My sister and I are twins, and the only way we have ever been similar is in our physical appearance. We took complete, literal opposite paths in life. While I attended college, she went another direction: drugs and partying. I graduated and got a great job, and she continued to use drugs and party. Except now she was making money as a stripper and doing God knows what else to support her meth habit. I got married and had kids, and her downward spiral of a lifestyle continued. Eventually my husband and I decided we couldn’t stand by and watch this happen anymore. Of course I had pleaded with her before to change her life, but this time we knew was serious. If she didn’t change, she would end up dead.
We invited her over for dinner to meet her nieces and nephews (who by this time were 6 and 9, and she had never met them.) I had all the key members of our family there, and we did an intervention–each of us pleading with her and giving her the ultimatum that if she did not change she would no longer get a chance to be a part of the family. At the end of an emotionally taxing day, our efforts paid off. For the first night in 15 years I slept soundly, knowing she was safe in the guest room next door.
I got online and found an addiction treatment center and they recommended long term and inpatient rehab for her. Her situation was not one that a 30 day drug rehab center would put a dent in, and I wanted to do this right. I concurred, so we found her a really great, holistic rehab–both long term and inpatient–that specilaized in meth addiction.