No Longer Bound Helps Man Succeed With Marathon Dream

CUMMING, GA — Jon Haley arrive at No Longer Bound in October 2019, out of shape and in a detox state.

He never went anywhere without two inhalers, albuterol and Symbicort.

“Without my inhalers, I felt like a kid too far out in a swimming pool without a life raft," he said. "I never went anywhere without them. I could hardly walk down the stairs without stopping to breathe.”

As soon as he walked in to his office, his coworkers knew it was him due to his loud breathing.
His inhaler was a lifeline, but so were drugs. If his prescription wasn’t valid at the time,
he would lie and use his friend’s inhaler prescription just to ensure he could get one. He
knew that if he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t get high. He would stop by the pharmacy
before or on the way to get drugs.

His ability to breathe on his own was getting so difficult that he consistently had to get breathing treatments in the emergency room, take Prednisone every day for his lungs, and receive steroid injections – all just to breathe normally.

Before coming to No Longer Bound, he found himself living in his car. He’d park overnight in Kroger parking lots. Looking out the window, he saw early morning joggers, telling himself that running was something he would never do again. If he could barely walk downstairs, how could he ever go for a run?

The only thing motivating him to stay alive was to make the walk from his car to the bathroom inside to shoot cocaine and heroin. Sometimes that walk was physically impossible due to the deteriorating state of his lungs. If he did make it to the bathroom, he feared looking in the mirror to see the man he had become.

“I was sure I had done permanent damage to my lungs," Haley said. "Doctors diagnosed me with adult asthma, so exercise of any kind was out of the question, both physically and mentally."

When he finally arrived at No Longer Bound on Oct. 28, 2019, he felt broken in every sense of the word. After about six months, he left the program and started using again for a week until he returned in May 2020 to give himself and the program another chance. He realized this was his last chance at life.

Haley started running with his fellow No Longer Bound brothers not only to lose weight, but to help with stress.

“I ran a little bit every day, eventually working my way up to two runs a day, quickly realizing how much better I felt,” he said.

This physical change stirred up a mental change as well. His refreshed mental state allowed him “to be a better son to my parents and brother to the fellow residents at No Longer Bound.” Running helped him focus on learning and trying new things while getting to the root of his addiction.

Fast-forward to six months from hitting the “reset” button at No Longer Bound, and Haley is able to run a full marathon with his brothers on Saturday in Roswell. Not only has he lost 50 pounds since returning to the program, but he has also gained a new love for running that he will continue to do once he graduates.

“No Longer Bound has provided an environment that I could grow and get healthy again thanks to the counselors, brotherhood, and reconciliation with family," he said.

Haley is set to graduate from No Longer Bound in May. He has been a member of the volunteer relations and development team, all while improving his physical, mental, and spiritual health.