Author: Billy Holbrook

Recovery

Posted on by Billy Holbrook

An Interview with Jimmy Ward

September is Recovery Month so we wanted to do something special. We sat down with Jimmy, our Substance Abuse Counselor, and asked him to tell his story. His work is so important, and an inspiration to all of us at MercyMed. He has dedicated his life to pursuing people who are suffering from addiction to help them in any way that he can. We hope you are encouraged by this in-house interview with Jimmy.

1.) Introduce yourself.  Who you are, what you do, and why you do it.

I’m Jimmy Ward. And I’m a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor Level II. I do treatment assessment and placement, crisis intervention, relapse prevention, and recovery coaching. I ‘m also on call 24/7 outside of MercyMed. I escort people to treatment centers, I work with the families – a lot of crisis intervention is working with families – and in general act as a mini crisis center. My calling is one of advocacy because I’m in recovery. Most [substance abuse] counselors are in recovery. Probably 9 out of 10. Most of the treatment centers, primarily the people that work there are in recovery. The cooks, the nurses, all of the counselors. Because they’ve been there. You do it [become involved in others recovery] because you know. You’re just constantly trying to help people. We’re dealing with a fatal disease. It is a fatal disease. We teach recovery, and help people understand what they can do, and what they can’t. Recovery is for life.

We can’t do it alone. That’s why we have support groups. I like to use medical terms. Your medicine is in these walls. You’re a diabetic, you need to take your meds. You’ve got cancer, you need to undergo chemo treatment. You’re an alcoholic you need to go to group, come to counseling, call your sponsor, call your network. My number one motto, “Whatever it takes!”

It starts with the physical side. You’re going through withdrawals. And that’s tough. But then the real work comes when you go through emotional sobriety. How did you get here? Divorce, childhood abuse, you lost a job. That’s where you do your 12 step work. People [that have] years of sobriety become sponsors. You get a sponsor when you go to AA meetings. When you’re new to AA if you’re a woman/man, then all the women/men in the room will write their numbers down for you. That’s part of your network.

2.) What do you think is the most difficult thing for someone struggling with substance abuse to overcome?

Acceptance.  Acceptance. Admission. Step one: “We admit that we were powerless over alcohol/drugs.” “Who cares to admit defeat? Practically no one.” No longer being in denial. D.E.N.I.A.L. = Don’t Even kNow I Am Lying. Phrases like, “I don’t have a drinking/drug problem. I just drink a little on the weekends.” Usually the consequences are what get people to the point of admission. Everybody has that – bam! – atomic bomb moment. Like mine, I almost died. Other people’s moment might look like, “My wife is going to divorce me if I don’t do something,” “I got a DUI,” or “I over dosed and wound up in ICU,” etc. I tell people either do this [recovery] or you die. Addiction is a fatal disease.

3.) What do the families go through?

Well [addiction] is a family disease. They would start with Al-Anon (the family members version of AA) where they learn the three C’s. I didn’t Cause it. I can’t Cure it. I can’t Control it. They learn detachment with love. I hate the disease but love the “qualifier.” [The “qualifier” being the family member with the substance abuse problem.] They learn that they have to be in recovery too. They learn how to set boundaries. How to stop enabling. The last week of a six week treatment program is actually for the family. That’s when they establish/get started in an Al-Anon. Recovery is equally as important for the family as the patient. You drop a rock in a lake and the water ripples out. It affects all the family (and friends). Al-Anon is a key part of recovery.

4.) What kind of people struggle with substance abuse?

Across the board. Teenagers, baby boomers. Anybody – young or old. There’s 23 million people in recovery. Addiction is a developmental disease. You’re not born with it. There are five causes for addiction: genetics, mental illness, childhood trauma, social environment, and early use. You can be from under the bridge (I hate to say that), or you can be from Green Island Hills. It can start at fifteen. I hear people say, “I used to could take a few pills on the weekend,” “smoke a little weed from time to time,” “drink a glass or two.” But this disease is progressive. We call it the growing tiger. It starts as a little kitten. It’s always there, though. Always growing in the background, until one day it’s a full-grown tiger able to take you out completely. It has no age limit, no social barrier.

5.) For people who want help, where do they start?

