Latest / Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane / Why Not Today? Season 1 - Episode 10 with Terezeja Lemieux, Friend, Entrepreneur and Survivor

Transcript

Why Not Today? Season 1 - Episode 10 with Terezeja Lemieux, Friend, Entrepreneur and Survivor · Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane

0:00
Hello, my name is Leslie Cain and I am the host of the Why Not Today podcast.
0:07
This podcast is to celebrate people have done or have been courageous and said, why not today?
0:13
I started this podcast in honor of my father, Patrick Cain, who often said, why not today?
0:18
I'm based in Reston, Virginia, a planned community right out of D.C., Washington, D.C. and thanks
0:23
for joining us today.
0:25
So I am excited.
0:27
This is our ninth episode.
0:29
Wow.
0:30
I know and I'm excited to have a friend of mine, Teresa Lemieux.
0:35
And I'm actually at her house now.
0:37
She's upstairs downstairs.
0:38
But we have known each other for, gosh, 20 some 22 years, I think, work together and she
0:47
is going to be my guest today.
0:49
But before we hear from Teresa, I always like to talk about connection and you never know
0:54
where you're going to meet someone, where it'll lead and how they'll connect in your life.
0:59
And Tracy and I met through work years ago or if we're both entrepreneurs.
1:05
But kind of an interesting, fun story today is Facebook actually reached out to me to
1:10
do a survey about Facebook groups.
1:14
So of course, in talking to it, the girl asked me a little about me and what I did and she
1:18
was familiar with Mary Kay, which of those you guys follow podcast know that's my real
1:21
job.
1:24
And by the end of the conversation, she liked my to join my Facebook group.
1:28
She needs products.
1:29
So there's my phone.
1:30
And so you just never know where those connections are going to come from.
1:33
You just got to be nice to people and be friendly.
1:36
So I'm super excited to have Theresa on here.
1:40
And she's going to share her story.
1:43
And it's kind of a story that I think people need to hear.
1:46
And I think this is the first time you've shared this story publicly, because who knows
1:50
where this podcast will go.
1:52
So why don't you introduce yourself tells a little about you, Theresa, and a fun fact
1:57
that people might not know.
1:59
Sure.
2:00
So Leslie is one of my dear, dear friends.
2:04
And like she said, we met over 20 years ago.
2:07
I now live in upstate New York when we met.
2:09
I was living in Virginia.
2:11
I have two kids.
2:12
They're 18 and 16 now, a boy and a girl.
2:16
They were babies.
2:17
Well, I was pregnant when Leslie first, when we first met.
2:21
You weren't even married, by the way.
2:24
You're right.
2:25
I was a baby.
2:28
I'm married to an amazing man.
2:32
And I love food.
2:34
Leslie can attest to that.
2:35
I love being outside.
2:38
I love sunshine.
2:40
And I think one thing, a fun fact about me, and I think it's fun because no one believes
2:46
me.
2:47
No one believes me that everyone thinks I'm an extrovert.
2:52
You're not.
2:53
And the truth is, I am very much an introvert.
2:57
Yes you are.
2:58
I know that for a fact.
3:00
That is a fun fact just because no one, people are always like, no, you're not an introvert.
3:04
And I'm like, yes, I am.
3:06
So yeah.
3:07
So I'm excited to have you on and talk about your courageous story.
3:10
But before we go into that, share with everybody.
3:14
What does courage mean to you?
3:17
So I love that word courage.
3:20
And when I think of courage, it makes me think of an affirmation that I've been using for
3:25
quite a while now, the saying I have, which is, I can do hard things.
3:29
I can do hard things.
3:31
And when I think about courage and that I can do hard things, it's like a lot of times
3:38
it takes courage because what we're trying to do is unknown, or we have fear, or it's
3:43
new, or there's uncertainty.
3:47
And all those things are hard.
3:48
And so for me, it means knowing that you can do the hard thing and that you're not going
3:58
to allow those other things to hold you back from whatever it might be.
4:04
So I can do hard things.
4:06
Courage.
4:07
Love that.
4:08
And that's so true.
4:09
All right.
4:10
So we're breaking up a little bit.
