Rainbow Canyon Retreat

Dear All,

I remember during the desperate nightmare of addiction that had become my son's life, reading the comforting and uplifting words of a parent whose child had found help at Rainbow Canyon Retreat, and daring to have hope. My son's path of addiction since the age of thirteen had taken us down many dark and desperate alleyways, (emergency rooms, jails, etc.), that I never imagined facing with my child.

Ben's situation had become life threatening, and seriously depleting to us all. His sister had found a new program that claimed to be different than the traditional 12-step programs he had struggled with. He had been to several detox, rehab and recovery programs with no lasting success. Instinctively I knew that none of these programs had addressed the core issues that were the genesis of Ben's addiction, and had been the continuation of some serious family history.

I had not seen Ben in quite a while because he would disappear when things got bad, either in shame or just out of compassion for the family. His sister had spoken to him on the phone and he agreed to go to Rainbow Canyon Retreat, but had passed out before he could tell us where he was. After I finally located him through friends, I had to break into the deck of the house where he was staying. It took me nearly 20 minutes to wake him. He was gaunt, grey and severely underweight. I took him directly to a hotel room close to the airport to keep him as close as possible, fearing he may change his mind and bolt. It was the longest most heinous night of my life. He was in an extreme state of addiction - shaking and violently hiccupping as he rambled on endlessly and without filters about his life on the streets and his personal hell. With the help of the Rainbow Canyon Retreat staff, by phone we managed to make it through that sleepless night and stick it out till morning.

I prayed silently to myself all night that Rainbow Canyon Retreat would be the answer and that he would no longer have to suffer this senseless, painful tragedy. We made one last stop on the way to the airport, and as he looked through his bag for something, a crack pipe fell to the ground. I sobbed silently as we went through the rest of the bag and drove on to the airport. There was another narrow escape when the Air Marshal was called to the ticket counter out of concern for Ben's condition. We could not afford to send someone with him and he courageously convinced the Marshal that he had to get on that flight and get to Rainbow Canyon Retreat or he would die. I believe that is exactly what would have happened.

Ben's continued courage and determination got him through the program. During his first trip back home, he walked me through all the stages of his hard work describing the difficult, yet cleansing confrontation that brought him back to himself. The work was intense and I am not sure I would have the courage to face the things he has faced.

Rainbow Canyon Retreat helped Ben to save himself.

My son celebrated his 26th birthday this year just days after his one-year anniversary of being alcohol and substance free. It is the first time in over a decade that I remember us actually celebrating his birthday - free of fear, apprehension and worry. He is in a functional and fulfilling relationship with a wonderful partner. There are no words to express the joy and gratitude I have for this opportunity to get to know my beautiful adult son, and how thankful I am that through his hard work, dedication and the gift of Rainbow Canyon Retreat, he is returned to us and to the fullness of life.

Thank you Rainbow Canyon Retreat!

Pam B.

First a trip to detox which tore us up

To whom it may concern:

Our son, Tom, has turned into a mature, responsible, contributing member of society. We are very proud of him and what he is doing. It wasn't always this way.
The revelation that Tom was abusing drugs and, in fact, had become addicted, came late to us and only as a result of him being arrested. When we look back now we realize all the signs were there but we chose to either ignore them or excuse them as the product of an immature young adult. His pattern of an apparent lack of personal responsibility, defaulting on debts and repeatedly borrowing money from us, in retrospect, telegraphed that something was wrong, that we failed to recognize, and was his way of getting us to fund his addiction. We were both getting to the point that the amount of money Tom was asking for was becoming suspicious but we did not suspect drugs. Had Tom's older brother told us of a rumor going around that Tom was using maybe we would have put two and two together; maybe.
The year prior to his arrest he always needed money to pay for his car insurance or other bills which I now know was used to purchase illicit medications. Money that was provided for him to fix his car or pay traffic tickets, etc. never seemed to find its way to the need. Even the physical signs, bloodshot eyes, sleepless nights, fidgety behavior and excessive weight gain escaped our attention during the time but now, with a little knowledge, jump out as red flags to us.
When it became apparent that Tom needed both legal assistance as well as treatment for his addiction we did what we always did and jumped in to help. The difference this time however was insisting and ensuring that Tom was committed to success and was surrounded by a supportive organization that would do what we could not, and do it full time.
First a trip to detox which tore us up but started to offer a glimmer of hope when we met a former addict who would be working with Tom. Then, after much research we chose Rainbow Canyon Retreat as the organization that would provide the best chance for long-term success. Our research, our money, but more importantly Tom's personal commitment and the support structure found at Rainbow Canyon Retreat has resulted in Tom not only successfully beating his addiction but in elevating his personal growth and responsibility to a level we had not thought possible.
We are so proud of Tom today and what he has accomplished that we just need to share it with you. Tom is focusing his energy on staying clean, taking personal responsibility for his life and the decisions he makes, and becoming the good person he was always destined to be. Through the support and love that we are providing and the lessons he has learned from Rainbow Canyon Retreat we are confident that he will succeed.

