My mother had 19 grandchildren. And, out of those 19, at least 5 of them have been affected by the disease of addiction. It is not a simple disease; it's reaches are far and wide. Yesterday, one of my family members had surgery (back surgery) and will obviously need pain killers.
I went to see him and his behaviour was just like my son's behaviour when he had surgery last summer (before we knew of his addiction). They both had almost a panicked reaction to the idea of pain. It was their singular thought. For the family members around, it was our singular thought.....watch out for those pain killers.
I went out into the hall and his nurse was there. I said, "do you know that he is a recovering addict?" "Yes, she said." "My son has the same issue and it seems that they are so afraid of pain." "Yes", she said, "but not the pain you think, they are afraid of the pain from withdraw." "It is the most awful form of pain." I hate addiction. I hate what it does to our kids. I hate that pharmaceuticals profit so handsomely from them. I hate that there is always a doctor willing to write those scripts. And, I hate that regulation could occur and probably never will.....because of money.
I'm proud of my family member. He let me give him the stern talk. He knew I was fighting for him. But, his is a minute by minute struggle right now. I left feeling the weight of the fight addiction places upon us. So, I began to pray. I was reminded of a time when I said confession to a Father of Mercy priest. He told me that his mother told his brother that she never offered to drag him out of the bars, because that was a fight she couldn't fight. She fought for him on her knees.
So today, I ask you to join me in prayer to fight for my family member and yours. Venerable Matt Talbot (my profile picture) fought his addiction cold turkey and by going to mass everyday. He is a patron of alcoholics and addicts. So, I ask for him to join us in praying for our loved ones.
"God of mercy, give your strength to (name) who is bound by the chains of addiction. Enfold him in Your love and restore him to sobriety. Lord, look with compassion on all those who have lost their health and freedom to alcohol and drugs. Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy, and strengthen them in the work of recovery. To those who care for them, grant patient understanding and a love that perseveres. Amen"
Our best hope....prayer....always. Today, I will pray for my family and yours to never give up and I will always pray for Henry.
I went to see him and his behaviour was just like my son's behaviour when he had surgery last summer (before we knew of his addiction). They both had almost a panicked reaction to the idea of pain. It was their singular thought. For the family members around, it was our singular thought.....watch out for those pain killers.
I went out into the hall and his nurse was there. I said, "do you know that he is a recovering addict?" "Yes, she said." "My son has the same issue and it seems that they are so afraid of pain." "Yes", she said, "but not the pain you think, they are afraid of the pain from withdraw." "It is the most awful form of pain." I hate addiction. I hate what it does to our kids. I hate that pharmaceuticals profit so handsomely from them. I hate that there is always a doctor willing to write those scripts. And, I hate that regulation could occur and probably never will.....because of money.
I'm proud of my family member. He let me give him the stern talk. He knew I was fighting for him. But, his is a minute by minute struggle right now. I left feeling the weight of the fight addiction places upon us. So, I began to pray. I was reminded of a time when I said confession to a Father of Mercy priest. He told me that his mother told his brother that she never offered to drag him out of the bars, because that was a fight she couldn't fight. She fought for him on her knees.
So today, I ask you to join me in prayer to fight for my family member and yours. Venerable Matt Talbot (my profile picture) fought his addiction cold turkey and by going to mass everyday. He is a patron of alcoholics and addicts. So, I ask for him to join us in praying for our loved ones.
"God of mercy, give your strength to (name) who is bound by the chains of addiction. Enfold him in Your love and restore him to sobriety. Lord, look with compassion on all those who have lost their health and freedom to alcohol and drugs. Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy, and strengthen them in the work of recovery. To those who care for them, grant patient understanding and a love that perseveres. Amen"
Our best hope....prayer....always. Today, I will pray for my family and yours to never give up and I will always pray for Henry.
2 comments:
My sister is headed to rehab. Keep praying for her please! I can hardly believe she is doing this so quickly; I pray nothing prevents it.
She is afraid of withdrawal. I found that interesting in this post, since I didn't know it.
Will KEEP praying for her....
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