A grandmother who spent 15 years using meth now looks unrecognisable after finally getting clean.
Shannon Hughes, 46, from Springfield, Missouri, started using methamphetamine when her daughter, Mistena Renteria-Elliot, now 26, was just 12 years old.
Shannon, who is now a grandmother-of-two, became instantly hooked and Mistena spent years trying to get her mother clean
She took Shannon to rehab and paid for her to get a place to stay – but said nothing worked.
In March 2024, Mistena said her mother was in a ‘terrible state’ – she weighed 105 pounds, was malnourished and terrified to leave the house.
During a visit to the doctor, they told Mistena that her mother was in the ‘final stages’ of addiction and if she carried on, she would die.
From that moment, Shannon made it her mission to turn her life around.
Now nine months sober, she is working a full-time job as a waitress, attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and passes frequent drug tests.
Shannon said that people will walk up to her in the supermarket ‘with tears in their eyes’ and hug her to congratulate her on getting clean.
Shannon Hughes, 46 (pictured), started using meth when her daughter was 12 years old
In March 2023, Shannon’s daughter said her mother (pictured) was in a ‘terrible state’ – she weighed 105 pounds, was malnourished and terrified to leave the house
‘I hear them in the background at the store, hitting each other like “that’s her,” she said.
‘Then they come up to me all shy and embarrassed, asking if they can give me a hug.
‘I am always overwhelmed with it. They make me feel better, as it can be embarrassing, they have seen me at my very worst.’
After getting into a new relationship when Mistena was 12, Shannon started using meth.
Two years later, she was thrown out of the family home and started living with her boyfriend and his family.
‘She was getting heavy into the drugs at this point,’ said Mistena, a stay-at-home mother from Springfield, Ohio.
‘She would still come to see me, and I would spend the day with her.’
Mistena said she tried for years to help her mom.
‘But nothing ever worked,’ she said, ‘so I completely gave up on it.’
Between 2017 and 2018, Mistena had no contact with her mother.
Now nine months sober, Shannon is working a full-time job as a waitress, attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and passes frequent drug tests
Shannon said that people will walk up to her in the supermarket with tears in their eyes and hug her to congratulate her on getting sober (Shannon pictured with Mistena)
Mistena said that when her mother and stepfather broke up, Shannon got more deeply involved in drugs and earned the nickname of ‘drug lord of Springfield’ because she would supply drugs to people around town.
‘I started to go back around more, but it was one of those things where I would tell myself that she was not going to bother getting better,’ Mistena said.
‘I thought she was selfish, and she was going to hurt me.
‘I didn’t want to be taken advantage of. When I had my first daughter, I said I would let [Shannon] hurt me, but not my kids.’
In March 2023, Mistena went to visit her mother and found her in a ‘terrible state.’
Shannon’s head was shaved, she would hurt herself to ‘stop the voices in her head’ and she was scared to leave the house.
‘The moment that I saw how bad I hurt people that I loved made me realise I need to change,’ Shannon said.
‘When you are high, you don’t feel those feelings, you totally become numb, and you cannot associate.
‘It is very important that people who are being hurt by people who are doing drugs understand that the drug user does not know how much they are hurting you.
Between 2017 and 2018, Mistena had no contact with her mother (pictured)
Mistena said that when her mother and stepfather broke up, Shannon got more deeply involved in drugs and earned the nickname of ‘drug lord of Springfield’
In July 2024, with the help of her daughter, Shannon went ‘cold turkey’ and completely stopped taking drugs
Now, her life is transformed. She is able to spend time with her grandchildren, has a job and regularly attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings
‘They cannot feel it, they don’t get it, and they are not going to get it.’
In July 2024, with the help of her daughter, Shannon went ‘cold turkey’ and completely stopped taking drugs.
Now her life is transformed. She is able to spend time with her grandchildren, has a job and is attending regular Narcotics Anonymous meeting to keep her life on track.
‘I don’t think I would have ever got to this point if I hadn’t hit a spot where I was deathly afraid of dying,’ Shannon said.
‘I feel great now, I am working a job that I am holding down.
‘I would never have dreamed in 1,000 years that I would be able to get a job because my anxiety was so bad.’
Mistena added how ‘proud’ she is of her mom.
‘Having a job has helped her tremendously, she feels like she has a purpose,’ she said.
‘It is so nice to have a conversation with her, and our relationship is getting better as the weeks go on.’
