As a middle-school and high-school student, Makowski said, her son Wyatt was likable and earned good grades.
She did recall a period during the seventh grade, though, when she noticed him sleeping more than usual. He had new friends and began listening to "screechy" music.
Although she asked her family doctor about the tiredness and expressed concern to some colleagues, she eventually chalked it up to his age.
"Is the school calling? Is he sneaking out? No, none of that," Makowski said. "The doctor told me with puberty and everything that is going on, a lot of parents bring in their kids and less than half are on drugs."
Yet Wyatt had, in fact, begun taking his older brother's prescribed pain medication in the seventh grade. He began buying other drugs at school, and, when the pills became too expensive, he turned to heroin.
His mother didn't recognize the problem until Wyatt's sophomore year, when her son was caught stealing from his grandfather while visiting his grandparents in New York with his aunt .
Although she is unsure whether she could have done more to prevent the progression of his drug use, she acknowledged that she missed some signs.
"Oh, my gosh, teaspoons were missing - you don't make that correlation," she said. "Aluminum foil - you go to the grocery store (and buy it) and then look at it and it's empty."
She could have had her son tested for drugs earlier, she said, or dug deeper into his cellphone texts and calls.
"The thing is, these kids are so good - so creative - at hiding it," she said. "You as a parent want to believe them. You don't want to be the parent of that child."
1. Early detection
2. Advanced signals
3. Parental action
4. Treatment options
Recent Posts
How to spy on Galaxy S22 UltraHow to spy on iPhone 13 Pro Max
Best Android spy app of 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment