My son Kevin went through something in his thirties that almost broke our family - and the thing nobody tells a father is that watching your kid fight his way back is harder than watching him fall, because hope is a heavier thing to carry than grief - Silicon Canals

"When your kid becomes someone you don't recognize. Kevin had followed me into electrical work right after high school. Smart kid, good hands, could troubleshoot a circuit faster than guys with twice his experience. By thirty, he was running his own crew. Had a nice apartment, decent truck, steady girlfriend. Everything looked good from the outside. But addiction doesn't care about appearances."

"I kept thinking I could fix it. That's what I do-I fix things. Bad wiring, blown circuits, whatever. Give me a problem and I'll solve it. But you can't fix people like you fix wiring. Took me way too long to figure that out."

"After that 2 AM call, things got worse before they got better. Kevin went to rehab. Lasted two weeks before he checked himself out. Said he could handle it on his own. He couldn't. The next six months were hell."

A father recounts his experience when his son Kevin, a successful electrician, called at 2 AM revealing a severe addiction problem. Kevin had progressed from casual drinking after work to losing his apartment, girlfriend, and contractor's license. The father initially believed he could solve the problem through intervention, mirroring his professional approach to fixing electrical systems. However, Kevin's initial rehab attempt failed after two weeks. The subsequent months deteriorated as Kevin appeared drunk at family events, borrowed money without repayment, and continued destructive behavior. The father learned the critical distinction between fixing objects and supporting human recovery, recognizing that true help requires accepting limitations and allowing the person to choose their own path to healing.

Read at Silicon Canals