Sincerely,
Tom Sr. and Ellen,
(Tom's Parents)

We could finally sleep at night

To whom it may concern,

Living with an addict-

My family had been dealing with my brother's drug addiction for over five years but the last 2 1/2 to 3 were the worst. He had become addicted to heroin and the drug was all he cared about. He did not care who he hurt or what he did to get the drug. Jonathan had become a very self-centered, inconsiderate, hostile person. His actions did not only affect him but they affected my entire family. He fought with my parents to the point where we were afraid my dad was going to have a heart attack. He stole from them and put them into financial hardship that they are still dealing with. He stole tools from my dad and irreplaceable jewelry from my mom just to feed his addiction. My younger sister had to lose some of her innocence in dealing with my brother's drug addiction. She had an unexplainable bond with my brother and would continue to forgive time and time again even when he would steal from her or yell at her or just be terrible to her. She had to learn at a very young age what drugs were and what the consequences were from drug use.

Jonathan's drug addiction had become our lives. It had consumed our lives. Every day we would wake up wondering if today was going to be the day that it happened; the day that we found his body there lifeless because it could not handle the drug abuse anymore. Was today the day we were going to get that call from the hospital or the police station? Was it going to be the day that we knew would eventually come but could not prepare ourselves for it? Every holiday we wondered if he would be coherent enough to participate in opening Christmas presents or coherent enough to have Thanksgiving dinner with the family. Did we hide grandma's Christmas presents good enough that he didn't get them (because they had cash in them)?

The biggest way my brother's addiction affected my life is I had a lot of anger and resentment towards him and my mother. My mom could not see past my brother's addiction. It had consumed her life just as much as it had consumed his life. Even though my mom did not do the drug she was controlled by the drug because of my brother. He continued over and over again to treat her worse. He would yell and scream at her. Get in to extreme fights with her that was just unbearable. My brother had become the center of my mom's life and the more I tried to tell her she was enabling him and feeding his addiction the worse my relationship with my mom got. My mom and I had a wonderful relationship but as my brother's addiction worsened and my mother became more consumed with it, the more I resented both of them. Although he did not really steal monetary items from me because I did not allow the opportunity to come up I had to try to be the rock that supported my family. I had to support my sister, mom and dad. I had to try to be strong for my family when inside I was dealing with my own issues with my brother's addiction.

When my brother went to Rainbow Canyon Retreat I could not have been happier. We had heard wonderful success stories and hoped that my brother would get the help he had needed. He had tried 30 or 60 day rehabs before and they did not work. He needed a real rehab that would help him get through why he turned to drugs in the first place. We could finally sleep at night not worried if "IT" was going to happen. We knew he was safe and this was going to be the beginning of the rest of his life for him. While he was in the facility we heard good news over and over again. He was prospering there and doing wonderful in the program.

When he came home he was a completely changed person. He physically looked better in that he was no longer pale and skinny and had a great complexion. His outlook towards life and the way he treated people was like they had sent a different person back.

The person we had sent to Rainbow Canyon Retreat was gone. When my brother came back it was right before my wedding and I can't tell you how relieved I was that I was not going to have to worry if my brother was going to be coherent or cause a problem on my big day. Although I have my guard up a little still I couldn't be more proud of what he is doing and how he overcame his addiction. Now when someone asks how my brother is I happily tell them that he is doing wonderful and that he is a completely different person. I would recommend Rainbow Canyon Retreat to anyone who has a problem or has a loved one who has a problem. This facility did wonderful things for my brother and opened the world up to him. He has the chance to live a full wonderful life that is drug free.

Rainbow Canyon Retreat not only saved my brother's life but it saved our family. We are no longer consumed with my brother's addiction. My sister is a freshman in high school and is having a wonderful time. My parents can sleep at night and don't have to worry about him. They can keep their checks and valuables out without worry. I also have let go of my resentment. We only hear good things about him now and not all bad things.

J.C.