Tattoo by Gabriel Bosquez at ACME Tattoo
St. Paul MN, November 2015
I struggled for years with heroin, in and out of treatment centers for years, and never had been sober for more than a few weeks at a time. Finally, I got beat half to death by a couple of dealers in North Minneapolis and had my “aha” moment. I went to a 45-day treatment in Willmar, MN and stayed for 100 days, then went to a halfway house for three months. I knew my addiction was behind me and decided to get my clean date tattooed on my forearm—right where I injected the most. A guy I was in treatment with was an artist and he designed it for me. I still have the original piece of paper it was drawn on.
It’s been almost 7 years and I’m still clean. In fact, I own a home now, drive a car I’m proud to say I bought myself, I have a female yellow lab: Nala, and I’m a successful and hard-working insurance agent.
I don’t know what it would take for me to ever use again, but if I did, I’d have to stick that needle right through this tattoo that means so much to me.