Marci's Letter
November 15, 2007
Dear Friend,
I was at Death’s door.
A miracle would be needed to save me. It happened at BC Women’s, as so many miracles do. The miracle is me, and I’m alive.
Just over two years ago, I was a junkie, a heavily pregnant junkie. I had been using drugs for years…cocaine, crack, crystal meth, alcohol…anything I could get my hands on. I had already failed at motherhood, having abandoned my baby daughter several years earlier.
So when I got pregnant again, I had no hope that I could be a mother to this new baby. I continued using drugs and overdosed three times during my pregnancy. I had no idea if I would even give birth to a healthy child. I was almost at the point of no return.
Would I be alive long enough to see my baby grow up?
No one knew what to do with a pregnant addict in Squamish. Late in my pregnancy I was sent to BC Women’s for an ultrasound. They told me about the Fir Square program that helps pregnant women with drug and alcohol addictions. I panicked and refused to stay, but the doctor told me they would keep a bed for me in the Fir Square program. That promise became my lifeline.
A few weeks later, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. My boyfriend Randy and I knew we couldn’t care for a baby while we were struggling with our addictions. But after one look at baby Tyson, we knew we had to find a way – no matter how impossible it seemed at the time. I remembered the words I heard at BC Women’s: “We will be here when you are ready.” We begged our doctor in Squamish to call the Fir Square program, and he did.
Later that day, an ambulance took the three of us from Squamish to BC Women’s Hospital. Our recovery had begun. Randy and Tyson were able to stay with me during my first month in the Fir Square program. This was critical – I would never have stayed if I couldn’t be with them.
I found out that Fir Square is the first program in Canada to care for substance-using women and their newborns in a single unit. We got counseling for our drug abuse and parenting, and the medical attention was right there if we needed it. Most importantly, I got the support and encouragement I needed to stay strong through the most difficult times of my recovery.
Without BC Women’s and the people at Fir Square,
I would be dead. Without a doubt.
The Fir Square program helped me get clean and gave me a chance to keep my baby. If I had lost Tyson, I would have lost my last hope. Instead, I was able to completely turn my life around. I’m still in touch with the people at the Fir Square program today; I won’t let go of that lifeline.
When I go back to visit, I see people just like me two
years ago, desperate for a new chance at life.
After one month, I was discharged from the Fir Square program. Tyson went into foster care, but I was determined it would be temporary. BC Women’s continued to take care of me at the Aurora Centre, which provides residential and day treatment for women with addictions. It was tough work, but I got the help I needed.
Randy and I got jobs and moved into our own apartment. Tyson finally came home. What a wonderful day that was to finally be together.
Today we are a happy family. I’m taking good care of my son, working and taking college courses – Dean’s List last term! I have hopes now, and I have dreams. One of those dreams is that I’ll be able to help people the way the Fir Square and Aurora programs helped me.
Your gift can help so many people.
I’d like you to make a donation to BC Women’s today. You’ll be helping so many people (like me) whose lives are transformed by BC Women’s.
You see, there’s this tremendous snowball effect. Not only did I get my baby back, but my parents got their daughter back. Randy’s family got their son back. So much good keeps coming from the outstanding people and services at BC Women’s.
I knew that I’d really made it when my mother sent me a very special gift – her engagement ring. Just a couple of years ago, I would have sold this valuable heirloom to feed my drug habit. By giving me this ring, my mum was telling me that she trusted me.
She kept the ring all this time hoping
that one day she could give it to me
and not lay it on my grave.
By giving to BC Women’s, you’re doing your part to make miracles happen. Please make a gift today. The life-saving work they do at BC Women’s stretches from caring for the tiniest babies, to groundbreaking research, to saving women with no hope, no support and a tiny chance of surviving… women like me two years ago.
Moms, babies and families need your help. Please give to BC Women’s today and help other families find hope and miracles of their own.
Sincerely,
Marci M.
Mother, student and proud supporter of BC Women’s
P.S. A few kind words can go a long way when you're struggling to recover. Please share a few words of support for the women like me who are receiving care in the Fir Square and Aurora programs this holiday season. You can write your message in the comments field on our donation form. I know it would mean a lot to them.
