The first time she came to Renascent, Courtney admits, she had an ulterior motive.
“I had been arrested for driving under the influence,” she shares, “and I thought getting treatment would look good in court.” Her ability to sustain recovery, however, was quickly derailed when she completed the program.
“My partner at the time picked me up from treatment with a bottle of whiskey and a bag of cocaine,” she recalls, “and I knew then I wouldn’t make it.”
Without support Courtney faltered, ultimately turning from one substance to another in an attempt to regulate her waking hours.
“In hindsight, I actually can’t believe my body was able to tolerate the level of abuse I put it through for as long as it did,” she reflects. Through months of homelessness and a life spiraling out of control, “I suddenly had a moment of clarity,” she recalls, “and could see what a disaster my life had become, what squalor I was living in. A song lyric – ‘leave tonight or live and die this way’ – kept playing in my head.
And I knew I didn’t want to die like this.”
Courtney returned to Renascent’s Graham Munro Centre, ready at last to build a new future. “I looked up the stairs to the front door,” she says, “and thought that if I could just make it up those stairs, I would have a chance at a life.
It took everything in me to climb up, but I did.”
This time, she says, “I really wanted recovery. I finally saw Renascent for what it truly was – an opportunity to learn how to live life on life’s terms. I can’t stress enough the importance of this. It helped me learn how to be the person I am truly meant to be.”
For Courtney, becoming her truest self also meant working through past traumas, seeking medical treatment and completing the aftercare program at Renascent. It’s taken time and perseverance, but today, “life is nearly perfect,” she muses.
“I’m living in my own place; I’ve met my soulmate; I have a relationship with my parents now,” she shares. “I have a service dog to support my mental health, which has had a huge impact on my life. This afternoon, I’m bringing food to a friend because I have too much, which is wild considering I was starving before.
I have very little to complain about.”
