Sometimes one doesn’t realize that an act of helping someone may have an impact lasting beyond that moment. Grace first came to the clinic as a walk-in living in the community. She was homeless and living with a girlfriend and one day the girlfriend stopped at the Arbuckle medical clinic to inquire if the clinic might be able to help Grace. The story was told that Grace was homeless and the friend took her in but Grace had no money and needed medical prescriptions and help with her medical problems. The friend was told to bring Grace in the next day before lunch time and the clinic would determine whether it would be able to help her. The next day both women came to the clinic and Grace’s story was told. Grace had been hospitalized with shortness of breath, high blood pressure and new seizures that she thought were related to the high blood pressure. Grace did not know much more about her diagnosis but had been prescribed medication she no longer was able to have filled because of her financial situation. The pharmacy was contacted and they gave the names and dosages of the medications. The medications were all considered life sustaining; the cost to fill them would be $39.00. The clinic nurse knew that the Mission, by providing the medication would be acting in the best interest for Grace and was the most responsible decision for Grace’s health. Any other course of action meant paperwork and about a month’s wait for the medication. Grace’s blood pressure wasn’t stable enough for her to wait that long. While Grace and her friend ate lunch at the mission the prescriptions were filled, picked up and brought to where she sat eating. She smiled, gave thanks and went on her way.
In November 2008, Grace came back to the Washington City Mission, only this time as an Avis Arbor resident. She had been using drugs and alcohol for over 20 years and she still was homeless and in poor health. She never knew what it was to be off drugs and alcohol for any extended time. Whether it was being homeless or wanting recovery that brought her to Avis she would experience more in a short time there than any of us anticipated, including her.
During her stay she was seen by the clinic volunteer doctors and the paperwork for insurance was completed. The clinic continued to provide either sample medication or cover the cost of her prescriptions through the generic prescription program at Wal-mart. Through an arrangement with Washington Hospital Center we were able to obtain laboratory studies for free. It was recommended that Grace become established with a provider in the community and Crossing the Jordan clinic was chosen to be her PCP. Grace still continued to utilize the Arbuckle Medical Clinic as well in the interim. Although Grace’s blood pressure was controlled through medication there were other findings on exam that were concerning. She had a very large abdominal hernia for which she would eventually need surgery to repair; in the meantime it caused her intermittent pain. Another finding was a heart murmur that needed further testing to evaluate the severity and cause. The problem was her insurance had not come through yet to cover the cost of any testing.
In January of 2009, it became a matter that could no longer wait when she presented to the ER with symptoms -they admitted her. During this admission she was diagnosis as needing a heart valve repair which was the source of the murmur. It wasn’t performed at that time, instead they removed all her teeth which can be a source of bacteria and damage heart valves in susceptible patients. She was stabilized and sent home to heal from her dental surgery and readmitted as planned in February for major heart surgery.
Grace is now home at Avis Arbor, healing from surgery to repair her heart. She is thankful, tired, happy and clean from drugs. The clinic offers what help it can to those in the community. It was never envisioned that when Grace first came to the clinic from the community that she would become a resident and travel down a path leading to recovery of both her addiction and her heart problems. That path with the Washington City mission does not end yet. Grace still needs teeth. If her insurance doesn’t cover the dentures she needs-the clinic has a volunteer dentist who makes dentures for those completing the program.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Mark
I’ve come to believe that there are four basic needs that must be met in order for humans to have a relatively happy and satisfying life.
· A need to live. Not just to exist.
· A need to learn.
· A need to love.
· A need to be significant or have purpose.
Try to imagine a life where none of those needs were being met. That was me just two and a half short years ago. I lived only to please myself, and alcohol, sex, and drugs were the primary ways in which I did that. The only things that I was willing to learn were those things that served my own self seeking motives. I had no capacity to love any one or any thing except a bottle of booze. My life’s purpose was to work to earn money in order to buy more booze. That lifestyle eventually lead to my becoming homeless.
