RECOVERY WORKS Tammy Weddington “I just patched it together, and it worked.”

Editor’s note: September is National Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month. To celebrate the success of treatment and recovery programs, and to inspire people struggling with substance abuse and addiction, a dozen Mainers have agreed to share their personal stories. “Recovery Works” will feature these profiles each Thursday in the Well-Being section, replacing the “Finding a Fix” column through September.

It was so tough at the beginning, but it does get easier. It helped a lot just to get away from the people I was using with.” In 1993, Tammy Weddington got just about as far away as she could, dumping thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine down the drain of her apartment in Southern California shortly before boarding a bus to Maine with her 8-year-old son, Eddie.

She left her younger son, Michael, then 6, behind in foster care, praying he would be safe. She had $75 dollars to her name and nowhere to go but up.

Patching together low-paying jobs, public assistance and helping hands, Tammy kept a roof over her head and food on the table and succeeded in regaining custody of her younger son. She enrolled in school and this spring graduated from Kennebec Valley Community College with a degree in nursing. Eddie has graduated from college; Michael – “my best cheerleader” – has earned his high school diploma and still lives with her in her Augusta apartment. Tammy works in the outpatient laboratory at MaineGeneral Medical Center, and was recently asked to be the inspirational speaker for the kickoff of the hospital’s United Way campaign.

Tammy’s transformation is remarkable, and she’s not shy about it. “I went from shooting drugs in the bathroom of Taco Bell to being the student senate president, speaking at my commencement and introducing Governor Baldacci at the Blaine House Tea on Substance Abuse,” she says proudly. “I met Bill Clinton, and I went to Washington, D.C., to speak at the United States Chamber of Commerce Conference on Welfare Reform.”

Most important, with grit, luck, “real friends,” personal counseling, support from many sources and the self-confidence that grows out of even small successes, she’s stayed clean.

“I would pray ‘God, make these cravings go away,’ and that helped,” she said. “But I like to give myself some credit, too… I just patched it together, and it worked. You won’t starve, you won’t be homeless. If you do something to help yourself, people will help you and be there for you.”