Dealing Without Dad


How this Akron mom stays true to her vows while her husband gets well again Reporting by Michelle Park


Photography by William Schertz There came a time when Casey Mencini


didn’t know which husband was coming home. Some days, it’d be the snappy, short- fused addict who checked out and with- drew into his own world, sleeping for 14 hours straight or getting sick as he fought his dependence on pain killers. Other days, it’d be the love of her life — the “Superdad” who would take their children to the park or watch a movie and chat with his wife. Her husband hasn’t been com- ing home at all for the past seven


months, and it will be several months more before he does. Jason Mencini left in late October to en-


ter a Christian rehabilitation program in Michigan. He is scheduled to return home after Nov. 3, when he’s to graduate. Asking Jason to leave wasn’t easy. She’d need to live a year without her husband and the income that supported their family of five. Plus, she fully expected him to refuse her request and to cite the money his busi- ness success was affording them. To her surprise, “He looked at me and he said, ‘OK.’ ”


The family spent time together at Teen Challenge in February to celebrate Alex’s third birthday. Casey is proud of the progress he has made. “I’m in love with my husband again,” she says.


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