Arrested in High School in Texas, Addicted in College, Lost My Shot at Basketball — But I’m 6 Years Sober Today, We Do Recover
A journey from high school arrests to college addiction and recovery.
September 2, 2026
This article was last updated by Alisha Shrestha on September 2, 2026
September marks Recovery Month, and Heather McDonald is proud to share that she is six years and two months clean and sober. We do recover.
Like many young adults, Heather’s began with smoking weed and drinking alcohol.
In high school, she faced her first major setback: an arrest in Texas.
At the time, she feared her dreams of playing college basketball were over.
Somehow, she still made it to a Division II school and started strong on the court.
But life had other plans. Heather experienced her first two manic episodes, which led to hospitalization and eventually being sent home from college.
Her basketball dreams had, in fact, been crushed. She returned to old habits—smoking and drinking—and soon discovered cocaine at a party.
One experience was all it took; she was hooked.
Being around dangerous people brought its own trauma. Heather emphasizes: assault is never the victim’s fault.
Being intoxicated does not make anyone’s actions acceptable.
Despite the warning signs, she continued down a dark path with cocaine, acid, alcohol, and weed, which led to two more arrests.
Finally, Heather sought help for hard drugs. She began to recover, but her mental illness persisted.
She kept drinking, blacking out at night, and waking up needing multiple shots just to function.
A host of health problems—including the life-threatening alcoholic ketoacidosis—forced her to face the reality: she had a serious problem.
With the support of a caring therapist, Dr. Hahn, Heather embarked on the road to recovery.
After multiple 72-hour holds, detox programs, and residential care, she found Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA).
She got a sponsor and built a much-needed support network. After repeated relapses, she finally committed on June 9, 2019.
The journey has been intense, but Heather is grateful to be alive, healthy, and happy.
Recovery is possible, and support is out there—from professionals, AA/NA communities, family, and friends.
If anyone is struggling, Heather encourages them to reach out. We do, in fact, recover.
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