Letter Of The Day: Methadone saved my life

This is an OP ED article I read from the Winnepeg Free Press. You can find the article at http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/methadone-saved-my-life-82235187.html

After seeing the photo of Nolan Ferris on the front page (More addicts than province can help, Jan. 16), I did not need to read the article to know the story because I was living it every day, relentlessly, for longer than I care to think about. I was in a bed much like the one in the photo, countless holes punched in the walls by me while in the depths of opiate withdrawal -- a fate I would not wish on my worst enemy.
Inside, I was begging that things would change, but not really willing to make the effort -- struggling to stay high, or at least not be sick, terrified of the pain of having no dope. Please hold on, I am begging of every opiate addict in this province, because things can get better. And do yourself a favour and get on that methadone waiting list, talk to a doctor, get the wheels turning. I had to lose someone I loved very much to this disease before I could give my head a good enough shake and do what needed to be done to help myself. I began the methadone program in November and I can say without an ounce of hesitation, it has given me back the life that I never thought I could have again.
I wake up happy that there is air in my lungs, food in my stomach and people who love me every single day. I am learning how to really live all over again. My family and friends are slowly coming back into my life. I am doing things that I love. I am soaking up every single minute. I never thought I would be able to live clean; methadone has given me the ability to want to live and to love life again.
Addicts like myself suffer from a progressive illness from which there is no cure, so to speak. Get your name on that list. Do not wait another day. Help can be found, even when it seems like things will never, ever get better. I am living proof, as are many others. All you have to do is want it.

MEGAN McWILLIAM
Winnipeg


Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 21, 2010 A11