4:12
So hopefully our internet will not go out and you know, it's definitely a God like thing
4:23
that there was somebody else that was lined up to be my guest for this week's episode.
4:29
And she went on vacation and brought home with her souvenir, which a lot of people are
4:32
bringing home these days, which was COVID.
4:35
And she thought it'd be okay, but she's coughing so much.
4:37
She's like, I can't do it.
4:38
So I'm here at Theresa's house for the week and upstate New York.
4:41
And if you know me, you know, when I travel and you never know where, I need that picture
4:46
that you have.
4:47
She's going places or she is somewhere.
4:49
She is somewhere.
4:52
And so when I got that email yesterday and Theresa was talking, she's like, I could be
4:57
on your podcast and I'm like, okay, would you do courageous?
5:01
And I think part of the story she's going to share is part of your courage, Theresa,
5:04
but I think sharing your story publicly and sharing it on a podcast for the first time
5:10
and really, because I didn't even know the full extent of it till we talked last night
5:15
and Tracy and our really good friends, but she went through a hard time in life.
5:18
So she's going to kind of share the story.
5:21
So share with us what you've done that took courage and why do you think other people
5:27
need to hear the story?
5:28
You ready?
5:29
So, right, like you said, I think there's two parts of the courage story here.
5:35
The first one is how I got here, which was I found myself in a situation where on and
5:43
off for about 10 years, I was on and off heavy duty opioids.
5:49
And then I think it was 2019.
5:52
And why were you, let's go backwards.
5:54
Why was I on them?
5:55
Oh, just like a drug addict or that we got to clarify this.
5:59
Why were you taking pain medicine?
6:02
Right.
6:03
So I moved to New York and my body just decided to break in every way possible.
6:09
And it was crazy stuff.
6:11
Like it was a bug bite that turned into cellulitis.
6:13
It was, you know, needing to have carpal tunnel surgery.
6:18
It was some kind of digestion thing.
6:21
And then it was carpal tunnel.
6:23
I mean, it was just bam, bam, bam, bam.
6:26
And in between, of course, I wouldn't be on medicine and I would go off and there are
6:31
a couple of times in there that it was pretty long lived.
6:34
And when I stopped, it was, it was difficult.
6:38
It was hard.
6:39
There was a little bit of withdrawal, but what really sent me into my body becoming completely
6:46
addicted was a surgery that I had.
6:49
And I think it was in 2019.
6:52
It was pre COVID.
6:54
It was a jaw surgery.
6:56
And the jaw surgery went very bad.
6:59
And what proceeded was two years of basically just horrible.
7:06
And I had eight surgeries over those two years.
7:09
My jaw was wired shut twice.
7:12
And over the course of that time, what happens is your body becomes accustomed to whatever
7:20
level of pain medicine you're receiving.
7:23
And so to have pain management, you continue to need more and more and more and more.
7:28
And I found myself in a place that even to this day, like it's hard for me to say, but
7:36
I know, I know that I have to admit that I, my body had become addicted to opioids.
7:44
And in going through that and going through this process, it's just all the time in my
7:50
face, what an epidemic this is and how bad it is and what our children are facing.
7:55
And I know that my story, that I guess that's the second part was the courage to share my
8:03
story.
8:05
And it goes right along with your saying, why not today?
8:07
You know, I have thought for a while now, I need to use this story like this has been
8:13
really, really, really hard, but there's got to be good that comes out of it.
8:17
And so I think this is a big moment of courage for me because I feel the story is needed
8:23
to be heard.
8:24
I think there's a lot of people who don't look like they're addicted to drugs, who don't
8:30
go through daily life looking like they're addicted to drugs and or opioids or whatever
8:35
that vice might be.
8:37
But I think especially even more so after COVID, the numbers are really high.
8:43
Yeah, absolutely.
8:46
And talking about this last night, we actually, somebody who told me, my friend Julia, who
8:50
was on the podcast before had mentioned, I guess it was a series on Hulu that was called
8:57
dope sick and somebody she knows and it's actually ironic that it was filmed in Roanoke
9:02
and a lot of it took place in Southwest Virginia, or actually have some customers and team members.
