This is the story of my daughter Ree. ?A 13 year old drug addict. ?

Ree has always been smart, pretty and talented. By age 9 she was playing in the Junior Olympic World Series for fastpitch softball. ?We traveled all over the US playing ball. ?By the time she was 13 she had played in over 10 world series events and traveled to 8 different states. Our lives and the lives of our family were consumed with Softball.

The day came when I had to get a full time job to support our passion. ?After being a stay at home mom for 16 years Ree and my other children had nobody at home for the first time in their lives. She showed the signs of drug use but a mother never wants to believe that her baby is using. "Not my kid"... that was my mentality. ?So I turned a blind eye. What I didn't see with my own two eyes really never happened.. until it was too late. She was caught with paraphenalia, drugs, shoplifting, sneaking out, hanging with the wrong crowd, she was brought home by the police many times. They even knew her by name. This was something I could not sweep under the rug any longer. ?It was time to get help. When outpatient and supervision did not work she was admitted into an inpatient program. She did well and seemed to want to get better. ?She was discharged from rehab but continued to use. Nothing I nor anybody else would get through to her.

Now 16 years old, a Junior in high school, she gets invited out to a HS softball tryout by her oldest most loving friend Kenzie. I've tried for years to get her back into the game, to ignite the passion she once had but it didn't work. Ree comes home one day and tells me, "Ma, Kenzie wants me to come out to practice." ?My mouth dropped, my heart pounding. "Are you going to go?" I asked her as calmly as I could. "Nah, I don't think so" she said back to me. My heart broke but I wasn't about to get my hopes up. ?Kenzie didn't give up on her and finally Ree made it out to practice. ?When she came home...I could see it in her eyes..The passion was back. ?We went to the sporting goods store and I spent the last 100 dollars I had to buy her cleats and a new glove. I would have sold my soul to get her back on the field.

Now 17 and a senior in High School with a 3.3 GPA, Ree has been sober and living clean for 20 months and Has just verballed to the college of her choice.

Ree is one of the strongest women I know and is living proof that you can beat addiction and strive...from the bottom up.?