The promises....they do happen...if we work....

Nurses Recovery

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Specializes in ICU, psych, corrections.

So I recently celebrated 6 years of sobriety and also completed my contract with the Nevada BON. Within the past month, I have reconnected with my little sister, who I have not spoken to since December 2010, when we parted on bad terms over issues with our mother's death. I also have applied and was just hired as a nursing supervisor at the Department of Corrections - it comes with a better schedule, a 2 min drive to work vs my current 35 min drive and a $25,000 pay raise. Not to mention that it will give me some supervisory experience, of which I have none. I will be supervising a very small staff (one RN, one LPN and a CNA). We have closed the chapter on our foreclosure and it was done so without so much as a thought of drinking or using. I found I am able to have empathy for a woman who I used to have complete hatred for and instead of rejoicing that she is now "one of us", I am able to understand her pain and pray for her to find peace. I have lost 60lbs, gotten off all my medications and went from a "poor me, I have rheumatoid arthritis and can't do anything" person to someone who is training for her first marathon. I am approaching 41 with excitement and feeling better than I did at 20. I can set boundaries these days for myself and keep them. I am able to sit down with my teenage daughter and admit when I am wrong, then ask how I can make it right with her. I can set goals for myself and stick to them. I have kept a job for 5 years......FIVE years. I could barely keep a waitressing job for a year before sobriety. I am able to leave said job on good terms with a blessing from my supervisor as I embark on a new, challenging career. I have friends. I have women in the program who love me. I enjoy being a nurse but it's what's I do, not who I am. I have an identity these days and it's not wrapped up in a license that says "RN" on it. I have found a higher power. I am whole. And when I am not feeling whole, I have a solution. Life is good and for anyone who is just starting out, it gets better....it gets different.....and when life does get crappy, you find you do not have to bury yourself in a pile of pills or a bottle. Or gambling. Or shopping. Or sex. Or television. I list all those because I am a garbage can and will use whatever I can to get out of pain and get out of self. I don't have to do that these days.

I just wanted to post this for anyone who is new to recovery, new to monitoring, p*ssed off at their BON, mad at the world or feels completely lost and hopeless. I found hope. Recovery has given me many things but the most important is hope. Without that, I have nothing. Please stick around - anything is possible and time really does go faster than you can imagine while being on contract. I wouldn't change having been on contract for anything in the world. Without the BON, I would be dead. Fact.

Congratulations to you for all your success! Thank you for posting such an inspiring story. I, too, have completed my contract and have over 3 1/2 years of sobriety. I am so thankful for the many blessings I have and pray for people still suffering in active addiction.

Good luck with your new job.

Specializes in ICU, psych, corrections.

Thank you....and congrats on 3 1/2 years!!

Saaaaweeeeeet!

Oooowee! What a great story. Life really is so much more simple than we make it out to be right? The pressure of this situation has forced me to sit back and focus on today. Such a frustrating concept a first, and now I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for your story and showing others it is possible!

Specializes in retired LTC.

To OP - congrats on your successes.

To others out there who still struggle - wishing you all the best also.

Congratulations! This is a fantastic post and extremely relevant to our nursing population who struggle with addiction

Wow your story is so inspiring....congratulations! I realize your post is a few months old, but I just came across it now. I am starting my contract soon and I do have an interview coming up this week. Do you have any advice for my interview? I cannot handle narcotics for 5 years and cannot work in home health, and my interview is in a LTC setting. I don't know at all if they will be willing to work with me, but I figured that is doesn't hurt to give it a try. Btw, I will be clean/sober 6 mo. this upcoming week! Yeaaaa!!! I was terminated from my last nursing job almost 6 mo. ago for diverting narcotics, then reported to the BON, and so on and so forth.I'm so grateful to be living a sober/clean and honest life. I'm totally fine with being honest and upfront, but that doesn't take my nervousness away...and I want to sound confident that I have and am taking my recovery seriously, because my sobriety is the MOST important thing to me. Thanks for reading, and I would appreciate any advice on disclosing being under contract during interviews! THANKS!!!!

Congratulations! I'll been clean for 10 years next spring. I count myself so blessed by the many things that have happened during that time - clean, married, bachelor's degree, and after 7 years of pre-req's, waiting list, and then 2 years of nursing school I just graduated this past May!

Unfortunately the CA BRN denied my license because of convictions that are all over 9 years old. It's sad because I haven't even desired to touch a thing and have put my old ways so far behind me...I'm appealing and likely to get a stipulated license in a year or so. In the meantime I'll keep doing the things I can and accepting the things that I can't change.

I know I have said it before but I love reading the support the group in this forum show to each other. Reading this thread was good for my soul this morning.

Keep the positivity going and know that even though I have never met any of you I am pulling for all of you.

Specializes in EDUCATION;HOMECARE;MATERNAL-CHILD; PSYCH.

OP, I am sincerely proud of you. You Rock!!

Your posting is an inspiration to all nurses!

Thanks for your posting.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Today is my 1 year sobriety birthday. I was sober for almost 22 years, and then had to start all over again after falling off the wagon by ODing on Ativan. Kudos to all of us who keep fighting our addictions despite the challenges we face every day.....it's not easy, but it's ALWAYS worth it!

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