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Bobbie Thurman enjoys a day at the park with her daughters Dejah, 4, and Crystal, 11, Wednesday at Memorial Park in Grass Valley. A year ago, Thurman lost custody of her girls due to her addiction to methamphetamine.
A year ago, Bobbie Thurman lost her heart and soul to methamphetamine addiction.
When police officers were called to her Butte County home for a fight between her and her sister, they saw a meth pipe out in the open and could smell sewage seeping from a leaky pipe.
The officers called Child Protective Services and took custody of her children, Crystal and Dejah, then 10 and 3 years old, respectively.
Thurman, paralyzed by fear, didn't know what to do.
"I was a really bad addict," the 30-year-old said this week. "I thought I was going to be an addict for the rest of my life. I thought that's who I was."
When Thurman was 14, she ran away from her home in Nevada County to live in Los Angeles, fueled by the belief that addiction and "chaos" was all life had to offer.
Her marriage three years later in Marysville, to a meth addict and alcoholic, seemed to reaffirm those beliefs.
Her husband, she said, had already been living the life of a meth addict long before she met him. He had been a ward of the court his entire childhood and was a heavy user of meth and alcohol. He is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for felony drunken driving.
Thurman gave birth to her first child shortly after she was married.
When police officers were called to her Butte County home for a fight between her and her sister, they saw a meth pipe out in the open and could smell sewage seeping from a leaky pipe.
The officers called Child Protective Services and took custody of her children, Crystal and Dejah, then 10 and 3 years old, respectively.
Thurman, paralyzed by fear, didn't know what to do.
"I was a really bad addict," the 30-year-old said this week. "I thought I was going to be an addict for the rest of my life. I thought that's who I was."
When Thurman was 14, she ran away from her home in Nevada County to live in Los Angeles, fueled by the belief that addiction and "chaos" was all life had to offer.
Her marriage three years later in Marysville, to a meth addict and alcoholic, seemed to reaffirm those beliefs.
Her husband, she said, had already been living the life of a meth addict long before she met him. He had been a ward of the court his entire childhood and was a heavy user of meth and alcohol. He is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for felony drunken driving.
Thurman gave birth to her first child shortly after she was married.
"I didn't know how to get clean," she said. "I knew I needed to get off of it (meth)."
When her husband was released from a prior prison sentence, they tried to get clean together.
With the use of alcohol, she said, she managed to stay off meth for two years.
"That didn't last long," she said.
Thurman relapsed out of boredom and a lack of proper support. She said she seemed destined to be an addict for the rest of her life.
"It was scary," Thurman's 11-year-old daughter, Crystal, said recently while sitting on a cement bench near the playground at Memorial Park in Grass Valley. "I know what (drugs) are all about. They're about horrible things."
But Thurman's priorities seemed to change when Child Protective Service took Crystal and Dejah. Suddenly drugs took a back seat to her children.
"I wasn't about to live without my kids," Thurman said, as her daughters sat nearby. "They needed their mom."
Last fall, Thurman walked up to the Community Resources and Recovery office on Henderson Street in Grass Valley and announced she needed help.
She said the recovery community embraced her immediately.
When her husband was released from a prior prison sentence, they tried to get clean together.
With the use of alcohol, she said, she managed to stay off meth for two years.
"That didn't last long," she said.
Thurman relapsed out of boredom and a lack of proper support. She said she seemed destined to be an addict for the rest of her life.
"It was scary," Thurman's 11-year-old daughter, Crystal, said recently while sitting on a cement bench near the playground at Memorial Park in Grass Valley. "I know what (drugs) are all about. They're about horrible things."
But Thurman's priorities seemed to change when Child Protective Service took Crystal and Dejah. Suddenly drugs took a back seat to her children.
"I wasn't about to live without my kids," Thurman said, as her daughters sat nearby. "They needed their mom."
Last fall, Thurman walked up to the Community Resources and Recovery office on Henderson Street in Grass Valley and announced she needed help.
She said the recovery community embraced her immediately.
The Recovery Alumni Association gave her a $100 gift card for groceries and paid her overdue $300 Pacific Gas and Electric bill.
"I don't know what I would have done without them," Truman said. "There was no way I was going to be able to pay that bill."
She attended meetings and spent time with other recovering addicts.
"At first I was really scared," she said, "but now it's exciting. I face new challenges every day."
She was the first recovering addict to move into a new transitional house for women in November. She was also the first to leave the transitional house in May, with keys to her own apartment on Dorsey Drive in Grass Valley.
At 10 and a half months sober, she has custody of her kids and a full-time job working at her parents' shop, Premier Tile and Stone on South Auburn Street in Grass Valley.
Thurman said she's learned tools for sobriety she couldn't have adopted alone, including the ability to pick up the phone and call a person in recovery when she's having a bad day, or to stop and take a deep breath when she's frustrated with one of her daughters, instead of yelling.
"It's been really good," Crystal said. "She's clean and sober and with us again."
Thurman said she doesn't want to use drugs again, while she still occasionally struggles with an urge to use. And that's when she puts her new tools to use by calling someone.
"The longer I stay sober, the urges are less frequent," she said. "Now, I deal with problems that arise in a correct manner. I can let things go."
"I don't know what I would have done without them," Truman said. "There was no way I was going to be able to pay that bill."
She attended meetings and spent time with other recovering addicts.
"At first I was really scared," she said, "but now it's exciting. I face new challenges every day."
She was the first recovering addict to move into a new transitional house for women in November. She was also the first to leave the transitional house in May, with keys to her own apartment on Dorsey Drive in Grass Valley.
At 10 and a half months sober, she has custody of her kids and a full-time job working at her parents' shop, Premier Tile and Stone on South Auburn Street in Grass Valley.
Thurman said she's learned tools for sobriety she couldn't have adopted alone, including the ability to pick up the phone and call a person in recovery when she's having a bad day, or to stop and take a deep breath when she's frustrated with one of her daughters, instead of yelling.
"It's been really good," Crystal said. "She's clean and sober and with us again."
Thurman said she doesn't want to use drugs again, while she still occasionally struggles with an urge to use. And that's when she puts her new tools to use by calling someone.
"The longer I stay sober, the urges are less frequent," she said. "Now, I deal with problems that arise in a correct manner. I can let things go."
She is thankful for her family and regrets putting them through years of "chaos."
"They've been there for me no matter how bad it is," she said. "I'm really glad to be clean and to have this 100th chance. It's for my kids' sake. (Addiction) is a cycle and the cycle has to stop right here."
ooo
To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.
Walk for Recovery
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: From the Nevada County Courthouse steps on Church Street to Pioneer Park in Nevada City
Why: The Recovery Alumni Association and others are walking to let people see and experience what drug and alcohol rehabilitation can do for them. At the park, there will be refreshments, speakers, testimonials and a raffle.
Call: Shelley at 273-9541 to help sponsor or get more information.
"They've been there for me no matter how bad it is," she said. "I'm really glad to be clean and to have this 100th chance. It's for my kids' sake. (Addiction) is a cycle and the cycle has to stop right here."
ooo
To contact staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.
Walk for Recovery
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: From the Nevada County Courthouse steps on Church Street to Pioneer Park in Nevada City
Why: The Recovery Alumni Association and others are walking to let people see and experience what drug and alcohol rehabilitation can do for them. At the park, there will be refreshments, speakers, testimonials and a raffle.
Call: Shelley at 273-9541 to help sponsor or get more information.
Click here to see the first installment in this series, which appeared in Thursday's edition: www.theunion.com/article/20060615/NEWS/106150192.
