REAL STORIES

Age: 26
Gender: female

My father was a police officer, and he was a k9 officer. one of the biggest parts of his job, was searching for drugs. when he first got into k9, meth was just beginning to get real big in our area, and there wasn't a whole lot of information out about it. the k9 officers would search the house where they were cooking meth, and then they would assist in cleaning up the lab. they had no protective gear, so they were breathing in all the toxic fumes. it wasn't until several years later that we discovered the damage done. it began with allergy like symptoms, he would get hoarse, and have a cough. he would see the dr, get a shot, and he'd be fine for a few weeks, then start getting hoarse again. it gradually started happening more often and lasting longer, until finally, that hoarseness was his "normal" and there was nothing that could be done about it. a fellow officer noticed it, and told him to go to the dr and get checked out, that it was prob a result of the exposure to the chemicals in the labs. turns out he was right. they did a biopsy, and a scope to check out his throat, no cancer, but 50% of his vocal cords were eroded from inhaling those caustic fumes in the labs. other symptoms that he has since developed that is related to the meth labs: severe tremors, to the point, that at times, he is unable to eat using a spoon or fork, food shakes off before it can reach his mouth, he cannot write due to the tremors; cataracts, in his 40\'s he was legally blind in both eyes due to cataracts, luckily that was easily fixed with surgery; and mood swings. i HATE meth. ive seen the damage to my father, and what he sacrificed to try to keep this stuff off the streets. he had to retire due to medical problems. and there is so much that he has missed out on as a result of the tremors especially. for instance, he was never able to feed my son, his grandson, because he shakes too badly. he\'ll never be able to sit down and color with my son. he can't help my son tie his shoes. he can't sign a birthday card for my son. So, my point is, meth affects everyone, not just users, and families of users. it damages even the families of the officers who are trying to get rid of the stuff.

» Back to Real Stories