Crack Crumbled Family

As an 18 year old senior in high school I can honestly say I have been through much more than most people my age. When I was 15 i discovered that my parents were using crack. Actually, they were using whatever they could get their hands on to get high. Crack, coke, crank, meth, you name it, they most likely did it. We lost everything. Both of my parents lost their jobs, our house was forclosed on, they took our boat, four-wheelers, car, anything the government could take, they did. I am not an only child. I was not the only one affected by my parent's ignorance. I have a 6 year old sister who was just a toddler at the time of their fall from grace. She, more than any of us was affected. There was hardly any food to provide her with nurishment. Most days she would go eating only chips or junk food. My parents were angry violent users. Teachers do not teach about the effects of using drugs for the fun of it. What they say happens, really happens. Multiple Personality Disorder, Schizophrenia, Paranoia, those side effects are all real and they are caused by drugs. My little sister who was 3 at the time had to endure all of those things with me. She got the worst of it because she was not yet in school and neither my mother, nor my stepfather had jobs. Some days they didnt even have the ability to take care of her while i was at school. When a user has been using nonstop for lets say a week straight, it takes a toll on their bodies. eventually they have to crash. their bodies demand sleep and will shut down. I'm not talking about just sleeping for a few hours. They would literally go into a state of a coma for days. I being the one left with the responsibilities of raising a child when i was but a child myself. Eventually, my grandmother threatend to take my sister and i away from my parents. That, i feel is what made my mother wake up from her drugged out fantasy of living like a hippie from the 60's. She did stray away from drugs after a few weeks of not seeing her children. However, it took losing her home, car, and everything else she owned and loved to make her realize that although the high makes her feel good for a moment, the after effect is enough to make one want to end their life. Drugs are no joke. Many people do not realize how many children are living with drug using parents and how that can affect them mentally and physically. The problem of drug abuse is extremely overlooked in today's society. Children are afraid to speak out against it because of the fear of what might happen to their parents. Take it from someone who endured over 2 years of hell, speaking out is the right thing to do. If you dont help your parents, or even someone you know get help, chances are they may never get help. and the deeper they sink in to drugs, the closer they get to death. I am very lucky that my parents are still here today. If i wouldnt have taken refuge in my grandmothers love, if i wouldnt have cared enough to stop my parents from the suicide path that they were on, then my life would be completely different at the moment. I would be an 18 year old with full custody of my 6 year old sister. People make mistakes however, it is up to those that love them to help them see and fix those mistakes. Silence will only grow quieter and only help those we care about sink deeper into a sea of mistakes and hardships. please, if you know someone who is a parent and a drug user, help them. talk to them, get them help, or tell someone who can get them help. Dont let others suffer for the mistakes people around them are making

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