METH ADDICTION BREAKS PARENTS' HEARTS

When an Okotoks couple found out their youngest daughter was hooked
on crystal meth their world fell apart.

She was in her early 20s, working, living on her own and going to
school part-time when a friend suggested she try something to keep
her awake. She had no idea what she was taking was the highly
addictive and highly toxic drug crystal meth.

It took more than a year of being hooked on the drug before her
family found out what seemed like only an exaggeration in the
woman's usual bubbly personality, was actually a potentially lethal
addiction. It took her committing a crime before the truth was found
out. After stealing from her employer to feed the addiction, the
girl was arrested by RCMP and facing a lengthy court ordeal, she
finally turned to her parents.

"We closed the door and we closed the blinds because we had to deal
with it inwardly because our hearts were so hurt," the woman's
father said. "Panic, fear, anger, helplessness - all the emotions
began to surface. It was a major tailspin."

Watching their daughter walk back out the door and into a world of
uncertainty was crushing, he added.

"We didn't know if she was going to be alive or dead," he said. "She
fell below 100 pounds. We had to resolve in our hearts that we could
get a phone call telling us our daughter is dead and try to be
strong enough to deal with that."

Prayer and time gave the couple the strength they needed to move on
from their grief and turn their attention to their ailing daughter.

As they began to look for help, they soon realized that the only one
who could help them was the same girl struggling with a serious drug
addiction.

"We tried - we even looked at the possibility of getting her put
away somewhere and realized there was no way," he said. "They have
to get to the point of wanting to help themselves."

It was when they realized that they could not force their daughter
into rehab that they changed their tactic.

"You have to be able to love from a distance," he said. "A lot of
these kids and young adults need unconditional love and sometimes it
is hard to give. We would just go and visit her and buy her
groceries and take her out for dinner and stay the weekend with her."

The loving attention finally got through. Even drug addicted friends
were questioning why she was using drugs when her family cared for
her so much.

After another year of using Crystal Meth she moved home and sought
help from psychiatrists who specialize in drug addictions and is
even looking into ways of sharing her experiences with others in an
effort to stop others from making the same mistakes.

With a clean and sober daughter back at his side, the girl's father
said he thanks God that his family made it through one of the
darkest periods of their lives.