene but Garth clearly did not. I have two siblings who are drug addicts, too. Only Tiffany and I are not.
Even loaded with all this information, Garth still went and took them all. And it bit back in his butt. He ended up in the hospital with bleeding intestine lining and withdrawal symptoms. He is only 16. He tested positive for meth and opiates which is a family of cocaine and Oxycontin of which he confessed to have taken 4 days earlier.
Even while facing all this, he continued to deny needing help. He agreed to go to Project Challenge previously. We were not aware of the extent of his drug abuse until he was taken to ER. I thought all he needed was Project Challenge where he would be provided guidance, discipline, structure, a new slate or start on his future with a GED and some college credits. We knew he drank and smoked weed. We warned him to keep clean because he would have to take urine test one week prior to starting the program. However, when he was hospitalized, we realized he was beyond what PJ could offer him. PJ does not deal with substance abuse. Garth needs therapy, rehabilitation, counseling to get to the root of why he started in the first place. This is where he has to go and start from there to understand himself. Rehab is the place to do it.
So we sent him to rehab in Casa Grande. It was one of the hardest thing I've ever done. I almost backed out. I kept questioning myself if he really needed it - most of the kids in rehab are hard core which I suspect Garth is not quite there yet. I was afraid those kids will corrupt him and make everything worse for all of us. What if they have drugs in the rehab and he just continues using there? I had so many doubts but I knew I couldn't allow him back home in that frame of mind. He needed help.
