ONE MOTHER'S STORY

The two pink lines couldn't have been more bold. The home pregnancy
test indicated that Roxanne Meer - 16 years old and a drug addict -
was pregnant.

She was living in a hotel with her 26-year-old boyfriend, "Jason." He
was stunned at the news - Roxanne had been using the Depo Provera
birth control injection - but said he would support her in whatever
choice she made.

In that moment, she wanted to get high. She also decided she wanted an
abortion.

Roxanne saw her doctor the next day. It was too late to terminate the
pregnancy; she was already five months along.

She had to confess. She had been using drugs - methamphetamine was her
preference - on a daily basis since the age of 12. Her mom was an
addict and they sometimes did drugs together.

Roxanne also got her supply from the older friends she hung out with.
She started selling crack, meth and cocaine for two years at the age
of 14.

She had only recently stopped selling drugs after being pressured by
her dealer to add heroin to her sales repertoire.

Roxanne had dropped out of school in Grade 8 and hadn't yet gone back.
She left home at age 14 and lived with friends until she and Jason
moved in together two years later.

They both worked on a farm, where Roxanne milked cows and Jason did
general labour.

Roxanne's mom had received a large settlement from a car accident and,
for a period, gave them $1,000 a day. They blew it all on drugs.

Now, she was expecting a baby. Roxanne couldn't even comprehend how a
child would fit into their lives.

Her doctor advised her to wean herself slowly off the drugs. To quit
cold turkey would jeopardize the baby's life.

Instead, Roxanne continued her drug use at the same level. She
couldn't cope with the idea of becoming a parent.

Maison Robert was born on Sept. 14, 2006, weighing 6 lbs. 5 oz.
Roxanne held him only briefly.

"Get him off me. He stinks," she told the nurse.

A short while later, Roxanne was approached by a social
worker.

"Ms. Meer, your child's being apprehended for your use of
methamphetamines," the woman said.

The news hit hard.

"They're taking my kid away, and I don't even get to hold him," she
told her mom.

She looked at her mother and said, "I'm done."

Roxanne decided to get clean and earn back the right to parent her
son.

Almost three years have passed, and Roxanne has not touched drugs
since her vow in the hospital. Her mom is also clean.

Maison at first lived in a foster home and then with Roxanne's brother
and his wife. Roxanne was allowed supervised visits. It took eight
months before she was permitted to care for Maison on her own.

Roxanne now has full custody of Maison - she is no longer involved
with Jason - and lives with him in a four-plex. She found support
through the New Beginnings program for new parents and will graduate
next year from the welder/fitter program through Abbotsford
Collegiate's Career and Technical Centre.

Maison appears to have no long-lasting effects from his exposure to
drugs in the womb. He can count to 17, knows some of his ABCs, talks
in full sentences, and is growing well.

"He's really smart," Roxanne says.

She credits her son with turning her life around. She wishes she had
been able to do that before having a child. Being a young parent means
she has missed out on many of the experiences of other people her age.

"I grew up so young."