Below is a letter from a previous patient that has recently reached a year of sobriety:
I am so humble and grateful.
A time to pause and write my gratitude list for this past year, and living it TODAY.
-I thank God for giving me a moment of clarity to call a sober member of AA, Jim M., for TELLING me to go to Hemet Valley Recovery Center.
-I thank HVRC for being there and having the love and caring people there with an open door, and the willingness and knowledge to go the extra mile.
-I thank ALL the counselors for the love and tough love they gave me.
-I thank, Mark C. Mark, you were an example of the 2nd part of the Serenity prayer- “the courage to change the things you can.” You brought me, along with God, to sanity. You were His instrument. You brought me on a path to discover the true root of my problem- a secret resentment.
-I thank Dr. Thu for his professionalism, dedication, and humanism! You listened with compassion, and treated me with respect and love.
-I thank Dr. Paul for listening to me, and hearing me. Our points of view are different, but we still met on common ground!
-I thank all the professional staff on the “medical” staff for the patience above and beyond human possibility at times. You are angels. From the nurses UP TO -the housekeeping staff and all between! You made me comfortable, not with meds, but with you soft, firm, tough caring you all provided day after day. I have a -threefold disease. The physical part was eased and nursed back to health with your help and direction.
-I thank my fellow alcoholics and addicts with me at any point of time. Without you all, I could not have started my recovery! I MISS YOU ALL!
-I thank Attitude of Gratitude group. While I was being dishonest, being without drink, but consuming “solid alcohol”, you treated me as an alcoholic and not as an outcast. Without the fellowship of that 10 months, I WOULD HAVE gone over the edge to not return.
-I thank my sponsor, for being the exact person I need in my sobriety. There aren’t enough words……
-I thank Alcoholics Anonymous for being there, and providing me with the steps to take to be a sober person in recovery on a daily basis.
-I thank my group, Washington Park. We are a conglomeration of drunks, who try to live sober on a daily basis by sharing our experience, strength and hope with each other, hmmmmm, exactly like the Big Book says.
-I thank the love of my life, my wife, Sharon, my kids, my sister, brothers, family and friends for giving me a chance to demonstrate on a daily basis that as long as I don’t drink or drug, I am a good person, doing the right things a day at a time AND forgiving me when my imperfection REALLY shows. For my grandkids, that tell me they love me and call me Papa. My sister and brother-in-law, for living sober and have the wisdom and living with the truth that the only one who could change me, was God and myself. I know how hard it is to watch a train wreck happening from the “sidelines”.
This list could be as huge as the gratitude is huge right now. Not material stuff. A healthy spirit, a clear mind, an unburdened body!
I want what you have and am willing to go to any lengths to get it, so I am willing to take certain steps…..One day at a time.
Thank God! Amen
