MY JOURNEY
If There Is Breath,
There Is Hope.
This is not a story about how far I fell. It is about how survival became accountability, fatherhood, freedom, and service.
MY JOURNEY
I don't teach recovery from a textbook. I lived it.
I share this story honestly, but not for shock value. I share it because families living through addiction often feel trapped between fear and hope. I want them to know that change is possible—and that no one has to navigate the next decision alone.
APRIL 4, 1999
The day everything changed
Three days before I was supposed to leave with Team USA New England hockey, a drunk driver crashed into me. My back and multiple bones were broken, my hockey future ended, and pain medication entered my life. OxyContin was presented as relief. It became the beginning of a 25-year battle.
THE DESCENT
Survival was not the same as living
Addiction took years, relationships, health, freedom, and people I loved. My story includes incarceration, repeated overdoses, grief, and serious medical consequences. I survived moments I should not have survived, but survival alone did not change me.
Another chance
Still Breathing
My six-year-old son, Matty, found me unresponsive and called for help. During the medical crisis that followed, I made him a promise:
“This will never happen again. We’re going to have a different life.”
That promise became bigger than words. It became a responsibility.
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NOVEMBER 15, 2019
Choosing recovery
That is my sobriety date. I began rebuilding slowly: volunteering, working, accepting accountability, repairing relationships, and learning how to be present. Recovery became something I practiced, not something I claimed.
REBUILDING
Giving my son his father back
The greatest measure of my recovery is not a title or accomplishment. It is being present for my son and family. Trust returned through consistency. The life we once only imagined began taking shape.
FROM SURVIVING TO SERVING
Turning experience into purpose
Today I work in recovery services, treatment navigation, family support, advocacy, and public education. I use the lessons from my worst days to help someone else find a safer next step. My scars are not the end of my story. They are evidence that healing is possible.
THE PROMISE IS FREEDOM
Love restored
Fatherhood restored
