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Key Takeaways
- Addiction is progressive - "YET" is the most dangerous word (You're Eligible Too)
- Family connections and privilege can't stop consequences when addiction takes over
- Self-deception keeps you sick: "It's never my fault" becomes the anthem
- White knuckling without a program almost guarantees relapse
- Rock bottom is wherever you stop digging - but some keep going deeper
- All he had to do was be clean to have shelter, but addiction made that impossible
The Hospital Emergency That Changed Nothing
Part 2 picks up exactly where we left off - with physicians' emergency calls going nowhere while Zach slept through his hospital operator shift.
"I was the operator for the entire hospital. When a physician calls in and he's like, hey, I'm a neurosurgeon, I got to talk with this neuro doc... Those calls would literally go nowhere."
A coworker covered as best he could and contacted the boss. But in Zach's mind, twisted by addiction logic: "In typical Zach fashion, it can never be my fault. It's everyone else's fault for my problems."
The real problem wasn't the kid who "ratted him out." Zach showed up to work the next day "pretty much so intoxicated from the night before," arguing with everyone. His boss walked in: "You absolutely reek of booze. You gotta get the heck out of here."
Ultimatum time: resign or be fired. The job his mother had arranged, the free college tuition, the path to a stable future - gone.
The Milk Test for Addiction
Zach offers a simple framework for recognizing addiction: "People often ask, hey, how do I know if I have a problem? I kind of tell people only you are able to truly identify if you have a problem."
But here's the test: Does it affect your relationships with friends, family, work, yourself, or your spirituality?
"I love an ice cold glass of milk, but I've never sat there and thought, man, I might be drinking a little bit too much milk. I'm missing work because I'm up all night drinking milk."
When something starts affecting the things that matter long-term - your ability to earn, your relationships, your relationship with yourself - that's the signal.
Chris's Sidebar: Self-Hatred and Good Men
Chris interjects with his own addiction root: "When it came down to the things that I was addicted to, it came down to self-hatred. I could not stand the way that I was and I felt that I needed to do something to be accepted, to feel good about myself, to feel comfortable in my own skin."
The cycle: Do the thing to feel better → Feel worse → Do more of the thing → Feel even worse.
His solution came through reading the Bible and "finding a good group of men that I could spend a lot of time with, and they could get to know me over years. That's been the best thing."
The SWAT Family Irony
Here's where the story takes a turn toward dark irony. Zach's father? Police and SWAT for almost 30 years. His uncles? All in similar fields across the state.
"I guess you could say some of that kind of helped in a way continue on my disease as far as I probably didn't have as many consequences as I should have."
The rationalizations got creative. Heroin's bad, but leftover pain medicine from surgery? That's different. Meth is terrible, but Adderall for a test or to party longer? That's just being smart.
His drug of choice became benzodiazepines (Xanax, Ativan) mixed with alcohol: "It's almost kind of like a pill form of alcohol." Though prescribed, he took them in excess, mixing them to combat his growing tolerance. What used to take a couple drinks now required drinking all day long.
The Mariachi Night That Ended Everything
Fresh out of EMT school, Zach and classmates went to celebrate with margaritas. The night turned into "something literally out of The Hangover movie."
"We ended up becoming friends with the Mariachi people and the waiters at the Mexican restaurant. We went back to their house for a house party."
An altercation between his classmates and the restaurant crew led Zach to make a decision that would change everything: drive home drunk at 3 AM in his drag strip car with straight pipes through a residential neighborhood.
The cop who pulled him over wore a specific SWAT insignia. Zach recognized it immediately - it was the team his uncle ran.
"I'm like, cha-ching, I got this in the bag."
The conversation started friendly. The officer was "the nicest guy ever" when Zach name-dropped his uncle. Then: "He goes and he rips my butt out of the car and he writes me for everything under the sun."
DUI, underage possession, tinted windows, loud exhaust - everything. The family connection that Zach thought would save him became irrelevant when faced with a good cop doing his job.
The Ultimatum and First Rehab
Parents drew the line: "You can either go and check yourself into rehab or you are no longer welcome in this house."
Zach went reluctantly, close-minded, convinced he didn't have a problem. Other patients reinforced his denial: "You're just a young kid drinking, your parents, they're just overreacting."