9:08
But just talking about, we only watched two episodes last night, but just talking about
9:12
how we got here and and the craziness of the government and we're not going there.
9:20
But just how this drug, OxyCotin, got into the hands of people and it was actually the
9:27
drug company.
9:28
And as I said, we're only watching two parts.
9:30
We don't know what happens, but the drug company actually got FDA approval and a relabeling
9:36
of this drug to say only 1% of people were addicted, which is so untrue.
9:42
And they made billions because of it.
9:46
And you know, a lot of people have become addicted.
9:48
And Theresa, you went down a route that I mean, we're great friends and there was months
9:53
and months that we didn't talk.
9:56
I actually came to visit her in the hospital December of 2019.
10:01
And then till a couple of weeks ago, she didn't even know it with somebody her mother-in-law
10:05
said, yeah, Leslie was here and didn't remember.
10:08
So she was just not there.
10:10
I remember one time coming to visit you and talk about this last night, you were just
10:14
obsessive about decorating your house and doing these little things and like, because
10:19
I guess that's what you can control.
10:21
And you were just not you.
10:23
So you finally started to get healthy.
10:26
Yeah.
10:27
And your mouth and stop having surgeries.
10:33
But I think it was a couple of times you tried to get off the drugs more than once.
10:37
Well, yeah, I mean, I did not want to be on them, but clearly my body had become addicted.
10:43
And I felt like I would start to wean off and then I would need another surgery or I'd
10:48
start to wean off and I had an infection and it was just so, so hard.
10:54
So yeah, it, it, and then there had to become, there had to come a day.
11:00
I had to make a decision.
11:02
Well first there was an intervention and treatment and then there was a decision.
11:07
Yeah.
11:08
And I think that's the thing we talk about here on this podcast is was it a moment that
11:13
you said, all right, enough is enough, or was it an ongoing thing?
11:18
There was something that happened in your life that triggered you that you're missing
11:21
out or I mean, you've got two kids that are teenagers.
11:24
I mean, I can't imagine how hard that was for them and your husband and your family
11:29
to live through.
11:30
Plus you still were running a business somehow.
11:33
Right.
11:34
Somehow.
11:35
Exactly.
11:36
And just like you said, there that moment, right?
11:43
So the first, the first part, the intervention happened because, you know, I was, I, when
11:49
you, if you could only see what I was on, it would kill the average person and the reality
11:55
person.
11:56
Well, yeah, no, and I had gotten really, really small down to 99 pounds because of all the
12:04
surgeries and I couldn't eat.
12:06
They have a way in my mouth shut, but I think the real, my husband knew that this was a
12:13
breaking point and it needed to get better.
12:15
And him and my doctor had had conversations, but I think the breaking point for him was
12:20
when he went to CVS to pick up my prescriptions.
12:26
And this chokes me up because it's like so hard to believe, but the pharmacist came to
12:30
him and said, we're going to give you Narcan.
12:33
We're really concerned about the amount of medication your wife is.
12:37
I don't want to interrupt, but a lot of people might not know what Narcan is.
12:42
So I don't fully understand either.
12:44
All I know is that when people overdose and they stop breathing, it's like adrenaline
12:49
and it brings people back.
12:52
So when police arrive and there's an overdose, that's what they try.
12:56
They try to give you Narcan and you can administer.
13:00
I think it was, I don't even know if it was a nose spray or like, I don't know.
13:04
I don't want to say, but so yeah, that was, that was hard.
13:10
Yeah.
13:11
I'm sure it was scary for Darcy to, to see that.
13:16
So I kind of interrupted your story.
13:18
So were you going somewhere else or I'm just.
13:20
No, I was just going to say that that's when he had the conversation with my doctor and
13:26
they decided that I was going to go on a medical, a medicine assisted treatment, which they
13:35
give to a lot of, which many addicts attempt heroin addicts, opioid addicts.
13:44
And what it does, it's made up of two medicines and it's meant to block the effects of the
13:50
opioids, you feeling them.
13:54
So in tricking your body, so there's still a little bit in it so that you don't go into
14:00
full withdrawal because withdrawal is hell.
14:04
And so they prescribed that.
