Second Chance @ Life!

Here is my story on a second chance at life. Let me first start out with I am a recovering addict, alcoholic, gambler, and steroids abuser. See my story is a little bit different than your typical Addict alcoholic story.

Everything started was 18 years old and was told I probably would not receive a college scholarship or even play college football because of my height. My response to that was to start taking steroids to get as big as possible to compensate for the lack of height. It worked and off to college I went. I only lasted 1 semester before having my scholarship revoked because I choose to drink and party over football. Now my drinking progressed to daily and steriods were still being abused by me at that time I was only 19. On a Drunken night after a high school football game I got into a fight in a guy's front door way and because I entered the house as we were fighting it was considered a Burglary of the Habitation and I was arrested and spent the night in jail till I bonded out. So within a matter of 3 months I turned 19, started college and football, lost my scholarship for drinking and left college, spent a night in jail and was now facing a 2-10 year prison sentence at 19 years old. My drinking continued as my lawyers were trying to get the charges reduced. 2 weeks before the DA was going to drop the charges my drinking got me again. This time for DUI, driving wrecklessly, speeding, attemp to deliver illegal substance (anabolic steriods 13 bottles). Needless to say I had to accept 4 years probation for all of it and the first charge to. During my time on probation I developed a meth habit which would turn out to destroy my life. After testing positive for meth in 3 drug test by probation I was sent to jail for the remainder of my time which was 20 months at the time. On that day I was called by my lawyer and asked if I could turn myself in the next day. I needed help at that time and i knew it. I had a baby on the way and I had no job and was living in my parents camper at 21 years old with a child coming and I was just getting high everyday and doing nothing. So I had my father turn me in the next day. During my time in jail my lawyer worked out a deal for me to go to the state rehab program for the last 9 months of my 20 month sentence and it would be the first rehab I would attend but surely not the last. Ive been to rehab 26 times and im 36 years old. I successfully completed the rehab and was released of paper. Now my son is 8 months old and I have daughter on the way and I went to the army to inquire about joining. Surprised me because they actually accepted me even with my criminal record only because I was able to recieve a waiver at that time in 2005. At that time I had been out of rehab for 3 months and was still drinking but not doing meth or steroids. I flew out to basic training completed it successfully moved on to my job training completed it successfully and then transfer to my 1st duty assignment Fort sill Oklahoma. By the time I was moving to Fort Sill Oklahoma me and my kid's mother had been married and we were starting our family and our life finally at that moment. See when I was in the military I was really good at being a soldier it motivated me and kept me hungry each day that feeling from drugs are used to get was no longer needed because I was getting that feeling through being in the military. During my time in the military I would go on to excel from a brand new private to a staff sergeant in a little over 4 years. The only thing I did was drink and have pain pills for my back never really abusing them. I would go on to winning the soldier the year competition at Fort Bragg North Carolina. I received multiple awards for multiple deployments during my time in service. Within a 6 year span we lived in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, and Texas. Around my 6th year in service the military decided to medically discharged me at a 100% for my injuries sustained during my service. At that time I had been away from meth for a little over 9 years I never even thought about it. On my 1st day retirement and 32 years old I was lost I didn't know what to do or who I was at all. When I was in the military thats all I knew that was my identity that was my passion and my dream and I felt like I lost it and I felt like I lost myself. I will turn to drinking and back to steroids and that would take over my life for the next 2 years. On October 06, 2016 when I was drinking with a buddy at a bar we decided to get some cocaine. This day is etched in my memory because that moment changed my life and the course of my life forever. When they say you're one decision away from a different life I believe it. When I hit that 1st line it all went downhill from there. See 2 months before I did that line I celebrated my 10 year wedding anniversary with my wife. It didn't matter anymore because I would be soon to lose her and my kids. I spent the next 3 years of my life using cocaine and meth to cope with the fact that i lost a wife, kids, 3 cars, 2 houses and 2 apartments, 1 dog, everyone in my family and would eventually go on to over 23 hospitalization weather it be rehab or mental health for suicide. The amount of meth I was injecting over that period of time combined with the amount of anabolic steriods I had taken over my life significantly alter my chemical balance in my body. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia Auditory hearing things, bipolar mania, severe ADHD and anxiety and PTSD and put on Testosterone therapy the rest of my life because of the amount of years I abused steriods I destroyed my natural Testosterone. All of this was a direct result from my decision to abuse drugs. Today I sit here with 9 months clean, back in college with 2 semesters left to finish my degree in finance and economics, my own house and car. The greatest thing I have though is this excitement go begin my second life and this time do it through my higher power. I have so much more to my story and if this app works out than you will see slot of my experience and lessons learned.