Hill of Hope

There is a place at the High Watch Recovery Center called The Hill of Hope.  The sign greeted me both times I went there to visit my husband.

I stopped posting these last few weeks because in urgent times, the flow of normal everyday life stops... The priority became to help my ill husband, and so our family bonded together to do just that.

For the sake of privacy, I won't elaborate on our story here.  Little Lewie is still very young, and as you can imagine, he (like many) doesn't understand the disease of addiction.  What I will tell him (when he gets older) is that daddy's illness is a disease, not a moral failure.  The moral failure belongs to the pharmaceutical companies and health care practitioners that push dangerous opiates like Oxycotin on young, healthy adults even when knowing their dangerous and potentially lethal side effects.  The moral failure is on our government and Congress for not passing legislation that limits the sale/use of opioid pain medication and monitors doctors that prescribe it like candy...

Still, the opioid epidemic is finally receiving the national attention it deserves, and I see little changes that may be instrumental in instituting big changes.  At the end of the day, I see hope.  I see hope that my husband will become whole again and be able to live a normal happy life.  I see hope that he will continue to be the best, most loving father to our little boy (which he is).  I see hope that addiction is finally treated like a disease and not a punishable crime.  I see hope that the opioid epidemic will be stamped out, and that in return, we will be able to save thousands upon thousands of lives--both young and old.

The Hill of Hope...  Yes, it is a hill.  Sometimes it feels like a mountain.  (Hey, no "great" accomplishment was ever easy...)  Still, when there is love and faith, there is always hope.  I await to see that sign next week.