14:07
And the outlook was you will be on this until they like to keep most addicts on it.
14:15
I did not want to stand it.
14:16
And I kept saying, I'm not, I didn't choose to be an addict.
14:19
I didn't, you know, I didn't want this.
14:21
So I, I stayed on it for, for a while, but then knew, I knew.
14:28
I just wanted to be off it.
14:30
I wanted my life back.
14:31
I wanted to put this behind me.
14:33
I wanted to be present for my kids and rebuild the relationships in my life.
14:38
And it just felt like a block to me while I was still on the, the treatment.
14:44
So what was, I know, say Darcy talked to the doctor.
14:48
So what was, what were the steps to get you?
14:50
And this is good knowledge for anybody listening that maybe in this situation, like, what does
14:54
it require?
14:56
Or if you have a loved one that is going through this and you're watching them, like, what
14:59
are the next steps and how was it and obviously you're on the other side of it?
15:04
I think that's such a great question.
15:06
Because I think there are a lot of people out there who either struggle with this themselves
15:11
or have a loved one, a child, a sister, a mother, whatever, like so many of us are touched
15:16
by this and just don't know how to help.
15:19
Right.
15:20
So the medical, the medicine assisted treatment is available.
15:27
And it actually, there's been increases in people using the medicine I was on which was
15:33
Suboxone.
15:34
And so the process was the doctor and him deciding, okay, there's not much more we can
15:40
do.
15:41
The pain she's having is going to be the pain she's going to probably live with.
15:46
But openly, I still do a weird thing.
15:48
They actually after a while, your pain just keeps increasing or you feel like your pain
15:54
is increasing.
15:55
And the only way you know what pain you really have is if you get off the drugs, right?
16:00
So the doctor contacted a Suboxone center in Rochester and we got the referral.
16:12
You got the question?
16:15
Is this insurance covered or like a person that's, I mean, with the show we watched last
16:19
night, people were losing everything.
16:21
And when you're an addict looking for drugs, the money is not there.
16:23
You had a business.
16:25
But is there other options for people to get help?
16:33
Right.
16:34
So that's a really good point.
16:36
So a lot of people, you're right, do crazy things to get drugs.
16:39
Those were all prescriptions for me that were at that point insurance covered the treatment.
16:44
There was a co-pay for it.
16:47
And I do think there's ways that they work with people to get them into treatment.
16:54
However, I did look into, because I knew how difficult it was going to be having had little
16:59
bouts with it.
17:01
And I really didn't want my family to have to see it.
17:04
So I looked into going into a rehab center.
17:09
And it's the first of all, there's waiting lists.
17:12
You can't even get into them.
17:13
And even if you do, it's like $20,000 or more out of pocket.
17:17
And so that wasn't, it was kind of heartbreaking that that wasn't an option.
17:23
It probably, they probably would have had tools that would have made it a lot easier.
17:27
Yeah.
17:28
All right.
17:29
So back to your story.
17:30
So you're working with this clinic?
17:32
What is that?
17:33
Right.
17:34
And part of the treatment plan is you must go into counseling, which I think is brilliant,
17:40
right?
17:41
That's a good, because you got to be healing all the things.
17:43
You're going to be physically healing, emotionally healing, all those things.
17:47
So when I finally decided, I was like, I just don't want to be tied to this little thing
17:55
that felt like it had so much control over who I felt I was as a person.
18:01
I picked a date and I just said, that's going to be it.
18:06
I have to stop and it's going to be hard.
18:09
And we sat the kids down and they're old enough, obviously, as teenagers to understand and
18:16
see what's happening.
18:17
We explained to them what was going to happen.
18:20
And then I cleared my calendar.
18:24
I absolutely cleared my calendar.
18:26
My husband, I'm blessed Leslie in that I have a husband who works from home.
18:31
He was completely available.
18:33
He does a lot around the house.
18:34
He cooks, he cleans.
18:37
I really have a heart now for people who struggle with addiction who don't have support because
18:41
I don't know how you get through this without a ton of love and support.
18:47
And it takes a long time.
18:49
It's not an overnight process.
18:51
Right.
