A single mother has shared her story of hardship and how she managed to get through it with a little help.
Michelle is a qualified primary school teacher who took a career break at the start of 2014 due to mental health difficulties. It was at this point that she found out she was pregnant.
She told The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning: “It was amazing but at the same time it was quite worrying in that I had been taking a tablet to stay well and I wasn’t going to be able to take it for the pregnancy because there was risk to the baby’s spine and brain development. So I, straight away, came off that at five weeks.”
At 12 weeks, her partner left her. Despite this setback, Michelle managed to remain well throughout her pregnancy thanks to counselling and support from those closest to her.
“It was pretty unfortunate,” she explained. “Thankfully I have an amazing family and an incredible circle of friends. But financially I couldn’t work when I was pregnant… Staying well was my full-time job.”
Her son Joshua arrived seven weeks early. He was healthy but had to stay in hospital for a few weeks until he could feed and this wasn’t the only thing his mum had to deal with.
As well as newborn baby with respiratory problems, she was having financial difficulties due to her mortgage payments and the fact that her benefits did not swap over smoothly from Illness Benefit to Lone Parent Allowance.
One day, she had no money for nappies or formula.
“I never thought things would come to this… I worked hard. I chose to take a career break to stay well… That week when I couldn’t afford to feed him, I had to ask my family’s help and I hated that.
“My family are brilliant and I love their support… For me that was such a low point… I just felt I’d failed Joshua. I know I hadn’t in so many ways but that week was just so awful for me.”
It was at this point that Michelle’s neighbour suggested getting in touch with St. Vincent de Paul. At first she was reluctant, thinking that there were plenty of people worse off, but eventually she picked up the phone. When they arrived at the house, she was relieved.
“Instantly all my worries were gone,” she said. “They made the whole process so dignified. I didn’t feel embarrassed, all I had to do was explain my situation… Without St. Vincent de Paul I would still be living in a cold house and be going without food.”
Joshua is now 10 months old and Michelle is hoping to return to teaching next September. She has also set up a direct debit for the charity that helped her when she needed it most.
To hear her full story, click here. For more information on St. Vincent de Paul and the work they do, click here.
