Keegan and Laurie

Keegan and Laurie’s story is so heartwarming. The fact that Keegan is now 8 years sober is incredible. The fact that he works in recovery, helping others, and stays sober, is quite and accomplishment. To hear Laurie talk about Keegan and her passions for helping him just shows how courageous she is. She doesn’t use words such as addict or alcoholic or user or abuser, she absolutely will not use those words. The fact that she has stood by her son through this journey is so admirable. There are many people who don’t have any support system and she has stood by her son.

She then started talking about the human brain and how it isn’t completely developed until the age of 25. I’ll be honest this scared me a bit because my worst years as an addict were the years I was 19 until 24. So it got me thinking if I had done any permanent damage to myself. She said she was blindsided by his addiction but they got him into long term recovery quickly and she then shared that it was on Christmas. All I have to say is that Laurie and mother’s like her and my mom have more strength then the hulk. Because, I have seen first hand how much my mother worried about me. It pains me still to this day to know how much I made her worry. But, she also stood by my side. These mothers are role models for how families need to support anyone with an addiction.

Laurie spoke about how when Keegan was discharged and anytime he had a trigger he called her and she went to pick him up. Keegan chose not to go to his high school graduation and I can relate to this decision because when It is extremely hard to readapt to the world, freshly sober. I had to drop out of Penn State because my addiction took over my life. Where I can relate to Keegan is when he went back to school he took a like course load and went to a local community college. I literally had done the exact same thing. Out of every speaker so far, I can relate to Keegan and Laurie the most. Because of my journey and my relationship with my mom. The fact that he got to where he is today is a miracle. And I have the utmost respect for her standing by his side the entire time. As well as the fact that they are both trying to do their part to make a difference in the epidemic is amazing. They also say how the 10 day blackout period when he first went into recovery was not great for them and we don’t really know where that came from. But I can say it didn’t work for my family either and after seeing these two today, it helps reaffirm how much I love my mom and my family for their support.

Nico Rossi

Nico Rossi is a senior journalism major at Temple University. Before Temple University, he attended Luzerne County Community College, where he was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. He also earned an Associate’s Degree in Journalism. He interned with the Jenn and AJ morning show with Citadel Communications. He currently works as a weekly Columnist for the Greater Pittston Progress. He worked as a reporter for The Temple News, and also interned in the Marketing Department at Joyce Insurance Company. Nico loves sports, especially football. He also is very interested in Criminal Justice and investigative reporting, looking toward the future. But, most of all he loves to talk. Meeting new people and hearing their stories is his favorite part of Journalism and his job. Contact Nico at nico.rossi@temple.edu.