It was a terrifying thought that Kristina Kuzmic had that she may lose her son to drugs and despair.
After witnessing her “full-of-life” kid with the considerable laugh gradually withdraw from a life he had previously enjoyed, Kuzmic, an author, comedian, and content producer, watched the slow-motion demise for over a year.
When Luka was fifteen years old, he started stealing to fund his addiction to marijuana and opioids, and he was also depressed and contemplating suicide.
After she took the money he was going to use to buy drugs one night in April 2019, Luka lost it and smashed a glass against the wall. He then menacingly turned toward his stepfather. Kristina begged her son to calm down. He spat in his mother’s face and called her a b***h.
Kristina made the tough decision to contact law enforcement. That was the most challenging part, adding that it was clear to her that she couldn’t help him.
She kept reminding herself that these episodes were an attempt to communicate a want or a need.
Kristina, who shot to fame in 2011 after Oprah chose her as a reality competition winner and who has since amassed 4 million followers on social media, kept entertaining crowds with parenting humor on her Hope and Humor tour even as she struggled to recover from her personal crisis.
Despite her own needs, Kristina, 45, felt a calling to be there for others, particularly her son.
Luka, who is now 20 years old, is doing better today after seeing seven doctors and five therapists over nearly six years. He co-wrote the book “I Can Fix This” with his mother.
In the book’s conclusion, Luka says that life gets better if you put in the work. At first, you may not see the benefits, but eventually, they do come.
