Brantford Dad's 10 Years Sober After Near-Death Warning

The sky looked impossibly blue and the trees glowed green as Shawn Watson left church that day, colors so vivid he felt like he was seeing them for the first time in years. Just 24 hours earlier, the 27-year-old had been in the hospital, his body ravaged from nearly a decade of daily drug and alcohol abuse.

Watson's journey into addiction started in high school when he ignored family warnings about alcoholism and began drinking and smoking marijuana. By 16, he was using every day.

When his best friend died by suicide, Watson's world shattered. He didn't know how to process the grief, so he turned to harder substances like cocaine and ecstasy to numb the pain.

Despite his weekend partying that stretched from Thursday through Sunday, Watson played high school basketball until his heart couldn't take it anymore. At just 18, a doctor warned him the hard drugs were overworking his heart and he risked a heart attack.

He stopped briefly, then fell back into the cycle. His life spiraled downward for nearly another decade after leaving basketball and high school behind.

Then came the wake-up call no one should hear. At 27, a doctor told Watson he wouldn't see his 28th birthday.

Watson reached out to a friend and admitted he was lost and didn't want to live that way anymore. The friend connected him with someone from Freedom House, a recovery center, who had a similar story.

The day after leaving the hospital, Watson walked into a church and sat in the back. As worship music played, he cried through the entire service, feeling something shift inside him.

Why This Inspires

Watson admitted himself to Rosewood House in Brantford and threw himself into recovery. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous, got involved with the church, and started working on his fitness.

Eventually, he returned to basketball, the game he loved, playing in two men's leagues. At church, he met Sarah, who would become his wife.

Now 37 and a decade sober, Watson and Sarah have three sons: Lachlan, 5, Caden, 4, and Malachi, 2. They're expecting their fourth child in April.

Watson recently shared his recovery story with Kickback, a Brant-based initiative marking its 10th anniversary this year. The program shines a light on mental health and addiction, topics often wrapped in stigma and silence.

Co-founded by Ben Strasser and presented by the Canadian Mental Health Association Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk, the event features stories of resilience and recovery. The stories air January 19 on Rogers TV from 1 to 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. to midnight.

The program covers everything from addiction and recovery to homelessness, grief, and youth mental health, proving that second chances are real and recovery is possible.