Standing Ovation for Kat!!

Oh Jackie THANK YOU, Sue & the group for letting me come and speak. I have to say I was struggling with it some the last couple days. I really want to help others and let them know they are NOT alone and someone (actually LOTS of someone's) have been through addiction and there is support and help and success in sobriety. I was really near tears a few times telling ya'll some of the hardest parts of my journey (pre-op and post-op) but I am so blessed to have done this. I really appreciated your insight into addiction (not just alcohol) and really and truly learned some new things and met some new folks and learned things about them too. It felt good to get things out into the open and the support and friendships (some already there and growing) in return are just another blessing I can count in my life. I really wanted to say that I liked that everyone participates and gives feedback and asks questions and I really appreciate the samples of different things I picked up last pm. I plan to try them and hope they work out well. I am still feeling a bit "warm" when I think about last pm. I am just passionate and determined and I hope that everyone there knows how thankful I am to have been in the same room with them. Momma thank you for coming with me (or having me drag you out to EVERYTHING I'm going to these days). You are working to get weight off you just cannot give up. We've watched too many members of our family and circles of friends pass away from truly preventable health issues and addictions. And, although we cannot help some that are being destructive now in our lives unless they are ready, we still try. I want to also say before I move on to replying to other posts this am that ya'll have NO idea how blessed I feel and know that I am and that the doors opening up to me/all of us are wonderful and I've been facing some dire times (to me) lately and every time I'm getting real low, feeling like crap, down, depressed and lost something or someone lifts my spirits and sometimes without even knowing it. So, when you are thinking you don't make a difference, you don't matter think AGAIN. Always ...........

Kat, it is we who were honored to have you there to speak. We had talked about addiction transfer before but did not have anyone who would admit to truly going through it - and you did - and came out the other side. It was also really important to tell everyone how easy it could be to slip back and how you still miss it sometimes -- like smoking - but you did not want to go back there. We are human and could not help but be touched with your frankness.... I think everyone realised how hard it was for you to open up like that. My husband - who is often the biggest critic at these meetings - you know one of those who tells us where we went wrong but last night he said he was riveted by your story!  So to hold his attention takes a lot!! Last night was a very serious meeting because it is a serious subject but we do have lighter ones too - always a lesson there and they we open up and talk about all sorts of things but we ran out of time last night - which shows we were all enthralled..... You are an inspiration to us all!! Thank you so much once again!! Jackie