My conversation with Rhonda is a no-holds-bared one. Her son battled an eating disorder and undiagnosed depression in high school. He found a bottle of narcotics after a family member’s surgery and took one to numb his pain—and was hooked.

Ronda recounts the moment things changed when they realized her son had been hiding a fentanyl addiction for 31/2 years in college, the failed rehab stent, followed by a 2.5-year successful recovery journey. Ronda’s message to parents is this: addiction can happen to anyone.

Ronda’s son celebrates six years of recovery on May 21, five days after the release of this episode. Sam has turned to extreme sports in his recovery, is partnering with SAFE (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic), and is competing in an Ironman race in Tulsa, OK, too. If you are so inclined, you can donate by clicking this link to support Sam’s efforts for SAFE ( https://www.safeproject.us/race/?fbclid=IwAR04Jh9XJWGFHVeL3ftt9HdObWb-i7-LF1uNr_VwcnCXKtgR7m7zY0AnXzg).

Ronda recently shared her story at a recovery group. You can watch that here:   https://online.brushfire.com/cor/recovery/wb8xm9yc5r