A heroin addict whose drug addiction left him covered in red blotches is celebrating 32 months sober with a striking before-and-after photo.
Hunter Shepard, 26, from Parkersburg, West Virginia, has opened up about the height of his addiction, which saw him stealing from strangers, per Metro.
According to the outlet, at one point, Shepard had even become homeless, living in the back of a car.
On Thursday, October 22, Shepard posted an inspirational transformation photo, highlighting the contrast between his appearance before and after his recovery.
The "before" photos were taken the day he was admitted to rehab for the sixth and final time on February 21, 2018. These days, he looks unrecognizable to the man he once was.
In fact, Shepard has now been clean for over two years, is engaged, and has a child on the way.
Per Metro, Shepard bought heroin for the first time when he was just 16 years old. The troubled teenager soon started stealing from his own house to fund his addiction.
His meth and heroin habit also led to his expulsion from school and a stint in jail for over two years.
It had reached a point where he was so high on the lethal drugs that he didn't even know his own name.
Shepard's addiction started when he was just 12, despite what he described as a loving childhood, per Metro.
Struggling with mental health due to his insecurity about his appearance and the way he was perceived amongst peers, the young boy used alcohol and marijuana to help numb the pain.
Later on in his teens and early adulthood, Shepard moved on from marijuana to psychedelics, spice, meth, LSD, ketamine and heroin.
His parents try to help him overcome his addiction by encouraging him to go to rehab, but each time he was released, he ended up relapsing.
Related - Check out this heroin addict's amazing transformation after three months in rehab:The turning point for Shepard was an alarming video of him high on psychedelic drugs during his final trip to hospital in February 2018.
Following five months in rehab, he decided to move away from everything he knew in West Virginia and start afresh.
In the summer of 2018, he began a new life for himself in Yuma, Arizona.
He became a member of a recovery group for addicts on Facebook. And it was there that he met 27-year-old Kyra Dawson, his now-fiancée, who found out this week that she was pregnant with their first child, per Metro.
Shepard and Dawson, from Essex, England had known each other for about 18 months when the West Virginia native sent her a message during the coronavirus lockdown.
From this point on, the pair spent months texting and video calling each other, before meeting in person for the first time at the beginning of September.
The plan is that the pair will raise their child in the US, where Shepard works giving advice and helping those struggling with addiction.
