Meet Tracey Nusbaum an addiction recovery warrior

Tracey was introduced to drugs at the age of 12 when her older brother asked her if she “wanted to go to the park and smoke weed.”

She went with him, and that started her journey into addiction. She used marijuana off and on to the age of 15 when she was introduced to cocaine. She “did it once and didn’t like it,” but stated, “I never forgot it.” She started alcohol use around the age of 16.

She began attending “kegs and parties,” usually drinking on the weekends. Tracey went to live on her own at 18 and stated, “I was free.” Tracey says she was raised in a very “religious but alcoholic home.” She moved to Cody, got a job, and her co-workers introduced her to methamphetamine. She was hooked.

She stated, “I realized I liked going really fast. I liked the hyperness of it.” She stated, “it became a very expensive habit,” so she started “running large quantities across the State line.” She continued that until the age of 26 when she found out she was pregnant. She stated, “I told my drug dealer I was done.”

Tracey stayed clean for two years, but once she stopped nursing her baby, she decided “why not” and started her drug use again. She became pregnant again three more times over the years and repeated the same pattern of stopping her use for two years and then starting again. Her alcohol use increased and she says, “it became my best friend.”

Tracey was married at the time and said, “we started dealing drugs and using daily”. She experienced some medical issues resulting in multiple surgeries and was prescribed 300 mg of Oxycodone. Tracey abused it and said, “When I couldn’t remember what happened the prior day I stopped taking them.” With Opiates gone Tracey said, “I went back to meth and drinking.”

In 2014, she was arrested for a felony of selling a controlled substance. She was put on Intensive Supervised Probation. When she was 40 years old, her teenage daughter died of a seizure disorder spiraling Tracey to using “every day 24 hours a day.” She went to Colorado for the funeral and “never returned.” She was caught and received an absconding charge. While sitting in Court, she told the judge to “put me in prison.” She says, “I asked him so I could get my life straight.”

Tracey served 16 months. While in prison she participated in a lot of treatment classes and vocational training. She received early release with the stipulation that, “ I did Intensive Outpatient Treatment, five years probation, and a review hearing every 90 days with the judge. I thought that would keep me accountable and on the straight and narrow, and it has.”

Tracey says, “Recovery has given me a new life and new experiences and now because of my recovery, I’m helping people every day.”

Tracey currently works as a Mental Health Technician at the Lighthouse here in town. She facilitates educational groups and helps with daily living skills. She says, “I love my job and through my past life experiences I can relate to the clients. I look forward to going to work every day.”

Tracey has a quote she lives by, “Believe in yourself, never give up, smile always, laugh often, and you got this. I read it all the time.”

Tracey’s biggest regret is her “children growing up in an addicted home”. But to that, Tracey says, “Now I can only lead by example.” And, she definitely is.

Recovery is Possible!