Teens Kick Drinking Habit at Sobriety High

March 1, 2007 — -- Seventeen-year-old Carolyn Burke is excited about her senior prom. Reaching into her closet, she shows off her dress -- a white, floor-length number with rhinestone trim to be worn with a pair of sparkly silver sandals.

"I can't walk in these heels," she admitted with a smile.

Unlike most teenagers, her prom date isn't nearly as important as the date she keeps displayed on her cell phone. Flipping the phone open, she said, "I've been sober three years, one month and 18 days."

For Burke, it has been a difficult journey.

Her parents show photos of the smiling infant they adopted from South America and describe a happy child who grew up too fast. Burke provides the details.

"I started drinking and using when I was 12 and sneaking out when I was 13," she said.

But that was just the start.

"I vandalized, I stole and I had sex. I did all this stupid stuff I can't believe I did," she explained.

Sandy and George Burke watched helplessly as their young daughter spiraled out of control.

One of the darkest moments took place on a night when Burke was staying at a friend's house. She had taken a near-lethal mix of Vicodin and vodka and was rushed to the hospital where doctors pumped her stomach to keep her alive. Her father met her in the emergency room.

"I saw her lying in bed with charcoal around her mouth. The doctor said, 'We're doing all these tests to find out what she was using, and Carolyn was totally out of it,'" he said. "This is not what I thought being a parent was going to be all about."

Burke's mother added, "It was probably one of the most terrifying experiences in my life.

"The pain and the anxiety about what is she doing? Where is she going with her life? How is this going to turn out? How can I fix this? How can we change this? It was horrendous."

The next few years would be an emotional roller coaster ride for Burke and her family as she faced an arrest for a stolen car and two trips to rehab. When she was released from treatment, Burke's parents decided to send her to Sobriety High -- one of a growing number of schools in Minnesota designed as safe havens for recovering addicts.