Heartbroken Mother Gives up Her Home to Pay For Son's Rehab — Story of the Day

A mother discovers that her son has become addicted to gambling and vows to do anything she can to save him.

The first moment Sharon Grover held her son in her arms she knew that she would do anything, even give up her own life for this tiny scrap of humanity blinking up at her with absolute trust.

Sharon raised Steven with great care and lavished on him all her love and tenderness. But though we plow and tend the fields, we can't always foresee what pestilence may invade the crop. When Steven was 25, Sharon discovered her beloved son was flawed.

It all started when Sharon received a phone call from her credit card company telling her her card had been maxed out in Las Vegas. She was stunned. As far as she knew, her credit card was in the drawer of her bedside table. She never used it!

Then she remembered that Steven had been in the house just a few days ago. Could he have taken her credit card? Sharon couldn't believe it. What had Steven been doing in Las Vegas?

Sharon picked up the phone and called Steven at work. The receptionist told her Steven wasn't in, then hesitated. "Look, Mrs. Grover, let me put you through to Mr. Kerring."

Mr. Kerring was Steven's boss, a man who had been mentoring her son for the past three years, and who deposited in Steven all his trust. But Mr. Kerring had bad news for Sharon.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I fired Steven a week ago," Mr. Kerring explained. "I had to, he has embezzled over $200,000 and I've given him two weeks to replace the money or I go to the police."

Sharon gasped. "EMBEZZLED? My boy? But why? You pay him a good salary..."

Mr. Kerring's voice was sad. "You don't know? Steven is a gambler, and now he's out of control. He's facing jail time and I can't help him. I have to answer to my partners."

Sharon hung up the phone. She was devastated. Her beautiful, sweet boy had not only stolen from her, but he'd also embezzled from his company, and now he might have to go to jail.

After making a few phone calls, Sharon got into her car and drove to Steven's apartment. She rang the doorbell and waited an eternity until he opened the door. He looked terrible.

He was unshaved, and he had dark circles under his eyes. "Mom!" he cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I know everything, Steven," Sharon told him crisply. "The embezzlement, you stealing my credit cards, the gambling..."

Before her eyes, Steven crumpled. Tears filled his eyes, his mouth trembled. "Oh mom," he whispered brokenly. "I didn't want you to know, I didn't want you to see what a failure I am."

"Well, I think the time for self-pity is long past," Sharon said. "It's time to face your problem."

"Mom, it started when we went to that conference in Las Vegas last year," Steven confessed. "I played roulette and it was so exciting! I won, and it was the best feeling I'd ever experienced. I kept playing, and sometimes I lost..."

"Mostly you lost," Sharon said quietly. "Isn't that right?"

Steven nodded miserably. "Yes, but I was so sure my luck was going to change..."

"You need help Steven," Sharon said. "And I'm going to make sure you get it, but you need to want to give it up."

"I can't," Steven cried. "I have to win $200,000 to pay back Mr. Kerring or I go to jail! I HAVE to play..."

The most precious gift anyone can receive is a second chance.

"No," Sharon said. "I'm taking you to rehab now."

Steven was furious, but he ended up yielding to Sharon. He thought he'd easily escape from any facility she placed him in, but he was wrong. He looked around the walls of New Beginnings and knew he was trapped.

"I hate you!" he screamed at Sharon. "I never want to see you again!"

Sharon faced him down with tears in his eyes. "Being a mother is not a popularity contest, and sometimes when we are doing a good job, our children hate us. But it's OK."

For the first few weeks, Steven raged against his mother, but then slowly he started following the program, and he realized that he'd lost control of his life.

By the time he left three months later, Steven knew he had an addiction to fight for the rest of his life. He also knew that he owed his mother an apology.

He headed for his mother's house, but when the door opened, a strange woman was standing there. Steven said, "Is Mrs. Grover in? Please tell her her son is here."

"Mrs. Grover?" asked the woman, "You mean the previous owner? She's gone, but I have her forwarding address."

The address led Steven to a decrepit apartment building in a seedy part of town, and this time when he rang the doorbell, it was Sharon who opened the door. "Mom," Steven cried. "What are you doing living in this dump? Why did you sell the house?"

Sharon held out her arms and hugged Steven. "Oh my baby, don't you know I'd do anything for you?" she said. "I sold the house and cashed out my pension so I could pay Mr. Kerring back, and pay for rehab.

"Now you have a chance at a new beginning."

"You shouldn't have done that, mom," said Steven, crying like a baby. "I don't deserve it!"

Sharon just smiled. "A mother will do anything to save her child, even give up her own life. All I gave up was possessions. You're worth it!"

What can we learn from this story?

• A mother will make any sacrifice for her children. Sharon gave up her home and financial security so she could save her son from his addiction.
• The most precious gift anyone can receive is a second chance. Steven got a chance at treatment and was saved from prison by his mother's sacrifice.

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