(gentle music) - [Narrator] Betty Ford's vivacious personality and ability to demonstrate strength and transparency throughout her fight against breast cancer was incredibly impactful, but cancer was not the only hardship Betty faced.

(gentle rhythmic music) Betty also endured chronic struggles both before and after her battle with cancer, and learning all that she experienced as a result of these struggles, leads us to perhaps the most remarkable component of Betty Ford's legacy.

A neck injury, left Betty suffering from an incredibly painful, pinched nerve.

To help manage this pain, Betty was prescribed strong painkillers.

The stressors of raising four children with a husband who was frequently gone, experiencing bouts of depression and anxiety, and living in the public eye, compounded with the challenges of living in intense chronic pain.

This resulted in Betty developing a substance use disorder, with both prescription drugs and alcohol.

Betty had openly discussed seeking psychological support during her time as First Lady, which was another topic rarely discussed publicly at this time in history.

Though there were subtle signs of her addiction during her time at the White House, all of these challenges Betty was experiencing worsened after the Fords left the White House, which in turn, worsened her addiction.

Eventually, her family realized the extent of Betty's chemical dependency and created a plan to get her the professional help she needed.

In true Betty fashion, despite the internal struggle she felt admitting to her addiction, particularly her addiction to alcohol, Betty was open about this experience.

For a second time, Betty openly shared something very personal with the public, and like breast cancer, chemical dependency was not something that was properly understood.

It was often seen as an issue a person had control over, rather than something like cancer, that is out of a person's control.

Betty had the incredible courage to use her experience to help others learn more, and as a result, another entire sector of the nation found their deeply personal health struggle, less stigmatized.

- When Mother chose to do the Betty Ford Center, she had been four years sober, which is pretty early in your sobriety.

We were all very impressed, she came to us as family, and talked to us about, "Were we okay with it?

We were the ones that were gonna have to live with it, 'cause she wasn't gonna be around forever."

And I couldn't be more proud because she made such a huge statement back in 1978, not many people had come out and spoken about their sobriety back then, and then to turn around and start the Betty Ford Center, she was one of 'em, and people would come up to her over the years and they would say, "Oh, I got sober because of you and I found because of you."

And she said, "But you're the one who did the work.

I can't do the work for you."

And it is work.

People with substance use disorder, are teachers, and plumbers, and veterinarians, and airline pilots, they're America, they're not former First Ladies.

And she really was very humble about it, and because she was one of them, she could work with them and help them.

She used to lecture to the patients at the Betty Ford Center once a month, and share her story.

So, they really felt connected to her, and that's a big part of that work is being connected.

- [Narrator] Betty not only recovered from her addiction, but committed her leadership and fundraising efforts to supporting high-quality, gender-specific substance abuse recovery at a treatment center that she founded.

This treatment center became known as the Betty Ford Center, of Rancho Mirage, California.

Betty served as a Chair of the Board of Directors for the Betty Ford Center from its founding in 1982 to 2005, a role she then passed down to her daughter, Susan Bales.

- I was chair for five years, and then I went on to help orchestrate the merger with Hazelden Betty Ford in 2014, which is the best thing that we could have ever had happen.

I now Chair the Quality Committee, which is quality for not only patients, but for our staff, and then I'm also on the Executive Committee of Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

So the whole point of her trust is to preserve and to continue her legacy, and protect it.

- [Narrator] This rehabilitation center, serves as a beacon of light, a place in Betty's words, "Where you can go, that you can feel safe, and look inside yourself and discover yourself."

- Watching her go through her treatment was like watching a rose go from a bud to a beautiful open flower she learned so much, we all are affected by this disease, both family members are affected by the breast cancer and the substance use disorder, and 1 in 4 people are affected by substance use disorder, as a family member, by a coworker, you know, whatever.

So the fact that she did that and made it a conversation for America to have and for people not to hide, I mean, I remember when we were looking for treatment and looking for places for her to go and what to do, I had never heard of AA before, I had never heard of Al-Anon before, so my eyes, as a family member were also opened up into a whole new group of people, that are welcoming, and loving, and can truly change you.

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