Patrick Kennedy with two of his kids.Photo: Amy Kennedy/Twitter
Patrick Kennedyis marking a major milestone in his journey from addiction as he celebrates 11 years of sobriety.
Kennedy, 54, the son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and a former representative for Rhode Island, went sober in 2011 after years of addictions to alcohol and prescription pain medications.
“Today marks 11 years sober for@PJK4brainhealth,” hiswife, Amy Kennedy, wrote on Twitter. “His commitment to sobriety inspires our family, and fills our lives with joy and love.”
“Patrick, I am so proud of you,” she continued. “Thank you to all his fellows who offer support every day.#OneDayAtATime”
Patrick,who is now an advocate for mental healthand founded One Mind, a research organization focused on brain diseases, has said that he was treated for cocaine use as a teenager and was a heavy drinker. In 2006, while still a congressman,he crashed his car into a security barriernear the Capitol and entered rehab for an addiction to prescription pain medication, admitting in a statement, “I know I need help.”
He entered a second rehab treatment in 2009, and two years later fully committed to sobriety and left Congress.
“My father went on in silent desperation for much of his life, self-medicating and unwittingly passing his unprocessed trauma onto my sister, brother and me.”
RELATED VIDEO: JFK’s Last Surviving Sibling, Former Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, Dies at 92
After the car crash and Ted’s death in 2009, the father of five committed to sobriety and now manages his addictions and mental illnesses with regular swims, daily 12-step meetings and medication for his bipolar disorder.
“I am an addict. I’ll always be an addict. But I’m an addict in recovery,” he told host Lesley Stahl at the time. “I count my days. It’s one day at a time.”
source: people.com
