September 13, 2005

Sue,

I appreciate very much the work you are trying to do to make people see that we are real people and not just leeches who are a virus to today's society. I am realistically skeptical of how much your true words will get through to people, but your effort is a valiant one, and I would be honored to be a part of it. There is a lot more to my story than saving that woman's life and receiving the award from the state senate.

I am also a certified volunteer firefighter, who has responded to many calls, until I was asked to not to participate due to my prevailing addiction. Also, I'm certified in CPR, which I used to save my best friend from overdosing without calling 911 and risk having him arrested. He had just graduated college and the report would have ruined his hopes and aspirations of working with his hard earned degree. This is not to say that if he didn't respond to CPR that I wouldn't have called 911, because I certainly would have. I'm also a high school grad who started college in hopes of becoming a counselor, but was unable to finish because of the grip of my disease.

Also, I had a perfectly normal childhood. People have a tendency to think that we grew up in a warped environment. For me and a few of my friends from my Catholic high school, this is far from the truth. My parents were great, my neighborhood was very nice, as were the neighbors, and we were very close with my extended family at all holidays and such. Your all-American normal happy childhood. Not to say there weren't glitches. There could have been a little more communication, but I don't think anyone on this earth, or probably very few if there are any, can look back on their childhood and say it was 100% perfect. But mine was as close to that as anyone could ask for. I was never abused or molested or anything like that.

Just an insatiable appetite for the unknown and a desire to discover new things, which was what made me leap at the chance to try heroin, cocaine, etc., - hence, the battered and broken Trevor who types to you today.

I guess that's enough for now. I write to you to ask what I can do to help your cause. Please write back to me using my mother's e-mail address and let me know anything and everything I can do to help you, and I will do it with a smile.

You are also helping me by asking me to do this, because it gives me the desperately needed chance to give back, so the more you want from me the better. Just let me know, the sooner the better, because it looks like I may be in a program at the end of this week, and I will not be able to get to a computer for about 30 to 40 days. Let me know, ok, and god bless you for your efforts. Take care.

Truly yours,
Trevor