What would you do if you had just a year to live? Many entertain this question for “fun” allowing them to evaluate what is most important to them. For those that have this unfortunate reality, they truly realize what their values are.
John Eggers was faced with this question last year when he was given 12-15 months to live after being diagnosed a brain tumor. The Irvine, CA attorney reportedly began creating a bucket list that including things like skydiving, meeting Joe Biden etc. and soon realized the most important thing he wanted was to be sober when he passed away.
Eggers started taking Oxycodone for a back injury. Soon this grew into an addiction as he began using it to medicate anxiety and depression: “I was in an extremely dark place. A place you could never imagine being.”
He decided to check himself into an addiction rehab last month to become drug free. “I realize my life span is very short and that’s okay. That’s acceptable to me. What’s not acceptable to me is wasting more of the time I have left on opiates, on drugs” he said. Considering drugs could end his life before cancer, he is dedicated to staying sober and wants to give back by helping and giving hope to other addicts who are battling cancer.
Here at Harmony Foundation’s Colorado addiction rehab many have had a similar experience to Eggers. They start out taking a controlled substance for a medical problem and then begin using it for other things that it is not medically indicated for – like using opiates for depression. We know the propensity for this happening is high and among all walks of life from young adults to lawyers like Eggers. His story is an inspiration to all those who know what a gift sobriety can be and to those who want the gift of sobriety no matter what their life situation is.