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Christy V.
"I can't imagine my life without my 12-Step Program"
When Christi Valerio was 18 years old she wouldn't let you smoke
in her house. Not with her newborn daughter breathing the same
air. Those were her rules.
Then Christi began drinking. It seemed normal to her, considering
that alcohol was a part of her childhood, with her parents. Eventually,
the rules of her house gave way to compromise. And soon there
were no rules of the house at all; neither were there rules in
her life. Christi had sunk to a personal low - dealing cocaine
out of the house that was sheltering her children. She was also
binge drinking on weekends while they were away at Dad's. When
she had blackouts, she would use cocaine to revive herself.
"I look back on that time and I was such a different person,
it seems so long ago," said Valerio.
However, it was only a little over two years ago that Christi
came home one Sunday night to find her younger sister crying on
her sofa. She was crying because Christi was falling apart. High
on cocaine and drunk from alcohol, Christi decided that enough
was enough.
"That was it for me," said Valerio, now a paralegal living in
Glassboro, NJ. "I looked at myself and realized that I can't go
on like this."
Christi had what many describe as a "moment of clarity." She
decided to check herself into the residential program at Seabrook
House for 26 days. "I won't lie and say that treatment is easy,"
explains Valerio. She now understands that her disease is treatable
- and treatment can never be compromised. "I can't imagine my
life without my 12-Step Program," said Valerio. "There are two
things that I keep me strong in life - God and Alcoholics Anonymous."
She said this as she showed me her two necklaces - one is a cross,
the other a triangle; a symbol familiar to those in recovery.
Today, Christi remains highly active in her recovery, making
three meetings per week, regular contact with her a sponsor, including
visiting Seabrook House every other Sunday to help open twelve
step meetings. She's restored her life through the twelve steps
and continues to work at her recovery. And one thing is for sure:
Now with three children at home, ages eleven, six, and three -
you had better extinguish that cigarette before entering her home.That's
just one of her rules.
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