18:52
So, all right, so share the story just so people know what is involved if you don't mind,
18:59
like you shared with me last night.
19:00
So they had to go off all the drugs.
19:02
Yeah.
19:03
So you go to the crawls.
19:04
Right.
19:05
So you go walk in, you got to, you got to, you're in with, you have to be in withdrawal
19:09
when they administer the Suboxone, which is just, it can come in, I think pill form or
19:15
mine was a dissolvable strip that would go under my tongue.
19:18
So when we walk, I don't even remember what the place looked like.
19:21
I just remember going in with my hot pink bag of crazy amount of opioids, valium, Xanax,
19:30
like all the things and being like afraid to get, to give it to them.
19:37
But I was already starting with jaw.
19:38
I was sweating and shaking and nauseous and throwing up and just freezing cold.
19:44
It was, I think it was spring and they administer it.
19:49
And what's crazy is with this treatment, they're watching to see your symptoms stop.
19:56
And within hour, my body stopped that withdrawal process.
20:02
So it is an incredible medicine.
20:05
And I think for a lot of people, if they have to stay on it for the rest of their lives
20:10
versus going back to heroin or something, I think, I think it can be an amazing treatment.
20:15
Just for me, I didn't want to stay on it.
20:17
Like I always had the goal to not stay on it.
20:21
Yeah.
20:22
And you said, even by the time you walked back in the house, it was like you were back.
20:27
My sister was here.
20:28
I walked back in.
20:29
I remember everything coming to life again.
20:33
Like everything seemed brighter.
20:35
My sister cried because she was so worried about me.
20:39
She's like, oh my gosh, you're back.
20:41
You are back.
20:44
And I did feel significantly better.
20:48
It was unbelievable to me too, the difference between being on all the medicine to just
20:54
being on that treatment.
20:57
It was a miracle.
20:58
It was magic.
20:59
It was, yeah.
21:00
So, yeah.
21:01
So, but your journey wasn't over or your courage wasn't over because you had to get it.
21:05
So you are no longer taking that at all.
21:07
So what was the process of stopping that completely?
21:10
So that was the mother of courage, this decision and a day that you made a decision, right?
21:16
You said, why not today?
21:18
Yeah, that one took a little bit of time to come to because I knew what I was preparing
21:23
for kind of.
21:26
And I had been following a YouTube video of a person who had done it.
21:31
So I kind of knew what to expect and he was giving tips and things.
21:36
And so that day came and took me to the darkest place I've ever been in my life where I actually
21:45
did not want to live anymore.
21:48
And I felt this is what happens when people become to that low point, you know, when people
21:55
choose suicide, I believe, you know, what I was feeling with everybody else would be
22:01
better off without me.
22:02
My husband would be better off without me.
22:04
My kids would be better off without me.
22:07
I was not being a mom, a wife, a friend, anything.
22:12
So luckily I had, you know, counseling and support around me and people to watch me all
22:19
the time and not a means to do that.
22:22
But yeah, the withdrawal process is horrible.
22:24
You lose, you know, you can't sleep for months or at least for me, I couldn't sleep for months,
22:32
which was like torture, your body shapes are like twitching off.
22:35
It's like horrible.
22:39
You can't eat.
22:41
And you do you wane yourself to a teeny tiny bit and that teeny tiny bit cause that much
22:46
havoc on your body.
22:47
Yeah, I was down to the point where I could not take any smaller, like it was like a piece
22:53
I was just barely taking, but it was enough to keep my, my body from going into full withdrawal.
23:00
So within a few hours, well, really for me by that point was within 12 hours I started
23:06
to feel the withdrawal by day two and three, I thought I was literally going to die.
23:12
That my body was just not going to be able to do it.
23:20
But I knew that there's only one way through withdrawal and yeah, bridge and break.
23:28
Okay.
23:31
Yeah.
23:33
We are glad you are here and grateful that you had the courage and you had the support
23:39
and you know, you just end you live in suburban New York neighborhood, perfect little family,
23:49
anybody looking from the outside in would have no idea what was going on.
23:54
And I think that goes on a lot in this world.
