By: Keisha A., Transformations Alumni
Hello, my name is Keisha A and I came through Transformations Treatment Center in April of 2013. I am a proud alumni with 11 years clean. My clean date is 4/15/13 thanks to God, NA, my friends and family.
From 18-24 I tried getting clean. Multiple treatment centers, detoxes and state-ran long term programs. Nothing was working because I was not ready to fully surrender. It is true what they say. You have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired. I reached my bottom alive and that is by the grace of my God. Not many people make it back and I am grateful everyday that I did.
Getting on a plane 11 years ago to go to detox and treatment, I hadn’t the slightest idea how much better my life was about to be. I was so scared when I came to Florida. I was filled with guilt, anger, depression, anxiety and shame like no other. Thank God for the therapist that I had. She helped me overcome many hurdles for my time in treatment. Transformations was the first treatment center I had ever completed.
I was placed into a halfway house in West Palm Beach. I lived there for 10 months. There, I was introduced to Narcotics Anonymous. I have tried many 12 step programs before, but this time was different. I had fire. I had fuel. I had a hunger for recovery. I was ready to stay clean, but I was still holding onto old behaviors and ways of thinking.
Im not going to lie, my first year was tough. It was only tough because I made it hard for myself. I took very little suggestions, was close-minded about everything and everyone and was only focused on my outsides. I was standing in my own way and not allowing God to do his work! After bumping my head a few times, I learned that recovery is an inside job. All that outside stuff is extra. It was time to get my mind right.
I got a job, started working with a sponsor and getting uncomfortably honest about myself, going to 90 meetings in 90 days and being a productive member of society! One of my favorite jobs in recovery was working as an alumni coordinator for Transformations in 2014-2015!
Working the 12 steps, traditions and principles of Narcotics Anonymous taught me how to be a friend, to listen to learn and not always have feedback, be loving and kind and especially to myself. I was taking commitments and showing up. I found myself doing the right thing when no one was watching and that felt really good.
Looking back on my life and recovery for the past 11 years has been amazing. Don’t get me wrong, I have been through things that should have taken me back out, but I have God today. I have people in my life who love me unconditionally and let me be Keisha. Today, I work on being the woman that my God has intended me to be. I know my self worth today. I crave healthy choices today.
When I had 5 years clean, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter. Talk about unconditional love. I am raising a child in recovery and instilling values and morals in her life. She has never seen me high and God willing, will never. I have my dream job and graduate college May of 2025. I have a roof over my head, love in my heart and a program of recovery.
Perseverance, honesty, love and spirituality is what got me to where I am today. I am internally filled with joy today. l I no longer want to die. My family and friends trusts me today.
I am so grateful for Transformations Treatment Center for being the beacon of hope, that stepping stone and a driving force in my recovery. I am so grateful that I surrendered to drugs and allowed something greater than myself to guide me and lead me into a new way of life. Recovery is everything to me. I have goals today. Healthy goals. If it wasn’t for Narcotics Anonymous, the fellowship and a loving higher power, I don’t know where I would be today.
I thank God everyday for a new way of life.
Our Accreditations
