There were a lot of great entries, but I can only pick one mom to nominate for the grand prize. This mom truly did one of the toughest thing a mom can ever do and all out of love! She will be the winner of the $50 Walmart gift card and I will also be nominating her for the grand Prize.
22Nadine L
says:
According to my daughter, my “beyond” was sticking with her through a very bad time in our lives. She was in a bad car accident, almost lost her life. She was prescribed Oxicontin for the pain from her many injuries. Unknown to me she became addicted to the pain killer. (call me naive or just blind to what was going on) She started using all her paycheck to buy more off the street. When she couldn’t afford that anymore, she went to Heroin, it was the same high (an opiate) and much, much cheaper. We battled through years of addiction with her. Program after program, hospital after hospital. It got to the point where she stole my car and my husbands safe with his employees payroll. That’s when I realized it was going to take tough love. I pressed charges, put her in jail and got her court ordered rehab when she got out. To this day she tells me it was that tough love and doing the hardest thing I have ever done (putting her in jail) to get her life straightened out again. I now volunteer at a rehab to help other drug addicted teens. She always tells me I went above and beyond and changed her life.
Some wonder why I would tell this story, but I think it is important, it can happen in any family and sometimes you have to go beyond your comfort level of being a parent and do something really tough. My choice came down to putting my daughter in jail or burying her, so even though it was the hardest thing I have ever done, I chose jail and saved my daughters life by doing so.
For the second prize winner we chose:
56
sheila k. says:At age 29 I was diagnosed with systemic lupus. At the time I had three young children and had miscarried two babies when the placenta began “mysteriously falling apart.” I was also suffering from bouts of arthritis, fevers, kidney pain, heart issues, and bleeding problems. About a year after my diagnosis, I started the lupus foundation for the state of Utah. I knew only one other woman with lupus, and I knew nothing about marketing or public relations. However, I quickly went about contacting local TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and marketing staffs of local hospitals. The night of our first meeting, 96 people attended despite a raging snowstorm. Some of the people had traveled from Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Southern Utah. When the doctor, who was our first speaker, asked the audience if they would like me to start a foundation addressing the needs of lupus patients, I got a standing ovation! I was able to procure a free office space from a prominent corporation, and I also coordinated the first Western Regional Medical Conference — teaching doctors and nurses from west of the Mississippi about systemic lupus. For my efforts, the governor of Utah awarded me the Carnation Silver Bowl Award for outstanding volunteerism. Most of my initial work in starting the foundation was done from my bed or while scooting kids from school to soccer and dance lessons. My children learned a lot about compassion and helped me lick envelopes, add postage stamps, fold flyers, and other small chores required in running a bonefide medical foundation. Later on, I was diagnosed with about a dozen other rare medical disorders, and I now help National Institutes of Health geneticists develop theories about heritable collagen disorders. I have also served as a board member of the Paul Jacobsen Spinal Cord Foundation (Hospital to Home), which offers grants to those suffering from spinal cord injuries in San Diego County, California. It has been a rough climb, but I have been blessed with a beautiful panorama of associates and one-on-one experiences with patients and doctors.
It was so hard to pick the winners! You are all awesome moms!
Congratulations to both the winners, and to all the moms that go above and beyond everyday, including you
Thank You so much. I have been criticized for sharing what some consider a “horrible” story. As one person wrote to me “How could you share doing such a horrible thing to your own daughter. I could never imagine putting my own child in jail.” (this was someone I know, not one of your readers, although they did see that I posted the story on a few blogs, which was why they wrote me)
I share because it can happen in any family at any time. I share because I feel like maybe if one parent going through something similar feels they are not alone, if one parent realizes that the toughest parts of being a parent are not always pretty, that sometimes we have to go way beyond our comfort level to do the right thing for our kids, then it is worth it to me to tell my story. Jail was not my first choice, but at the time it was my only choice besides burying her. Substance abuse affects every person who loves the addict, it changes everyone’s life who is involved. Sometimes the tough choices have to be taken out of the child’s hands, no matter how much it hurts you to do it. I don’t regret what I did, and I am not ashamed of it. I have my daughter today because of it.
So once again, thank you for choosing to nominate me and thank you for the kind words.
Nadine
Your story is an important one to share and one that can help another family going through a similar time. I know that hearing of someone else having an experience that I have had, it makes me feel not so alone.
It’s good to share. Don’t let the haters stop you from being who you are.
Congrats to both ladies on the win. You both deserved it!
.-= Shan @ Last Shreds Of Sanity´s last blog ..Blogger Deletes Blogs, Owners Rush To Move To WordPress =-.
Thank you for picking my story about dealing with lupus as your second winner. There is much that my family members have learned from dealing with my chronic illness. Through the process I have learned compassion for others and myself, and I found a courage within myself that I would have never found without having to deal with the various “traumas” that present with this medical disorder.
If you need more information from me, please contact me at skytoucher@sbcglobal.net.
Thank you again!!!
Congrats to the winners, especially to tough love. It’s hard to do, but you got to do what you have to do to save your child in the long run.