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Samantha Hayes reportingGovernor Huntsman calls meth a social health problem and has formed a task force to examine the problem. Here's a look at what we are up against, with an intimate look at one woman's struggle.
Katie Hegsted was a statistic, part of the growing population of mothers addicted to meth. If she sticks with recovery-- this is the second time-- she'll be part of a much more select group, of survivors.
One day Katie Hegsted may tell her children her own story. Right now, she's not quite sure how it will end.
Katie Hegsted/ Recovering from meth addiction: "I still have my cravings Just one time. But I know where it would lead me. I know it's going to lead me to lose my family and kids."
She knows, because it almost happened.
Katie: "Almost lost my kids until my family came to me saying, 'You don't have a home. Your children don't have a home. It's unsafe for your children. You either go into that program or you lose us and you lose your children.'"
She had already given up one child for adoption.
Katie: "That really kind of made me go downhill."
But meth, a super-stimulant drug that was robbing Hegsted of her life, was also helping her get through the day.
Katie: "Meth gave me the energy. Lost the weight. It gave me the energy to deal with all four of my children. Or at least the three I had at the time."
She pawned jewelry and other gifts. She stole from her parents. And then, she started to sell.
Katie: "It's still hard to look at the fact of where I've been, and I could still go there very easily."
She recently completed five and a half months of therapy. Four times a week she attends a night program.
Katie: "If I can help anybody, anybody. If I can touch just one person, that would make me feel so much better."
Katie Hegsted is living with her family while she completes therapy, and says nothing is better than being sober again. But for Hegsted--just 28 year old-- it's been a nearly 13-year battle.
