Lula loves being a nurse. When you talk with her, it’s clear how much she enjoys taking care of others and that she can’t imagine herself in any other profession. But for decades, this dedicated nurse had a painful secret.
“I was a functioning addict,” Lula admits. She’d begun smoking at 17, and that gradually led her into cocaine, alcohol and pills. “Many people I was helping as a nurse didn’t know about my addiction.”
Of course she knew it wasn’t right. Several times she tried to get clean on her own, but it seemed that tragedy always intervened—like the sudden death of a much-loved cousin that sent her into depression. Each time she slipped back into old habits, it was harder to get out again. “I found myself turning left when I should have turned right,” she says. Nurse Lula needed a wake-up call.
“I am really good at what I do,” she says proudly. “I even got a job as an Assistant Director of Nursing. But they did a random drug test and I failed. I lost a very lucrative job. I was reported to the Texas Peer Association of Professional Nurses.”
At last, Lula had to face her problem head-on. She was smart enough to know a 90-day program wouldn’t get her past a lifestyle that had lasted decades. She had a choice to make: learn to “work the system” so she could keep on hiding her substance abuse, or really, truly, get better once and for all.
Lula made the choice to come to Star of Hope and conquer addiction forever! She’s still amazed by all the ways she felt supported. “I’m really impressed with the program here. I really feel it is a great place to get sober and on track. I don’t have to worry about bills, food, clothes or any of those things. I can study the Word here, get refreshed and go to church. There are so many services that Star of Hope offers: bus tokens, clothing, there’s counseling and computers. And once I leave here, I can still call up a counselor to get help if I need it.”
Now Lula can look forward to a future without secrets. “I plan to get back into what I love, which is nursing,” she says. “I’ve been blessed to be called into nursing.”
And most of all, she wants to thank you for not giving up on her. “I would like for those who support Star of Hope to know that their donations mean so much.” Because you cared for her, she’ll soon be able to care for others again—but whole and healthy for the first time!
