2022 Graduate Testimony:

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In November of 1987, I found out and was diagnosed with class 4 cervical cancer.  I ended up having to have a cone biopsy done where they cut out the tip of your cervix.  When I was at home recovering, I started having really bad cervical pains and started bleeding.  I went into the bathroom and felt something fall out of me and thought my insides were falling out.  I looked down and it was a fetus!!  I was over 3 months pregnant and didn't even know it. That really messed me up. 

 

Then one day a friend of his came over and introduced us to crack. We didn't even know what it was but we liked it and thus began an 8 year battle with it.  By this time, we had our wedding date set.  We still got married even though we were using, but never really had a marriage because we were so deep into it.  Our marriage was a fairy tale turned into a nightmare.  We eventually lost everything and ended up living out on the street just to support our habit. I was also in and out of treatment facilities and lost count of how many for my addiction.

 

I ended up selling my soul to the devil and while I was out there 'chasing Jason" I was kidnapped, strangled, held at gunpoint and was raped.  I was even raped by the same guy twice. I also ended up getting pregnant by who knows, and I was starting to show so I was probably about 5 months along.  My family encouraged me to have an abortion which I regret to this day but I know God has forgiven me for that. We got divorced around 1993 so we were married about 5 years.  After that, I went and copped a couple of rocks for an undercover and got busted and charged with a class A felony for dealing within a thousand feet of a school yard. 

 

I ended up spending 6 months in jail and was placed on probation for 2 1/2 years.  After jail, I also went to a halfway house in Indianapolis.  I was there for around 3 to 4 months. Anyway, right after the tail end of that mess, I met Bill.  He got in on the tail end of my crack addiction.  When I lived in the halfway house, Bill would come and visit me there.  A got a job at a hotel and would ride my bike there and ran into Bill one morning when he had gotten off the interstate after having a flat tire.  Of all the exits he could have had that happen on, it was the one right by me.  After that and a couple other coincidences, I moved in with him in November of 1995. 

 

We lived together for 6 months and got married on April 27, 1996. From 1995 until 2005, I did not drink, do drugs or anything.  I was completely clean during that time.  On January 21, 1999 I had my one and only child. She grew up in a dysfunctional family as Bill and I were never on the same page and we would fight a lot over pretty much anything.  During her childhood, she got a lot of the things that she wanted so she never grew up without.  In 2005, I went on a family vacation and we had drinks while there.  That was the beginning of my battle with alcohol.  It started out slowly, of course, and I liked the buzz that I got from it.  Gradually I started mixing my drinks stronger and stronger.

 

A Lot of times, I was a "mean" drunk and would get aggressive with Bill, causing things to be worse.  In 2015 I got my 1st DWI.  I ended up wrecking my car, spent the night in jail, and the next day, lost my job of almost 19 years.I was placed on 6 months probation and lost my license for 3 months.  I was also required to go to counseling during my probation.  After I got my license back and bought another car and had odd jobs off and on for several years.  I either lost my jobs or would quit due to my frequent use of alcohol.  It got to the point where I could hardly go without it for one day.  Not to mention, that my body was so dependent on alcohol that I would need it in order to feel "normal". 

 

It got to the point where Bill would take my keys away from me so that I couldn't go to the liquor store and buy booze.  I still found ways to get it sometimes, including calling a taxi or riding my bike to the liquor store even though it was about a 4 hour round trip.  My family always knew when I was drinking, and I could never get away with them not knowing.  It caused all kinds of problems with my life and home and my family was very concerned with me.  I would get so plastered that a few times I fell down and didn't even know it and they started taking pictures of me to prove it to me and show me what I looked like. I still kept drinking though. 

 

In December 2020, I had been drinking for several days and when Bill was in the shower, I took my car key and got more booze.  When Bill discovered I was gone, he called the cops and turned me in for drinking and driving.  I ended up getting busted in my driveway and taken to jail.  I ended up going to treatment for 28 days and then went to court in March of 2021.  I was put on 45 days house arrest and then 9 months probation.  I ended up getting specialized driving privileges and was still using when I had to do drug screens.  In December of 2021, I violated probation and spent 3 weeks in jail and was sentenced and approved by the judge to come to Through The Gate faith-based treatment facility.  That was in January.  I am getting ready to graduate on and I will miss everyone here. I have learned alot about God and other things. It was the best thing that ever happened to me and I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life!!