The best phone call ever?

My wife and I were having dinner with some friends at their house last night when my wife's cell phone rang. Because our son's therapist had told us that our son would probably call us this weekend, my wife excused herself to check her phone. When I heard her answer the call, then say, "It's great to hear your voice," I knew it was our son.

I stayed with our friends, sitting in the family room, while my wife talked to our son. The whole time I was sitting there, I was trying to continue carrying on a conversation with our friends while thoughts about my son and the phone call going on in the other room raced through my head. It was an anxious few minutes, for sure.

Eventually, my wife returned to the family room and handed her phone over to me. In the few seconds that elapsed between the time I took the phone from my wife and the time I said "Hello" to my son, I was even more anxious. I just didn't know what to expect to hear on the other end of the line.

When I finally started talking to my son, I was shocked. His voice sounded so different. He sounded refreshed and like a totally different person. We talked for several minutes and he told me several things that made me feel so hopeful:

• He's doing well.


• He's completely off the Suboxone he had been taking for nearly 3 years.


• He really likes his therapist.


• The treatment facility is really nice.


• And, finally... He feels "normal."

That last one is a big one, for sure. It's something I haven't heard my son say in years. And it was so great to hear it.

My son and I wrapped up our phone call and my wife and I continued with our rare night out. There was no doubt we were feeling pretty good about things at that point.

Then, about halfway through dinner, I realized something that made me feel even better: At no point during the conversation with my son did he say anything negative. There was no "I hate this place" or "Get me out of here" or "I want to come home." This was the first "first phone call" from any rehab or hospital or three-quarter house my son has been in that didn't include him saying one of those things. He was totally positive throughout the entire call.

It was tough not hearing our son's voice for 11 days. But the phone call we got from him last night was well worth the wait. It was so amazing to hear him sound as good as he did. He really did sound like a totally different person. I know that might sound ridiculous, but it's the only way I can describe what I heard.

Obviously, my son is not "cured." In fact, he has a long way to go in his recovery, which will continue for the rest of his life. But the phone call from him last night was so incredibly uplifting. And it reassured my wife and I that he's in a good place, safe, clean and sober, and getting the help he needs.

That phone call last night? It might just be the best phone call I've ever gotten.