Our Stories
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Voice of the Recovery Community Award
Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) is the recipient of The Joel Hernandez Voice of the Recovery Community Award!
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Our Stories
Sharon Dembinski
Webster, MA
I have many roles in my life; mother of five, grandmother to three, wife to my husband John, friend to many and that of a professional in my role as a nurse practitioner practicing Addiction Medicine. All of these roles bring me joy, but none like the joy of motherhood. The joy of recovery has been added to my list of the many joys of motherhood through my 25 year old son Tony’s recovery from heroin addiction.
My son Tony has been in recovery for more than 4 years. Just prior to being introduced to heroin Tony was a typical American college student from a typical (if there is such a thing) American middle class family. He has a Mom and Dad, one older sister and three much younger adopted brothers now aged 10, 8 and 5 years old.
When we discovered Tony’s heroin use in April of 2003 we were shocked and devastated and did not know where to go for help or where to turn for guidance. He went into a detox and then a rehab and then on August 18th 2003 I almost lost my son to a heroin overdose. My husband and daughter found him unconscious on the bathroom floor of our home. He spent five days on life support after that overdose and his doctors told us that he would most likely die or at the very least have very serious brain damage if he survived.
While my son was unconscious and I stood hour after hour at his bedside promising him and anyone that would listen that I would do anything I could to help him and anyone who needed help if he would be spared. During his seven month struggle he spent five months in rehabs and suffered two more overdoses before finally achieving a sustained, long term recovery. I am thankful for that every day. While I was frantically trying to learn more about his illness I felt helpless and alone. I turned to the internet and online message boards for support and education. People there reached out to me in ways that no one had ever reached out to me before. One group of people in particular stood out for their dedication, passion and level of knowledge about this disease and its treatment. That group was the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates. They supported me through all my fears of relapse and overdose and explained what my son was going through in ways that I could understand. Their help was what got me through it all and helped me to help my son. I credit them with saving his life and for that I will be forever grateful. I am blessed with the fruits of their labor every time I see my son smile, hear his goofy laugh, hear the “I love you’s” on the other end of the phone or take pleasure in the rare hugs he bestows on me. I no longer have to worry about imagining life without those blessings because he is here with me today in recovery looking toward his future and no longer living in the past. The future for my son is even brighter since he became a father in July 2007. Tony has fought hard for what he has and what he has become- a strong, loving son and wonderful father. Seeing Jack and Tony together and seeing the joy of parenthood in Tony’s expression inspires hope in anyone who knows his story or witnessed his past struggles.
Today I am fulfilling my promise. I am a Certified Methadone Advocate and am active in the recovery community. I serve on Consumer Advisory Boards, attend conferences and work as a Certified Methadone Advocate when that service is needed. My relationship with recovery has evolved into a professional one as well. At Kent Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island where I practiced as a Nurse Practitioner in the Special Care Nursery when we first discovered Tony’s heroin addiction I developed the Mothers On Methadone or MOM Program. This program is a support and education program for expectant women receiving methadone maintenance treatment. It is designed to support their efforts in recovery, to educate them about methadone maintenance therapy in pregnancy and prepare them for the care of their newborns. The program has was well-received by the community and it has been supported 100% by Kent Hospital and the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates.
I am also an Administrator for a mutual support message board titled “Methadone Pregnancy Info” supported by Methadone Support Org, I serve on the Advisory Board for this organization as well.
Two years ago I left my 20 year practice of caring for newborns and started practicing Addiction Medicine at Discovery House Clinics in Rhode Island. This new career has fulfilled me in ways that are indescribable. I practice using a caring, nurturing philosophy and approach that my patients respond very well to.
My son’s illness has brought me many tears, but the joy it has brought into my life inspires me with hope to continue my fight for the patients I care for now, the patients who give back to me 100 fold what I give to them.
I plan to continue my recovery advocacy in the future and of course keep my heart open, lap occupied and ears filled with the joyful noise of a very busy home and life filled with children.
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