Hello, my name is David Lopez. I\u2019m an addict and alcoholic in recovery. My sobriety date is May 22, 2018.<\/p>\n
I was first introduced to alcohol at the age of five years old. I didn\u2019t understand what alcohol was, but I immediately had a feeling that I belonged to something bigger. Two years, later my mom remarried someone I didn\u2019t know much about. And she asked me to call him dad. In defiance, I decided to drink the night of the reception. I went around and finished all the glasses I could find, and this would be my first drunk. At 9, I found my stepdad\u2019s weed. By 15, I was a daily drinker and user off many types of drugs.<\/p>\n
Despite my addiction, I was still able to function.\u00a0 <\/strong>In 1999, at age 23, I got a job with the Department of Sanitation.\u00a0 In 2002, I made Maintenance and Construction Helper with the Department of Water and Power. In 2005, I promoted to Water Utility Worker, and in 2009, I promoted to Senior Water Utility Worker.<\/p>\n In 2006 my daughter was born, and my wife at that time, came home with a bottle of Vicodin. I had never touched opiates before. A bottle of Vicodin turned into OxyContin and heroin in a flash. The next 10 years would be the worst nightmare of my life. I was stuck in a prison not realizing I had the key the entire time. In 2016, I kicked one last time, and I was so happy to get my life together. But the next morning, I woke up with a drinking problem that I didn\u2019t even know I had.<\/p>\n May 2016, I tested positive for alcohol at work. I was introduced to treatment and AA through our EAP program. Over the next couple of years, I would relapse, test positive at work, and go to several rehabs. Late 2017, I went off work due to a hip injury. On May 21, 2018, I crashed and got my second DUI in a car with paper plates, that still to this day, I have no recollection of ever buying. With this DUI, I would lose my commercial driver\u2019s license for life. I entered rehab for the last time. I was convinced that what I was doing wasn\u2019t working, but I didn\u2019t know how to proceed. I was scared confused and out of my mind. But I had to try something new.<\/p>\n