Friday, December 4, 2009
Michelle's Story
It’s been 2 years, 9 months, and 6 days since Michelle Post has had a drink of alcohol. Poland Spring bottles, cans of sprite, and juice now fill her refrigerator, a far cry from Coors Lite cans that once took precedence in her fridge. There are no more bottles of liquor nesting in a cabinet, and no stench of booze lingering inside her house. Her home now smells of pasta sauce and vanilla candles.
She is a 45-year-old convicted felon who lives with her long term boyfriend in Marlboro, N.Y. Post received this charge after she got her third DWI on Feb. 18, 2007. She had been a heavy drinker all her life and became an alcoholic when she was 37-years-old. A recovering drug addict since she was 29-years-old.
“I remember drinking at a very young age. I was influenced by the wrong crowd, as my mother would say, and I never really stopped drinking until almost three years ago,” Post said.
Her first taste of liquor came at the age of 12. She was at a wedding and experimented at a whiskey sour fountain. It wasn’t until she hit her 20’s when she started drinking heavily.
During her mid-twenties is when Post became a drug addict. She fell into a dark world that eventually consumed her life. She began snorting cocaine regularly. Then came crack.
“I was a crack head for about four or five years. Not many people knew that including my family until one day I went down to Newburgh to cop a rock and got a gun put to my head,” Post said.
She went home and admitted this addiction to her family. This is when she decided to quit the drugs. Cutting this addiction out of her life led her to find an even stronger crutch; alcohol.
After she got off the drugs, her long time boyfriend, Bobby Jackson, came back into her life. They were very sociable and traveled often. This gave Post more of a reason to drink.
“We were always getting together with our friends and drinking. Bobby doesn’t really drink though. He would drink two or three beers and stop drinking because he knew what he was in for with me,” Post said.
She says their relationship was falling apart because of this. Jackson told her it would not be long before she got her next DWI. He told her he wouldn’t be there to pick up the pieces again.
One month later on Feb. 18, 2007 she was pulled over by a New York State police officer after leaving a bar near her job. It was around 1 a.m. when the cop followed her onto the highway. She remembers speeding down the open road, going around 90mph. The cop had caught up and she knew what she was in for.
“The police officer asked me if I knew why he was pulling me over. I was honest and told him I knew it was because I was driving erratically. I knew I was drunk. He knew I was drunk. I told him we didn’t have to go through the whole procedure,” Post said.
The officer took her to the Town of Newburgh police station where she took a breathalyzer. The machine didn’t work on her first blow. At this point, she could have refused. She didn’t.
“I knew at that moment I was doing something wrong and something had to save me. In order to save myself and get respect back from my family and the man I live with, it had to be stopped. Not just for them, but myself.” Post said.
The day after Post was pulled over she promised herself she would change her life around. Her first step was dumping every bit of alcohol out of her house. Every beer went down the drain. Every bottle poured out. She left all of the empty containers on the kitchen table to show Jackson.
“When he got home he asked me why this was all out. I told him I’m done. I can’t drink anymore. I’m not doing it. I’m sober. I’m going to be sober. He told me he’d believe it when he saw it,” Post said.
Jackson doubted her. He was living with an alcoholic for the past 25 years. He wanted her to get better, but he didn’t know if she would.
“I did doubt myself the first week or two going through detox knowing I still have to face the judge. I didn’t know what was coming. I knew I had strong will power, but it wasn’t easy,” Post said.
Post knew she had a lot to prove. Her next step was enrolling in AA classes and going to group therapy. She hadn’t even seen a judge yet. She made this decision on her own. For five months leading up towards her July 2007 court date she went to therapy twice a week. She was taking charge of her addiction.
“I never wanted to drink after I stopped because why would I want to start all over? At that point my sobriety was so important that if I picked up that one beer for one sip I would have to start day one all over again. It wasn’t worth it to me,” Post said.
It was July 31, 2007 when Michelle was sentenced. The district attorney said they wanted Ms. Post to serve six months to a year in jail, plus five years probation.
The judge looked right at Michelle and said this is not an option because she has been putting herself through counseling for the last five months. He then sentenced her to five years probation along with numerous court fees.
“I looked right at the judge and couldn’t have thanked him anymore,” Post said.
Michelle Post still takes her sobriety day by day. She says it was a struggle at first but has now gained much more faith in the process.
“The hardest part was removing myself from that atmosphere. For the first year and a half I never put myself in a situation where I knew people were drinking. I withdrew myself from my friends and the environment I was used to being around,” Post said.