23:57
And somebody else we were talking about yesterday that I'm going to share on the podcast at
24:00
some point too, as somebody else I know that was so addicted to heroin and ended up the
24:07
only reason she is here today is she was dealing in the cops were watching her and she OD and
24:11
they gave her Narcam.
24:13
And she went to prison and had her first child in prison.
24:16
And thank goodness her life turned around and she's doing amazing.
24:19
So proud of her.
24:20
But again, from Northern Virginia, a nice family, you just never know.
24:26
And yours came from, you know, just physical issues that one doctor gave you a little bit
24:32
and another gave you more and they kept giving it to you.
24:35
And from what we were watching last night and I'm a little naive on this, I'm learning
24:39
more, but thank goodness.
24:42
But you know, the drugs make you want more and you need more and they were taught they
24:47
came up with this thing and they were talking about breakthrough pain, which just meant medicine
24:52
was supposed to be time released, which it really wasn't.
24:55
And you had breakthrough pain and people kept needing more and in the middle of the night
24:58
and yeah, scary.
25:00
So how do you feel now after saying why not today?
25:07
How is your life now?
25:08
I'm sure you're fearful that you don't want to go like me personally, I would say I would
25:14
be afraid of Advil.
25:16
Right, right.
25:18
Well, that's such a great question too.
25:19
I think how I feel today is I recognize healing is a very, very long process, but I think
25:33
I, you know, the courage part was like you said, and it's true, most people, no one knows
25:41
this story outside of my family.
25:45
And I had to wait.
25:46
It's been, it's been nearly a year now.
25:48
Like, you know, we, I've always learned like you don't talk about your stuff till you're
25:52
through your stuff.
25:54
So I know that I'm through it, but the emotional healing continues, the relationship healing
26:00
continues, and there always is that fear.
26:03
Like I was saying I had to have a tooth pulled, which was still the result of some, you know,
26:09
just it being damaged through all the, all the work they did.
26:12
And I was scared to death and they immediately wanted to offer me medicine, you know, opioids
26:18
and I, we were clear with the doctor.
26:20
We said, I will not be taking anything like I will take Tylenol.
26:25
And that is it.
26:26
I had to go back in because it got, this never happens to people, but my, when they pulled
26:31
the tooth, mine didn't seal.
26:33
And so they were, they had to go in and pack it.
26:35
And again, it was painful, but I knew what I kept saying to myself, what would be worse,
26:42
this pain in this moment, or going back down that, that road of hell.
26:47
And I just said, no, no, I'm not doing it.
26:50
I'm not doing it.
26:51
And I think what fears me the most now, Leslie is how available this drug is.
26:58
Like you were saying how many people have injuries.
27:00
I think it's something like, it's a very high percentage of people, the people who become
27:05
addicted to opioids started because of a prescription from the redacted, that it's like 75%, I think
27:14
that led then to the opioid addiction.
27:18
That is scary.
27:19
And the other thing that scares me is the exposure to our kids.
27:24
It is everywhere.
27:26
They've seen the pills, they've been offered the pills.
27:29
I don't know if everybody can parent out their nose and just talking about it with their
27:33
kids, like really talking about how this could destroy their life.
27:39
And there are kids or teenagers who even after a couple times, just a couple pills become
27:45
addicted because your body crazes.
27:47
Well the person I was just talking about when I asked her how she got there, she goes, my
27:51
self-esteem was really low and a cute boy paid attention to me and we started doing marijuana
27:55
and that went down the route.
27:57
And one of my passions with my Merikay business is to help women and girls with self-esteem.
28:03
And they say girls' self-esteem is highest at age, or women's self-esteem is highest
28:07
at age 10.
28:08
So whatever we can do to help get people, I mean not just girls but boys too, but that's
28:14
the kind of the world I work in, but to help people with that and just give people confidence
28:20
and support and not judge and you just never know.
28:24
And where you'd thank goodness you didn't go, but I actually, a friend of mine, I was
28:29
sharing your story and I was worried about you and he said, is she addicted to heroin?
28:34
Because once you can't get prescription drugs, I don't know if it's good or bad that the
28:38
doctor kept giving them to you, but once you can't, then people get desperate and then
28:42
do all kinds of heroin's the next step to help lead that.
