ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- It’s been nearly 10 years since David Parnell did something that, by his own admission, was really stupid.

The Tennessee resident spent most of his adult life addicted to methamphetamine. It had already cost him one marriage and was about to cost him another when he made his decision.

“I actually thought that if I took my own life it would make everything better,” he said. So, on Feb. 21, 2003, Parnell took an SK5 assault rifle, put it under his chin and pulled the trigger.

Even if he had succeeded in taking his own life, Parnell realizes now that the attempt wasn’t the answer to his family’s troubles, but he didn’t succeed.

The bullet entered under his chin and exited between his eyes, literally splitting his face in two. Every bone in his face was broken except his left eye socket. He lost almost all his teeth, the tip of his tongue was blown off, and the roof of his mouth was disintegrated. He lost most of his lips and his nose entirely. His injuries were so severe he was written off as deceased by the sheriff’s department.

“I fell off the bed and was lying on the floor holding both sides of my face together,” he said. “Even after all of that, I was so high on meth that I never even lost consciousness.”

Even though he was told that it would be impossible with his injuries to do so, Parnell said, he was able to speak and apologize to his wife for what he had done. It would be months before he would be able to speak again.

He would spend close to a month in the hospital. He received a tracheotomy and a stomach tube that allowed him to eat, but it would be nearly a year before he could once again eat solid foods.

Over the last nine years, Parnell has endured approximately 30 surgeries, some lasting as long as 13 hours to repair his face. He has titanium plates and screws holding his cheekbones together. An external fixator bar held his jawbone together for a time and his nose has had to be reconstructed using bone taken from his hips and ribs and skin from his forehead.

“From the moment I first woke up in the hospital, I wanted to tell people the truth about drugs,” he said.”I wanted to prevent others from going through what I and my family, and so many others go through.”

They started by contacting the media with their story. They went to rehabs and churches and eventually would end up in a school sharing their story with students.

“There’s no doubt we’re in a war on drugs and I believe it’s a war we aren’t winning,” he said. “I really don’t think of myself as fighting the war on drugs. I want to reach students who are at-risk. If I can reach just one student and turn their life around, then I’ve accomplished my goal.”

Parnell and his wife developed an organization called Facing the Dragon specializing in methamphetamine prevention. Over the last nine years, he has crisscrossed the country telling his story to local schools, and through a slide presentation that graphically illustrates the dangers of drugs, specifically methamphetamine, not only to those who use them but to those around them.

A book titled, “Facing the Dragon: How a Desperate Act Pulled One Addict Out of Methamphetamine Hell,” written with Amy Hagberg-Hammond, was published in 2010.

“Methamphetamine was my drug of choice and it is my main focus,” he said. “But addiction is addiction and I want to talk about all drugs, even those drugs that are not considered illegal. Many people think because drugs like Lortab and Oxycontin are prescribed by a doctor that they can’t hurt you, but I’m here to tell you they can be just as dangerous.”

For the last six years, Judge Robert Wilters has dealt with drug addiction through his Baldwin County Drug Court. In 2009 he held his first Drug Court Graduation, introducing recovering addicts to people like Parnell who have likewise overcome addiction.

This Thursday, at 7 p.m. at the Church on the Eastern Shore in Fairhope, Parnell will give the commencement address for the 2012 Baldwin County Drug Court graduation.

Last week he came to Baldwin County a week early to speak at various schools, starting the day at Foley Middle School, then speaking to students at Robertsdale High School before ending the day at Central Baldwin Middle School.

“Over the last six years one of the most shocking things I’ve learned is that in the vast majority of cases that come before my court, they started using drugs at between 12 and 14 years of age,” Wilters said, addressing students at CBMS. “Those are people that are your age and I encourage you to listen to what David has to say. If we can save just one young person as a result, it’s worth it.”

Parnell warned students about the graphic nature of his presentation, but said, it was worth it to illustrate the danger that drugs like methamphetamine pose.

“If you’ve watched shows like CSI, then this is something that you’ve seen before,” he said. “The difference is that this is real. I’m doing this not to shock you, but so that you realize what we’re dealing with is dangerous on every level. Not only will it destroy your lives, but it can destroy the lives of everyone around you.”

One of the biggest dangers drugs pose to society is to children, not only victims of accidents caused by making drugs, but in abuse that comes as a result of their parents and others around them taking drugs.

“When you’re on drugs there comes a point that you don’t care about anything else but getting that next fix,” he said. “I guarantee you if I went around the room and asked each one of you individually, to a person all of you would never dream of harming a child, but when you’re on drugs, you do things that you never think you’re going to do and children are the ones who suffer the most from it.”

The message Parnell delivers is a simple one. If you or someone you know is suffering from a drug addiction, get help.

“All of the adults you see in this room are willing to help,” he said, “so if you’re in trouble or know someone who is in trouble, don’t be afraid to speak up. Some things are worth protecting and you are definitely among them.”