Absolute rock bottom is where Sydenham mother and recovering ice addict Fiona Stevens was at this time last year.
Battling an addiction that cost about $1000 a week, the 30-year-old eventually came up against the law.
Now facing the prospect of jail time linked to her ice addition, Ms Stevens is reluctant to go into detail about how a drug slowly destroyed her life after she first took it nearly six years ago … but her commitment to recovery is clear.
“I got in quite a bit of trouble,” she says.
“We’re still going through a lot, trying to get it all sorted, think of ways to stay out of jail.”
Ms Stevens said she was first offered ice in 2010.
“With a six-month-old I was like ‘wow, I haven’t felt this awake in a long time’.
“It just went from there.
“I’d had addictions, on and off, from the age of 13. But I’d never touched ice.”
She said “everything was destroyed” by ice.
“The chances of having another baby are shot at the moment, and that’s all from smoking ice. I’m only 30 years old,” Fiona says.
“I’ve lost my teeth … spent thousands of dollars getting my teeth fixed.
“I’ve lost all my family, my friends, my job, everything. Almost lost my son … DHS [Department of Human Services] were going to take him off me.
“I used to be 90 kilograms and now I’m 58 kilograms. So when people see me it’s like ‘shock horror’.”
While she hasn’t used since December 23 last year, Fiona says she “definitely” lives with the daily temptation to return to old habits.
“I turn loopy [on ice] – vindictive, angry, upset about certain things,” she said.
“You lose people in this addiction. I got to a point I wouldn’t clean any more. I stopped eating. I was addicted to being addicted.”
She hopes salvation and eventual rehabilitation can be found in a support group CMA – Crystal Meth Anonymous – which she formed and was launched last Thursday.
“I ran off the rails because I didn’t have anybody,” she said.
“I think opening the closet door and showing people your skeletons is never going to be easy.
“But it’s the price you pay because you can’t rehabilitate and live two lives. Honesty is the best policy.”
For information on CMA, call 9449 9076 or email CMAClubSydenham@gmail.com
