Michele's Recovery Journey

In a recent interview, Michele bravely shared her personal journey with listeners in hopes that her experiences might help other expecting mothers who may be struggling with addiction. She shares, "It's a lifelong battle because it was so easy to just do it before. But . . . with my little one, she is . . . what drives me to keep doing what I'm doing."

"Even though I've had my bad days, and days of struggle . . . there have been times when I see my little one's smile and it's like a weight is lifted." Michele says that her daughter, Oakley, is in a lot of ways her hero.

"When she was born, I was isolated. I was in a new environment. I was a newly single mother of an infant. I knew how bad my mental health can get." But Michele didn't reach out for help right away, which she expresses later that she wishes she would have if she could go back and do things differently. 

"After a couple weeks, I realized I cannot afford to be a mother like this. I cannot afford to spiral down even more. And that's when I finally got a hold of a couple of people, and they referred me to Horizon. And they've just been, oh my goodness, amazing. They are my biggest cheerleaders. I couldn't do it without them."

"For her [Oakley], I was going to take all that was wrong and make it right."

After everything she has been through, Michele is motivated to help the next woman, by encouraging them to reach out and not to be embarrassed or ashamed to speak up and say that you need help. "My advice is nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible'. Remember that if you feel trapped or have no hope. You think this is how life is going to be forever, that it's never going to get better. But it does. It really does."

"If you don't know where to start or if you're scared of the unknown or the challenges you might face, just reach out. There is somebody somewhere that can guide you to that next step. They can be that pillow that can soften the blows that life is going to throw at you." 

"What I'm loving about being a mom is the fact that I'm always going to remember how she . . . and I have this bond, and it is so special. That is going to follow me from yesterday, today, tomorrow - until the end."

"I can't do it all myself but . . . I need to do what's best for me to be the mom I want to be."