By our guest writer, blogger In Repair.

I’m not good at future planning. I don’t plan at all. I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow. I don’t have a day planner and I don’t have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future.

~Heath Ledger

I walked in the door after work on January 22, 2008, to my husband asking, “Did you hear about your *boy*?” I had no idea who he was talking about. When he told me Heath Ledger had died, I felt a bit of a knot form in my stomach.

“How?…

This reality show takes on the reality of dealing with fame and and the stresses that may lead some to addiction…

The Monitor
January 13th 2008
By Jon Caramanica
Special to The Times

HERE’S how “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew,” which premiered on Thursday and will run on VH1 for eight weeks, ends: It didn’t work.
At least, for some.
Drugs and alcohol may not be the only demons affecting the C- and D-listers on ‘Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew.’
In the five months from when the show was filmed and now, a few participants have very publicly fallen off the wagon. TMZ has aired video of two…

An article from News 14 Carolina on mothers who used meth in order to cope with their family life. Check out the video link on this page…

January 20th 2008
By Ivanhoe Newswire
News 14 Carolina

PHOENIX, Ariz. — According to government statistics, women make up 49 percent of all patients treated for a primary addiction to meth. Long-term effects of taking meth can be devastating, and more and more mothers are turning to this dangerous drug. The results can be disastrous.
Jasmine Trujillo loves her daughter Savannah, but until recently she also loved something else. “Meth became my higher power, it was something I…

More and more Hollywood actors are heading to rehab, here is an article excerpt from The Sydney Morning Herald…

February 5, 2008

Needing support … Eva Mendes has become the latest high-profile name to check into the Cirque Lodge clinic in Utah.
Photo: AFP Eva Mendes is in Rehab.

The actress is reportedly being treated at Utah’s Cirque Lodge rehab clinic for an undisclosed addiction, after deciding herself she needed “professional support”.

Her spokesman said: “Eva has been working hard for the past year and made a positive decision to take some much needed time off to attend to some personal issues that, while not critical,…

Grammy’s Says “Yes, Yes, Yes” to Winehouse
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
Associated Press
Trapped half a world away by the place she promised to never “go, go, go,” a vibrant, exuberant Amy Winehouse dominated the Grammys on Sunday night, winning five awards and delivering a defiant performance of her autobiographical hit “Rehab” via satellite from London.Winehouse, nominated for six awards, lost the final prize in a shocker when Herbie Hancock took album of the year for “River: The Joni Letters.””You know it’s been 43 years since the first and only time that a jazz artist got the album of the year award,” Hancock said, then…

Since the death of Heath Ledger more Hollywood stars are checking into rehab…

Marie Claire
Friday 8 February
Kirsten Dunst is reportedly ‘not doing well’ at the Cirque Lodge rehab facility, sources close to the singer claim.

The Marie Antoinette actress has checked into the Utah centre, which specialises in substance abuse issues. Eva Mendes is also currently being treated for suspected prescription drug addiction, and Lindsay Lohan spent two months there last summer.

Speaking to People magazine a source claims, ‘She’s not doing well. People were pushing her to go in there but there was no intervention… She has been partying hard for a…

An interesting excerpt from the San Diego City Beat on Methadone…

Methadone is the ‘gold standard’ for getting addicts off heroin–just not in San Diego County
By Kelly Davis
January 29th 2008

No one’s quite sure how addiction works—why among a group of friends who share a few lines of coke or a balloon of heroin at a party, one becomes an addict and the other nine never pass the point of being recreational users. Or why one person can toss out a bottle of leftover Vicodin once he’s recovered from his back sprain while another finds himself doctor shopping for prescriptions, unable to function…

It’s still too early to know yet what killed actor Heath Ledger.

But the typical media frenzy surrounding the sudden death of a young celebrity already suggests a drug overdose may be the cause.

No matter the final official determination, Ledger’s legacy now seems doomed to become part of the “Hall of Shame” that includes Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan and so many other notable people who crash and burn, and then crash again for all of us to see.

I am still waiting for the tabloids to do a story about somebody other than Eric Clapton who hit bottom and then held on…

Here is the follow up video to the first part…

Celebrities in addiction distress have been all over the news and media lately. It is heartbreaking to see anyone go through this in life. Our hearts go out to all who are in this place…

By Rowena Walsh
Monday February 04 2008What a difference a year makes…these pictures show the dramatic change in Amy Winehouse’s appearance and health over the past 12 months. At least, she’s now saying yes to rehab.

