A day does not go by in America when a life is not lost or ruined due to opiate prescription drug abuse.

In an article published on July 16, 2010, ABC News reported that pain medicine addiction had risen “400 percent in the last decade.” Although that statistic is daunting enough, it does nothing to describe the horror and terror this demon wields on a family when it strikes home personally.

As the mother of a prescription drug addict, I can attest that life as I used to know stopped on March 7, 2007, when my son was injured in an automobile accident. Although I did not know it until a few months later, because he never told me how much he hurt, my son’s back had been severely injured. After consulting with injury lawyers and being referred to a chiropractor and a pain management clinic, hell on earth began.

As his abuse of OxyContin grew, my son’s ability to craft extremely intricate lies grew as well and initially, my desire to not rock the boat caused me to turn a blind eye. Also, since he did not live with me, I had no daily reference to gauge his behavior. His nervousness and slurred speech during family gatherings did not go un-noticed but confrontation would have ruined the event and his elaborate excuses always seemed to outweigh those consequences.

 

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