After years of alcohol and opioid use, B.C. couple Jean-Pol and Tausha are getting their lives back on track after the birth of their daughter Abbey.
“We did it for our daughter,” Tausha said.
“She was the prime motivator, the initiator. She went and got help and I was left on my own. I was lonely and sad,” said Jean-Pol.
Global News is omitting the couple’s last name for privacy reasons.
When Tausha got pregnant, she got help from the BC Women’s Hospital Families in Recovery program (FIR), which is the only program of its kind in Canada.
“When we admit a patient into our unit, we are essentially admitting the whole family,” said Darci Skiber, a BC Women’s Hospital Families in Recovery spokesperson.
“We have specialized services for our babes, if they need it, in terms of additional medical care. We work closely with mom, in terms of her overall health, but we also invite partners and also loved ones.”
Through BC Women’s Hospital, John-Pol connected with Together We Can, a treatment program for partners of patients in the FIR program.
“I think the best part of the program is that the two partners get to learn new coping skills together,” Steven Hall, with Together We Can, said.
“They get to really know each other as well. Not only are they new in recovery but they have a new baby too. There’s a lot of different variables that they will have to learn to work together on.”
John-Pol said the program helped him immensely, even with failing a few times.
“FIR opened up the door and I wasn’t ready to clean up so I only lasted three days the first round,” he told Global News.
“I had to go in three times and that’s why I succeeded because there was that open door policy.”
The two have set new goals for themselves, with Tausha working on her high school diploma and wanting to become a nurse. John-Pol is lining up work in entry-level machinery operations.
“This is my only purpose now in life,” John-Pol said.
“Make sure our kids … that we are in their lives and that we are there and I can be a productive member of society.”
On this Father’s Day, John-Pol is looking forward to being a positive part of his daughter’s life and encourages others in similar positions to get help.