A HILL TO CLIMB - A Teenager's Battle with Cancer, Depression, and Drug Addiction

Part I: A Fighting Journey-Broken Spirit

CHAPTER ONE

Fighting His Way Back: A Reflection

What is going on outside my house?

This is what was going through my mind as I was awakened at three a.m. in late August 2007. All I could hear was, "F**k you. F**k all of y'all. All of y'all are going to hell. Kennon, you need to be a man."

I looked out my window to see what was going on. It was Davy walking up and down the street calling all of us demons and telling us the world was coming to an end, and we needed to know God.

"Y'all need to repent. Don't listen to Abaddon. Don't let him turn you astray and away from God. The world is coming to an end. F**k you; f**k all of y'all." 

Davy kept echoing these words as loudly as he could. Kennon was outside with him, but he seemed to be ignoring Davy. I knew Abaddon had come from the book of Revelation and had to do with destruction, but I didn't remember the details. For me, the book of Revelation was one of the most philosophical and complex books of the Bible. I had never heard Davy speak of Abaddon until now. As loud as he was being, I knew the neighbors would call the police; I needed to try to calm him down.

Before I could get up and get outside, he disappeared down the street. When Kennon came inside, I asked him what had agitated Davy. Kennon said Davy was high on drugs. Davy had come over during the wee hours of the morning and asked Kennon to take him somewhere, but Kennon refused, and Davy had become angry with Kennon. Then he started cussing and making all kinds of crazy gestures at Kennon.

In Davy's mind, everyone had a problem but him. This monster, the drug, had taken a great toll on him.

On Monday, November 5, 2007, as with so many times before, Davy was back with his demons. I hadn't seen him since that August 2007 morning before daybreak when he had caused the disturbance in front of my house. I knew he had been in and out of my house since August, but he always left before I came home. So I didn't worry about him because I knew he was all right.

Krystle, my daughter, called me two or three times between August and November, and I would talk to Davy because she felt he was harassing her by asking her for money and to take him places. Since I wasn't home, he tried to bully Krystle. This was not unusual because I'd spoken to him on numerous occasions in the past when he was still living at home about asking Krystle for money. Krystle often gave money to Davy, but he'd only use it to buy drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Being much younger, only eighteen, Krystle admired her big brother, but she was upset with his behavior. Davy was now twenty-six years old, and his drug use had put stress on their relationship.  

This Monday morning was going to be different. I was at my wit's end. I was not going to let Davy continue sleeping in the rumpus room after one of his drug binges. I knew I would not be able to make him leave, so I called the police to get him out. 

While I waited for the police to come and make him leave, I started thinking and reflecting again about all the things I had done to help Davy free himself of the drugs.  I was restless again, just as I had been that August 2007 morning when he had caused the disturbance in front of my house.

I thought, How did we get to this point? We lived through the cancer, but now Davy was in a tremendous battle that far exceeded the battle against cancer. This battle had certainly been lengthier. I was a soldier, now at war to save Davy from death.  

I just sat down and cried, and I continued reflecting on how our lives had come to this.  How could my once lovable baby be a junkie? Why?

Copyright © 2009 by Louise Hicks.  All rights reserved.