My name is Mark F, and I’m a recovering alcoholic. I came through Turning Point in 2004, and prior to that my life was a mess. I was a daily drinker. I was drinking up to 5 pints of brandy a day. My life revolved around my drinking, from the time I woke up in the morning to the time I passed out at night. My life was truly unmanageable even though I still held down a job, barely. In my eyes, I had everything going.
My last drunk was on July 5, 2004. My health was deteriorating, and every time I drank, the alcohol wasn’t filtering through my liver because my liver was slowly shutting down. I was rushed to the hospital where the doctors told my family to say goodbye to me because they never thought I would make it through the night. By the grace of God, or a power greater than myself, I awoke in the ICU unit. This disease is so cunning and baffling that even after 3 days in the ICU, I walked out of the hospital and the only thing I could think of is drinking.
I came through Turning Point of Tampa twice. The first time, I had no thoughts of quitting drinking; it was to just get my family off my back. I did 30 days of treatment, and my therapist made recommendations that I didn’t want any part of, like going to a halfway house and staying in treatment longer.
The second time I came in, which was only 40 days after I got out the first time, I like to think that I was ready to quit drinking and try to find a better way to live. I took the suggestions that my therapist gave me the first time and stayed in treatment longer and went to a halfway house. I stayed in Tampa and was close to Turning Point. I would stop by occasionally, just to show them that I was doing okay and not drinking. I spent a lot of time going to meetings and fellowshipping, which helped me stay sober and be accountable.
I started working at Turning Point in 2006 as a house manager and then moved up to our Admissions Department. I did that for a couple of years and then returned to being a house manager because I felt that was more of my calling.
As of June 12, 2014 I will be a part of the Turning Point family for 8 years, and on July 10 I will have 10 years of sobriety. Turning Point has saved my life in more ways than I could have imagined, and for that I am truly grateful.
