It’s just an endless road where it keeps taking you farther and farther down that road…When you make a decision to take that step that way, instead of one step it’s like jumping off a cliff. [source: USA Today]
This is what premier jockey, Garrett Gomez said as he recounted his battle with drugs and alcohol. As we have too often seen, fame comes with its share of ups and downs. At the top of his game, Gomez was doing well, earning all sorts of accolades as an accomplished rider during the day…but at night, he partied hard. As often happens with young people who come across fame and more money than they know what to do with, the partying soon got out of control, and before long, Gomez developed a serious problem battling both drug and alcohol addiction.
In 1998, Gomez married his second wife and started a family, but life wasn’t easy. Gomez’s wife, Pam, soon realized she had a lot on her hands when she had to deal with both an addict as well two children to care for. Soon, Pam couldn’t take it and took out a restraining order against her husband. Any time Gomez violated the restraining order, she had him arrested, claiming that it was the only time when she could get some rest.
Facing the Problem
After being arrested multiple times, his career on the blink as well as risking losing his family, Gomez was ordered to attend a drug and alcohol rehab center to get help for his problems, otherwise he would face a much stiffer sentencing should he get in trouble again. He took off 21 months from everything else in his life to go through the drug and alcohol recovery process and is a much better person for it. Gomez claims that the problem with drug addicts is that they tend to put the blame on everyone else, never realizing that they’re the problem. If it wasn’t for the help of others as well as Gomez admitting he had a problem, he might not be here today. This is definitely a lesson learned as well as a testament to those addicts who seek drug and alcohol treatment.
For more information about drug and alcohol treatment, please visit The Right Step today!