28:46
And what's going on is, and I have a good friend that was died because unfortunately
28:51
he was doing it and it's laced with fentanyl sometimes and that kills you really fast.
28:56
So let's just escape the thing.
28:58
So I'm grateful that you had the courage to share your story.
29:02
And in the theme of why not today, I know we talked yesterday that, you know, in the
29:08
recovery process for alcoholics, anonymous and narcotics, anonymous, whatever is one
29:13
day at a time.
29:15
And you know, so my why not today is kind of a twist on it, like let's do the good things,
29:21
but sometimes it's like why not today stop, or I know, share the story about like day
29:26
two, day three, like you're not going back.
29:30
Or you just saw yesterday.
29:33
Um, that as you know, I, I knew that it was going to be a process and I had to get up
29:41
every single day and just say, okay, I'm going to go one more day, one more day and
29:46
just keep going knowing that each day, you know, each day I knew my body was becoming
29:52
less dependent and in, you know, forgetting that medicine, but I don't know what else
29:57
I might have said to you about it.
29:59
I think that was just it that like you're like a day three or like I'm never going back
30:03
to day two.
30:04
So I'm going to keep going.
30:05
Exactly.
30:06
We reached a really low point where my husband and this was, I mean, he said, do you think
30:12
we, you should, you know, just take a little bit and just try to do this, give it longer.
30:18
And Leslie, that is why not today because what is that going to do to weigh the process?
30:24
And I think a lot of addicts don't, don't recognize that there, no matter when you do
30:29
this, no matter when you make that decision, it's going to be how, so how much of your
30:35
life do you want stolen and robbed and taken from you?
30:39
How many relationships do you want ruined?
30:41
How much do you want to lose in your life before you say today?
30:46
Yeah.
30:47
And thank goodness you did because your kids are getting older and you know, you didn't
30:51
want to miss that time with them.
30:54
I just applaud you for sharing your story.
30:56
I know this is not easy and we're going to go celebrate and go out to a nice dinner on
31:00
the lake when we're finished.
31:02
Yay.
31:03
But what would you, what encouragement will you give to somebody else to say why not today
31:08
and be courageous?
31:11
In any situation?
31:13
Yeah.
31:14
Yeah.
31:15
I think I go back to I can do hard things.
31:22
And tomorrow is never better than today.
31:26
Today is always best.
31:29
And the longer we wait, you know, that, that can just make, make more things more fear,
31:36
more discouragement, more all of it.
31:38
So I think it's tell yourself, get up today and say, I can do hard things.
31:44
Let that be your courage.
31:45
Find support around you.
31:48
And you're still going through counseling.
31:50
It's not over.
31:51
No, it is absolutely not over.
31:53
And you know, I remember even in the beginning going through, I was too sick to even pray
31:57
was I was too sick to even pray.
31:59
So what I did was I found a playlist, a healing Christian playlist.
32:04
And when I was too sick to pray, I would just listen to it when I couldn't sleep in the
32:08
middle of the night and I was laying in the bathtub while everybody else was sleeping,
32:11
wanting to die.
32:12
I would play it.
32:13
So, you know, like for addicts, I had to prepare.
32:18
I had to prepare for the day.
32:20
And so, you know, prepare if you need to, but don't delay.
32:28
Don't put off today.
32:29
Don't put off today.
32:31
And one thing you said to me the other day, and it says nothing in relationship to what
32:34
we're talking about, but it still is applying.
32:36
I was texting you as I was getting ready to leave.
32:38
I'm like, this is the part I hate of going out of town is the packing, getting ready.
32:43
And you're like, just think of the end game, think of pulling into the driveway.
32:46
And so, you know, you're doing hard things.
32:48
You got to think of the end game.
32:50
You got to think of where you're going to be.
32:54
Thank you for sharing your story.
32:55
And I know it's not easy and I hope and I know it will affect other people's lives and
32:59
touch other people's lives.
33:00
And so, if you're listening to this as a guest, you know, somebody share it.
33:04
But I always share because this podcast was started in honor of my father and I would
33:08
share a connection to my dad.