Patients of MercyMed or people in general can start with their family physician. They’re a good source. They can go hospitals. There’s 800 help lines. They can call me! We’ve got the MercyMed beacon on; like the airport. Always here to assist. They can go to the Bradley Center and say, “I have a drinking problem.” They can talk to a family member or friend. Just start by saying, “I need help.” “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” The disease is so powerful. It says, “Nah. You’re okay. Try it on your own. Do something next week.” Like I did; they go 30 days, 60 days. Playing the game.

6.) Can you tell me a story of a friend or patient who is in recovery?

Me. You can tell that story. You’ve got functional alcoholics like me. I did it for years. Only I didn’t want to stop. This is too much fun. When I look back I see myself as a cadaver, this is the old Jimmy. And I’ve dissected Jimmy all the way back to when I started at 15. Then my 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s. Wow! It got progressively worse. In the 80’s people would say, “Jimmy you might be drinking too much.” My wife said, “you might want to cut down.” My daughter would say, “Daddy, you’re probably drinking too much.” “No-o-o. I’m okay.” “I’ve got this big high-powered job, I’m national salesman manager; I’ve got to do this to entertain.” So, I got away with it. What happened? Bam! Cross addiction. So, I quit drinking. I couldn’t drink anymore. The hangovers got too bad. So, I started taking prescription pills. Not every day at first, but that was the cross addiction. It too got progressively worse. I became isolated. That’s what all substance abusers do eventually, they isolate themselves. I was living out at my lake house for about year. Consumed with my addiction. Isolated. It got so bad I could hardly walk. I had to learn how to write again. One night it was so bad, I got up and tried to walk down the hallway. I crashed into the wall. Then I started vomiting blood profusely. I fell out.

My wife at the time found me and dialed 9-1-1. There’s nothing up there at the lake. It just so happened a fire truck that’s usually far away, was in the area and responded to her call. If they hadn’t been out there, Jimmy wouldn’t be here. That’s how far gone I was. The pills had caused ulcers. I was bleeding out internally. By the grace of God, I made it to St. Francis hospital. I was laying in that bed, and I heard the doctor say, “he’s not going to make it.” I could see a choice between black (death) and white (life). I said, “God, if you’ll put me back together again, I’ll be yours forever.” And He did. He put me back together again. Now when I sit in here [my counseling office] and do this [counsel patients], this is my recovery. This goes back to why I’m a counselor. I’ve been there. I know. I have seven years of sobriety. Now I’m giving back what was so freely given to me.

Helping others.

Help Resources:

For Jimmy Ward 24/7: (706) 326-3123

Georgia Crisis and Access Line: 1-800-715-4225

For recovery support you can call or text the Cares Warm Line* 8:30am-11:30pm: 1-844-326-5400

For Alcoholics Anonymous in the Columbus-Phenix City area call 24/7: (706) 327-6078

For Al-Anon Family Group Meetings in the Columbus-Phenix City area call: (706) 327-7630

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) : https://www.samhsa.gov/

*Not an emergency number.  In the event of an emergency call 9-1-1

 

I Got a Ticket

Posted on by Billy Holbrook

Dr. Grant Scarborough

I got a ticket two days ago – and yes I am bitter. It is all I can talk about. Maybe if I write it down, I can let it go. But before I let it go, I need to set the record straight. I need to make things right. I need to clear the air and my name.

I received a ticket for not wearing my seat belt. . . . . while wearing my seat belt. That’s right people. The officer asked, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” A very leading question, but I had no idea why he pulled me over. “No sir.” His next line was my favorite, “I see you have conveniently put on your seat belt since driving past me.” That little accusatory, spiteful sentence got my blood going. “Excuse me – I had my seat belt on the entire time.”

I got a ticket.

I have thought about my situation for 2 days now. Do I drive back down 5 hours away to fight this or do I just pay the fine? It would cost more to drive down there – but boy do I want to say in court – “I was wearing my seat belt!!!!” I want to be vindicated. I did nothing wrong and I would like my name cleared.

Whew – Feeling better already. Maybe if you read this and know I am not an evil law breaker, that would give me the peace I need. I have been wronged and I desire justice! OK forget the sentence you just read about peace. My blood is still boiling!

–

“Why not rather suffer wrong?”

“Why not rather be defrauded?”

