Fall River mom of two who shouldnt be alive turned life around after alcoholism – SouthCoastToday.com

FALL RIVER Devin Frizado was seated in a wheelchair when she posed with her husband Michael in front of their Christmas tree three years ago.

Shed almost lost her life to complications of alcoholism and still had a long road of recovery ahead.

Today, Frizado is standing tall and sober, and helping others to be healthy.

I shouldnt be walking, Frizado said. I shouldnt be alive.

Frizado, a 36-year old mom of two, is hoping to inspire others to stop drinking before drinking takes their health or their life.

I dont want anyone to go through what I went through, she said.

Frizado started drinking alcohol as a teenager, but it wasnt until she was in her mid 20s and early 30s that binge drinking on the weekends turned into daily consumption and finally hiding vodka from her family.

Frizado said her drinking really got out of control when her brother took his own life. Thats when it became daily.

Frizado usually had her first drink of the day when the kids went to bed. It became something she did to relieve her grief, and her stress as a mom with a full-time job. For a while she was a functioning alcoholic able to juggle her life and her drinking, or so she thought.

I told myself this is what moms do to get through the day, Frizado said.

She started having health problems such as a pre-ulcer and generally feeling sick. As time went on, she developed stomach issues and vomiting. She grew weaker and thinner. A doctor told her she had sludge in her liver, but she never admitted to drinking so heavily.

I did know I had to slow down, Frizado said.

By this time, she wasnt able to stop drinking. She was drinking straight vodka hiding it high up on a kitchen shelf away from the kids where she could sip from it while cooking dinner.

Id sip through the night, one after another, she said.

The mornings were the worst. Frizado said shed shake in the shower and vomit.

Going to work as a sleep study technician in a healthcare facility was getting difficult and she knew her work was suffering.

I was starting to be unproductive, she said. I was starting to call in more.

Eventually, Frizado lost her job. She started drinking early in the day, depending on it to feel well.

Her drinking increased to the point that shed have to call her husband or a family member to pick up her children from school so she could sleep off the effects of the alcohol before they came home.

Her mother tried to talk her into getting help, but she thought she was in control.

I got sicker and sicker, Frizado said. I had this weird dizziness.

In a store with her kids one day, she temporarily lost her vision. That scare would finally make her come clean about her drinking and get medical help.

Everything went white, she said.

By the time she arrived at the emergency room the next morning, a numbness had spread down her body. I couldnt even keep my head up to tell them what was wrong, she said.

Blood work and X-rays revealed that Frizados organs were failing. She had pancreatitis, kidney failure, the start of cirrhosis and brain atrophy. She was unable to walk. The doctors said her heart would have given out in another day or two without treatment.

I just lay in the hospital withdrawing from alcohol, she said.

At two weeks sober, Frizado was still sick when she was transferred to Boston.

My whole left side was paralyzed, she said. I couldnt swallow. I was having a hard time breathing.

She was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called central pontine myelinolysis, a sodium build-up in the brain as a result of treatment for chronic alcoholism.

Only 2% live with CPM, Frizado said. Theres no prognosis.

Frizado was sent home in a wheelchair with multiple medications and a plan for months of rehabilitation.

She stayed sober and began to rebuild her life and her health. Eventually, Frizado started to feel better and regained a lot of what shed lost.

I just kept getting better and better, Frizado said.

Today, shes left with some slight numbness and said she can become very emotional. She cried while telling her story.

Its just so hard thinking about it, Frizado said.

She had her last drink on the day she went to the emergency room and is now celebrating three years of sobriety.

Frizado lives in Fall River with her husband, two children, ages 16 and 13, and their two dogs.

She practices meditation and mindfulness and was certified in the discipline. She uses CBD oil, which she credits for getting off her medications, and is now a practitioner of reiki, a form of hands-on energy healing.

Ive been going down a spiritual path, Frizado said. Im thriving.

She also has lost weight that she gained over the last couple of years by eating a Keto diet with intermittent fasting and is just about 10 pounds from her goal.

Frizado is offering her services as a life coach and sober companion in a new venture: Get a Better Life.

Ive always liked to help people, Frizado said. I think this is my calling.

Frizado just two weeks ago started the Mindful Moms support group for women in recovery from alcohol and drugs at Peer 2 Peer, 175 North Main St. The group meets each Wednesday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Frizado urges others who think they may have a drinking problem to get help before its too late.

Just stop, Frizado said. Theres no cutting back. Theres no changing liquors.

She advised people to stay positive about quitting. When you first stop drinking, you feel like you cant do it. You have to find that one little positive thing in the moment, Frizado said. Find that positive moment, no matter how small, to keep pushing you to the next thing.

See the article here:

Fall River mom of two who shouldnt be alive turned life around after alcoholism - SouthCoastToday.com