Carol started drinking in high school socially with friends, not knowing that her drinking would eventually spiral into alcoholism. She struggled through a 40 year addiction to alcohol. She wanted to stop, but feared the physical withdrawal.
Her turning point came after hospitalization for a routine surgery. She wound up staying in the hospital for 7 days battling a near-fatal withdrawal…and she doesn’t remember a single minute of it.
Carol shared: “Once I became coherent, my doctors said to me, ‘there is no medical reason why you are alive today.’ This was absolutely the wake-up call that I needed.” She was given a choice by her two daughters. “At the hospital, my daughters told me I could choose to go to TROSA or they would drop me off at a women’s shelter and discontinue all contact with me,” said Carol.
Carol made the decision to come to TROSA. While at TROSA, Carol was offered two years of free housing, meals, classes, counseling, health services, and vocational training so she could focus on her recovery and address the challenges she needed to overcome to rebuild a healthy life. Carol graduated in 2015…and today is a proud staff member at TROSA.
Carol stayed with TROSA “in the hopes of helping somebody else get the recovery that I had.” Carol is now a House Manager in our Women’s Program, which oversees all of the female residents at TROSA. Carol’s favorite part of this position is serving as a role model and mentor for the female residents in the program. “I want to help others like me, especially the young women with children at home. I want to make sure they don’t struggle as long as I did, so they can be there for their families.”
As Carol reflects on her time at TROSA, she thinks about her transformation. “My daughter says that I’m finally back to the person I was meant to be,” shares Carol. “I am happy. I am at peace. I have my family back. I have everything I need.” TROSA is lucky to have Carol as a member of our team to serve as a strong role model for our females in recovery.