Richard Lucas from St. Augustine, Florida, recently reconnected with Katelyn Vargo.
Katelyn is an addiction counselor who helped Richard start his recovery journey five years ago. At the time, Richard was battling end-stage alcoholism and made a life-changing call to a hotline, where he reached Katelyn. She helped arrange his admission to a treatment center, marking the beginning of his new, sober life.
Richard has been sober for 5 years and is about to graduate from law school. He made a TikTok video about his journey. "One night, I made a call and I reached Katelyn. She somehow got me from Memphis to Oxford Treatment Center in Mississippi, and that would become the first day of my sobriety."
After his story went viral on social media, Lucas learned that Vargo was facing a severe and mysterious illness. The single mother had lost 70 pounds and was struggling to take care of herself and her family. She was losing hope and much like Richard 5 years ago needed to be saved as she could no longer go on without assistance. Richard promoted a fundraiser to support her, helping her secure a new apartment and providing much-needed relief to the woman who helped him turn his life around.
Katelyn says "It's like I saved him, helped save him five years ago," Vargo said. "Five years later he comes around to thank me and then he saves me. The timing was insane."
Vargo says the support came just as she was beginning to lose hope, describing it as the first time she’d ever felt taken care of. Lucas, now sober and studying to become an attorney, travels the country to share his story and offer encouragement to others. "Don't give up,” he says, “Because if you don't give up, the possibilities are endless."