Oh no, no no: Amy, left, arrives at the Brit Awards in February last year, and , right, looking the worse for wear in recent weeks

Just when you thought Amy Winehouse couldn’t…

Toxicology results in: Ledger’s death was ruled an accident due to a lethal mix of six different and powerful prescription medicines. On this show a doctor simply states that Heath ‘just stopped breathing’. Also on the panel Dr. Drew Pinsky from the VH1 show “Celebrity Rehab”

Originally aired on Wednesday, Feb 6th on CNN’s Larry King Show.

Ledger Toxicology Report Released
NEW YORK - Actor Heath Ledger died as a result of accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

An autopsy into the star’s death in January failed to establish the cause of his death, but an overdose was suspected because a number of prescription medicines were found in his Manhattan apartment.

Toxicology test results released on Wednesday established six different drugs were found in the actor’s system, including painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety pills and antihistamines, when he died.

A statement from the Medical Examiner reads, “Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone,…

Amy Winehouse strikes again, hopefully she will pull through

By Sarah Hall
Mon, 4 Feb 2008

Amy Winehouse took a time-out from rehab Monday to look into making some travel plans.

The troubled songbird visited the U.S. Embassy in London to discuss obtaining a visa so that she can travel to the States for Sunday’s Grammy Awards, where she is nominated in six categories, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year.

She was accompanied on her errand by her father, Mitch Winehouse, and a nurse from her treatment program.

A rep for the singer said “no decision” had been made as to whether Winehouse…

Here is an article on drug addiction in the central Virginia area… close to home.

By Bob Stuart
The News Virginian
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Valley Community Services Board counselor Roy Evans is gratified by the victories he accomplishes in his job working with adolescent substance abuse victims.
“Sometimes you are able to make a difference, and that is extremely rewarding,” said Evans, who counsels young people in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County. “The little, small victories we have keep us trying that much harder.”
Evans and other substance-abuse professionals will gather tonight at Augusta Medical Center for the annual meeting of The Community Alliance for…

An excerpt from The Battle Creek Inquirer…

From the Substance Abuse Council
Reader Submitted

Millions of Americans are in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs, yet one in four Americans still had a family member who is struggling with addiction. Of these 22 million people who still need help, only nine percent are receiving the help they need to recover and get their lives back on track. We need to come together in our community to understand addiction and take action so that more of our friends and neighbors can get the help they need.

In partnership with the Robert…

An interesting article on drug use in schools amongst children.

By Angelique Serrao

Six years ago, the average age of a first-time drug user was 19. Today it’s 10. It has become so bad that experts say every school in the country now has a drug problem and that it’s out of control.

A member of the drug training and awareness centre at the SA Police Service’s Organised Crime Unit, Jan Combrink, who has visited schools to teach children about the dangers of drug abuse, has found children as young as 4 using drugs.

Drug abuse among the youth has become so bad that…

Concern About Celebrity Drug Use Grows After Heath Ledger’s Death

November 13, 2007: Amy Winehouse seen at a newsagents near HM Pentonville Prison in North London where her husband Blake Fielder-Civil has been remanded in custody accused of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. (Goff/INFphoto.com)

By Ammu Kannampilly
LONDON, Jan. 24, 2008

Amy Winehouse has finally said “yes” to rehab.
“Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors,” Winehouse’s record company, Universal Music Group, said today in a statement to reporters. “She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing…

This is an article that was posted on Orato.com, please check our Videos category to see an interview with Heath Ledger on the Ellen show.

By Ken Seeley , USA

Date Posted: 01/25/08

I think all of us were in denial that there was any kind of addiction problem with Heath Ledger. It’s very difficult to draw conclusions about what he really did die from before the autopsy toxicology tests come back. We can only speculate. For me personally, I saw an accidental overdose.

I don’t think Heath Ledger woke up in the morning thinking, “I’m going to kill myself today.”

Heath had stated before…

We just want to pass it on…

Update on Father Martin’s condition
Greetings!

Thank you for your thoughtful prayers and kind wishes for Father Martin’s continued recovery via e-mails, cards, etc. Father remains in the hospital and is undergoing physical therapy and dialysis. During our recent visit, he confirmed his ongoing belief in the power of prayer and is inspired by the outpouring of encouragement from his friends. So, his spirits are good but he does miss home. Please continue including Father in your prayers and we will provide periodic updates. E-mail address : fathermartin@fathermartin.com

Cards can be mailed to:
218 Fulford Ave
BelAir, MD 21014

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