the ModeraXL Team
A ModeraXL Moment with...
Eric Lapp
Did you see the movie, "Slumdog Millionaire"? How about "The Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith? Powerhouse stories of people rising up from rock bottom often become films that win an Oscar for Best Picture. Wouldn't you enjoy not having to wait to see such a story in the theatre? Wouldn't you love an exclusive sneak preview?
Better yet. Wouldn't it be cool to read an amazing triumph over tragedy before the director even gets the screenplay? You bet it would. So years from now, when this story wins an Oscar for Best Picture, you'll be able to tell your friends you first knew of it way back when.
Prepare your heart for tugging. Prepare your imagination for stretching. Prepare yourself for a dose of reality sometimes difficult to swallow. The powerful story you are about to read bookmarks the birth of ModeraXL. It is rightfully told through the rebirth of Eric Lapp.
Go to Hell. If you were to say that to Eric Lapp, he'd probably laugh and say, "Been there, done that." Sir Winston Churchill once said, "When you're going through Hell, keep going." Be grateful Eric Lapp followed directions.
Is it possible? Could one young man from Denver, Colorado singlehandedly take "Rocky Mountain High" to a new level? You decide.
We start our story with a miracle. Eric Lapp is 33 years old.
"I was adopted at two years old by a wealthy family in the restaurant business," says Eric. "I come from a huge drug and alcohol background. My cousins were into addiction big time. There was such emptiness inside of me. I just knew I would be an addict. I knew that emptiness would need to be filled."
"I was 14 or 15 when I had my first drink. It felt good. I finally felt normal so that just became a pattern for me," admits Eric. "By 16 I started mixing alcohol with cocaine. Immediately it went through everything I had. I was selling everything I could. I was stealing from my family. It was a nightmare, especially the trouble I got into with guns."
"One time, my dad stood bravely outside on the porch while a S.W.A.T. team showed up at our house. By the grace of God I wasn't killed at 17. I was taken to jail and then to a hospital for a quick dry out. I told my family I would stay sober and not get back into drugs, and I meant it," he says. "But a few weeks later I ended up on life support because of a drug overdose. My dad helped save my life. I was two weeks on life support. There in the intensive care unit is where my support began."
Eric Lapp's Long Road to Detox and Recovery
- 14 in-patient drug treatment facilities
- Countless times near death
- 2 times on life support
- 2 "unannounced visits" from S.W.A.T. teams
Eric Lapp recalls, "I stayed sober for a few weeks but started drinking alcohol again. Then came more drug abuse. I got back into selling, manipulating, trying different counseling methods. My lies got deeper and deeper.
Just when I was about to do one month in jail, I sold drugs to an undercover cop. The situation got much worse. The S.W.A.T. team was at our house again. This time they arrested my mom and sister, and came armed with rifles into my room again. My bail was $50,000.
It dragged out in the courts for years. I always got out of trouble. I had a good lawyer. I would go into rehab, and stay sober long enough to get law enforcement to "call off the dogs." Then, I'd return to my addiction. It owned me and each time I relapsed I would quickly be much deeper into it than where I had been before.
I moved to Utah thinking a change of friends might help," says Eric. "But I only got more depressed. I overdosed again, and ended up on life support again for a couple of weeks. My Dad came to rescue me again. He packed up my stuff and moved me back to Denver.
I never seemed to stay sober for more than a month. I violated probation and the judge ripped me because he was tired of my manipulating and causing trouble. He gave me a 4-year sentence in the Department of Corrections in Colorado. Right there my heart sank.
Beating the Systems was Easy for Eric
Eric Lapp didn't see prison. He got into the community corrections program, staying in a halfway house. During the days, he truly worked long and hard at successfully working his father's restaurant business. At night, he began drinking alcohol heavier than ever before. Sad but true, this dangerous drinking binge went undetected despite Eric being tested by breathalyzer on a daily basis. He simply states, "I knew how to beat the testing.
