Craig Langlois lives in northern New Hampshire with his wife and children. He was kind enough to share this story about his wife’s journey to recovery from alcoholism.
“My wife and I are both nurses. I work in a school system, my wife in a hospital. The drinking problems started decades ago, though she always seemed able to meet our family’s needs and those at work, despite demanding night shift responsibilities at the hospital.
That is until this past winter.
Working a stressful night shift meant my wife saw very little of the rest of the family. The kids and I were rarely around when she was home. I feel loneliness and job stress really took a heavy toll.
Late last year and early this year, the drinking intensified. My wife began to fall. She suffered a number of injuries, including a concussion. It was bad. And she knew it was bad.
One day she handed me a letter explaining her situation, admitting she needed help and was going to seek it. She enrolled herself as an inpatient at a Recovery Centers of America facility in Massachusetts.
Her stay was a success, but Recovery Centers of America told her she was just beginning her recovery and needed to continue working on herself long after she left their care. They recommended she explore a program called Aware Recovery Care.
And she did.
Aware has done so much for her, my kids, and my extended family. We’ve got the person we love back. And I’m happy to report she’s had no relapses since she started.
How’d Aware do it?
First – we live way up north in New Hampshire. You might say we’re a bit isolated. Thanks to technology, Aware is able to work remotely with my wife and me by meeting with us regularly on Zoom.
With Aware at her side, my wife now realizes she’s not alone. She knows she has people she can reach out to, people she’s formed strong bonds with, people with shared life experiences. They’re helping her develop healthy new patterns and habits. She now has structure and a healthy routine in her life. And that includes taking far better care of herself.
When she left for Recovery Centers of America – my wife had to ask the hospital and her colleagues for a leave of absence. That was hard for her. Now she’s back at the hospital, working full time in a day shift role. She’s happy again.
Aware also helped me tremendously as well. People think, oh, Craig’s a nurse. He knows all about this stuff. I’m here to tell you I did not know about alcoholism – how to treat it, what it does to a person’s body, and why addiction to it can be so powerful. Aware guided me, they helped me understand the problem, and they’ve helped me understand what I need to do to help and support my wife. The entire family is so much better for it.
My family and I are forever grateful to Aware.”
Craig – your story is inspiring, and we thank you for sharing it because it will help others.
If you have a family member struggling with an addiction to alcohol and/or drugs and need help in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, or Indiana, the recovery teams at Aware Recovery Care are here to help. Our unique model of care gives clients and their families a significantly better chance of recovery when compared to traditional inpatient rehab care. To learn more, please get in touch with one of our Recovery Specialists.
