Scott County, Missouri

March 22, 2006

The calls in the night, a true story about our daughter...

Our twenty-five year old daughter was arrested by the local police after a traffic stop. She and a friend (we had never met) were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia (Sudafed pills). Our child told us the pills belonged to her friend; we believed her and hired an attorney. Our daughter was released on bond the next morning. The attorney we hired worked with the prosecuting attorney; our child received a Suspended Imposition of Sentence (SIS), and we thought all was well.

A few months later, we were awakened by a phone call at 2:30 am., informing us that our child was once again in the local jail. The charges were much more severe than a simple possession of Sudafed pills. This time we did not hire an attorney and have our daughter bonded out of jail. In fact we left her there for eight weeks.

At the time, we felt that this was the darkest event in our lives. Our daughter was in violation of her SIS and could very likely be facing time in prison. Two years before, sitting at this very daughter’s graduation from college, we could have never imagined that this nightmare was possible.

• Where did we go wrong?

• Had we over­looked signs that our child had a possible drug addiction?

• Why did we not see this coming?

  This time we trusted the words of law enforcement officials and not our child; they said to leave her in jail, work with them and they would give us back our daughter. We listened and we learned. In fact, we are still learning.

It has been over three years since this incident. Our daughter spent eight weeks in jail, was sentenced to attend a drug rehabilita­tion program, and placed on probation following the completion of the program. Although it has not been without some difficulty, our child has had a successful recovery, and has successfully held a job. In recent months she has married, and is starting her own business.

Just recently our child was overheard telling someone “the best thing my parents ever did for me was leave me in jail. I knew when I got out that I was never going to do anything to cause me to go back.” Our daughter successfully worked the twelve-step program and is proud of her accomplishment as are we.

We are also grateful for the advice to leave her in jail and get her into a treatment program. Our daughter worked very hard to understand herself and her addiction, and to learn how to remain sober.  Our reason for telling this true story is to enlightened parents and other loved ones who might find themselves in this same situation.  We hope you can find comfort in the fact that in these most desperate situations, there is hope and lasting solutions.

A grateful Mom & Dad