Meet the Pennsylvania Dad Who Fought His Addiction to Save His Relationship With His Son

DEVON, Pa. (CBS) — Noah Langnas and his son Aaron encourage each other as they hit golf balls.

“It’s the most important relationship of my life,” Noah Langnas said.

But that relationship was compromised when the father said he had lost himself in addiction.

“I was a sales manager for a Fortune 500 company and my second back surgery didn’t go as planned,” Noah Langnas said. “I took two pills and six years later I woke up in rehab.”

Through the fog of addiction, he knew he had to abstain to save his relationship with his son.

“The greatest gift I have ever received in recovery is being fully present in your life and being able to live in the moment,” Noah Langnas said.

It was also a gift for his son.

“Through his experience…he’s become wiser, someone I can definitely go to for help,” Aaron Langnas said.

Today, Noah Langnas helps people struggling with addiction as director of admissions at Recovery Centers of America in Devon.

Noah Langnas said being an addict gives him a special bond with recovering patients.

“I know what it feels like to be broken,” he said. “I know what it’s like to have no hope.”

Noah Langnas said he wanted to share his recovery story to let others know that the fight against addiction is worth everything.

“I took it one day at a time, so I gained some instant credibility where it’s not just the title, it’s this, hey, this guy knows what it’s like to destroy his life for a short period of time, but he also knows what it’s like to get to the other side,” he said.

He appreciates being able to give back and be reunited with his son, with Father’s Day now being particularly meaningful.

“It’s just absolutely incredible,” he said. “It’s all I ever wanted.”