One Day Down
>> Thursday, August 04, 2005
E arrived early yesterday morning. She called after I made my post to let me know that she had left home later than planned and was stopping to sleep. Before you say how rude that is, I knew she would be arriving in the middle of the night and was expecting a call. Which is why I was up.
When I met E she was 18. And, even though you wouldn't guess it to look at her- and all her tattoos and piercings- she didn't drink, smoke or do drugs. She became like a little sister to me; asking advice about buying a car (she wanted a Mustang convertible like mine), coming to me when she needed a shoulder.
We remained close after I moved. She was my only friend to visit from Minnesota when Brenna was born. And after that I heard from her only sporadically.
A week ago I found out why. She went to New York for a modeling opportunity (she is beautiful, even covered with ink. Actually, she was chosen because of the tattoos) and ended up with the "wrong" people. And I guess she was weak. And she began using heroin.
What a drug to begin with, huh? She went in to treatment a couple of months ago but it didn't work. She said they were more interested in her $10K than helping her get well. So she is here to detox. God, she's so thin. It's heartbreaking.
With the help of a sedative, prescribed for this purpose, she slept most of yesterday. Last night she was beginning to feel the effects of the drug wearing off. Today will be incredibly painful for her. I hope she can sleep through much of today, as well.
Update: 10 am Sweats, shakes and stomach cramping have set in. She can't keep the sedatives down. She is kind of worried because Day 2 has been worse for her in the past when she has tried to quit. We are hoping the medications she was given are helping with the pain and that Day 3 won't be absolute torture.
I did tell her that if it got too bad I would put her in the hospital- and they would probably put her in the psyche ward. She is actually OK with that. I also told her that I wanted her to have an appointment with a psychiatrist set for when she got home. She is OK with that, too. Those are good signs, I think.
