What A Difference A Year Makes When You Add the BALM To It!

BALM® Coach Trainee Tracy Ward Shares a Snapshot of Her BALM® Story

This time last year my mom had just passed and my 20 year old son was in full blown opiate/benzo/meth addiction.  My mom had left me a pretty good size amount of money, and I was trying to make everything in my life right by having the biggest Christmas we had ever had.  Christmas was spent trying to get my son to appreciate what I had for HIM.  Only to hear, “Can I return this stuff and get the money?”  Which I allowed.  I was in a desperate, lonely, sick existence.

Then I found the BALM® through a Facebook advertisement.  I reached out for more information, and on January 6, 2016 someone contacted me. My life started changing that day.  I poured my heart out and found on the other end, someone who gave me HOPE. I immediately joined the BALM® Comprehensive Family Recovery Program, and my life started to change.

I was willing to do whatever it took to get myself better from the co-addiction I was so deeply entrenched in with my son’s addiction issues.  On February 5^th, with much support from Beverly and Alan Buncher, I had my son on a plane to Arizona for treatment.  I have never looked back.

Today, my son struggles in early recovery. There have been small relapses.  He doesn’t work his recovery program perfectly or at all sometimes, and even makes some very bad decisions at times.  The difference today is that I AM working mine.  I have learned through the BALM® to allow him to have his own journey.

Just last night, he sent this text to me: “’I’m kind of down. This job sucks. I’m done living here.”  I did not go to that place of “OMG, what’s he going to do? What’s going to happen now? We need to talk!”  I asked him if he wanted to talk, and he said not really.  He proceeded to send a few more text over the course of 30 minutes, and I was able to just listen, be present, and let him know I believe in him.

His final text to me was this: “Gratitude list: I’m grateful for having my own place. Grateful for being able to pay Ken the rest of the money for rent. Grateful I have my mom in my life still to be able to see me grow. Grateful I have a job and I’m about to get another one if I stop being a ***** about it.  Grateful for turning my mind around tonight and seeing the positive side of things. Grateful  for the meeting I went to today with my girl.”

He worked himself through it, and I didn’t try to fix it! What a miracle!

We have a better relationship today, then we have ever had. Today I AM on my own journey.  I am a student in the BALM® Life Coach Training program, and will graduate in spring.  I will be working with families who were exactly where I was just one year ago. What a difference a year makes.

UPDATE:

November 16, 2017

Almost 2 years since I found the BALM® and had that first BALM® Conversation (mini intervention) that led to my son getting on a plane to treatment, we are still moving forward! He was away for a full year (only 6 months of that was in treatment and sober living). The rest of the time he was trying to figure it out on his own. Being home almost a year, he is still doing so. Is he perfect…NO. Am I perfect…NO., but what I can say is that we rarely have a conflict. There is peace in our home. I set and stick to my boundaries and work my own recovery, at the same time, allowing him to have his own journey. He may still practice some harm reduction (drink a bit of alcohol), but from where we were 2 years ago, I’ll take it! He is working, paying his own car payment, and learning to handle any consequences to his actions. When I got out of the way, I was amazed at the resilience my son had! What a difference 2 years make!

If you would like to hire Tracy as your BALM® Family Recovery Life Coach please email info@familyrecoveryresources.com.

To learn more about how you and your family can benefit from the BALM® Program, click here.