After years of addiction, homelessness, and incarceration, Scott turned his life around through Suboxone treatment and fatherhood, and now lives a stable, drug-free life devoted to his children and recovery.
Always a diligent student, Scott won his county spelling bee at age 12 and was a finalist in the geography bee. “My mom was so proud of me,” Scott remembers. “She constantly bragged about how smart I was.”
But Scott lacked confidence and clung to his sister, “one of those bubbly, popular people.” When his sister started drinking and smoking pot, Scott did, too. His grades fell, and he lost interest in school. Soon he was selling his Adderall prescription to buy Xanax. In 9th grade, he was expelled for fighting.
Scott spent his teen years in and out of juvenile detention, for drug possession, assault, and probation violations.
He’d planned to join the army at 18 but his criminal record disqualified him. Instead, he began shooting heroin and tried to rob a liquor store.
“It was all because I was more worried about finding drugs than being a good human being,” remembers Scott, now 35 and an Ideal Option patient with over 4 years in recovery.
His mom kicked him out of the house, and he cycled through fast-food and landscaping jobs. But he was always too sick from withdrawal to show up on time.
“It was like the flu times 20,” Scott says. “I’d vomit and cry. Once I kicked a hole in the wall because of restless leg syndrome.”
For two years, he spent his nights at homeless shelters and his days scouting houses to rob. Sometimes he’d shimmy open a door; other times, he’d kick it down, whisking away electronics and cash.
Scott was jailed more times than he can count. “My mom would come visit me, and it hurt me to be a disappointment to her,” he says.
Gradually, he began to reflect on the promising start he’d had back in school and all the opportunities he’d thrown away. “I wanted to get my life together, but I didn’t know how. I had given up on myself.”
Scott began the long process of digging himself out. He found work as a farmhand, exchanging room and board for cleaning horse stalls. To stave off withdrawal as best he could, he bought Suboxone off the street.
For about a year, Scott stayed drug free “and didn’t look like crap anymore.” He landed a job he loved, at a vet clinic, riding his bike 11 miles to work and back.
“I’d hold the animals while the doctor gave them shots,” Scott says. “I’ve always loved dogs, so to me, it was the best job in the world.”
But at the clinic, Scott had access to the drugs prescribed to pets. “I realized dogs take the same Xanax as people do,” Scott remembers. “The clinic had these giant bottles of Xanax, and every now and then, I’d take a few.”
Scott felt guilty for stealing from the clinic and quit his job. “I knew I was doing wrong by them,” he says.
Next, he worked at a restaurant and began dating a woman from work. She had an oxycodone prescription and plenty of money from a car-accident settlement.
“I was infatuated and would have followed her anywhere,” Scott says.
Scott moved in with his girlfriend and her mom, who also was addicted to pain pills. “All three of us would use together,” he says. “It was fuel to the fire.”
Scott’s girlfriend got pregnant, and then Scott landed in jail yet again — this time for 18 months, a sentence he now considers a stroke of good luck.
His daughter was born while he was behind bars, and the day his mom brought the baby to jail, Scott’s mindset changed.
“I cried so hard — I loved her the minute I laid eyes on her,” Scott remembers. “That was my big moment of clarity. I was like: I’m going to do this. I didn’t want to be who I was.”
While in jail, Scott completed a rigorous drug-treatment program. “I took it seriously, and when I came home, I started going to meetings every day and had a sponsor.”
Scott and his mom won custody of Scott’s daughter. The baby’s mom had never stopped using drugs and later died of an overdose.
But Scott still didn’t have a Suboxone prescription and would relapse now and then. During one of his relapses, Scott’s mom got full custody of his daughter, though Scott could still visit.
More struggles followed: relapses, lost jobs, another jail stint, and another girlfriend addicted to drugs.
Then Scott found himself with a newborn son. He vowed to be there for his son the way he wasn’t able to for his daughter.
Scott landed a job with health insurance and googled for help. A few days later, he went to Ideal Option and received a Suboxone prescription.
“Suboxone took away all my cravings — it was like the flip of a switch. I’ve never missed a dose.”
Today, Scott supports his son, who’s almost 4, and has a full time job as a roofer.
“My boss knows my story and is proud of me. He’s always praising me for taking care of my son by myself.”
Hot-headed during his drug-using days, Scott now has an even temper and plenty of friends. “I joke a lot,” he says. “At work, people consider me the funny guy.”
Scott feels proud of, and grateful for, the financial and emotional stability he has achieved.
“I have a nice place to live and a vehicle and a PlayStation,” he says. “I bought my son a T-ball set, and I’m going to teach him how to swing. I feel like a normal human being.”
Specializing in addiction medicine since 2012, Ideal Option has helped tens of thousands of people just like Scott get started in recovery. Click here to make an appointment at Ideal Option today!
Up next: “Everyone needs a little help” — Everett’s Story of Hope