Fitness instructor hopes his recovery story will inspire others
NEWTON -- Four years ago, an athletic director overdosed on the job. Now, Billy Gaine is sharing his recovery story in hoping of helping someone else.
"I developed this substance abuse problem. It's a disease," said Gaine. For six years, he was addicted to opioids.
Before his fitness career, Gaine was the athletic director at Hopedale High School. In 2018, he overdosed at school in his office.
"Everyone was in the building that day, so a lot of people were there," Gaine recalled. "Lowest point, we call that the gift of desperation, our rock bottom in the recovery world."
For Gaine, rock bottom was also one of his greatest blessings: the secret was out, and through months of rehab, he was able to get the help he needed.
"You got to do the work and you have to be humble," Gaine said.
Seeing other addicts struggle, like those on Mass & Cass, reminds Gaine every day of how far he's come and how much he wants to help.
Outside Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2,290 purple flags were placed in memory of those who lost their lives to opioids in Massachusetts this year. It's an 8.8% increase from 2020.
"There are a lot of reasons but the most predominately its fentanyl which I am sure a lot of people have heard about but it's so potent that it's now being mixed in with other street drugs that people use," said Dr. Scott Weiner, an emergency physician and the executive director of the opioid and pain innovation program at Brigham.
He said Mass and Cass is "the worse we've ever seen it."
Gaine has been sober now for four years. He knows his road to recovery and a much healthier lifestyle has not been an easy one. But he hopes his story will inspire others who are going through a similar addiction and show that there is hope.
"My message is not only can we recover and it's taken a long time but we can thrive too, we can take it to the next level."
He feels his vulnerability is his greatest strength.
"By me talking about this thing that I've overcome and knowing that its inspiring one or two people in this class or something, who aren't necessarily dealing with substance abuse but is trying to overcome depression...that's the best feeling to me," said Gaine.