–

What, are you kidding me? I will not stand for being defrauded. Forget it.

But Paul writes in Corinthians those two lines – Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

He is talking about two Christians having arguments that they are unable to settle. They cannot agree and the argument is so intense, they take it to court to have the matter settled. In the process, the church looks divided and Christ’s name is tarnished. The Christians were unable to love each other enough to settle their disputes so they go to open court, which hurts the cause of Christ. Then he writes those two questions.

Wouldn’t you rather suffer wrong or be defrauded so that you can love your brother and promote the cause of the church – to usher in the kingdom of Christ?

Ummmm, NO – I desire to be right!

Listen – just lose the argument even though you were right. Just take one for team Jesus. Suffer wrongly so that Christ’s kingdom goes forward. Do not even try to justify yourself. Let your brother win. Stop trying to be right. Just take the shame, the loss of money, the loss of property, the feeling of being right. Take it for something bigger then yourself. Let your name be smeared so Christ’s kingdom will be glorified. Suffer wrongly! Be defrauded for the name of Christ.

ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH – to heck with that! I am going to fight this ticket.

There is something in me that will not let things go until we are made right. The thought of being wronged is too much for me – do not even think about defrauding me! I have rights.

But Paul says to lay your rights down for King Jesus. This is a hard pill for me to swallow. Christ is more important than me being right. Others are more important than me as well. I can lose and I can lose big, but I never lose with Christ. If I lose the entire world, I have lost nothing with Christ. Christ plus nothing is everything. My good name, being right, having everything except Christ is nothing.

God executed Jesus instead of me. Ponder that phrase for a moment. God sacrificed his own Son so that He can spare us. Jesus was wronged, and He was defrauded so that we could be in relationship with God. Maybe it is time we believed the gospel. Christ’s name is better than ours. We now live for His name and His kingdom and His people.  We live so that His name will never be defrauded again, even if ours is.

Oh dear friend – Be wronged! Be Defrauded! Be both if need be for the purification of the church, the love of the brotherhood, the name of Christ, and the advancement of the kingdom.

And please share this with that policeman in Florida!

We all Want to be Great Commandment Christians

Posted on by Billy Holbrook

Dr. Grant Scarborough

“Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Well – absolutely. I believe God left heaven for us. He was born to a young girl in poverty in a barn for us. He lived for 33 years on earth for us. He was loved, hated, embraced, persecuted and then sentenced to death for us. He then was crucified – blood flowed down, body broken, thorns on his head, separated from God – for us. He died and three days later was raised from the dead – for – you know who – you and me.

The God who made heaven and earth, sent his Son into this world, because He loved us greatly. Scripture says that while we were enemies, he did this – He loved us. He set his affection upon us and said: “You are mine. You are a son and daughter of the King.” Hallelujah! Bless His name. He loved you not because you had something to offer, like you could add something to God. We had nothing to offer. It was His kindness and goodness that made Him love you. All you can do is praise and thank Him. Who does not desire to be Great Commandment Christians? I will love a God like that. I would love a God that would set his kindness upon me when I did not deserve it at all. Lord help me to love you with all my heart, soul, and mind. Amen.

Scripture says this is the great and first commandment. Close Bible and move on. Do not, I warn you – do not keep reading. Because I did, therefore I am writing. Please do not keep reading this paper either.

I warned you.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Awe man, here we go. Listen – we all love a good story of a great God loving us when we deserved nothing. It is like a great fairy tale. We now get to live in the castle with the great wait staff serving us forever. This is what I signed up for. I signed up for the greatest commandment Christianity, not the second. I desire to be loved by God – just as I am. But don’t expect me to change one bit. I just want to be loved and I can love all day back – in my house, away from other people that bother me.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if I have to love someone else as myself, everything changes. I like to be loved the way God loved me. He pursued me. He chased after me. He sacrificed for me. He died for me. He loved me. He desires to be in a relationship with me. He means good for me. He intercedes for me. Please love me this way. Just do not ask me to love this way in return.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love this way in return. You have been greatly loved – Love greatly.