Post is a full-time waitress and is constantly around a bar. Luckily, she is now more comfortable in her own skin. She can be at a place where people are drinking without getting an urge. The third DWI changed her life. She is grateful and plans to never drink again.
Post said, “My motto is now living sober and having faith, my future is staying sober and living a better life.”
She is a 45-year-old convicted felon who lives with her long term boyfriend in Marlboro, N.Y. Post received this charge after she got her third DWI on Feb. 18, 2007. She had been a heavy drinker all her life and became an alcoholic when she was 37-years-old. A recovering drug addict since she was 29-years-old.
“I remember drinking at a very young age. I was influenced by the wrong crowd, as my mother would say, and I never really stopped drinking until almost three years ago,” Post said.
Her first taste of liquor came at the age of 12. She was at a wedding and experimented at a whiskey sour fountain. It wasn’t until she hit her 20’s when she started drinking heavily.
During her mid-twenties is when Post became a drug addict. She fell into a dark world that eventually consumed her life. She began snorting cocaine regularly. Then came crack.
“I was a crack head for about four or five years. Not many people knew that including my family until one day I went down to Newburgh to cop a rock and got a gun put to my head,” Post said.
She went home and admitted this addiction to her family. This is when she decided to quit the drugs. Cutting this addiction out of her life led her to find an even stronger crutch; alcohol.
After she got off the drugs, her long time boyfriend, Bobby Jackson, came back into her life. They were very sociable and traveled often. This gave Post more of a reason to drink.
“We were always getting together with our friends and drinking. Bobby doesn’t really drink though. He would drink two or three beers and stop drinking because he knew what he was in for with me,” Post said.
She says their relationship was falling apart because of this. Jackson told her it would not be long before she got her next DWI. He told her he wouldn’t be there to pick up the pieces again.
One month later on Feb. 18, 2007 she was pulled over by a New York State police officer after leaving a bar near her job. It was around 1 a.m. when the cop followed her onto the highway. She remembers speeding down the open road, going around 90mph. The cop had caught up and she knew what she was in for.
“The police officer asked me if I knew why he was pulling me over. I was honest and told him I knew it was because I was driving erratically. I knew I was drunk. He knew I was drunk. I told him we didn’t have to go through the whole procedure,” Post said.
The officer took her to the Town of Newburgh police station where she took a breathalyzer. The machine didn’t work on her first blow. At this point, she could have refused. She didn’t.
“I knew at that moment I was doing something wrong and something had to save me. In order to save myself and get respect back from my family and the man I live with, it had to be stopped. Not just for them, but myself.” Post said.
The day after Post was pulled over she promised herself she would change her life around. Her first step was dumping every bit of alcohol out of her house. Every beer went down the drain. Every bottle poured out. She left all of the empty containers on the kitchen table to show Jackson.
“When he got home he asked me why this was all out. I told him I’m done. I can’t drink anymore. I’m not doing it. I’m sober. I’m going to be sober. He told me he’d believe it when he saw it,” Post said.
Jackson doubted her. He was living with an alcoholic for the past 25 years. He wanted her to get better, but he didn’t know if she would.
“I did doubt myself the first week or two going through detox knowing I still have to face the judge. I didn’t know what was coming. I knew I had strong will power, but it wasn’t easy,” Post said.
Post knew she had a lot to prove. Her next step was enrolling in AA classes and going to group therapy. She hadn’t even seen a judge yet. She made this decision on her own. For five months leading up towards her July 2007 court date she went to therapy twice a week. She was taking charge of her addiction.
“I never wanted to drink after I stopped because why would I want to start all over? At that point my sobriety was so important that if I picked up that one beer for one sip I would have to start day one all over again. It wasn’t worth it to me,” Post said.
It was July 31, 2007 when Michelle was sentenced. The district attorney said they wanted Ms. Post to serve six months to a year in jail, plus five years probation.
The judge looked right at Michelle and said this is not an option because she has been putting herself through counseling for the last five months. He then sentenced her to five years probation along with numerous court fees.
“I looked right at the judge and couldn’t have thanked him anymore,” Post said.
Michelle Post still takes her sobriety day by day. She says it was a struggle at first but has now gained much more faith in the process.
“The hardest part was removing myself from that atmosphere. For the first year and a half I never put myself in a situation where I knew people were drinking. I withdrew myself from my friends and the environment I was used to being around,” Post said.
Post is a full-time waitress and is constantly around a bar. Luckily, she is now more comfortable in her own skin. She can be at a place where people are drinking without getting an urge. The third DWI changed her life. She is grateful and plans to never drink again.
Post said, “My motto is now living sober and having faith, my future is staying sober and living a better life.”
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