How Meth Changed An Old Friend Into A Zombie

I dated a girl in 1999 and she was one of the sweetest and cutest people I have ever come across. She smoked weed back then and drank a few drinks here and there, but she was really not into any harder drugs. Over the years we lost contact and at that time her life took a stunning direction.

A couple of years ago we reconnected on MySpace and she was a bit different from the way she used to be. I chalked it up to progression in age, but it was something a lot worse. Since we were not close, I did not feel comfortable asking her what was wrong. Fast forward to 2013 for a moment. She left a status telling everyone that she had a stroke and that she was making a pretty good recovery.

I only know a few people who have had a stroke and they were both reasonably older than her, but I figured there was an underlying health issue I knew nothing about. A few weeks ago, everything started to make all of the sense in the world.

I saw her while I was on my way to the bus stop and she looked absolutely terrible. Her hair was very stringy and her skin had marks all over it. While she dressed the same as before, her general demeanor was very different. I talk to a mutual friend about my encounter with her and I was told that she has been using meth. Apparently she has lost her marriage and job as a result of the drugs and her life is spirally downward.

A part of me feels terrible because I hate to see a life wasted and ravaged by drugs, but I don't feel close enough to her to reach out. All I can do is hope and pray that she somehow sees the error of her drug-filled ways and she goes and gets help immediately.