Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jan 2003
Source: Northern Daily News (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003, OSPREY MEDIA GROUP INC.
Contact:  http://www.northernnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2315
Author: Joe O'Grady

CHUVALO STRIKES BLOW AGAINST DRUGS

Few people have experienced such a "personal family holocaust" as Canadian 
boxing legend George Chuvalo, but it's love rather than pain that keeps him 
motivated in trying to steer young people clear of drugs.

Chuvalo, who lost three sons and his wife to drugs, captivated students at 
Timiskaming District Secondary School with his devastating story of 
personal loss and his inspiring message of hope.

"What happened to my family shouldn't happen to anyone's family," he said. 
"The decisions you make in the next few years will last you a lifetime."

Chuvalo is best known for a granite chin which withstood the likes of 
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier during his boxing prime. And while he finished 
his impressive boxing career having never been knocked down, life outside 
the ring dealt him a series of body blows few people could survive.

The Chuvalo family first encountered tragedy in 1985, when 20-year-old son 
Jesse -- tortured by an addiction to heroin -- shot himself in the family 
home in Toronto.

Chuvalo says Jesse was introduced to heroin at a party while he was 
recuperating from a motorcycle accident and seeking relief from the pain.

A few months later, the Chuvalo family had three heroin addicts -- Jesse 
and his older brothers George Lee and Steven.

Chuvalo said his two youngest sons soon found themselves involved in lives 
of crime to support their addictions. Countering the "criminal" Hollywood 
glamorization of drug addicts, Chuvalo said the stark reality his much more 
disturbing.

His sons were so gripped by their addiction and endless craving that just 
the sight of heroin when visiting their dealer would cause them to actually 
defecate in their pants.

"Every time I tell that story I get sick to my stomach," he said. "It hurts 
me to talk about my sons that way, but they'd want you to know how 
God-awful (drug addiction) is."

Following Jesse's death, George Lee and Steven continued to be gripped by 
their addictions and found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Just 
days after serving out his last jail term, George Lee was found dead in a 
seedy hotel room.

The loss of two of her sons was too much for Chuvalo's wife, Lynn, who took 
her own life just a few days after George Lee's funeral. Ironically, she 
killed herself with pills stolen by her sons during a pharmacy break-in 
which was fuelled by their drug addictions.

The surviving two sons and daughter rallied around their father, who was 
bed-ridden for six weeks as he struggled to cope with the magnitude of his 
losses.

Chuvalo says the weeks went by in a blur, but what pulled him through was 
the support and love of those around him.

"How did I survive? Love," he said. "Love makes you feel strong, secure, 
appreciated, and important. If you don't have love in your life, you can't 
make the right decisions."

Despite the unimaginable toll drugs had already taken on the family, Steven 
continued to be gripped by addiction and eventually found himself in prison.

Chuvalo went to visit his son regularly and the two made plans to go on the 
public speaking circuit together to spread the anti-drug message.

However, just 11 days after his release in1997, Steven, 35, was found dead 
from a drug overdose. The needle was still in his arm and an unlit 
cigarette in one of his hands, Chuvalo said.

The common thread in his sons' deaths was a lack of knowledge about the 
perils of drugs, the former Canadian heavyweight champion said. "Education 
is the singlemost important deterrence," he said. "My sons were ignorant. 
If they could have had a glimpse into their futures, they never would have 
taken drugs."

Chuvalo's two-hour presentation hit an emotional nerve for a number of 
students who waited for autographs afterwards.

One young teen burst into tears as she hugged the champ. Others spoke about 
the importance of his message.

"It was very well put together," said Grade 11 student Melanie Taylor.

"It was very direct and I think it hit a lot of people. It was very touching."

"It was pretty good," said Grade 9 student Michael Lapointe, a Kirkland 
Lake resident completing his semester at TDSS.

"He put his message out like he wanted to."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom