Addiction and the family genetics by Tabitha

Addiction and the family genetics by Tabitha - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

Two years ago my mother was diagnosed with terminal liver failure. She was just 62 years old, she was an alcoholic. After her diagnosis I chose to leave my full time job and I became her caregiver. This was not an easy thing to do because I am a single mom to two boys and the economy was terrible. I was taking a huge chance. It was the right thing to do though. Mom had taken care of me all of my life and I wanted to be there for her. Hospice came in and she was given 6-12 months. I had a knack for medicine, I caught on quickly and even the Hospice staff commented on what they called my unknown talent. Unfortunately, mom only made it three months before was brought to the Hospice house. After spending three days in a coma she passed on. She died gracefully and for whatever the reasons it was what Hospice called an easy death, they said she made it easy on us.

After her death I was stagnant. I was angry, overwhelmed with grief and I was lost. I sat in my house and imagined what life would be like had she been treated and recovered from her disease. I lived each day in a would of, or could of world, I was not living in the moment. I was going through the motions but I was not living. I had to come to grips with my grief, I had to forgive mom, everyone could see it but nobody could make me do it. I began to see mom as a sick woman, she was weak, she was a drunk and she chose wine over me. I began to despise her. One day in a moment of clarity I realized this was not how I wanted to remember mom and it was not how she should be remembered.

That day I enrolled in college for medical study. I worked hard and earned good grades. I soon learned that our bodies are not meant to live this way. We are not supposed to be this stressed out, this imbalanced or this exhausted. My interest in biology and chemistry his a peek when I had a Professor who went back to the basics. She showed our class how to give the human body what it needs to survive, the hammer and nails so to speak. I learned about adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalance. I learned about the genetics that pass on from generation to generation, I learned about addictions and the brain. I saw how to adjust my lifestyle to improve my health and reverse some of these traits.

Family genetics and addictive tendencies are my passion. If I were to write a book it would be about my mother’s disease and the generations of DNA coding that contributed to her illness. I would show how reversing the addictive behavior coded into our genes is possible through healthy and smart living. Through hormone balance and nutrition the body can be healed and in turn rewrite the DNA code. The book would focus on the dangers of stress, the triggers that can become genetically encoded into our DNA and how to be healthy. My mother is my inspiration. It is too late to help her but I can help myself, my boys and anyone in this world who is willing to listen. I am making myself healthier and as a result I am happier. I am giving my body what it needs to perform and in turn I am teaching my children. I am balancing my hormones and in turn I am beginning the process of re-coding the addictive nature that my mother unintentionally passed onto me and me in turn to my children. Three lives are being saved as a result of my mother’s death. I think that is an amazing legacy.