8. Amber

Brilliant and athletic, Amber was a star hockey goalie with dreams of playing for the Canadian national team. But at age 15, a head trauma sustained in a brutal on-ice collision benched her for good, leaving her to live with excruciating, chronic pain. It was 12 years before a surgeon finally discovered that Amber’s spinal cord had also been injured in the accident. Surgery improved the underlying injury, but by then she was hopelessly dependent on pain medication. Now, at 29, Amber is addicted to cocaine, alcohol and morphine. Her family fears that without an intervention Amber’s days are surely numbered.