We dodged death and are unrecognisable since beating drug and booze addictions

2023-06-09

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The grim reality for many addicts is that substance abuse often leads to an early grave.

But thankfully, the inspiring people mentioned below are all on a road to recovery after once being consigned to death when they were at their lowest.

Whether booze or heroin was their vice, they are now unrecognisable after finding the immense strength to transform their lives.

READ MORE: Mum whose booze addiction turned eyes yellow unrecognisable after going sober

Here, we take a small glimpse into their extraordinary stories and show how different their lives are now.

Melissa Matos

Melissa Matos said she “immediately became a monster” after using heroin for the first time.

The mum, from West Virginia, US, courageously shared shocking photos showing her eyes rolled back with her face covered in scabs.

Her substance abuse started after being prescribed pain medication for her fibromyalgia before doctors suddenly cut back on treatment.

Explaining what happened next, she told us: “I was sick because I no longer had it going into my body. At the time, I was in a relationship with someone who was addicted, also to painkillers, and he was familiar with heroin.

“He brought it home one day and said, 'Listen, it's the same thing as taking the pills. We're just going to do it so we're not sick until we can get through this.'

“Once I started taking it, it immediately became a monster. I would say within the first six months of my heroin use I had lost just about everything.

“It happened really quickly, it was a quick decline in my life. It was very scary.”

Remarkably, Melissa managed to kick the habit and she has been sober since March 2016.

Offering insight into her life now, she said: “If there ever has been a time where something may have triggered a thought, my first thought is always my kids.

"The biggest thing is I could never hurt them again, or take a chance of losing them or possibly dying on them.

“I have a home, my kids are happy, we have everything we need. We have peace in our home, we have very close relationships, they’re all involved in my recovery, so I’m grateful for that.”

Jenna de la Cruz

Jenna de la Cruz was warned by a doctor that she would die if she failed to stop drinking.

The alcoholic described herself as a “broken girl with yellow eyes” and she could only fall asleep after consuming booze.

The mum, from Salt Lake City, had her first sip at 14 but the bottle later took over her life.

Her eyes eventually turned yellow because of acute liver failure and her addiction fractured her relationships with loved ones.

Rock bottom came after being rushed to A&E – and she remembered: “The doctors told me that if I didn’t stop drinking I would die and I became so weak in that period.”

But Jenna, 32, is now sober and 70lbs lighter and is enjoying making “incredible memories” with her family.

She told us: “My life is 1000% better without it. I wake up every day before the sun and feel grateful that I woke up.

“I am really proud of myself for all that I have overcome in the past 16 months. For so long I could never have pictured myself without alcohol, let alone loving and living life to the fullest.

“I can’t go back and change my past but I can change my future. I am also very proud of being brave and vulnerable enough to share a part of me and my story.

“It is really painful but I know it has the potential to save someone else from going as far down that path as I did.”

Ashley Carter Cash

It’s no surprise that Ashley Carter Cash, 38, ended up on a perilous path as some of her family members also battled addiction.

She herself had tried every drug on the market by the age of 13 and by the time she was a mum herself she locked herself in closets to down spirits.

Sharing before and after snaps with Daily Star, the New York-based writer said: “Looking back on those photos I feel shame, guilt and regret wash over me when I view the visceral memories of my drinking and drugging days.

“I can’t help but feel sad and remorseful whenever I see the potential in my young eyes in the glimpse of a decades old photograph.

“But then, I had everything going for me, and although today I can see my life is not over and there is much to come, I can’t help but regret extinguishing the flame of so much young beauty so soon.”

Ashley acknowledged that she has relapsed more times than her age but her substance abuse is now finally under control.

As for how different things are now, she said: “The morning, oh my gosh, the mornings have never felt better. The ability to make a conscious decision based on my inner values rather than based on a clouded mindset is genuinely priceless.

“Money can’t buy the element of knowing you are in control of your destiny and instead of relying on a substance to do it for you.”

Justine Whitechurch

Aussie mum Justine Whitechurch knows alcohol would have killed her if she had continued sluggingthree bottles of wine every single day.

She also casually knocked back vodka too while hiding booze in shampoo bottles in the shower.

Sensationally, she has been sober for nine years and she works as an author and personal trainer.

Sharing her recovery, she told us: “The amount I drank was sporadic and most certainly towards the end of my ‘drinking career’ as I affectionately refer to it, it was at least two to three bottles of wine every day followed by the vodka chasers, particularly when I wanted to go undetected.

“On the odd occasion, I even swigged on mouthwash when I was desperate for something to take the edge off.

“I always had the bottle on the table for all to see and then a couple strategically placed throughout the house for the extra top-ups where required.”

Her recovery started by chance when a psychologist recommended she start exercising, a small step that completely changed her trajectory.

The Gold Coast beauty now boasts about looking better in her 40s than she did in her 20s and the pictures speak for themselves.

Toni Becker

South African tattoo model Toni Becker, 36, recently celebrated her tenth year being sober from booze and drugs.

And despite still being young, she has a long history of substance abuse and had her first drink aged 12 – and just three years later she was taking diet pills containing ephedrine.

She then ended up in rehab by the time she was 22 before later getting hooked on crystal meth.

And this downward spiral was sparked after the death of her best friend and cousin.

She used drugs to help cope but became anorexic, with the turning point eventually coming after her father was diagnosed with stage four cancer.

“I was looking at my father the same way he had been looking at me,” she said. “I knew he was going to die, it was only a matter of time. And he knew I was going to die, it was only a matter of time.

“I made the decision to change my life that day. To fight my disease so that in his last few months, my father could see that I would be ok. That I would survive.

“He didn’t get to see the full transformation but I have a feeling he can see it.”

She described her recovery as “difficult, frustrating and painstaking” to begin with – but said “it gets better and it is so worth it”.

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