I thought I would not be very busy during the week and a half between the conference call and the scheduled intervention. I knew I had a commitment to VBS, but I thought everything for the intervention was complete. Instead, I was on the phone daily with the admissions administrator of the program or the company sending the trained interventionist. One of our conversations included a discussion of Denise's personality and the right person to help us with the intervention. It had to be a strong, independent woman. Denise would not connect with any other type. Connection is crucial to a successful intervention. The service explained that the training for the intervention would last 4-8 hours. This was a problem since none of us live in the area where Denise does. I searched online and discovered that I could rent a hotel suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a living room for the same price as separate hotel rooms. I made the reservation.
On Thursday before my VBS team went into chapel, they were telling me good-bye and I asked that we have prayer. We joined hands in a circle and one by one, these ladies prayed that God grant me a safe journey, wise words, and emotional strength. Then they prayed for the other members of the intervention team. They concluded by praying that God would soften Denise's heart and help her to be receptive to the help she was being offered. Then one lady looked at another and said "Remind me to ask prayer for this tomorrow morning at the staff meeting." I left feeling blessed to have such good friends.
Friday morning I left the lake at 7:00 to make sure I was at the airport on time. Bush Intercontinental Airport is a maze and I do not attempt to maneuver within it. I always park at a Park and Ride and let them drive me to the door. It is worth every penny I pay. The closer the van got to the terminal door, the more the knot in my stomach tightened. This was real, real, REAL.
I sat down at baggage claim to wait for the interventionist. Sharon arrived at 10:30 and we instantly connected. The team member who had been out of the country was flying in at 11:50, so Sharon and I waited for her. It was a good time for me to brief her about Denise and the addiction. When Tiffany did arrive, the three of us went to lunch. At that time, Tiffany briefed Sharon about Denise. What she said verified what I had told Sharon in the airport. We proceeded to the hotel and waited for the fourth member of the team to arrive.
The hotel suite was perfect. Tiffany and I could access the Internet with our laptops and there was ample room in the living room for everyone to sit comfortably and listen to the training. We went through the training manual, discussing Denise at certain points. The service had sent each team member a letter writing guide and instructed us to write a letter to Denise explaining how her addiction affected us. After we completed the training, we read our letters aloud to each other and examined them for any criticism or admonishment. There were none, so no letter needed to rewritten. We completed the plan including what would be said if Denise refused to go for help.
At dinner, Tiffany expressed concern about Denise's son being home during the intervention. Denise seems to become easily angry at her son for even breathing. Tiffany said that if he was there Denise would focus all her energy on being angry with him and not listening to what we said. The team agreed that he had to leave the house. A vote was taken on who would tell him. I was elected. Remind me not to go to the bathroom during a meeting again.
Sharon had gotten up at 2:00 Friday morning to make her flight. Tiffany had flown all night from China to Los Angeles and then on to Houston. I had not slept well in two weeks. Although we were all exhausted and went to bed at a reasonable time, no one slept very well due to anxiety. Although we all trusted God, during a time like this, any surprise or deviation of the plan is a potential for derailment. The cost in this case may very well be Denise's death due to drug overdose.
Tomorrow we will begin with the morning of the intervention, which may need to be two posts due to length.
Many families are plagued with the problem of addiction. My mother attends a very small church and has discovered that 10 families in their small congregation have a loved one addicted to prescription pain pills. One pastor's wife admitted an addiction. Many of my Christian friends have expressed that they have a loved one who has required help to overcome the addiction. If you have a loved one who has an addiction, please mark the nature of the addiction at the bottom of this post. This system is set up to tally the comments. There is no way for anyone to learn who responded.
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