Everyone knows that heroin can kill. But the drug is so pernicious it can make life not worth living even for those who have never taken it. Here a mother of two drug addicts tells her story.
| I made him choose: It’s either got to be a family who loves you, or drugs. |
Every Friday between 6.30pm and midnight, Sandra sits by the telephone, ready to take calls from strangers.
A mother of six, from Ecclesfield, Sandra has seen two of her sons go cold turkey too many times to count, she wants to be there for other parents when their kids bring a drug problem home.
"It's one of the most horrible sights, watching your child come off heroin, she says.
They start shaking and banging their head against the walls. They start sweating and the pain they go through is horrible.
We couldnt take it in at first. The boys used to have wonderful personalities. Then suddenly, they had dramatic mood swings. One day they could be happy, the next day totally down. They started coming in late and they lost lots of weight, especially round the face and the eyes. I asked them what the matter was and they told me.
Martin and Darrell, both twenty, spent up to 300 a day on drugs and even resorted to stealing off their mother to feed their habit.
Criminal
Sandra said: "My house was burgled. The television had gone, my jewellery had been taken. When we fetched the police, we found out that it was my own son who had done it. It was just unbelievable.
Its hard to explain how I felt. The pair of them would steal anything. Theyd go and sell a wardrobe, complete with clothes, for only 10. I was at my wits end. I found a local support group and at the first meeting I said I wished my sons were locked up.
And that was precisely where they ended up but it didnt help the problem.
"My younger one got clean inside and passed some exams. He came out, got a job but then they found out about his criminal record.
He was sacked and he went on a real downer. He thought everyone were against him so he went back to heroin.
Sandra believes the only thing which works is patience, advice and the professional help to beat the habit.
There should be secure units where people whove got drug addictions can go where they are not allowed to come out until they get clean. They should be there three months, 18 months, as long as it takes.
At the moment you can wait six, seven months before you get a place. In that time, your son or daughter can be dead.
Darrell and Martin are free of drugs at the moment but she knows the battle is not yet won.
She said: We had a big row after Darrell stole a watch. I threw him out.
My daughter offered to have him she didnt want him to end up in a box. But, I made him choose: Its either got to be a family who loves you, or drugs.
This was his final chance. He came back home and we had a good talk and he said hed had enough of drugs.
What keeps Sandra going is the knowledge that she will have done all she can to stop heroin tearing her family apart.
"We will finish up as a family, a proper family, she said. No matter what my sons have done, they are still mine and I still love them. No matter what. I wouldn't be a mother if I didn't, would I? It's hard and it's rough, but you get there."
Parents seeking support from others whose children have experienced drug problems can call PADA (Parents Against Drug Abuse) in confidence on 0800 735 1001.
About the team
This article was produced by Sara Hawkins, 15, and Wesley Taylor and Naveed Ullah, 13. It was published in the Sheffield Star.
