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Journey To Recovery – Mom and Son Cycling to Washington D.C.

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Originally published 8/14/2017 and updated 8/17/2017 on IN THE NEWS – ROSS AND SURROUNDING by Sheri Lyn Bice

In The News would like to take this opportunity to share with you the story of Brandy and her son Troy who are scheduled to ride bicycles from Monroe, Ohio to Washington D.C. in hopes of raising funds to sponsor a Butler County, Ohio chapter of Ohio-CAN (Ohio – Change Addiction Now). She refers to this as the Journey To Recovery.

Brandy is the mother of 4 children, and on her web site she states, “ My story isn’t any different from anyone else’s. I have raised all my children the same. We are a middle class family, my children have all had the same opportunities. I was very open with my boys. I had the drug talk. I even had the sex talk with them. I’d like to think I wasn’t a delusional parent and I have raised all of them with the same love, kindness and compassion, yet I still ended up with a heroin addict.”

Brandy continues, “TJ (Troy Jr.) is my 20 year old drug addict. His addiction started before the age of 12. It started with cigarettes and escalated to smoking weed and having a bad attitude. I was on top of it from the beginning, but was incredibly disappointed and angry at the lack of support for teen addicts… I was told to get his mental health issues under control and then the drug issues could be addressed… and vice versa… I was becoming dizzy in the viscous cycle. He was thrown out of school because he knew all the right things to say… Example he returned back to school after a suspension and walked through the halls and yelled, “I am going to blow this school up “PERMNANT EXPULSION… SMH the school knew he was just saying it to get what he wanted and they gave it to him. So now what do I have? A depressed/anxious young man who is on drugs aaaaaaand……Now he has all day long to do more drugs and get more depressed/anxious…. “

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Her frustration continued, “Quick clarification. I didn’t expect anyone else to raise or fix my son…I was trying to do that! But the resources and system sucked………. Then the advice started flowing… I didn’t want advice, I wanted and needed help….. Yet I still had to listen to the advice…Advice from people who had no idea what being a mother of a heroin addict feels like…. “File Unruly” “Tough love” I could go on and on forever….. Unruly charges cost me almost $150. TJ court papers clearly stated “if not paid a warrant may be issued for the arrest of Troy Hunter and Brandy Turco.???????? “That showed him; I wasn’t doing that again…… Tough love…. What does that mean????? Definition- promotion of a person’s welfare, especially that of an addict, child, or criminal, by enforcing certain constraints on them, or requiring them to take responsibility for their actions. WHAT?????? #newdefinition it freaking sucks all those events leads me to the week of the 18th in June…My son had overdosed 2 times that week. I overhead staff “MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS” (openly in front of everyone, patients included) giving their personal opinions about a patient (MY SON)… HELLO????? H.I.P.P.A……On Friday he was SICK… not dope sick, physically sick… I took him to the emergency room at a local hospital. I’m mad as hell again. I have repeatedly said “Do not treat him like an addict, treat him like a patient”.

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Brandy was upset with medical staff for the way they treated her sone. “I have been lied to by a doctor. My son’s heart rate was resting at 43bpm and blood pressure was 84/32. The doctor insulted me when he said “Oh that’s normal for addicts. It just means his heart is strong”. And I had to fight for my son to be treated equally and fairly. 13 hours later they admitted him. Found out the next day he has heart issues. He needs further testing. He signs his self out of the hospital A.M.A… TOUGH LOVE?? No it was a heart wrenching pain (breathtaking) knowing that your son has just been told that one more overdose will probably be his last, and there I go driving off while he is standing there with the clothes on his back in the parking lot of the hospital. He went to jail that night. Thank you Lord.”

She never gave up. “I am happy to say that he has been “HEROIN FREE” since the 26th of June. He was released on June 5th. 24 days clean? Why am I excited?? Because it is the first time ever that he’s been clean that long with no assistance… My son has been through hell….Self-induced? Don’t get me started… The things that heroin has lead him to? And I have helped screw his head up by throwing him out and trying practice the advice I was given .The truth of the matter is I am probably going to bury him… even if I don’t I will never have my son back 100% .but that is OK anything is better than 0%.. .TODAY we are on a mission and it’s called JOURNEY TO RECOVERY.”

Brandy describes their upcoming mission. “My son and I will hop on some bicycles on August 26th and venture out to join a bunch of addicts and their families at the 2017 FED UP rally in Washington DC. 600 miles and 52 hours of pedaling .We are out of shaped. We smoke. And he’s in poor health and I am old…. We may not make it in time, we may not make it too far…but we may go all the all the way…Guarantee, we are going with everything we got…. Our goal is $10,000 … Solutions Recovery Center in Florida is sponsoring a scholarship for a treatment program for a Butler County Heroin Addict that is ready for help. The money raised will fund a Butler County Chapter of Ohio C.A.N and used to support Ohio C.A.N. “

In The News spoke with Brandy on Sunday August 13, 2017. Brandy confirmed that she and her son will be leaving sooner than expected on this bicycle journey to allow more time for travel and visiting. They have made some minor changes to their route of travel. She also confirmed that her son continues to do well with his process of recovery at this current time.

Brandy and her son are seeking donations for the Oh-CAN Butler County Chapter. If you are interested in making a donation, please contact Brandy at either of the links listed below.

More information can be found on Facebook and the Journey To Recovery website.

UPDATED 08/17/2017

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