The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to get caught up in the spin cycle and let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s Something Good is recovery and a celebration of life.
Three years ago, Erika Hurt, a Hope, Indiana mom, went viral for a terrible reason: a photograph of her overdosed in her car, syringe still in her hand and her 10 month-old son in the backseat, was shared online by police. She was revived with two doses of Narcan and saw the photos of herself while in rehab two days later.
She was humiliated to be the poster child for heroin addiction and used the photos as motivation to get better and get her son Parker back. She said, “I use it to remind myself that that’s where my addiction is going to take me if I do relapse.”
It was a rough journey for Erika and Parker wouldn’t talk to her at times during their twice a week visitation. After months locked down in a rehab unit and years of hard work, Erika recently celebrated three years of sobriety. She and Parker have now gone viral again but this time for a good reason: a photo shoot of the two of them together and happy.
Erika told Good Morning America, “I hope people see how low my bottom was and that they know if their bottom is not that far from mine, that they can come back too. I just think it’s really cool because I feel even more planted and stable in my recovery.”
Erika shared the photos on Facebook and a recap of her journey of the last three years.
In her post, Erica said, “Narcan kept me alive until I wanted to live! While I can admit that my son was unfortunately NOT enough to keep me sober then, he is my motivation today. Had Narcan not been available to me; or had someone who felt that I DIDNT DESERVE Narcan been there that day, I would have NEVER had the chance to get sober and my son would be growing up without ever knowing his mom.”
A woman who lived and a son who still has a mom – that is something good. Now it’s your turn… tell me Something Good!
