Heroin is an equal opportunity destroyer and the final drug of choice for last week’s Health Hero Josh Rector. Starting at age 15, Josh suffered through almost two decades of alcoholism and addiction. That list included pain pills like Vicodin, Percocet, Lortab, Xanax and Percodan, both prescribed and purchased illegally. Then there was the list of illegal drugs, including marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine. His drug use and the dealing he did to pay for the drugs he used made him a frequent visitor to the county jail and the court system. While this may sound “clean” be assured Josh was in hell. But Josh believes God lowered a rope into the land of hopelessness and he grabbed it and held on for dear life.
Drugs were his god and he got them any way he could. His 6-foot frame carried a mere 147 pounds. His self care was negligible. His moment of clarity, of enlightenment, came in a jail cell. He was being tortured by his god as he was withdrawing from heroin. In the middle of that sub-human experience He cried out to a power who could deliver him and told him he was ready. Josh had been in rehab programs before, and even stayed clean and sober once for over a year before relapsing.
“I needed structure,” Josh said.
He entered Drug Court, a program originated by past county’s Superior Court Judge David Alt. Presiding Judge Heather Barajas calls it “a court of last resort.”
“It’s only when all the traditional punishments have failed that someone may qualify for drug court,” Barajas said. “Research shows that when a person starts using controlled substance or abuses alcohol their mental growth slows or halts altogether. (Remember, Josh was 15 when he started using.) So we are dealing with adults who act like teenagers. Our job then is to bring them up to speed. Basically we parent them through the program and help them build a solid foundation for recovery. Keeping clean is just a part of the program. It is highly structured. They see a case manager six times a week, attend 90 Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings in 90 days, get a job and pay their bills. They report to court weekly for a year. They sign up for at least two years and not everyone is accepted.”
The program has sanctions for bad behavior and rewards for good.
Josh signed on.
“I didn’t think I could get all the things done in one day they wanted done,” Josh said. “Everything went well until around the sixth month when I started to feel a void as they eased up on the reigns. I had more time and realized I needed something. So I joined Athena Sports and Fitness. Life was coming back to my life. People started to believe in me and I started to believe in myself.”
Four things sit at the core of Josh’s recovery; prayer, meditation, 12 steps and working out. This is the program he uses to positively and effectively deal with the stress and anxiety of both life and recovery. In the fitness arena his diet has certainly changed as well. From a steady diet of Sour Patch Kids, Snickers Ice Cream bars and Coke to a whopping 3,500 plus calories of solid nutrition to support lifting weights two hours a day, five days a week.
Josh chose to sign on for six months more time doing Drug Court than he would have served in jail. He knew jail would have only continued the insanity of getting the same results.
“I believe God has a purpose for me,” confides Josh who is in his 22nd month of recovery. “Right now it’s to carry the message that addicts do recover.”
See you on the bicycle.
John M. Bottorff, D.C., C.C.S.T., is a 1981 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and a second generation chiropractor. He is certified in Chiropractic Spinal Trauma. He is a triathlete and an avid cyclist, runner and swimmer. He can be contacted at Bottorff Advanced Chiropractic at 765-362-8833 or online at www.Cvillepainrelief.com.