Now, I’m an educated, relatively intelligent guy, but still, I found myself living in abandoned buildings, earning enough money doing odd jobs so that I could stay drunk. I’ll never forget the day that a very kind police officer caught me in one of those buildings. After doing a criminal background check, he told me “You’re not a bad guy, you’re not a criminal. Why are you living like this? This isn’t living, it’s just existing.” His words were burned into my mind, but still I continued to get drunk every day. I found another abandoned house and settled into what I thought was freedom.
Then finally, after the odd jobs ran out (I was a drunk, no one in their right mind would hire me) I surrendered. I cried out for help.
Two days later I found myself lying in bed at a rehab. After the second day there, suffering from the effects of withdrawal, I sent a prayer up to a God that I didn’t even believe in. “If you are up there and if you are who you say that you are, something’s got to change. No human being should have to live like this.” The next morning, I was kicked out of the rehab, not released, but kicked out because of something that I said to another resident. He felt threatened by what I had said, probably with good reason.
So, with six dollars in my pocket and a bus ticket to Pittsburgh, I wandered off into that bright August day with no plan, not knowing where my next meal was coming from, not knowing where I was going to stay. I had no fear, no anxiety. A strange sense of calm and serenity had come over me.
The next day, I ended up at the Washington City Mission, thinking that I was going to be eating cold soup and sleeping on the floor. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Those kind and gentle people welcomed me with open arms. They showed me love. They taught me how to discipline myself. They fed me (not cold soup). But most importantly, they showed me how to open that door to God. They said that if I was willing to die to that old way of life, I could have a new one with Christ at the center of my recovery. I’ve been sober ever since.
That was two and a half years ago and I’m now the assistant kitchen manager there. I’m happy, healthy, and profoundly grateful to the staff at the Washington City Mission and to my God for giving me a new life!
I came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.
· A need to live. Not just to exist.
· A need to learn.
· A need to love.
· A need to be significant or have purpose.
Try to imagine a life where none of those needs were being met. That was me just two and a half short years ago. I lived only to please myself, and alcohol, sex, and drugs were the primary ways in which I did that. The only things that I was willing to learn were those things that served my own self seeking motives. I had no capacity to love any one or any thing except a bottle of booze. My life’s purpose was to work to earn money in order to buy more booze. That lifestyle eventually lead to my becoming homeless.
Now, I’m an educated, relatively intelligent guy, but still, I found myself living in abandoned buildings, earning enough money doing odd jobs so that I could stay drunk. I’ll never forget the day that a very kind police officer caught me in one of those buildings. After doing a criminal background check, he told me “You’re not a bad guy, you’re not a criminal. Why are you living like this? This isn’t living, it’s just existing.” His words were burned into my mind, but still I continued to get drunk every day. I found another abandoned house and settled into what I thought was freedom.
Then finally, after the odd jobs ran out (I was a drunk, no one in their right mind would hire me) I surrendered. I cried out for help.
Two days later I found myself lying in bed at a rehab. After the second day there, suffering from the effects of withdrawal, I sent a prayer up to a God that I didn’t even believe in. “If you are up there and if you are who you say that you are, something’s got to change. No human being should have to live like this.” The next morning, I was kicked out of the rehab, not released, but kicked out because of something that I said to another resident. He felt threatened by what I had said, probably with good reason.
So, with six dollars in my pocket and a bus ticket to Pittsburgh, I wandered off into that bright August day with no plan, not knowing where my next meal was coming from, not knowing where I was going to stay. I had no fear, no anxiety. A strange sense of calm and serenity had come over me.
The next day, I ended up at the Washington City Mission, thinking that I was going to be eating cold soup and sleeping on the floor. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Those kind and gentle people welcomed me with open arms. They showed me love. They taught me how to discipline myself. They fed me (not cold soup). But most importantly, they showed me how to open that door to God. They said that if I was willing to die to that old way of life, I could have a new one with Christ at the center of my recovery. I’ve been sober ever since.
