HAMILTON, Ohio — Sam Mees lights a cigarette. A few minutes ago, she took a drug test. Every day when she wakes up, there’s a chance she might be required to take another one.

It’s all part of a long journey to keep her nursing license after she lost almost everything to addiction. That's why she’s on her way to see her dad.

“He drove me to literally every appointment, every drug screen, every court date,” Mees said. “He’s a big part of my recovery.”

Recovery that meant digging her way out of felony criminal charges for leading police on a high-speed pursuit in 2020.

“It’s an everyday thing," Mees said. "I have to plan my life around recovery. I have to.”

She abused drugs at 12. Finally treating PTSD helped her become a nurse again

Mees has been sober for more than three years now. B

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