But slowly, a seed was planted. He started relating to the stories. The "YETs" became clear - You're Eligible Too:
- "This guy is homeless. I haven't been homeless."
- "This guy's doing this. I haven't done this."
"If you have an addiction, it's a progressive disease and you're going to get there. And sure enough, I did."
White Knuckling to Relapse
Zach got 30 days sober after rehab but ignored the program's advice: get a sponsor, work the 12 steps, go to meetings. "I think I went to a couple meetings, but I didn't do any of that. And so inevitably I just went back out again."
His parents kicked him out. His uncle in "the hood of Cleveland" took him in. Instead of gratitude, Zach felt resentment: "I don't like it here. I wanna go and numb that feeling of being uncomfortable."
The Final Descent
The progression accelerated:
- Drinking went from every night to all day long
- Drinking before work
- Drinking at work
- "I had to shake so bad that I couldn't even put the can to my mouth"
His uncle kicked him out too. Zach became homeless on the streets of Cleveland.
The most heartbreaking detail: "All I had to do to have a place to stay was be clean."
The Progressive Nature of Addiction
This episode demonstrates addiction's relentless progression. Each consequence that should have been a wake-up call became just another thing to blame on others:
- Lost the hospital job → Blamed the coworker
- Got arrested by uncle's SWAT team → Blamed the officer
- Parents kicked out → Their overreaction
- Uncle kicked out → Didn't like it there anyway
Each living situation got progressively worse:
- Parents' comfortable home
- Uncle's house in rough neighborhood
- Homeless on the streets
Each drinking pattern escalated:
- Three days a week in college
- Every night at parents' house
- All day at uncle's house
- Shaking too badly to drink on the streets
The Question That Haunts
Part 2 ends with Chris's question: "What is going to finally turn on the lights for him and give him the ability to crawl out of this hole?"
We know from Part 1 that Zach now has 10 years of sobriety. We know he made it out. But at this point in his story, homeless and shaking on Cleveland's streets, what could possibly break through the denial and self-deception?
Lessons for Today
For those struggling: Zach's story shows that family connections, good jobs, education, and opportunities can't overcome addiction without addressing the root problem. The disease is progressive - those "YETs" will become reality.
For families: Setting boundaries (rehab or leave) is sometimes the most loving thing you can do. Enabling doesn't help; it delays the inevitable bottom.
For everyone: Addiction doesn't discriminate. Middle-upper class upbringing, father in SWAT, uncle running the team, EMT certification - none of it provided immunity.
The Power of "Yet"
Perhaps the most powerful concept Zach shares is about "YETs" in addiction. When you're comparing yourself to others, thinking "I haven't done that," remember it's often just "yet."
- Haven't lost a job yet
- Haven't been arrested yet
- Haven't been homeless yet
- Haven't lost family yet
The progression is patient but relentless.
Chris's Truth About Self-Hatred
Chris's interjection about self-hatred resonates deeply. Many addictions stem from an inability to be comfortable in your own skin. The substance or behavior becomes the solution to an internal problem - until it becomes a bigger problem than what it was solving.
His solution - finding good men who knew him over years - points to the importance of authentic community in recovery.
What's Coming in Part 3
We're left at rock bottom: homeless, shaking, unable to even physically drink despite desperate need. All Zach needed for shelter was sobriety, but addiction made that one simple thing impossible.
Part 3 will reveal what finally broke through. After everything - job loss, arrest, rehab, homelessness - what could possibly turn on the lights?
We know he makes it. November 5, 2015 becomes his sobriety date. But how does someone go from shaking on the streets to 10 years clean?
Final Thoughts
This episode strips away any romantic notions about functional addiction. The progression from college party culture to street homelessness happened despite every advantage: loving parents, family in law enforcement, education, job opportunities.
The most chilling line: "All I had to do to have a place to stay was be clean."
Sometimes the simplest things become impossible when addiction has control. But as Part 3 will show, impossible doesn't mean permanent.
For those seeing themselves in Zach's story, remember: he's 10 years sober now. Rock bottom became a foundation to build on. The same lights that finally turned on for him are available to anyone ready to stop digging.
