‘I really tried to do it on my own'
Published Sept. 18, 2026
Everything about Katie’s life changed in the two years of her addiction.
“From the time I started doing drugs and the time I stopped, my life literally shattered,” she said. “Within a year, my kids were taken away. I lost everything.”
When Katie was pregnant with her second child, her father died. It wasn’t long until she started using drugs to cope with his loss and the day-to-day responsibilities of being a parent.
“Cocaine made me feel like a super mom. I got everything done. Laundry, cleaning, I was just so energetic,” she said. “Before that, I was a very depressed person, and this drug made me feel like who I was supposed to be.”
After Katie was introduced to fentanyl and meth, several traumatic overdoses followed.
The first overdose was also Katie’s first arrest. Her kids, ages 3 and 6 at the time, were taken from her soon afterward.
“I tried; I really tried to do it on my own. I couldn’t go more than a couple days without needing something,” she said. “Even after I checked myself into treatment, I just couldn’t do it.”
A guardian angel
Katie hadn’t dreamt of her father once since he died, until an overdose that took place Halloween night in 2023. As the paramedics used dose after dose of Narcan – 10 total – to revive her, she had an out-of-body experience.
“He looked so happy and healthy, and he told me, ‘Katie, it’s not your time. You need to get up.’ I told him, ‘I’m ready to go. My kids deserve better.’ He said, ‘It’s not your time. I love you so much, and you have to get up.’ I haven’t seen him since,” she said. “I feel like he’s the guardian angel that brought me back there.”
Katie woke up looking for her dad, but instead she saw the many paramedics and firefighters in her apartment. She was taken to the hospital, arrested and handcuffed to the bed.
During another overdose, she fell down the stairs and broke her leg. She found out her heart and kidneys were failing.
“I kept doing drugs. I would also visit my kids at the visitation center, but sometimes I wouldn’t go because I couldn’t stand an hour without getting high,” she said. “I really tried to do it on my own, but I just couldn’t.”
In March 2024, Child Protective Services threatened to terminate Katie’s parental rights unless she went to inpatient treatment. She was sitting alone in her house, looking at the pictures of her kids on the walls.
“I had some drugs left on my table. I did them, and I went to detox the next day,” she said. “I haven’t done anything since.”
After detox, Katie went to inpatient treatment and then six months of sober housing. She learned to let go of the things she couldn’t control, and she reconnected with her higher power.
“I kind of lost sight of God when he took my dad and he also took my kids. I thought, ‘What kind of God would do that?’” she said. “While in treatment, I learned it wasn’t God. It was me and my actions that led to CPS.”
No longer trapped
It’s been more than two years since Katie got well. After months of supervised and then overnight visits with her kids, she regained full custody.
“I can’t believe I made it out,” she said. “Now I feel like I have to make up for lost time.”
Katie spends as much time with her three kids as she can, playing, skating and going to the trampoline park.
“I don’t feel trapped by the drugs anymore. I don’t feel like drugs have control anymore,” she said. “I feel normal, probably more normal when I felt like super mom on drugs. Now I actually feel normal.”
The fear of losing her kids again is something Katie still works through. She sees a PTSD therapist, a psychiatrist and a peer coach.
“I still have this fear CPS is going to come to my door. Shannon, my coach, is really helping me through that. She’ll ask, ‘Are you using? Are you doing anything wrong?’” she said. “She has me state the facts. I have a job, I’m not using, I have a fridge full of food.”
Shannon continually reminds Katie of all the hard work she’s done to get well.
“She helps me get back into reality and remember I’m doing everything I can to be the best mom that I can be. She’s just a great person,” she said. “There’s a lot of people I don’t trust, but I really do trust her.”
Katie still struggles with shame and guilt, but she has a team in place to help her move forward.
“CPS and that trauma will always be part of my life, but I’m working through it,” she said. “I have to trust in God and know that he always has my best interest as long as I stay sober."
As Katie continues to work through the trauma and shame surrounding her addiction, she’s making the most of her time with her family.
“Those two years of addiction went by so fast yet so slow,” she said. “I just appreciate being with my kids. I’m not going to take that for granted ever again.”