{"id":1644,"date":"2021-11-23T20:45:14","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T20:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/?p=1644"},"modified":"2021-11-23T22:43:53","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T22:43:53","slug":"in-search-of-recovery-wes-ellzey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/2021\/11\/23\/in-search-of-recovery-wes-ellzey\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search Of Recovery: Wes Ellzey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Search Of Recovery: Wes Ellzey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Meet Wes Ellzey \u2013 our first client to graduate CORE\u2019s new CARE program!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last August CORE started our Clients Are Remaining Engaged program for those who relapse.  They are placed in-house with a credentialed drug and alcohol counselor who is well-versed in the need for 12 Step spirituality in recovery.  Our own Bruce Wood, who is a licensed CRADC, heads the program.  Wes attended his commencement formalities just last month and is now continuing as a client in our regular recovery program.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wes is a friendly, outgoing young man who first came to CORE in February 2020.  He\u2019s also a veteran, having joined the U.S. Army in 2009, at the age of 17.  Following an honorable discharge he returned home to Louisiana and started partying.  That\u2019s when he was first introduced to methamphetamines.  Wes calls meth \u201ca trashy, dirtcheap drug that lasts so long you don’t even need much to get high<\/em>.\u201d  It wasn\u2019t long before he was hooked, and since then he\u2019s had nothing but trouble.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has quite the knack for describing addiction and, in particular, the mind of a meth addict.  His personal experience was to stay awake for three day binges.  The first day was fun, but by the second day he would be \u201ctripping<\/em>,\u201d and the third day was \u201chell<\/em>\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was so paranoid, freaking [everybody] out, hearing voices, auditory hallucinations.  I would hear people talking who didn\u2019t even know me.  They might may as well have been talking about running errands, but I vividly heard them saying my name and that they’re out to get me.  Or I would \u201chear\u201d their thoughts.  I got so sketched out.  Meth\u2019s a crazy drug, one I don’t ever want to do again<\/em>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things got to the point where Wes couldn\u2019t distinguish between what was real and what wasn\u2019t.  By March 2016, not only did his own family avoid him, \u201cbut even the people I was doing drugs with wouldn\u2019t hang out with me<\/em>.\u201d  In his paranoia Wes felt compelled to find solitude.  He often found places he had explored as a child and hid there.  Eventually, his existence became so intolerable that Wes decided to do something about it \u2013 take his own life.  He wasn\u2019t messing around, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says, “I didn’t think I was ever going to get out.  I didn’t see a way out.  I was too far gone.  And if this was how it would always be, I’d rather die<\/em>.\u201d  So, Wes found a .45 handgun at his cousin\u2019s house, pointed it at himself, and fired.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wes woke up in the ICU surrounded by family and connected to tubes.  At the last second his cousin had walked in on him and was able to slap the gun away just enough to direct the blast from his temple.  Half his jaw was disintegrated, however, and he was breathing through a tracheotomy.  Recovery would take a year and necessitate a titanium jaw implant and brain surgery.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon recovering Wes went home to live with his younger brother.  Amazingly, even after all he\u2019d been through, his obsession for drugs remained: \u201cI started doing meth again as soon as I was able<\/em>.\u201d  By 2018 his family couldn\u2019t stand anymore and sent him packing.  For the next two years, Wes bounced in and out of rehabs and recovery programs searching for an answer \u2013 any answer.  Finally, a drug counselor in Mississippi recommended him to CORE.  That was February 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At CORE, for the first time Wes saw the Cycle of Addiction.  \u201cI’d never seen it before I got here<\/em>,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it\u2019s spot on.  Somebody didn’t just make that up<\/em>.\u201d  He began working the 12 Step program upon his arrival but since then has suffered two relapses.  The reason for these will sound familiar to anybody who understands recovery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I quit working the program and doing what I was supposed to do.  I still prayed, but that didn\u2019t mean I was relying on Him, you know?  I started doing what I want to do, being selfish, looking out for myself and not for anybody else.  The obsession just crept in.  The scary thing is that when it popped up I couldn\u2019t fight it.  When I’m running the show, it just happens<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wes was so ashamed after his second relapse that he hesitated to even return, but Matt Goehrig, our Operations Assistant, reached out to him directly.  \u201cI thought, I can’t do this again.  I’ve already let them down twice<\/em>,\u201d Wes relates, but \u201cMatt said just come back.  I’ll call Kevin [Hunt] and we’ll figure it out.  When you’re ready to face this, we’ll face it together<\/em>.\u201d  Moreover, upon his return Wes began the CARE program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He balked at first.  He thought it would just be a few extra drug classes, but it turned out to be a real commitment in time and energy.  \u201cSo I was upset at first<\/em>,\u201d Wes says, \u201cbut Bruce was like, you can do this thing to help you, or you can just go back to doing what you were.  So I stopped fighting, built a relationship with Bruce, and got to where I could trust him.  After that, the program turned out to be pretty cool<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Wes got further into the CARE program, he found himself becoming more open and honest. \u201cI told Bruce things I never told anybody<\/em>,\u201d he says.\u00a0 He also made a trip out to the Seahawk House to do a lengthy Fifth Step with house manager Jeff Sage, during which he made full disclosure.\u00a0 After that, Wes began to \u201clean into the program and take suggestions<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 One important suggestion was that Wes become more active in his devotionals.\u00a0 \u201cWhen you get into that habit<\/em>,\u201d he discovered, \u201cit’s a really good habit to have<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wes speaks highly of Bruce and of CARE.  He tells us that Bruce is \u201cawesome, I know why you all picked him.  He\u2019s good, and you can\u2019t BS him<\/em>.\u201d  And of CARE, he says \u201coh yeah, if you relapse and can come back, it should be mandatory.  It costs a little more, but it’s your life.  Looking at the pros and the cons, the pro is your life<\/em>.\u201d  We at CORE completely agree!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also foresee a bright future for Wes if he sticks to working his 12 Step program.  He\u2019ll be plenty busy in the near future.  His graduation from our regular recovery program is still eight months away.  He also recently enrolled as a new student at OTC.  He begins school in January and has registered for the LPN program, which Wes sees as a necessary stepping stone toward becoming either a paramedic or RN.  He\u2019s also a key-holder and floor manager at his place of employment.  So, yes, Wes will be very busy!  Rest assured, CORE is here to encourage and help him wherever we can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Search Of Recovery: Wes Ellzey Meet Wes Ellzey \u2013 our first client to graduate CORE\u2019s new CARE program!   Last August CORE started our Clients Are Remaining Engaged program for those who relapse.  They are placed in-house with a credentialed drug and alcohol counselor who is well-versed in the need for 12 Step spirituality…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}