Corinthians has been my book this year so far. Paul displays this great love over and over again – this sacrificial, pursuing, inconvenient love. Paul talked about eating meat sacrificed to idols. No problem for Paul. For Paul – it was not a sin. But other people felt it might be. Does Paul try sit back and lecture them about meat while eating a ribeye? “If food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat again, lest I make my brother stumble.” Paul completely cuts something out of his life that he enjoys – for his brother.

Paul becomes all things to all people. He affiliates with others. “For though I am free, I make myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them” He becomes a Jew to the Jew; he lives as if under the law to win those under the law; he lives as one outside of the law to win those; to the weak – he becomes weak. “He does it all for the sake of the gospel.” Can you imagine a self help book which states to stop being yourself and take on life as someone else with their problems and their issues. Paul does more than imagines this book – he wrote it.

There are many more passages, but let me give you one more – the most convicting to me. Paul talks about Christians suing one another. He is disgusted that these Christians would take their case to court instead of settling them in the church. How does that look to the outside world. Does this make Christianity attractive to the outside world. He then states:

Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

Paul, you cannot be serious. This is not about me suffering wrong – this is about me being right. This is about me getting what I deserve. I cannot let someone else win. I cannot lose. I cannot have my pride suffered for a brother. Paul says “suffer wrongly” for you brother. Be defrauded for your brother. Let him win. Let him be victorious.

Loving people is difficult and even more so to love them the way Jesus loved you. To love them enough to give up something you love so that their conscience will be clean. To love them enough to become weak with them. And to love them enough to suffer wrong from them.

This year, make it your goal to love people inconveniently – the way Jesus loved you. Go out of the way for others. Give of your time, energy, and strength to be Christ to them, because this is the second commandment. I am convinced that if we do not know and live this second commandment, we truly do not understand and live out the first.

Dear friend, Christ has graciously loved you – Now go and love!

Writers Wanted!

Posted on by Billy Holbrook

MercyMed Family,

We are excited to introduce a collaborative opportunity with our friends at All Good Things Collective. The origins of this effort came about from brainstorming with our neighbor and friend, Helen Brooks. She was helping us come up with ideas to honor our donors with a gift. Helen said “What if we created a devotional? MercyMed patients, donors, board members, and staff can write it. It can be a book about hurting and healing, and how God draws you near to Himself through the process. It can be the book you take with you when you go visit someone in the hospital.”

What a joy it would be for us to create a book for caretakers and friends to read to understand what the suffering need, and for the suffering to read and be comforted!

We believe in the importance of community. The tribe of faithful supporters we have has been so generous over the years. We are calling on that community now to join this effort. We want to strengthen our community (patients, donors, volunteers, staff, board, etc) by working together on this project.

We invite you to join us by submitting a devotional, poem, or prayer that answers a response to the question: “What has God revealed to you about Himself through trial and through suffering?” If you want to participate, here are some guidelines for you to remember:

  • We are accepting submissions through February 15.
  • Word limit is 500 words.
  • Email it to billy@mercymedcolumbus.comin the form of a PDF

We look forward to reading about how the Lord will speak to each one of you through this process.

Six Years of Memories

Posted on by Billy Holbrook

by Dr. Grant Scarborough

Three employees, an old empty bank and lots of friends – that was the complete make up of MercyMed six years ago. It is easy to forget how far we have come. Today we work out of three locations: a brand new building, a school, and the ground floor of the Baptist Association building. When I look around and see dentists, counselors, subspecialists, 6 full time providers, it is easy to forget that 6 years ago there were only three employees. Micah Carver was our office manager, front desk specialist, fund-raiser, and construction assistant. Karen Hobbs was our nurse, triage Medical Assistant, lab specialist, and mother of Micah and myself. I was the Doctor – but I also answered phones, worked up my own patients, cleaned the building and trimmed the hedges.

In November 2011, we purchased the building and started demolition. Hal Averett walked through the building and drew up some basic plans for the changes on a piece of used paper. He counted ceiling tile squares and looked under floor tiles and convinced us to keep marble flooring. A large group of friends, helped with the demolition to the entire building one November Saturday. They wore masks as dust flew up as the tile peeled off the floors. Dust flew down as sledgehammers brought walls down. There was a jack hammer going in the front of the building. We had a large group of military friends that started helping that day and some have never stopped helping. Bill Foss helped pull it all back together. Bill, Micah, and I worked through nights with minimal lights paying ourselves BBQ sandwiches along the way. Lucy Jones brought color and life to the building. We opened up January 19, 2012 with a waiting room that had blue floors, multi-colored chairs and a painting that I hung upside down because I liked it better that way. Many people in the community thought we were still a bank and so they brought in their money to make deposits, but this was a bank no more. We were a new building with the same purpose as the bank, to serve the community.

