Recovering Alcoholic Posts TikTok to Find Woman Who Saved His Life (Exclusive)

• Richard, who goes by @TheOldLawStudent on TikTok, was an end-stage alcoholic who had tried to get sober several times
• Everything changed for the Florida native, now 41, five years ago. One night, he picked up his phone and called the American Addiction Centers, and a young woman named Katelyn Vargo answered
• Two days later, Feb. 23, 2020, marked Richard’s first day of sobriety
• On Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, Richard celebrated five years sober. He posted a video on TikTok hoping to find Vargo and thank her

Richard, who goes by @TheOldLawStudent on TikTok, was an end-stage alcoholic. He was dying, consumed by the physical pain caused by his drinking, and couldn’t function without alcohol in his system, he says.

“I was everything you think of when you think of the worst kind of alcoholic, and I knew that I wasn’t going to survive much longer,” Richard tells PEOPLE exclusively.

But everything changed for the Florida native, now 41, five years ago. One night, he picked up his phone and called the American Addiction Centers, where a young woman named Katelyn Vargo answered. Although Richard can’t recall anything from their conversation, his wife later informed him that, thanks to Vargo’s guidance, he had booked a flight to Memphis to go to a treatment center in Mississippi.

The next day, however, Richard immediately decided against going. He found Vargo’s contact information in his phone from the previous night, called her, and told her to cancel his spot, convinced he could get sober on his own.

“This part I remember: Katelyn said, ‘Good luck with that, let me know how that one goes,’ ” he recalls. “I looked at my wife and asked her if she thought I could possibly get sober at home. She looked at me and said … well, I can’t repeat what she said here. But it wasn’t enthusiastic.”

“She had been through this many times before at this point, and knew my propensity for checking into treatment centers, checking out a few later, and disappearing into the bars of whatever city I found myself in,” he adds.

Driven by Vargo’s words, he decided to go. His wife threw clothes in a bag, and he started drinking — because that’s the only way he could make it to the airport without having a panic attack. His wife drove him to the airport, where he blacked out and drank his way to Memphis. For some unknown reason, no one was waiting for him when he arrived. He continued to drink in Memphis until, at some point, someone ordered him a ride to Mississippi. He has no recollection of that ride or how he got to his destination.

The next morning, Feb. 23, 2020, marked Richard’s first day of sobriety. He remembers wanting to leave the treatment center immediately, but Vargo had placed him in such a remote location that he had little choice but to stay.

“I was used to people begging me to get sober, judges ordering me to, people demanding it,” he says. “But I wasn’t used to people just going, ‘Well, do what you want.’ I think it made me realize that nobody was going to keep saving me anymore, including my wife, and I had to take a last shot at this sobriety thing.”

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Flash forward to present day: on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, Richard celebrated five years sober. In that time, he earned a bachelor’s degree, took the LSAT, went to law school, received his J.D., and just a few weeks ago, took the bar exam.

On top of that, he took up cycling and has ridden N.Y.C.’s Five Boro Bike Tour three times, cycled the Pacific Coast Highway and logged more than 12,000 miles. Most importantly, he’s mended many relationships (though some were not mendable) and become a much better husband and family member. Previously, he admits, he was insufferable — even to himself.

Recently, Richard was at the airport boarding a flight when it struck him that, almost exactly five years to the day, he had been in the same place boarding the flight to rehab.

He had always wanted to thank Vargo, and had tried to reach out to her at her American Addiction Centers number, but was told she didn’t work there anymore. After thinking about it, he knew that TikTok could help him find people quickly, so he thought it would be worth a try.

“If anyone knows her, please forward this along,” he captioned a TikTok video of himself thanking Vargo. To his surprise, the video went viral, amassing more than 5 million views and 3,500 comments from users trying to connect him to Vargo.

Among those who commented was Vargo’s mom. She wrote, “Katelyn is my daughter. I have never been more proud of her! Thank you for tracking her down. You have no idea how much she needs this boost of praise right now! You just have no idea! Thank you!”

Eventually, he made contact with her. At first, Vargo tells PEOPLE she was caught off guard by the whole situation and didn’t remember him. But when Richard reminded her of some unique things about him, she remembered, and they started talking like old friends.

“I didn’t believe it was me,” Vargo tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He spelled my name wrong and at first it was just too big to be me. But it was also American Addiction Centers, and there weren’t any other Katelyns who worked the Jacksonville area for AAC, so I just remember being in complete shock. Like, am I really looking at this video right now? What does this mean? Why is he looking for me? Who has seen this?”

“When we first reconnected, it was on Facebook and I didn’t even know there was a TikTok, but there was an immediate feeling of relief,” she adds. “I worked so hard at AAC to help people and to help people get help, and when people reach out, it reminds me that it wasn’t all for nothing. Rich is probably the third person I know of that I helped get into treatment who is still sober today, and it makes all the work worth it. There wasn’t really anything I wanted to say to him other than ‘Oh my God, you’re still sober, this is phenomenal.’ ”

Upon reconnecting, Richard learned that Vargo has been struggling with an unknown illness for nearly nine months, which has left her unable to work or pay her bills. Days after they exchanged messages, she was given a 24-hour eviction notice. On top of that, her daughter had recently tried to take her own life. Life had just been overwhelming for her.

“I was in a truly hopeless situation, and look at what happened right in the nick of time,” she says. “That alone should inspire so many people. There are so many hopeless people out there struggling right now financially and with providing for their families. So, if something like this can happen for me, it can happen for them too.”

While the newfound friends haven’t had a chance to meet in person yet, Richard tells PEOPLE they plan to meet up once he’s back from some upcoming travels. He says the American Addiction Centers has expressed interest in facilitating their meeting, too.

There’s also some hope that Vargo might be able to attend Richard’s swearing-in ceremony in April, which would really bring the story full circle for him.

“You don’t have to do this anymore,” he adds of addiction. “Seems so simple, but I genuinely couldn’t understand that I had a choice in the matter. I’m not saying that addiction is a choice, because it’s not, but there are choices available to us as addicts, and one of them is to pick up the phone and call for help.”

“While I have my quarrels with the rehab world, particularly the massive for-profit nature of it, there are so many people on the other end of these phone lines just waiting to save people’s lives, and the only thing preventing it is ourselves,” he adds. “Make the call … your Katelyn might be on the other end of the line.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.