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Recovery is Possible: The Story of Danny Ellerd
Hope is Alive
Impact Stories
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Hope is Alive
Recovery is Possible: The Story of Danny Ellerd
“Every day, driving in Oklahoma City, you see those people on the street with their signs out. I remember the time when I pulled up, and it was my son that was there.” —Mark Ellerd, Danny Ellerd’s father
After 15 years in addiction, years of homelessness, multiple overdoses, and a moment when his family didn’t know if he would live through the night, Danny’s life changed forever when he walked through the doors of Hope is Alive.
With nothing but a Walmart sack of clothes, he arrived straight from the hospital — a place he landed only because he had been declared too sick for jail. When officers found him under an I-40 overpass, weighing just 92 pounds, they planned to book him on outstanding warrants. But after seeing the condition he was in, Danny was rushed to the ER, where doctors worked to save not only his life, but also his hand, ravaged by infection from IV heroin use.
“I wasn’t in control of myself. The drugs controlled me. I had become a completely hollow, empty person.” —Danny Ellerd
What happened next is nothing short of a miracle. Watch the video above to listen to Danny and Mark talk about the brutal reality of addiction — and the undeniable power of hope that transformed both of their lives.
