A missed QB Legacy- Mark Pike's son, Zeke

[Jacketman1]

Awesome article on Zeke and overcoming his struggles.

http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/12/26/zeke-pike-auburn-tigers-louisville-cardinals

 

[collegeballfan]

Thanks for sharing Jacketman. I would not have read this inspiring story otherwise.

 

[Beehive]

Amazing story about this kid! Sounds like he has found his purpose and will help a lot of people.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Amazing story, but addiction never really ends, so I hope he never lets something seemingly small to the rest of us drive him back to it. The daughter of a good friend of mine had a similar history to that of Zeke. She got her life totally turned around, became involved in a ministry for other addicts, got engaged to a minister, and then out of the blue last Fall died of an overdose. Who knows what brought the relapse on....perhaps a perceived stress that might have come with everything suddenly going her way for a change. It was a tragic ending to a tragic story that had turned, at least for a few years, into a story of survival and victory. My prayers are with Zeke.

 

[takethepoints]

Amazing story, but addiction never really ends, so I hope he never lets something seemingly small to the rest of us drive him back to it. The daughter of a good friend of mine had a similar history to that of Zeke. She got her life totally turned around, became involved in a ministry for other addicts, got engaged to a minister, and then out of the blue last Fall died of an overdose. Who knows what brought the relapse on....perhaps a perceived stress that might have come with everything suddenly going her way for a change. It was a tragic ending to a tragic story that had turned, at least for a few years, into a story of survival and victory. My prayers are with Zeke.

Yes. I have had a couple of acquaintances who had life courses like this. I think it comes down to the constant emotional pressure of leaving past experiences behind. As I told one of them, the easiest thing to do in such a fix is to live down to people's expectations. Many of them think you are going to relapse since you were addicted before. Why go through all the hassle of living straight when it seems like nobody thinks you can? Even if you get clean and stay there, there's always the implied surveillance of a community that expects you to fail again.

That can be an awful burden and it's always possible to escape it. Start using again. Like you, I hope Zeke works his way through this successfully. It's a matter of time and persistence.

 

[Gtyellowjackets]

I think there is a 93% recidivism rate for the average rehab clinic (a three week stay). But he stayed 5 months so that has to give him much higher chance at staying clean.