We were more than “up a creek without a paddle.” It felt more like being swept away in flood waters. Opioid addiction is a force that overpowers everything in a person‘s life which goes on to wreak havoc in the lives of everyone around them. We were over our heads in challenges and everywhere we tried to get help we ran into complications and roadblocks.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Treatment Response Team (TRT) was one of the squads that God dispatched to rescue us. Someone who’s daughter was greatly helped by the TRT gave us their number. We called and they responded the same day. They suggested we meet at a McDonald’s the next day. Thankfully, Matt was open to this idea and the three of us met with Kathryn and Nancy the next day. They became the go-to advisors and support for Terri and me and promptly got to work for Matt, making appointments with a psychologist and a regular MD as well as providing transportation to these appointments. We now had connections and support. What a relief!
One clear example of the advantage the TRT gave us was when Matt finally agreed to go to a residential rehab program. This happened to be in the early weeks of the 2020 covid lockdowns. Most programs had stopped taking new people. Yet within hours of Matt’s decision to go into rehab, they had confirmed an open door at Haymarket, just west of the Chicago Loop.
I drove Matt down there and dropped him off. But within 15 minutes he calls me and says he wasn’t accepted. WHAT? His drug test showed either too much or not enough in his system. I can’t remember which. As I headed back to Haymarket, I called Kathryn and she said she would see what happened. Upon returning, I find Matt out front waiting with his bags. While he and I headed to Maxwell St. to get some hot dogs, Kathryn was advocating for Matthew. What a relief to get her call saying we could go back.
Haymarket was a positive experience for Matt. He had a great counselor who he connected with well. But, he would not have even gotten in the program without the TRT. They know the ropes. They know the people.
“He’s using again.” Nancy and Kathryn were just a text away. They understood what we were dealing with and were quick to respond with advise and encouragement. Kathryn was connecting with Matthew regularly. She’d get him talking, I remember one time nearly an hour. It was beautiful. She’d basically check up on him, ask questions, listen, give encouragement, advice and perspective. Also, she or Nancy continued arranging rides to appointments and offering practical support wherever needed.
Why their help wasn’t enough? That’s a question that tells mountains about the opioid demons in Matt’s head who don’t have to eat or sleep and have been practicing their trapping and torture routines for hundreds of generations. But, for us, who were drowning, Kathryn and Nancy were, as Terri called them, our angels.
Here’s a little TRT promo video we were interviewed for in September 2021.