That was two and a half years ago and I’m now the assistant kitchen manager there. I’m happy, healthy, and profoundly grateful to the staff at the Washington City Mission and to my God for giving me a new life!
I came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.
Pam
In 2003, Pam found her life spiraling out of control. Following some medical problems which led to surgery, Pam was innocently prescribed narcotic medications to assist with pain management. It wasn’t long before a dependency developed and addiction took hold. When the prescriptions ran out and doctor’s felt that they were no longer warranted, Pam turned to self-medication through other pills and heroin to satisfy the cravings and need for narcotics which had evolved.
For three years, Pam struggled with an addiction that had taken over her life. She came to Avis Arbor in 2006 to start over and begin afresh. Hesitant because of her addiction, she was not sure if she would be accepted by Avis or not. However, she was quickly comforted by the love, acceptance and grace that melted her fear, brokenness and addiction.
Pam ultimately gives glory to God for her new life, but secondarily acknowledges the staff of Avis Arbor who taught her many invaluable lessons and helped her to break free from addiction and regain her life. She states that it was through a Resident Assistant that she learned the lesson of gratitude. From her counselor she gained a new dimension of her Christian walk. Through the Program Coordinator Pam’s once broken spirit was mended. She discovered how to be humble during her stay at Avis Arbor and continues to work at the virtues gained through lessons learned to this day.
While many spiritual breakthroughs took place during her stay at Avis Arbor, stability was gained in other areas as well. Throughout the course of her residency, Pam was able to establish a strong recovery network and became engaged in outpatient programming as well as community support groups. She has secured permanent housing and has also maintained the same full-time job for approximately three years.
Pam is always eager to share the many lessons learned during her stay. For a period of one-year following her residency, Pam led a Bible Study for the residents of Avis Arbor. In addition, she has led other Bible studies in the community and is currently in training to become a Sunday School teacher. She is celebrating over three years clean and sober and will be returning to Avis Arbor to lead other groups in the near future. She stresses the value and importance of “giving back” and states that “it’s not about me… it’s about serving Christ and serving others.”
We celebrate the growth and accomplishments that have taken place in Pam’s life, but most of all we celebrate the new life that she has found since first stepping through our doors. She is a testimony and example that others will follow for years to come and we are honored and proud to share her story.
For three years, Pam struggled with an addiction that had taken over her life. She came to Avis Arbor in 2006 to start over and begin afresh. Hesitant because of her addiction, she was not sure if she would be accepted by Avis or not. However, she was quickly comforted by the love, acceptance and grace that melted her fear, brokenness and addiction.
Pam ultimately gives glory to God for her new life, but secondarily acknowledges the staff of Avis Arbor who taught her many invaluable lessons and helped her to break free from addiction and regain her life. She states that it was through a Resident Assistant that she learned the lesson of gratitude. From her counselor she gained a new dimension of her Christian walk. Through the Program Coordinator Pam’s once broken spirit was mended. She discovered how to be humble during her stay at Avis Arbor and continues to work at the virtues gained through lessons learned to this day.
While many spiritual breakthroughs took place during her stay at Avis Arbor, stability was gained in other areas as well. Throughout the course of her residency, Pam was able to establish a strong recovery network and became engaged in outpatient programming as well as community support groups. She has secured permanent housing and has also maintained the same full-time job for approximately three years.
Pam is always eager to share the many lessons learned during her stay. For a period of one-year following her residency, Pam led a Bible Study for the residents of Avis Arbor. In addition, she has led other Bible studies in the community and is currently in training to become a Sunday School teacher. She is celebrating over three years clean and sober and will be returning to Avis Arbor to lead other groups in the near future. She stresses the value and importance of “giving back” and states that “it’s not about me… it’s about serving Christ and serving others.”
We celebrate the growth and accomplishments that have taken place in Pam’s life, but most of all we celebrate the new life that she has found since first stepping through our doors. She is a testimony and example that others will follow for years to come and we are honored and proud to share her story.
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