WASHINGTON – Kerry Leno is beaming with confidence as her alcoholism no longer defines her.
A resident of northwest Minnesota, she is one of the thousands – each with their own story – who traveled to the National Mall Sunday for the UNITE to Face Addiction rally. Leno’s journey is one of alcohol abuse entrenched in repeated failures, but eventually finding sobriety. As the rally rolled along, her failures were concealed behind a sober smile.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Leno says, gesturing to the crowd of thousands. “Being at such a historic event with people who have similar stories, it’s really remarkable to see where we’ve been and where we are.”
For more than six years, though, Leno says she struggled to maintain an optimistic outlook on her future, often thinking about death. While she was consuming alcohol, the booze was consuming her, mornings consisting of Bloody Marys’, evenings of vodka.
“Alcohol trumped everything,” Leno says. “It trumped my kids, my then-husband, my parents. Alcohol was my number one.”
Leno, 37, says she started abusing alcohol in 2006, during a time when her marriage was falling apart. Her dependency didn’t become evident until after the divorce, when Leno says she would suffer seizures when she wasn’t drinking.
In several failed recovery attempts, Leno says she found herself in the hospital on “more times than she cares to remember.”
“I had genuine intentions,” Leno recalls, “but my effort never stayed consistent. I knew I needed to change or something bad would happen.”
Losing primary custody of her children was a terrible blow, Leno says. But just as she lost her “rock,” she found her “greatest supporter.”
“My husband Lance and I had known each other for years, but only after we started dating did I realize the severity of my problem,” Leno nods, teary-eyed, speaking of her second husband.
She recalls lying in a hospital bed after an alcohol-driven evening. She scanned the room to see a disheveled man, the fatigue etched in his forehead wrinkles. It was her then-fiancé, Lance. His voice shaking through the tears, Leno says his words still echo in her mind.
“I can’t lose you.”
According to the Facing Addiction website, 350 lives are lost daily in America to substance abuse. Leno says she nearly added to that number. Instead, she became part of the 22 million recovering addicts. The tears of her future husband were enough for Leno to find the help she needed.
Lance and Kerry were married in early 2013, and Leno has been sober ever since. Through programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and various rehabilitation and treatment centers, she found recovery.
Still, she says finding sobriety is uncommon, and changes still need to be made to recognize addiction as a chronic disease.
“The number of people dying isn’t going away,” Leno says. “The statistics are very real. Addicts are increasing, recovering addicts are increasing. The numbers aren’t going anywhere, so we need to work with politicians and people in leadership positions to improve legislation, and to make and pass bills.”
Leno currently works at reGROUP, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization that advocates for addiction recovery.
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