We opened up on January 19, 2012. We started off seeing one patient a day. We raised money to keep the door open. We soon had a volunteer nurse named Jordan, whose husband was in the military. As the word got out that we were open for business, the phone started to ring. We brought on another volunteer, Cheryl. Our first volunteer though was Janet Coppage who has stayed with us all six years. She can testify to our small beginning only six years ago. I did not even have an office. I had a chair in the morning, but when Janet showed up during office hours, she commandeered the chair and I was left with a wood board over the water fountain in the hallway to work.

Over these six years, we have had victories and tragedies. It has not been easy. It has increased my faith. I testify, the only way to watch your faith grow is to put yourself in the position where you have to totally trust God. We have prayed for money. We have prayed for staff. We have prayed God will bring us through conflict. All this was for one goal – to remember the heart of God who desires to care for the least of these. All the struggle has been worth it to see us live out caring for the poor. I celebrate today all the greatness and failures, because God’s heart goes forward through us.

Come that first February we had our open house. We had a great list of speakers that morning, but more important to me than the speakers were the volunteers. We had a young man show up that desired to volunteer because he wanted to go to medical school. His wife called me and I agreed as a favor to her. So I invited that young man to help direct traffic and park cars for our open house. A glorious beginning for my new friend. He had cars parked alphabetically, by year, make and model. Everything was straight and in order. I liked it so much I asked him to come back around, and he never left. Tony Nguyen answered phones, did EKGs, Spirometry, worked patients up, assisted with procedures. Soon he became our volunteer office manager and now he is in charge of operations for the whole organization. Bob Rosa was there as well volunteering. It was not a day of volunteering for him, it was the beginning of 4 years of volunteering as he and his wife cleaned the building weekly over that time period.

Since then we have had many come and go that helped advance the mission of MercyMed. Heather Kersey started much the same way as Tony and then took on the role as Director of Development. She has moved on to Atlanta where she is a fundraiser for Emory. Emily Kaltz came along out of college and worked the front desk. She is now in residency program at Emory with a desire to be a physician that cares for the poor, maybe here at MercyMed. Our first Physician Assistant was Sarah Mabini. We all still here desire to be more like Sarah. Many of our patients still miss her. She has moved on with her military husband to Seattle. We hope she returns one day. About the same time in winter of 2012, Meghan Brooks started. She desired to be an overseas missionary, but a broken foot kept her stateside. I have never been so thankful for a fractured foot. Cole Phillips, another college graduate, took Emily’s place in the front desk. He now has gone on to medical school with a desire to care for the poor as well, hopefully at MercyMed.

I could go on all the way up to 2018 telling stories of Caroline Osborne, Monique Jones, Sarah Crider, Will Finnell, and many many more. But the big picture for me today is the amazing bounty of God. He has done more than I could possibly imagine. The pain and struggle of fighting for this dream seem so small now as I look at the fruit. Patients have been changed, I have been changed. Out of necessity and a desire to reach more people, our clinic has grown. We have gone from a staff of 3 to 31. From 1 full time provider to 6 providers.  God’s hands, reaching through us, now extend to many more patients and their families. People are hearing and seeing the love of Christ go forward. He is being exalted daily among our staff. I rejoice and praise God for these six years. May we continue to have His heart as we push forward His kingdom into this community.

Happy Birthday MercyMed. Happy Birthday.

Thank you Hal Averett. Thank you Robert Gipson and Ryan Crider, my military friends. Thank you Karen Hobbs. Thank you Jannet Coppage. Thank you Bill Foss. Without all of you, we would not be here today. Thank you Hal Brady. Thank you Lucy Jones. Thank You Sarah Mabini. You all make up the fabric of MercyMed. We thank God for you today.

Thank you Lord for keeping us together and moving us forward with a desire to love your people. Thank you for sustaining us. Thank you. May you receive all glory and honor and praise. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and glory – forever and forever – Amen.