At 39 years old, Marlon Apap suffered a stroke after 15 years of using drugs, leaving the left side of his body paralysed.

Five years on, he has bagged two gold medals at the Special Olympics games. 

Drugs have become his worst enemy, he told Times of Malta. Now he is focused on his remaining health and on perfecting his bocce skills.

Apap first set eyes on the sport nearly 40 years ago, when he would accompany his grandfather to the boċċi club. He started competing nationally as a teenager, but after graduating from university in agriculture aged 22, he practiced boċċi less and less when he started hanging out with the wrong crowd.

“I started taking cocaine on weekends only – I’d spend a whole week’s wage on drugs. But then I moved to use drugs daily and would take whatever drugs I could lay my hands on.

“Once you’re caught in that trap, it’s difficult to set yourself free. You start believing that the more you use, the better you feel, but the situation just deteriorates.

As time went by, I realised that the more I kept myself busy with hobbies, sport and work, the quicker the cravings were subdued- Marlon Apap

“I ended up locked indoors, using drugs all alone. I lost friends, family, employment… everything. It was lonely: it was as if I had married drugs and they took over my life.”

After 10 years of using drugs, he enrolled for a drug rehabilitation programme but relapsed. In the next five years, his use became more intense.

The turning point

Apap came very close to becoming homeless and has multiple pending court cases. The turning point came when he suffered a stroke.

“When the medical staff turned up, the very first thing they asked was: what drugs were you using? I had been taking drugs for three days.”

Apap spent over five months in hospital and a further six months in therapy to learn to do everything from scratch with one arm and one leg.

“The cravings, especially at the beginning, were intense. But I couldn’t go through that ordeal again. I knocked on Caritas's outreach services door for the second time in 15 years, where I was supported to get back on my feet.

“As time went by, I realised that the more I kept myself busy with hobbies, sport and work, the quicker the cravings were subdued.”

Earlier this month Apap won gold in two bocce games at the invitational Special Olympics Games: he won the doubles competition with Darren Vassallo and a team competition with Vassallo, Cedric Peplow and Paul Tabone, beating Hungary for gold in both games.

“Wearing a gold medal around your neck is not something you’d think about while using drugs. So, when I won, I just told myself that had I still been using, I would have been locked up indoors on my own, rather than celebrating with friends.

“Regaining your life is in itself the biggest motivation to remain clean. Waking up every day, going to work, making new friends and socialising over the weekend instead of being locked up indoors on my own, helps me move forward.”

Dar Charles Miceli is 24/7 service launched by Caritas Malta in 2018 to provide aftercare to those who stop using drugs and offers therapeutic sessions for groups or individuals, depending on their needs. People can just turn up if they feel they feel they are close to relapsing. It also provides semi-residential services similar to a ‘halfway house’ helping people slowly re-integrate into society. More information on 2219 9000 or  info@caritasmalta.org