UPDATE

Posts for the last couple of years have been on my other blog Daughter's DUI. But at the moment Courtney is still clean and sober and maintaining over a 3.5 gpa at Arizona State University where she is majoring in social work. If all goes as plans she will graduate next year. Thanks to student loans and government grants she is helping pay for the outlandish tuition for ASU. Just because she has lived there for a few years doesn't mean she is really a resident of Arizona who qualifies for instate tuition.

She has been living alone in our condo (purchased March 2011) for almost a year now and still sees the young man she met when she was still at WINR. Not who I would pick for her of course but a huge improvement from Dopey (who is incarcerated at the moment until 2016).

Regular visits to her doctor who specializes in addiction medicine is one very important reason she is still clean. She still has urine tests and is still taking a very low dose of Suboxone. Recently she was found to have a low thyroid which she is now taking medication for. She also sees a psychologist who she highly regards and feels good talking to. And one more doctor for her weight and nutrition guidance. It does get costly but they have helped keep her clean. And I will never forget what Courtney's insightful pediatrician had told me when she was old enough to go to an adult doctor . . . "Courtney is complicated."

In November I went to Phoenix to spend 10 days with Courtney to celebrate Thanksgiving with her. She had not been with family for the last three holidays and
I decided to change that. So it was just the two of us with an easy Thanksgiving dinner and movie later that evening. For Christmas we helped her adopt a dog - a six year old boxer named Atticus. Living alone was very lonely for Courtney who does not see her boyfriend often and having a dog has made all the difference in the world for her. She told me she no longer cares if she doesn't have anything to do and anywhere to go since she has Atticus.

Atticus had been tossed out of a car by his previous owner who for whatever reason decided to throw him away. Fortunately for us this calloused act was witnessed by a kind woman who Atticus immediately ran to. He is such a sweet dog that he would have had a home with her if he had only connected with her nine cats and didn't think of them as prey.

After Christmas we had to drive Courtney and Atticus back to Phoenix since boxers can't fly on some airlines and the one I found that would had more requirements for the kennel they would fly in and there were no direct flights to Phoenix. I could write all day about what it is like to drive over a thousand miles with a dog who hates riding in a car. Not that he was bad or restless, it was just that he could not relax and pretty much stayed plastered to Courtney all the way. Poor thing couldn't even fall asleep. He will be medicated next time and fyi - benadryl does NOT work to make a dog sleepy. At least none of mine.

As it turned out, we were also to be in Phoenix during the Fiesta Bowl and since Oklahoma State University (where Ron and I had attended) went this year (and won!) Ron bought tickets and all three of us went and had a wonderful time. I was pleasantly surprised at how much Courtney enjoyed herself at the game - even thought she was with her parents. The good time sure made it hard to leave the next day to drive back home.