Gary Bell

From a young age, Gary has always been independent. Gary maintained close relationships with both of his parents, especially his dad. Because of this close relationship with his dad, Gary wanted to be a part of everything he did, including work. As the oldest boy in the family, Gary feels like he skipped his childhood, and made ‘adult decisions’ when he was still very much a child.

Gary’s first brush with addiction was at the age of 11, when an acquaintance offered him a marijuana joint. Though he never suffered from addiction to marijuana, he acknowledges that “it truly was the ‘gateway drug’, as that first yes opened the gate to a whole lot more.” By 14, he had moved away from his parent’s care, and by 15 he was a father. While many would look at Gary’s life at this point and worry, he was always sure of himself, as he knew he was a man with a plan. When his first child was born, he followed his usual pattern of stepping up, this time to the challenge of fatherhood, and obtained his CDL license.

However, Gary’s youthful freedom still led him into the path of harder drugs, beginning with marijuana, then coke, meth, and other “party drugs.” Gary found respite from these drugs on his country trips during his time as a Commercial Truck Driver, as he didn’t have access to them the same way he did while living at home. Through his 20’s and early 30s, Gary knew how to keep a lid on his addiction. He kept his usage to weekends to keep his habits from affecting his kids, especially because if he failed a drug test, it would be a “death sentence for his career.” One would never be aware of his addiction, as he was a devoted and loving father from the day his first child was born.

Addiction finally took hold of Gary when he was offered a Lortab for the first time to treat job-related back pain: “I was working a very physically demanding job, and when I took that first pill, the feeling was indescribable.” When his back pain progressed, a doctor wrote him a full script for highly addictive opioid pain meds. Married to his now wife, Kristy, Gary was focused on being the best for their growing family. This was the turning point for him, as he, and eventually Kristy, would begin to indulge more and more, with an indisputable reliance. But when he shared his concerns with the doctor, he was given the advice “There are two types of addiction: to get high, and to get by.” Because he was still in the “getting by” state, he didn’t seek help for a long time.

After wrestling with his old demon of self-reliance, Gary finally successfully went through Dr. Lakin’s program at Center for Change. He really had to swallow his pride to acknowledge that he needed help getting clean. When Gary went through the program, he went all in and was fully ready for the positive changes it would make on his life.

Gary’s life after addiction, after 10 years clean, is night and day. He no longer feels like he’s missing those most important moments with his kids and now his grandkids, and he can now fully enjoy the life he and Kristy worked so hard for. His final words to those who struggle with their own addiction is: “There is a way out. No matter how bad you think your life is, or how good you think your life is, it can and will get better after addiction.”