33:10
So, Trace did know my father and these are the kind, Trace is the kind of friend that
33:15
every girl needs.
33:16
And I have tons of them, but we have those special friends.
33:20
And so, probably my most cherished memory of you, Trace, was when my dad passed away
33:26
and you and your family, your husband and your two kids were here already, you're coming
33:30
well here to Northern Virginia coming, but you packed up your family and in a moment's
33:37
notice and came to Northern Virginia and were there for me.
33:41
And I'll never forget like, okay, what are you going to wear to our funeral?
33:43
And I remember you said, I got it.
33:46
So I actually walked into a store and you and your husband were there and had already
33:49
been there ahead of me and had all the clothes lined up and I walked in and people like,
33:53
oh, you're Leslie will help you.
33:56
And you were just there for whatever I needed.
33:58
And I do remember, you know, the support you gave me when I was sad and I didn't want to
34:03
work and I would call and you're like, you don't have to work.
34:06
That's why you do what you do to be able to have these times.
34:10
So, you know, it's the relationships and the friendships you have that so glad that I met
34:16
you so many years ago and we didn't start on the most positive way, but full circle.
34:21
We did have a full circle moment this week when Trace's daughter Ella was born a preemie.
34:28
I went to the hospital was there.
34:30
I think lots of us were there supporting us, but lots of days the hospital and Ella basically
34:34
fit in my hand.
34:35
She was that little and I sat in the backseat yesterday of her driving a car.
34:39
I'm like, oh my goodness, how did we get here?
34:43
So, but how do I find this?
34:46
I just want to say this though.
34:48
I knew the special relationship you had with your dad.
34:53
He was very much a part of everything.
34:55
You're breaking up.
34:56
Oh, okay.
34:57
It's going to come back.
34:59
It's going to come back.
35:00
Is it coming back?
35:01
All right, you're breaking up.
35:03
So you got to all right now try again.
35:05
Okay.
35:06
I'm going to say I knew the special, the very special relationship you had with your dad.
35:10
And I want to say this because not everybody has this.
35:12
And even then everything about you, what you did, you honored your dad.
35:18
And I know how proud of you he was and his funeral.
35:21
I remember it was so inspiring.
35:23
There were so many people and the stories and just the love.
35:29
And so I am so glad that you have taken, you've stepped out encouraged to do why not today.
35:37
I love everything about it.
35:39
I know it's how your dad lived.
35:41
And I know he must be smiling down so incredibly proud of you.
35:45
Well, thank you.
35:46
So thank you for sharing your story.
35:49
Thank you for everybody listening.
35:51
We this, a why not today podcast is on Spotify and iTunes.
35:56
I have a Facebook page of an Instagram.
35:58
I am working on some branding.
36:00
We will have a website going soon.
36:03
And kind of fun.
36:04
We're starting to get some merchandise.
36:06
So I do have some stuff and promoting.
36:08
I have why not today cups.
36:11
I have why not today t-shirts and kind of a fun story.
36:14
I know we're a little longer, but a fun story about the t-shirt is I posted a picture of
36:17
one the other day and my dad's best friend in high school in California, his son and
36:23
I have connected on Facebook.
36:25
And I had the picture.
36:26
I said, does anybody want to why not today t-shirt?
36:28
And he said, yes, explanation point.
36:30
And I said, you know the logo.
36:32
And for those of you listening and not seeing because we're doing video and audio, but the
36:36
logo is my dad's logo, which is an eye patch and a handle ball mustache.
36:39
It's like a little face.
36:40
We call it flat pat because that was his name was Pat.
36:43
But Michael's like, of course, I know that logo reminds me of your dad and my dad and
36:48
your dad sharing stories by the pool of their high school days.
36:51
So it's kind of fun to see why not today starting to get a movement and just say why
36:56
not today because you just never know where that's going to lead you.
37:00
So Theresa, thank you.
37:02
We are going to head off to dinner and celebrate.
37:04
And I'm so proud of you.
37:05
And again, I hope this touched somebody's heart and made a difference in your life.
37:09
And if you know somebody that has a story, I'm looking for people to interview.
37:12
So thanks and we'll suggest the say why not today.