Woman triumphs over opioid use

Looking at Karalyn Dietrich’s office in the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission’s Lehighton branch, you see inspirational quotes, happy photos of family and certificates of accomplishments adorning her walls and desk.

All of these signs, and the smiling faces of her children and husband in the photos are all reminders of what Dietrich almost never had.

The certified recovery specialist has lived through it all, hitting rock bottom with her own addiction story before finding hope and a helping hand to pull her out of the darkness through Carbon County’s criminal justice system.

“In high school, drugs were never an issue for me,” she said. “I explored with alcohol and marijuana but I never thought I would be addicted to any of those things. I had goals for the future. I wanted to go to hairdressing school. It wasn’t something where I woke up an addict. No one ever wakes up an addict.”

But in 2008, following the birth of her first son, Dietrich began a downward spiral.

“I had some complications from the pregnancy so the doctor prescribed Darvocet and Percocet. That was my first introduction to opiates,” she said. “Being a new mom, I realized (taking those drugs) actually made it easier and I felt I could move more.”

Downward spiral

Dietrich had friends who purchased opioids off the streets, and after the prescriptions ran out, she turned to them to feed her growing addiction.

“It wasn’t hard for me to get more,” she said. “I knew where to go to get them. From there, that is where my opiate addiction spiraled out of control.”

As the months went by, Dietrich fell deeper into her addiction, losing her job, some of her family and friends and her ability to be a focused mother.

On July 20, 2008, Dietrich was arrested following a traffic stop in Lansford where she and her friends had a handgun and crack cocaine, even though it wasn’t her drug of choice, in her car.

“That was my blessing in disguise,” she said, adding that she was placed on probation and admitted into the ARD program.

But that was short-lived as well.

Weeks later, her apartment in Gypsy Hill in Lehighton was raided and 80 bags of heroin were seized.

“At that point, I told the cops I had a severe heroin addiction and asked to go to rehab.”

She spent 28 days in a rehab but turned back to her old ways shortly after. She was formally removed from the ARD program and received what would turn out to be a total of four years on probation under the guidance of then probation officer Cliff Eckhart.

Over that four-year period, Diet­rich was in and out of rehab four times until her life began to turn around.

“I would call myself a chronic relapser,” she said. “It was definitely the hardest thing I overcame.

“The turning point for me was when someone told me, ‘A small wax bag rules your life.’ That sat with me because I thought how can I let this small wax bag with a white powder substance control my life?”

Dietrich said, holding back tears, that she didn’t care if she died during those dark days.

“I remember the feeling of being so worthless and down. I didn’t feel like I was ever going to get out of it.”

On probation

But her story didn’t end there.

“Being on probation definitely helped me in ways I couldn’t help myself,” Dietrich said. “Day after day, probation officers are the first people to interact with someone who could ultimately be suffering. Just because you’re in the criminal justice system doesn’t mean you are a total criminal.

“My probation officer understood the disease of addiction and understood how truly hard it was to fight addiction.”

Together, the probation office, Eckhart and Dietrich worked to get her the help she needed to overcome the war waging inside her.

“I used to think the probation office was against me but what I didn’t realize (at the time) was I was continuing to break the law and continue my old ways. When I started to live life clean I realized I needed every year of probation that I got sentenced.”

Fast forward six years, eight months and Dietrich can proudly say, “God willing, December will be seven years that I am clean from heroin.”

Since coming back from her spiral, Dietrich and her husband welcomed two more sons and will welcome another child due in October.

“The gifts I received of having my family support me and being the wife and mother that they deserve to have is truly amazing,” she said. “I am thankful for everyone who supported me.”

Eckhart, who retired from the probation office last year to become a pastor, also stays in touch with Dietrich.

“He went from being my probation officer to being my pastor,” she said.

To give back to the department that helped save her life, Dietrich, through her position at Drug & Alcohol now helps with the READY program at the Carbon County Correctional Facility and helps those facing addiction who come to the office for help.

“I understand the barriers there are in recovery,” she said. “I now see what my purpose in life is.”

She commended Richmond Parsons, chief adult probation officer in Carbon County, and his staff for being the support staff people like her need. She was also recently able to shake President Judge Roger Nanovic’s hand to thank him for playing a role in getting her back on track.

“Probation was definitely a crucial part in saving my life and for my recovery and I am forever grateful for the probation officers who work hard to keep our area safe,” Dietrich said.

One sign hangs on Dietrich’s wall facing a chair clients most likely sit in when they meet with her. It says “You are loved ... always.”

Pointing to that sign, Dietrich, filling with emotion, said, are some of the words that helped her find the light again.

“If you don’t feel loved, you are loved,” she said. “You are worth something.”