Natasha Leggero believes the world deserves her children — and yours too. Natasha Leggero believes that the world deserves her children — and yours too. Natasha Leggero is not a bad mother. In fact, I would argue she is one of the best moms I have known. But she is also an addict. An addict who has lost her children because of her addiction and a mother who has lost herself. Natasha’s story is one that will stay with me for a long time, but it is a story that also has some lessons for other mothers. Natasha’s story is not unique. It is one that has been repeated countless times, but it will most likely never be repeated again. Here is Natasha’s story…
This is Natasha Leggero’s story. And it begins on June 4th in 2007 with my arrival at the emergency room in my hometown, a small northern New York town called Saranac Lake, after I had been in a head on collision with a truck. I was in the hospital for almost two weeks. I was lucky, and I’m thankful. Natasha Leggero is the mother I lost.
In June of 2007, after suffering a head-on collision with a truck, I was taken to the Albany Medical Center to be diagnosed and evaluated by the neurologist. After a month in the hospital, I returned home with a diagnosis of brain injury and cognitive difficulties. I was unable to retain any of the information I was taught, and the memories I did retain were often fragmented. But I did retain the concept that I needed to keep moving forward.
After a few weeks back at home, I continued to return to the ER. In January of 2008 I returned to the hospital for a fifth visit to the ER because of extreme fatigue and a fever. I had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. During this time I started my recovery process. I attended AA and got clean and sober and had the best of intentions about everything and anything. On the inside, the pain was more than I could bear. The symptoms were constant. I would have a migraine and the pain would kill me. I would feel nauseated and vomit and I would lay awake at night with uncontrollable shudders. I had no sense of humor, and life would begin to seem meaningless. My life would become a living hell, and I’d be forced to leave my home, move to