For my sweet girl's recovery

Update on everything…she is doing much better thankfully, though still struggling a bit. We have decided to relocate to make her recovery easier and be in a new environment for her. If anyone wants to donate or donate again it would be greatly appreciated. My love and thanks go out to everyone that has donated so far. I could not have done everything I did for her without you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Hello, my name is Marion and I am trying to raise money for my daughter Sophia's medical bills.

Sophia is now 17 years old, but when this all started she was just 16. We moved from Nolanville, TX to Ft Worth in March of 2021 after her father and I divorced. He had moved up here and since my youngest daughter lives with him I wanted to be closer so she could be with us more often and I didn't have to drive 3 hours one way to pick her up. sophia and I settled in great in the apartment we rented here and we were doing fine. We got her signed up for school in August and it looked like she fit right in being in JROTC (a military program for Highschoolers) and her favorite program forensic science. Problems started in October of that year as she started to hang out with the wrong crowd. I had concerns, but we talked about everything and things seemed to be ok. After I caught her using my car without my knowledge we got into an argument and she ran away. It was a shock to me since she had never done anything like this before. I kept begging her to come home and even tried to bribe her saying everything will be as it was before, no repercussions. It didn't work and she stayed gone for almost 5 months. We were in contact most of that time and I kept trying to get her to come home. She wasn't mad at me anymore, but still refused. I knew there had to be a more serious reason why and assumed it was drug related. Never having used any kind of drugs my entire life, I was very naive and uneducated of all that was out there. One time she called me and said she was in the hospital because she had overdosed and died. I didn't believe her. Thought: "she's a minor. If she was really in the hospital they would have called me and not just release her, especially if she died". Little did I know this was just the first overdose of at least 11 in 6 months. Yes, 11 times. Her drug of choice? Percocets that were laced with Fentanyl. It's worse that Heroin and if you do it even just 1 time you will be immediately addicted. There is no trying it just once and then don't do it again. No. You will be hooked on it and you will do anything to get more. Lying stealing...whatever it takes. She has stolen from everyone just to buy more of it. And that drug is so incedibly dangerous, because it's so easy to overdose. She finally called me in March of this year begging me to help her. Of course I let her come home and took her to the ER because her withdrawal symptoms were so bad. It is extremely hard to get a minor into a rehab program. Anywhere we checked turned us down. No females, no minors, no room were the usual answers. We were able to get her into a behavioral health facility that helped detox her. The longest they allow people to stay is 10 days. You can imagine how that turned out. She came home and was immediately hooked again, because that was just a bandage. I worked from home at the time, so I tried to watch her 24/7. I barely slept. kept gettting up just to check on her. One day I told her: "I'll walk the dogs really fast. I'll be right back". I came back in, not even 10 minutes later and as soon as I opened the door the smell of this drug hit me. It's a very distinct chemical smell. I panicked and immediately looked for her. I found her in her bedroom slumped over and blue in her face. I had to give my baby CPR. No mother should have to do that. I really didn't know whether or not I did it correctly, but I couldn't just sit there. EMT's came and brought her back. Thank god. This was just one of many times we've tried to get her help. Another 2 stays at the behavioral health hospital. Broken doors, because I had to get in to stop her from using. She tried stopping so badly and even went to AA meetings where she found a sponsor. She found a rehab facility that was able to take Sophia down in Austin. we coordinated an intervention and gave her no choice but to go. Those programs are very expensive, but thankfully the insurance covered a very big part of the cost. She has been there for 2 months now and is finally starting to do really good. It was highly suggested that sophia go to a sober living house after rehab or, in the words of her therapist, she will definitely relapse. She would go from a very structured environment at rehab, to home, where she'd be alone all day because I have to work. They found a sober living house for her in Austin that would be perfect for her. It's a 6 month program where they watch her and other teenagers like her very closely, 2 drug tests per week. They help her go to a sober high school. Help her find a job, and pretty much ease her back into a normal life, without drugs. This is Sophia's only chance for longterm recovery. The problem is that this program is extremely expensive. I spoke to the administrator yesterday, and even after getting a scholarship for 50% off, it will still cost $2500 per month and a deposit of $8000 for her to go there. Insurance doesn't cover sober living. I have applied to get a loan, originally to cover the cost of dental work, but if I get approved, I will use it towards Sophia's treatment. Her dad and I can probably pay the monthly fee of $2500, but we do not have the deposit of $8000. I said to the administrator that we had about another 2 weeks before sophia gets released from rehab, but he said that normally they want to have everything in place and paid for 2 weeks out. It's also a first come, first serve basis and there are only 2 beds available right now. Talk about time pressure. Please, if in any way possible, donate a little bit and help me save my baby. I don't know what else to do, but I know that if she comes home without going to a sober living house she will die. Please help me give this beautiful girl another chance at a normal life.

Thank you all for reading my story and know that every penny is appreciated!

Marion