Caeli’s story of opioid addiction and recovery
Caeli Donaldson. (HealthSmart)
Caeli Donaldson had what she refers to as a beautiful childhood. It wasn’t until she was about 14 that she began to experiment with alcohol. She quickly moved on to other drugs, and by the time she was 17, she had tried heroin.
At that point there was no turning back. As much as she loved her parents, she would lie to them if it meant feeding her addiction. She would steal from her younger brother. The person Caeli was while addicted to heroin was completely the opposite of what she was prior to her addiction. She knew the risk of using and was prepared, more than once, that it may be her last time. She couldn’t stop.
Similar stories play out every day in families across the country. The opioid epidemic is a public health emergency. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 116 people died every day in 2016 from opioid-related drug overdoses. Another 170,000 used heroin for the first time.
Caeli went through about 15 rehab facilities, recovery houses and detox programs before beginning a methadone maintenance program. She continues that today. She says methadone, although controversial, is her path to a healthy life.
Keira McGuire is a health reporter and multimedia producer for WITF. She hosts and produces Transforming Health television programs as well as other shows and documentaries for WITF’s Original Productions. McGuire produced the Emmy Award winning series HealthSmart for the last ten years. Keira previously worked at WBFF in Baltimore and WMDT in Salisbury as a reporter and anchor. She’s a graduate of Towson University.
