THROUGH LOSS COMES HOPE

It Was Far More Than The Typical School-To-School "Don't Do Drugs" Spiel.

Grade 6 and 7 students from across the Lloyd Catholic School
Division filled the gymnasium at Father Gorman school Monday morning
to hear from Dee Dee Fenrich, a mother from Wilkie, Sask. who knows
the terrible and twisted world of drugs all too well.

"Drugs play for keeps and they're hard to give up," she said.

A mother of four, Fenrich lost her 19-year-old son, Marc, last May
when he overdosed on drugs. He had been involved with substances
such as marijuana since the age of 12; the same age as many students
in the gymnasium.

"He looks just like a normal kid," said Grade 7 student Cory Royal.
"But in his journal, one part of him didn't know what another part was doing."

The presentation was profound for both students and staff alike as
Fenrich read portions of her son's journal and ended her talk by
showing a slideshow of Marc's life.

"I know I won't do drugs in my lifetime," said Royal.

Over Marc's teenage years, Fenrich quickly learned more and more
about the hopeless world of drugs. She watched helplessly from the
sidelines as her son's demeanour changed and he stumbled through the
confusing reality of drugs. He increasingly relied on other
substances such as mushrooms, ecstasy, and crystal meth, and pushed
others away who just wanted to help.

"He said, 'I don't need help. I can do it myself. And anyway, I
don't have a problem,'" said Fenrich.

Fenrich found herself searching Marc out in some of the most
frightening places for a mother to find her child. One place, as she
described it, was the last step before living on the street, a place
filled with prostitutes and drug dealers. It was a place where murders happen.

Fenrich said she gives the presentations because it's the only way
she can think of to cope with her son's death. Her son, a handsome,
normal-looking teenager with plenty of friends, had so much unused
potential. Speaking to a gym full of promising young students gives
her a chance to remind them they have a purpose, and not to waste it.

"Life's not perfect. And if they can understand that early on, then
they will be so much better off," she said.

Fenrich tells her emotionally trying story to schools in Wilke,
North Battleford, Edam, and Unity; all communities her son passed
through during his battle with drug addiction. With family in
Lloydminster, she spoke to younger students at Father Gorman and
older students Tuesday at Holy Rosary High School.