Understanding the Unknown

Early this morning someone that was just released died. I didn't know them to well, they were getting out when I was just getting started. This person has had a bigger impact on me today then some of the people I have known my whole life.

This person was a doctor, a respected doctor. This person saved people, healed people. This person was a hero.

He had used heroin as a coping mechanism with the stress of his job. He had been an addict for some time I hear and had been in rehab for over a year. It took him a couple years to "recover" and just a couple days to fall back into old habits.

This person has made me realize that this battle is never ending. I don't get to be "cured" and walk away never worrying about it again. No, this is a recovery that will last a life time. It will take years to gain the strength to be sober, but it will only take one day to give in to tempation. One day to ruin everything I had worked so hard to accomplish. One day to change my life.

I didn't personally know this person, but I felt I understood them better than I had ever understood someone. This person was, this person is me in a different body.  This person is everyone fighting an addiction. We are all the same.