Re: [PRAYER REQUST] Update on Steve Hill

#1 · March 11, 2016, 4:02 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 11, 2016, 4:02 pm
Posted by: dozier.bob <dozier.bob@...>

You have my respect and prayers.

On Friday, March 11, 2016, Marc Miller <prezbass@gmail.com> wrote:

So, here's the update on my prayer request from earlier in the week.

After I sent the prayer request, I called a very close friend of mine who is the head of treatment at an in-patient center not far from my home. My friend said that he would help Steve, but Steve needed to sign up for Obamacare first and then we would go from there- down to and including my friend doing all the paperwork to get Steve into in-patient rehab if that is what is required. I spoke to my wife, Ian and a few of Steve's friends and we all agreed that would be a good idea to do, and we also agreed that if Steve would elect for treatment, we could work out the living arrangement- all predicated upon what my friend says Steve will need for treatment.

I finally had a chance to talk with Steve. His immediate reaction was that he didn't want treatment, and his reasons were all the typical reasons that addicts refuse the help. I did not give up, and we continued talking.

I explained to him that treatment, although ugly and messy, is really all about giving you tools to be able to make right decisions. It's not a panacea, and you only get out of it what you put into it. I did not club him over the head with Christianese - Steve is an athiest (really an agnostic) - so hitting him with a Bible would do no good. I gave him my story (not going into that here- hit me offlist if you want it) and he was dumbstruck. By the end of about an hour, he accepted that he needed help, and he would do as I asked. He was REALLY beat up, so instead of doing it right then and there, he went to bed. (Trust me- that was a good idea.)

As it turns out, Steve has been attempting to kick heroin by himself after I called him. He managed to land some Subcutex (an anti-opiod), which he is in the process of using. (I don't know and don't want to know where he got it.) He's gone the route of injecting it instead of using the tablet (he's apparently done this before) and the deal is that he had to give me all his syringes and Subcutex and I will physically administer it. (And I already have) This also allows me to monitor him if there's a problem while he withdraws. (Heroin withdrawal can be very dangerous.) If I find a syringe that I haven't accounted for in the house, he's done and he knows that. If I find anything else of drug paraphanalia, he's done and he knows that, too. I have elongated his stay in my home until next weekend (unless he opts for treatment), and yesterday he went about getting set up on Obamacare. I paid for that. I also managed to land some "accouterments" to get Steve over this hump- better needles, alcohol, cotton swabs (we're not gonna risk an infection right now), better food and we have Steve on a pretty tight schedule of going to bed, getting up for work, getting to work, getting home and regular check-ins during the day until he gets into treatment. Once treatment starts, we may elect to amend some of this, but that will be up to my friend when he evaluates Steve.

And- I already got the Subcutex tested to make sure it is what he said it was- and it is. While he's at work, I've searched his room thoroughly and found no other "goodies", with the exception of a little weed- which we are going to permit for the time being, but once that's gone there won't be anymore. (the weed will help some of the withdrawal symptoms) We have removed all potent potables from our home, including the medical cannabis that I currently take for my MS symptoms. Even though this impacts me, it's not for long and I am not about to take chances here. We're going to keep this very simple for Steve.

Tomorrow morning, Steve has an appointment with my friend. We will find out what the plan is then. In the meantime, I have pledged to Steve that Deb and I will back him to the best of our abilities as long as he continues the work- which he is doing with absolutely zero push back.

As I am an addict, I know very well what I am in for, and what to look for, and I am looking for it. I told Steve that it's not that I don't trust him, it's that I don't trust the mitigating factor that is making him do the things he does, and no amount of him talking will change that. He will have to defer to my (and my wife's) judgement for this to work, and he has acquiesced. No blowups yet, but I am fully aware that one/two is coming, and trust me, folks- I can handle it. I also told Steve that if he had pulled this crap with anyone else, he wouldn't be getting these chances- so, he's in the best possible place to kick. He completely agreed with that, and is completely grateful for the chance.

Please continue to pray for Steve, Shon and Ian - and my wife and me - we're nowhere near out of the woods, but there's a path and we're on it.

