At 34, I was rushed to the hospital with pancreatitis from years of alcohol abuse—my organs were shutting down. That was my breaking point. I walked out of the ICU on June 1, 2012, and decided I wasn’t going to die like that. I had seven kids who needed me, and I was tired of the pain I had carried since my teenage years, numbing it with alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. With no support system, I had to rebuild my life from the ground up—new friends, new mindset, new habits. I faced my past head-on, including fighting to expunge charges, leaving a 15-year abusive marriage, and doing the hard emotional work of healing childhood trauma. I also moved to Miami to escape an unhealthy environment and reunited with my daughter who had been in the foster care system. Recovery wasn’t just about quitting substances—it was about learning how to live and feel again. Today, I’m a certified peer specialist and social work student with a 4.0 GPA, and I use my experiences to support others through addiction, trauma, and transformation.