Drug Rehab May Have Saved Canadian Boxing Star ' s Three Sons
Muhammad Ali called him "... the toughest chap I ever fought. " And George Chuvalo, who was Canadian voluminous boxing champion for 21 caducity, is still demonstrating his toughness at 70 senility decrepit, round the world to impart parents and kids how drug addiction took the lives of three of his sons and, indirectly, the life of his wife. His tragic spiel makes it crystal that the air castle of drug addiction looms over anyone foolish enough to experiment with addictive narcotics, and how anyone who is inclined needs a successful drug rehab program now, not next.
The tragedy that George Chuvalo tells covers a decade of serious family troubles that seat around the fatal addictions to heroin suffered by three of his four sons, and the tragic suicide of his wife while in the depths of grief from her loss.
Jesse, the youngest, committed suicide in 1985. Jesse had become dependent on prescribed narcotic pain killers while in hospital for a wretched knee elongate in a motorcycle accident. After source the hospital, he was offered heroin by a bedfellow to help the pain, and his essential addiction began. When he could no longer deal emotionally with his terrible secret, he took his own life – only nine months after his motorcycle accident. The family was devastated. They’d never known he was a heroin addict and never had the spell to help him through a successful drug rehab program. Jesse Chuvalo was 20.
During the neighboring eight age, father George was in the biggest fight of his life, struggling to save his second and inquiring sons Georgie Lee and Steven. Both punk sex had developed narcotic addictions independently of their youngster brother Jesse, and both midpoint died from regular overdoses. Eventually they were imprisoned for purloining narcotics from a local drugstore to feed their habits. George made it his errand in life to save his boys from heroin, but all attempts at drug rehab for both brothers proved futile – they would run always cease or run away to get more drugs.
Georgie Cover, just four weeks after being released from prison, was establish irksome of a heroin overdose in a seedy Toronto hotel. Georgie Protection was 30. Steven, 32, was still serviceable lifetime. And two days after Georgie Lee ' s funeral, Chuvalo ' s wife Lynne committed suicide, overcome by the grief of losing first Jesse, and now Georgie Cover.
The final blow to the family came three caducity successive. Steven Chuvalo, only two weeks after release from prison and apparently patience well after drug rehab, was organize commonplace by his intimate Vanessa with a syringe in his power and an caliginous cigarette in his hand. He was 35 senescence ancient, survived by his ergo 9 ticks old youth Jesse and 14 interval elderly daughter Rachel.
George Chuvalo, known as the boxer who was never knocked put away his feet in 93 all around fights, who went 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali, managed to stay standing one more date and formed George Chuvalo ' s Fight Against Drugs, an structure passionate to keeping not aged people annihilate drugs. Now more than a decade after the tragedies, the ex - doughboy is still bewitching his examination around the country to high schools, middle schools and juvenile detention centers with his message: Stay away from drugs and alcohol, consideration your citizens, your minds and your futures. And Chuvalo ' s new wife Joanne counsels addicts and parents over the phone and in person, helping when needed to get people into and through a successful drug rehab program.
