P.A. woman says quick mental health treatment saved her life
A Prince Albert woman is crediting her own “brutal” honesty for the quick treatment she received for her serious mental health issues.
Arlene Dreger, 37, was responding to the provincial auditor’s report released last week. The report criticized the former Prince Albert Parkland Health Region for long wait times among mental health and addictions patients who were assessed as lower risk. paNOW published an article detailing the frustration of one local parent, who said she was having difficulty securing help for her daughter who had attempted suicide on more than one occasion, but Dreger said she had a very different experience and credited the health system with saving her life.
Dreger said can still vividly remember the day she tried to kill herself using pills and alcohol. After her attempt failed, she said she felt like her heart was going to explode, and that’s when she drove to the hospital seeking help.
“I didn’t lie about how much I was drinking. I told them specifically I did a 26 of vodka a day,” she said. “I didn’t lie about the drugs I was doing. I told them I was doing cocaine and I told them I was smoking marijuana.”