Craig Garrick: Ex-BYU star free of pain — at last

The surgery was a success. It relieved Garrick of nearly two decades of constant pain and reclaimed his mobility. But six months after the surgery, he was arrested outside an Orem Kmart after purchasing narcotics fraudulently. In a plea bargain he was sent back to rehab.

---

This is what you learn when you married to an addict: There are secrets.

Traci, a high school dance teacher, vividly recalls a defining moment from her 2 1/2-year marriage to Garrick. She was doing laundry in a room that was being refinished. She saw a section of insulation was out of place, and when she pushed it back in place she found a stash of pills.

"Those were our only fights — when he was on drugs," says Traci. "They brought on a different personality. Otherwise, we would've been fine. It's like Carol says; it was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Garrick was fighting a losing battle with his addiction. His body built up an amazing tolerance to the drugs.

"I've seen him swallow 50 Lortab at one time," says David Garrick. "I've seen him swallow a whole bottle. And it hardly fazed him."

Predictably, the drugs took their toll on Garrick's personal life. He was married three times, each time to a beautiful dark-haired woman, and he struggled to hold a job. He was verbally abusive, moody, mean and contentious when he was on drugs, sweet and charming when he wasn't.

"He was so charismatic," says Traci. "Probably the thing that makes me the saddest is that he could have taken the world. He had so much potential. I feel so bad that he fell so hard."

"He hated his drug addiction," says David. " 'It took over my life,' he'd say."

"What he was, was a really good kid," says Edwards. "Unfortunately, he got hooked on that prescription stuff. Otherwise, he was as good a guy as there was, a guy who just genuinely cared about people and wanted to do the right thing. You automatically liked him right from the start, and you still liked him after you got to know him. Look at the three gals he married. They're all cute girls with nice personalities. He didn't attract any duds."

Garrick was passionate about fatherhood. The day before his last surgery, he was the only father to show up at a school jog-a-thon at his childrens' grade school. Even when he was sick and throwing up several times a day, he would take his kids on outings.

"One thing I can tell you is he loved his kids," says Traci.