RECOVERY WEEK | Stories of mental health and addiction in Central Georgia
Seeking help is the first step in your journey toward recovery.
10 Years Sober: Byron business owner opens up about overcoming opioid addiction
Joel Sizemore owns J&J Heating and Air in Byron.
When he's not fixing your air conditioner, he's with his family or hunting.
"Deer hunting, duck hunting--anything where I could take my son," said Sizemore.
It wasn't always this way for Sizemore.
Ten years ago his wife, three months pregnant with their first son, told Joel he had a decision to make: get clean or get out.
"I often think about what made that different, and I don't really know other than the fact of pure hopelessness when I saw her pull off, knowing I'd never see my kid again," said Sizemore.
Starting at the age of 24, Sizemore says he was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and he got introduced to OxyContin.
He tried to get clean three times before, but had little hope.
"Society wants to distance themselves from those people, because it's tough dealing with people who lie to you, cheat to you and steal from you," said Sizemore.
He says seeing his wife and feeling hopeless pushed him go through the detox center at River Edge Behavioral Health Center in Macon.
"I remembering sitting in those seats, there's no way I'll be able to put six months together and get out of this place," said Sizemore.
Six months turned into a year, then 10 years of sobriety.
He says his faith in God helps to keep him clean.
"Looking back through addiction, my Lord has given me a relationship with him. I wouldn't trade it for anything, because it's taught me so much about who the Lord is and who I am and who I'm not," said Sizemore.
Sizemore says he'll use his story to inspire others going through addiction to have hope for a better, clean life.
He says he's open with his children and everyone about his past, and that it's important to stop the stigma of addiction.
From court appearances to fatherhood: A Warner Robins man's story of recovery
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — "This is no joke... mental illness is not a joke," said Daniel Battershell.
And he wants everyone to know that because it's something he knows all too well.
He says a series of emotional and physical abuse as a child set him down a dark path.
He says he remembers getting beaten with a cane, being called the n-word constantly and a neighbor molesting him.
To escape from those experiences and the memories of them, Battershell turned to drugs.
"I was doing a lot of hallucinogens: LSD, marijuana, cocaine, whatever I could get my hands on," he said.
Battershell says he was trying to wipe out his memory and do whatever he could to not think about that stuff.
His problems worsened as he got older. He began acting out and was arrested multiple times. Being arrested led to his lowest moment.
"Sitting in jail in solitary confinement, just looking out the window and feeling alone," he said.
The trouble, Battershell says, was a result of his ongoing battle with mental illness.
"I have schizoaffective bipolar disorder, ADD, OCD and ADHD, and my family didn't understand that, they just thought I was acting out," he said.
But one moment before a Florida judge made him rethink his life.
"He asked me how old I was. I said I was '18, sir' and then he said 'okay I'm going to give you another chance, but if I ever see you back in my courtroom, I'm going to give you 25 to 30 [years in prison,]'" said Battershell. "That woke me up; I woke up."
He moved with his grandparents to Warner Robins soon after and that's where he began to get help.
"My grandmother took me to the Phoenix Center," he said. "They started to understand I have problems."
Battershell says the treatment -- a combination of therapy and medicine -- took time to work, but the process was worth it.
"I try to be on top of it, I take my medicine, I have to take my medicine," he said. "I have a good doctor...Doctor Dan."
And that medicine is helping.
"My mind's a lot clearer," Battershell said. "I can see things for what it really is now. I see the truth."
Nearly two decades ago, Battershell began his treatment at the Phoenix Center. He says the treatment changed his life and along the way, the people in his life changed too.
"It's amazing, I love being a dad," he said. "I have like, the best son in the world."
Battershell says he's come a long way in those years, from near-incarceration to fatherhood. He says if you're battling mental illness, recovery is possible for you too.
"Go, please seek help. It's okay, we're not crazy. You're not crazy," he said. "God puts people in positions to help you, and the Phoenix Center is one of them."
Jennifer Trawick, director of crisis services at the Phoenix Center, says they offer a full range of services for people battling addiction and mental illness.
"We do have the doctor and nursing services for medication management of symptoms," she said. "Then we also have the therapists where you can come in and talk to somebody one-on-one about issues that you're having. You can develop those coping skills, develop those problem solving skills depending on what the needs are."
Trawick says they also have support groups and case management employees that go into the community to check on their clients and link them to community resources they might not even know exist.
"Case managers are accessible by phone 24/7 so [patients] always have access to somebody," Trawick said.
As for payment, Trawick says they have patient assistance programs to help manage the cost of medication.
The Phoenix Health Center is located at 940 Highway 96 in Warner Robins.
They can be reached over the phone at (478) 988-1222 or by email at info@phoenixcenterbhs.com.
'I knew my life was forever changed:' Macon woman clean after 15+ years of opioid addiction
MACON, Ga. — Brett Coppock's addiction first started in 1994, when she was 25.
"From the first time that I took that first pain pill, I knew that my life was forever going to be changed," Coppock said.
She was injured in a horseback riding accident.
