A former heroin addict has marked five years of being drug free with a Facebook post in which she describes her husband’s selfless dedication to supporting her.

In her post last week , Chicago resident Kira Torres described how five years ago her now-husband “Berto” took her off the streets and tasked her with babysitting his children while he paid for her methadone treatments.

“So of course I said yes, 'cause winter in Chicago homeless is no joke. All I had was a suitcase with one pair of clothes in it that I dragged with me everywhere to hustle. I was a gutter junkie,” Ms Torres wrote.

Ms Torres recounted having numerous lapses and of being “obsessed” with the drug to the point she talked about it all the time.

She said her reality check only came however when she was arrested for theft, only to find out while she was pregnant while in jail.

“That was when I made my decision that I wasn't going to go back to dope. Ever. I had already lost my oldest two children due to my addiction and I refuse(d) to lose another,” Ms Torres wrote.

Despite facing burglary charges, Ms Torres ultimately “walked free”. She has since completed a degree in psychology so she can be a drug counsellor, launched her own business, had two children and rented a house of her own.

Ms Torres credited the love of her family for making it all possible, saying it was her children help keep her clean.

“Basically Berto kept on loving me until I could love myself and I was starting to become happy and enjoy life without dope,” she wrote.

“If I have a craving I hold my babies tight and I talk it out with my friends… It's a lifelong battle and lifelong struggle.”