--

-Marc Miller
prezbass@gmail.com
http://www.eadgpoet.com

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Posted by: dozier.bob <dozier.bob@...>

You have my respect and prayers.

On Friday, March 11, 2016, Marc Miller <prezbass@gmail.com> wrote:

So, here's the update on my prayer request from earlier in the week.

After I sent the prayer request, I called a very close friend of mine who is the head of treatment at an in-patient center not far from my home. My friend said that he would help Steve, but Steve needed to sign up for Obamacare first and then we would go from there- down to and including my friend doing all the paperwork to get Steve into in-patient rehab if that is what is required. I spoke to my wife, Ian and a few of Steve's friends and we all agreed that would be a good idea to do, and we also agreed that if Steve would elect for treatment, we could work out the living arrangement- all predicated upon what my friend says Steve will need for treatment.

I finally had a chance to talk with Steve. His immediate reaction was that he didn't want treatment, and his reasons were all the typical reasons that addicts refuse the help. I did not give up, and we continued talking.

I explained to him that treatment, although ugly and messy, is really all about giving you tools to be able to make right decisions. It's not a panacea, and you only get out of it what you put into it. I did not club him over the head with Christianese - Steve is an athiest (really an agnostic) - so hitting him with a Bible would do no good. I gave him my story (not going into that here- hit me offlist if you want it) and he was dumbstruck. By the end of about an hour, he accepted that he needed help, and he would do as I asked. He was REALLY beat up, so instead of doing it right then and there, he went to bed. (Trust me- that was a good idea.)

As it turns out, Steve has been attempting to kick heroin by himself after I called him. He managed to land some Subcutex (an anti-opiod), which he is in the process of using. (I don't know and don't want to know where he got it.) He's gone the route of injecting it instead of using the tablet (he's apparently done this before) and the deal is that he had to give me all his syringes and Subcutex and I will physically administer it. (And I already have) This also allows me to monitor him if there's a problem while he withdraws. (Heroin withdrawal can be very dangerous.) If I find a syringe that I haven't accounted for in the house, he's done and he knows that. If I find anything else of drug paraphanalia, he's done and he knows that, too. I have elongated his stay in my home until next weekend (unless he opts for treatment), and yesterday he went about getting set up on Obamacare. I paid for that. I also managed to land some "accouterments" to get Steve over this hump- better needles, alcohol, cotton swabs (we're not gonna risk an infection right now), better food and we have Steve on a pretty tight schedule of going to bed, getting up for work, getting to work, getting home and regular check-ins during the day until he gets into treatment. Once treatment starts, we may elect to amend some of this, but that will be up to my friend when he evaluates Steve.

And- I already got the Subcutex tested to make sure it is what he said it was- and it is. While he's at work, I've searched his room thoroughly and found no other "goodies", with the exception of a little weed- which we are going to permit for the time being, but once that's gone there won't be anymore. (the weed will help some of the withdrawal symptoms) We have removed all potent potables from our home, including the medical cannabis that I currently take for my MS symptoms. Even though this impacts me, it's not for long and I am not about to take chances here. We're going to keep this very simple for Steve.

Tomorrow morning, Steve has an appointment with my friend. We will find out what the plan is then. In the meantime, I have pledged to Steve that Deb and I will back him to the best of our abilities as long as he continues the work- which he is doing with absolutely zero push back.

As I am an addict, I know very well what I am in for, and what to look for, and I am looking for it. I told Steve that it's not that I don't trust him, it's that I don't trust the mitigating factor that is making him do the things he does, and no amount of him talking will change that. He will have to defer to my (and my wife's) judgement for this to work, and he has acquiesced. No blowups yet, but I am fully aware that one/two is coming, and trust me, folks- I can handle it. I also told Steve that if he had pulled this crap with anyone else, he wouldn't be getting these chances- so, he's in the best possible place to kick. He completely agreed with that, and is completely grateful for the chance.

Please continue to pray for Steve, Shon and Ian - and my wife and me - we're nowhere near out of the woods, but there's a path and we're on it.

--

-Marc Miller
prezbass@gmail.com
http://www.eadgpoet.com

--

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