Eric's Daily Drug Menu
Meth
Cocaine
Ritalin
Percocet
Vicodin
Alcohol
Oxycontin
"I was released from the legal system. Aside from the restaurant business, I started making big bucks in real estate, too. I had more money than I knew what do with, but my addiction changed all that. I lost more than $250,000 in cars. Far worse was I lost nearly $4 million in houses I owned. I burned every bridge I could. Eventually, my addiction took it all. I had to borrow money to buy lunch. Still, somehow my Mom and Dad stuck with me," says Eric. (His parents are among the greatest showings of love you've ever associated with adoption, aren't they?)
Destination: City Morgue. Clearly, you see it. His loved ones could see it. Eric Lapp could see it, too. Despite every push toward fatality and every pull toward freedom, the death grip addiction had over him survived. Amazingly, Eric did, too. He was out of control on the fast track to the morgue. Eventually, he reached the final stop again.
"My friend died and I got worse. I started having chest pain like I was dying or having a heart attack. I rushed to the hospital. The doctor told me if I quit doing meth I'd be okay. He flat out told me to quit doing meth or I would die. I left the hospital, got in my car, flipped down the visor and did more meth again." Eric admits, "Later, I was all alone and suicidal. I called the suicide prevention hotline and they talk me through it."
I wrote my eulogy. I had my will. I was afraid to die, but not for the reason you think. I knew if I died, I couldn't get high again. This was a big problem for me! -- Eric Lapp
"I was doing about $400 a day in Meth," says Eric. As I was about to lose my last house, I started having that heart pain again. It was squeezing me so hard one afternoon I laid down to take a nap. It felt like somebody was sitting on me. I vividly remember seeing bright lights, the brightest you've ever seen. It then seemed like it was bringing the light back into me. What was it? Who knows? But, at that moment I said, that's it. I'm going into rehab and I did.
You can't even imagine what the withdrawal was like, or the emotional sadness. Everything becomes so unfamiliar, that's what's so hard about trying to end an addiction."
At the door of the in-patient treatment facility, I ate over $100 worth of Meth, and then it was over. That was the beginning of my sobriety. All thanks to ModeraXL. -- Eric Lapp
Step aside addiction. Meet innovation. New Destination: Life.
Eric recalls proudly, "I'll never forget. It was a Friday night at 10 o'clock. I was given the amino acid formula. I started to feel differently immediately. My cravings were gone right away. There was no emotional crisis. Suddenly I felt like everything was finally going to be okay. I was able to go through withdrawal extremely fast. It went so fast that I was back up and running sober by Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. Within those two and a half days I was about 80% normal. By the end of that first week I felt 100% normal. Really.
With the help of ModeraXL, my life started to turn around. I knew this world wouldn't be a problem for me again. I was so thankful. A few months later, I was determined to get it to my friends. I managed to introduce myself to the doctor and patent holder of the original intravenous version of ModeraXL. She was very understanding. She felt my passion to help other people and gave me a green light to license the formula and try it in business.
She wished to remain anonymous and introduced Eric Lapp to scientist, Keith Skinner. Together, they collaborated and through Keith brought together some of the brightest minds in the world and all the resources they could find. They led a tireless effort to make the ModeraXL product much more effective and accessible than the original patent. They succeeded. Good news for you.
"I wanted to take hold of this product because it wasn't available to people privately," says Eric. "It was one of the greatest gifts of my life and I wanted to share it with the world. It felt like my duty to put it into the hands of as many people who need it because of what it is. That's been a big part of the miracle of this coming together."
Today, Eric Lapp does extensive work in addiction treatment. He is one of the principal owners of Medical Support Solutions, LLC, the parent company of ModeraXL. He also owns a sober living house in Denver, Colorado that is much more than a roof and modern amenities. Staffed by positive role models, Eric's house helps all residents to feel strong and at home living in their own skin.
Eric says, "People often ask me if I would change anything if I could? I wouldn't. It made me who I am right now. If I can help change anybody's life I want to. Never do you realize all the pain and hurt you go through is worth so much."
