TMJ4's Gideon Verdin recently received an email about the compassionate hearts of Patti and Charlie Lomas. They know what it's like to lose a loved one to addiction.
On March 18th, 2012, the couple lost their son, CJ, after a tough battle with drug addiction. Gideon spoke with Patti about her son's life and struggles.
“He was a very kind, a caring young man. He was very athletic. He was involved in probably every sport you can think of,” says Patti, who went on to found the CJ Lomas Recovery Foundation.
CJ was like many young adults. He was curious, adventurous, and in his teens, he started experimenting with alcohol and drugs.
“I think he wanted to feel normal the majority of the time, and I think maybe led to his drug use,” says Patti.
She recalls his alcohol use led to drugs, and then one drug led to another. It seemed that before CJ realized it, his life was consumed with addiction.
"He did have many bouts of sobriety throughout the eight or 9 years. He just couldn’t keep it together. He came home after getting clean and then shortly after, he died. Apparently felt he could use one more time," says Patti.
Watch the full interview with Patti below:
Addiction can surely destroy a person's life, but it's the family who often suffers forever.
"He resorted to heroin because at that time, heroin was a lot cheaper and much more readily available than the pills that he was doing. Once he started that, it was pretty much the beginning of the end for him," says Patti.
Patti and her family worked tirelessly to help her son recover from the addiction, but now the fight has turned to families who suffer from the disease.
"If you don’t understand the addiction, you don’t live with it, you can write them off pretty easy. But when you’re their mom, it’s a little bit more difficult. It’s a family disease," said Patti.
After CJ's death, she and her husband started the CJ Lomas Recovery Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping those in recovery. The organization provides financial support to individuals in need to help fight their battle with addiction and raises money to sponsor individuals that need assistance with the recovery process.
Patti knows how hard it is living with a family member who is addicted.
"Nobody that’s going through this wants to be there anymore than their parents want them to be there but it’s very difficult once you become addicted." she says. “He was always trying to help others. Unfortunately, he couldn't help himself. If we could continue to help people the way he helped other people, maybe that’s how he would be defined."
With overdoses on the rise in Milwaukee and the negative stigma that comes with recovery, Patti felt it was her duty to assist families like hers.
Shafiq Abdul is in recovery and spent years on the streets homeless, addicted to drugs. After a personal effort to get clean and one call with Patti, he was able to receive a sponsor to support his journey to recovery.
"The fact that somebody took that kind of chance on me, like without knowing me from jump or anything, that was kind of a boost I needed to continue doing the right thing," says Abdul.
Abdul insists Patti may have saved his life.
"She was willing to take that chance on me, and Jake Breitzman was going to take that chance on me and gave me that extra boost I need to continue on that path," says Abdul.
Jake Breitzman also battled addiction. He's now 6 years sober, runs a recovery center called Three Rivers Recovery Home, and works with Patti to fight the disease.
"For me, it’s seeing how she lost her son and never gave up and constantly thinking of helping with someone else, and I think that’s something I continue to try and do," says Breitzman.
Breitzman sees Patti is an inspiration to others and says she is a gift to the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin.
"The fact she’s got a full-time job and she’s so involved in her own program. She holds meetings for family members of addicts or ones that were passed away. She is selfless, amazing, and always thinking of someone else, not herself," says Breitzman.
"The best thing I can say is that she is authentically gracious, and it’s not about her, it’s really about who she helps," adds Abdul.
Patti feels serving others is the best way to honor her son.
“I guess my hope is just that we can continue to help those people that are suffering from the disease of addiction when they feel helpless and alone, and they don’t feel that anybody’s out there. If I can just continue to do that until God tells me I’m done,” says Patti.
To help Patti's fight against drug addiction and to assist the families affected please visit theCJ Lomas Foundation website and consider making a donation.
CJ Lomas Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/CjLomas/
CJ Lomas Gold Outing Fundraiser
www.cjlomasrecoveryfoundation.com/golf-outing
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