I biked to the active volcano!

When I first came to HIR I was desperate to be sober. I have tried numerous times and failed. After speaking with the intake team and learning about the things that are offered as well as seeing the success rates, I committed to seeking help from Hawaii Island Recovery. 

When I got here my mom and I was greeted by Jimmy and taken to the office where we were welcomed by all the staff and Dr. The first day was very overwhelming and tiring.

After a few days of detox, I had come to the realization that I can do this. The staff pushes you to do things; they have done this before. Two days after my arrival I biked to the active volcano and I thought I was going to die!  Lo and behold I survived. The next weekend I hiked Pololu Valley. Hiking was something I have never done or ever thought I would do. It was absolutely amazing. I was actually doing sober activities and enjoying it. My experience was great considering that I had to develop new tools and actually felt my feelings, both happy and uncomfortable.

My therapists were professional, helpful, and very talented. I never took my recovery seriously until I got to HIR. I really wanted it. The RM’s were fun, fair and I could have heartfelt talks with each and every one of them. They truly care. They would go above and beyond many times for me. On Thanksgiving day, I got a very bad asthma attack. My family sent my nebulizer from another Island, the staff called Dr., drove me to the Urgent Care, pulled up my Rx, took me to the post office while they were “off the clock.” They are extraordinary! It’s obvious they truly care.

Although I am happy to go back to my family I am sad to leave HIR. The clients I have met taught me so much; they also taught me what I don’t want to do and things I need to do to stay sober. Living in a place where people who want to stay sober is an absolute plus. My favorite thing is going into Kona and neighborehood towns to attend AA/NA meetings and being able to do real-world things like grocery and clothes shopping.