February 25, 2020

Alumni Services Manager at Laguna Treatment Center, Laura Giffin, was featured in Parents Magazine where she spoke about the challenge of leaving her children for 30 days and how grateful she is to have made that decision.

Giffin states that she was a very hands-on parent and involved in every aspect of her sons’ lives – from being the room mom to soccer games, plays and art shows. For a while, she’d been in denial about her drinking problem and after being prescribed pain medication for an injury, she found herself in a dark place.

She knew she needed help, but the thought of leaving her sons was too much. She felt abandonment as a child and didn’t want her boys to feel the same, but ultimately decided that she’d be the better for it.

Today, her sons praise the decision she made and couldn’t be more proud of the strength and self-awareness it took to realize that she needed to take care of herself.

In the piece, Laura lists the lessons she learned on her journey to recovery and the ripple effects of that decision more than 10 years ago.

Her story can be read at Parents Magazine.