Despite the devastating fact that it ruins numerous lives and affects them in the most negative ways possible, people still use heroin. Once they start using it, there is usually no way back. That addiction is stronger than life.
Luckily for a woman and a heroin user named Caroline Beat, 36, the news that she only had a year to live if she continues abusing drugs came as a wake up call.
She was first introduced with the heroin while she was still a teenager. Her friends used it and one day they asked her to try it. Although she didn’t want that, they pressured her and called her a coward for refusing to play along.
Saying yes to that ‘offer’ she knew she had to refuse was a turning point for the worst for Caroline.
Soon after, Caroline was hooked. The last 20 years of her life were a constant struggle to find money for heroin.
After her family and friends turned their back to her, she started stealing. That got her into prison numerous times. There, she would go through a rehabilitation programs, but once out of prison, she always turned to her bad habits.
The last time she was in jail, the doctors told her that she damaged her body to the extent that she only had 12 months to live. She had sepsis that had reached to her heart valve and gave her endocarditis.
Now the problem was that no matter how much Caroline wanted to undergo the so much needed surgery that would help save her life, no hospital agreed to operate on her until her body was drugs free.
The devastated woman almost accepted her fate. She just couldn’t fight her addiction all by herself and knew it would eventually kill her.
But then, all of a sudden, someone came across her way and lent her a helping hand. It was the police officer who arrested her the final time. Stuart Toogood had seen similar cases and he really wanted to see Caroline thrive and change her life.
Officer Toogood told Caroline how he knew of a very effective six-month-long rehabilitation program, and Caroline was more than willing to visit the center and start the healing process.
Instead of spending the night on the streets, stealing or bagging for money, Caroline was in rehab. And it was the first step towards her new life.
Amazingly, Caroline was following the program and with the unconditional support from officer Toogood, she managed to keep herself clean for six months. It looked as though all she needed in her life was someone to give her a little push and trust her.
The time for the operation has finally come. But once the doctors ran tests, they discovered that Caroline’s body was able to repair itself, so she didn’t need the surgery any longer.
This brave woman who had gone through so much during her life now looks like a brand new person.
Now, Caroline and her savior speak of the incredible journey to complete recovery and are ready to help others who face drug addiction problems.
Check the video below to see what they have to say.