"I had a really special horse named Jessica, and I fell off of her one day and injured my back," she said.
Her then-husband, a doctor, gave her prescription Hydrocodone for the pain.
"It was a half of a blue pill, and I will never forget the feeling that that pill gave me," Coppock said.
What she didn't know was that her husband was addicted to the pills too.
She couldn't let them go, even when trying to get pregnant with her first child.
"All I could think about is, 'I'm going through all these great lengths to have a baby, and I have this beautiful life, and I'm taking pain medication.' The guilt and shame was unbearable," Coppock said.
After her son was born, she made her first attempt at recovery, divorcing her husband and checking into treatment.
She says the withdrawals were intense.
"It was like having the worst case of flu, and any other illness you can think off all at one time, layered with anxiety, but you know that if you're to take one pill, all of that will go away," Coppock said.
So, she did.
Coppock started writing her own prescriptions and got arrested for it three times.
The third time, she went to jail. The judge gave her a choice: go to prison or rehab.
"Everybody wonders if they have an impact on somebody, have I changed anybody else's life? Have I done anything worthwhile? And I wanted this man to know that he had done something for me. He had changed my life," Coppock said.
She's now nine years sober and sharing her story helps her see how far she's come.
Coppock now serves on River Edge's Board of Trustees in Macon and continues to share her story with others who are fighting their addictions.
'I learned to stay away from that drink:' Former alcoholic helps recovering addicts
MACON, Ga. — Anthony Jenkins says he took his first sip of alcohol at 8-years-old.
By 17, he says he fully owned the title of 'alcoholic.'
"After that first drink, I made up my mind. I had to have it. I consider that one of the worst mistakes I ever made in my life," Jenkins said.
RELATED: 'I knew my life was forever changed:' Macon woman clean after 15+ years of opioid addiction
Jenkins says he comes from a family of heavy drinkers.
He grew up without a father and says his mother went from one abusive relationship to the next.
"I kind of stayed up a lot of nights trying to protect my mama from those guys. Once I put alcohol in my system, I became just like those guys," Jenkins said.
Alcohol took control of his life, prompting anger and violence towards others.
Jenkins managed to graduate high school, then served three years in the military.
As he grew bigger and stronger, his addiction gained strength too.
"Alcohol, drugs, marijuana, crystal meth, acid, all the above," Jenkins said.
After the military and for the next 21 years, Jenkins spent time in and out of jail.
Then one day, after another clash with the law, Jenkins reached for help.
"That's my sobriety day, Aug. 21, 2001," Jenkins said.
He showed up on the doorstep of River Edge Recovery Center in Macon.
"I learned to stay away from that drink one day at a time. This place saved my life." Jenkins said.
Three years into sobriety, Jenkins decided it was time to help others battle addiction.
He began a career at the Recovery Center, counseling young adults and sharing his experience.
"The newcomer coming in the door, sitting in the same place that I sat, with the same look in his eye, that look of fear, the pain, the guilt, the shame, the remorse. It's my job to reach out," Jenkins said.
Now he's telling his story to help others gain what he almost lost.
"I tell them time and time again. I cannot kick myself in the butt for what happened when I was a young teenager that didn't know what to do, but here I am now," Jenkins said. "You can learn from that."
And taking the mistakes from his past and turning them into lessons for others.
You can learn more about River Edge Behavioral Health Center on their website.
Macon mental health recovery center plans expansion
MACON, Ga. — After 42 years of providing care for people struggling with addiction, mental illness and developmental disabilities, River Edge Recovery Center on Fulton Mill Road in Macon is finally getting a much needed upgrade.
The crisis stabilization unit provides a wide variety of personalized mental health services for adults and children ages 5 to 14.
"Clients come in to us in a behavioral health or substance abuse crisis," said River Edge's director of nursing Michele Fulcher. "We work with them to do do our best to stabilize that crisis and invest them in a program of recovery."
Throughout her nine years at River Edge, Fulcher says that high-quality care remains a top priority.
However, limited space prevents the center from helping as many people as possible.
The River Edge Recovery Center currently has 28 beds for adults and 16 for children.
"We remain at capacity," said Fulcher. "Our beds are full. We have clients waiting in emergency rooms, in outpatient care for bed availability."
According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, the number of psychiatric hospital beds dropped from 1,187 in 2010 to 954 in 2016.
Fulcher says this drop put pressure on crisis units like River Edge to pick up the slack left by regional hospitals.
Additionally, waiting for available space puts patients in serious need of care at greater risk.
"If we're not able to reach them when they're ready, sometimes that readiness may not come again for a very long time and with increased consequences," said Fulcher.
That's why River Edge decided to add a new facility right next to its current recovery center.
The new building will provide 53 additional beds in addition to better lighting and larger rooms.
"The need is not going to go away anytime soon," said Fulcher. "We want to be able to work with those people and help them establish a foundation that they need to be able to get on with their life."
The recovery center is still finalizing plans and raising money, but hopes to start construction before the end of 2019.
To learn more about River Edge Recovery Center, visit their website.