Richard B., 70, was in an iron lung for the first 10 years of his life. “I had polio. I was 10 months old when I was paralyzed and placed in an iron lung. I was 7 or 8 before I realized that this
was not normal. I was constantly in the hospital.”
“There was never much drinking in my household. My mother was Polish and she mixed water with homemade wine on occasion, but we only drank it with dinner … to build strong blood. As an adult, 1 beer would make me drunk, inebriated.”
“When I was 28, an intoxicated man was picking on me because of my polio. We fought; he fell back, hit his head, and died. I went to prison for 16 years, then I was paroled.
I went back to prison after about 7 years. I violated parole after getting in another fight, when some drunk men were having sex with my girlfriend.”
“I worked two 8-hour shifts daily, plus 2 hours of travel … I slept about 3 hours, and worked 7
days a week. During my late 40s, I started to put some crystal meth, a powerful stimulant, in coffee; it was ‘electric coffee.’” Richard also smoked cigarettes (2-3 packs a week) from age 28 until 32; then he stopped. However, “crystal meth was very important.”
Soon Richard was using crystal methamphetamine every day; he did this for 5 years. Richard used crystal meth to stay energized and alert. “I worked without vacations… I 
wanted to support my children.” “I was addicted, no question about it.”
He was grinding his teeth, losing weight and getting cranky. “I am very strong willed. So I stopped.” Unlike
smoking, breaking his dependence on crystal meth was very difficult for Richard. Without his daily meth, Richard became “depressed and irritable… I longed for the feeling, the exuberance, but I stopped.”
Like many others, Richard stopped smoking and using drugs because he “didn’t want his children to develop bad habits.” Richard stopped smoking and using drugs without treatment.
Richard has 7 children and is proud that his hard work helped him to be a good father. Now Richard is living in a ¾ house, waiting for elderly handicapped housing.