A mother recently reflected on her son's addiction...
Back in 2014, my heart was heavy with concerns for my son. He had soared in his first years with his business, and married shortly after. But when the work became difficult on his body, he began taking medication for pain. It started out as a prescription until addiction set in. And when there were problems in the marriage, and then business losses confounding the situation, anxiety medication was added to the mix, supplied by the psychiatrist he was seeing.
Constantly with one foot in the problem and one foot looking for the way out, he asked me to help him find a doctor that would understand his circumstances; he wanted and needed to continue to work AND to get out of the medication trap he had come to rely on.
We had a list of rehabilitation doctors. How distressing this process is, when you don’t have a barrel of cash saved for this unexpected event. “We do take insurance,” was the response of a few, but he had owned his own business and I had been laid off from teaching and we didn’t have insurance. Call after call, distress was pouring out on my face as defeat began to show on his. When I came to Dr. Avart, I was inspired simply because I recognized the name – I had taught a young girl with the same last name a decade before. I called. Dr. Avart actually answered the phone. This man seemed to understand our circumstances and what was needed for my son. He spoke of bringing him back to a point of independence, words that chimed in my heart like a rescue ship in the distance… and he worked toward this goal with physical strength building, philosophical readings, emotional biofeedback, and a slow decrease in the medications the body had come to rely on. Everything worked together.
At the end of our conversation I asked Dr. Avart if he was related to the young girl I once taught. “Sure,” he said… “I am her father.” It made me smile. The Universe was at it again.
I knew by the end of my conversation that I wanted Dr. Avart to work with my son. We were able to pay as we go. He was looking at all aspects of what brings a person to this state, and all elements of what is needed to move forward to a healthy lifestyle. Today my son is drug free. He has work he loves and is happily using his talents to procure a future for himself and the young lady he is involved with. When I ask him what made Dr. Avart the right doctor for him at the time, he says without hesitation that it was his understanding of the problem and letting him do this at his own pace; empowering him to be in charge, but with the support and guidance he needed along the way. I will add that he did this with a great deal of knowledge in the field, and a sincere desire to help each individual.
The words written here can never tell the whole story, but we went from confusion and despair to hope and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. There were ups and downs along the way, and in the course of approximately two years, my son achieved his goals. I don’t know what would have happened if we had not met Dr. Avart at just the right time.
Both my son and I look back and continue to feel and acknowledge our appreciation for Dr. Avart, and all that transpired under his care. Thank you is barely enough. I hope that he has the opportunity to light the path for many others, as he did for us.
