At age 58 I became a fulltime mother again. As a mother of four and grandmother of seven, I have experienced many parenting challenges. None, however, compare to losing my oldest daughter after years of drug addiction, and in the aftermath, raising her nine-year old child (now 11)-my grandson Colby.
My daughter Ann was a bright, intelligent, beautiful, multi-talented girl with an infectious personality that endeared her to all who knew her. But the substance abuse changed her into a very unlikable person. During the more than 20 years Ann used drugs, she was in in-patient treatment four times, tried several outpatient programs, twice attempted suicide, and was in jail four times-the last time for four months prior to her death. She was hospitalized numerous times. She was on so many prescription drugs for legitimate ailments, and because so many physicians continued to prescribe the drugs, it was impossible to keep track of what she was taking. Her drug of choice prior to her death was methamphetamine.
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