For most people, the Decade Challenge is an interesting, sometimes humorous viral trend that encourages them to take a look back at who they were in 2010 while appreciating who they’ve become as they prepare to enter 2020.
Typically, these pictures do little more than highlight the physical changes someone’s gone through — ditched fashion trends, radically altered hairstyles, weight loses and weight gains, etc.
But recovering addict Jason Wickline’s own comparison pictures go even farther and prove that personal change can be much more than just superficial.
For much of his life, the single dad has struggled with addiction and has lost his son Krystian not once but twice to Child Protective Services.
Four years ago, after he was arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine, he had to watch while his son was once again forcibly removed from his care.
“As they were walking Krystian to the car, he turned around to look at me and said, ‘Daddy, I love you and I’ll never forget you,’” the single dad, 41, told TODAY . “He was four and thought he would never see me again.”
That was the moment when Wickline decided he needed to turn his life around for himself and for his son.
The 41 year old had been in and out of jail for the last 15 years of his life. This particular arrest led to him being placed in long-term treatment for 13 months, after which point he was due back in court for sentencing.
RELATED STORIES
“I thought I’d be going away for a long time,” Wickline said. “I was looking at six to 30 years.”
The judge ultimately handed down a sentence of 30-months probation on the condition that he stay sober and find suitable housing.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Eventually, Wickline gained back custody of the now-9-year-old Krystian and the pair live happily together in West Virginia. There, the significantly healthier father regularly attends meetings and volunteers at treatment programs.
Back in July, Wickline shared a series of incredible transformation photos online using the hashtag #CleanChallenge.
The pictures, which were posted on his Facebook page , show a dramatic difference between the man he used to be and who he’s since fought hard to become. He encouraged others to share their own transformation photos using the same hashtag.
In the post, he wrote that the purpose of the photos was to try and “spread hope to those who are still struggling. We DO recover! There is life after dope!”
When he looks at those old photos, he admitted he sees “an empty shell.
“I’m 5-foot-8 and I weighed 120 pounds,” he told TODAY . “I was a dead man.”
“Everything is so different now,” he continued. “I surround myself with positive people and I try to give back whenever I can. I want people to know that this is possibility. If I can do it, anyone can.”
Wickline also revealed that his relationship with Krystian has never been stronger.
“The other day [Krystian] came to me and asked for a PlayStation for Christmas,” he said. “Then he goes, “But if I don’t get one, I still have the best present in the world. You.’”
h/t: TODAY , Facebook | Jason Wickline .
