Dear Reader,
We were talking about what to have for dinner… That’s the last thing I remember before everything went black.
My next memory was of waking up on a hard surface. It was bright and cold, and I was in terrible pain. My brother was beside me. “You were in a car crash,” he said. “Jayna didn’t make it.”
My sister. My best friend. Gone.
Our vehicle had been t-boned by a speeding, impaired driver and sent spinning into a concrete pillar.
My eight-month-old daughter, Sophia, suffered two broken legs in addition to other injuries. I suffered a crushed leg and broken ribs. My lungs wouldn’t inflate properly, and there was glass embedded all down one side of my body.
But nothing compared to losing Jayna. And she wasn’t the only person we lost that day. Jayna was seven and a half months pregnant with a baby girl. My niece Lauren never got the chance to live.
One person’s decision to drive impaired changed our family forever.
That crash happened in 2013. What followed was a long journey through grief, pain and, eventually, healing. MADD Canada became an important part of that journey after that first phone call in 2016. And caring supporters made that support possible.
Today, I am incredibly honoured to serve as MADD Canada’s new National President.
With the approaching holidays, I’ve been thinking about our own family traditions. It breaks my heart that Jayna isn’t physically here to take part in them anymore. And, as I watch Sophia grow into a teenager, I’m reminded of all the traditions Lauren will never get to experience.
There will always be empty places in our family because someone made the entirely preventable decision to drive impaired.
After the crash, there were times when I didn’t know how I would go on.
Physically, I had to learn to walk again. Emotionally, the grief was even harder. Jayna and I were supposed to raise our children together. We were supposed to grow old together.
For years, I struggled. Then I called MADD Canada. They were there when I needed them. They helped save my life.
Eventually, I began volunteering with my local MADD Canada Chapter. Helping other victims and survivors a way for me to give back — and a way to honour Jayna and Lauren and carry their memories forward.
Now, as National President and a survivor myself, I have a lot of goals. I want to see fewer impaired driving crashes, injuries and deaths. I want Canadians to understand that this horrific crime is completely preventable. I want victims and survivors became to have support when the unthinkable happens.
That’s why your support today is so important. We need your help to continue our education, awareness and advocacy programs – programs that change behaviour and ultimately save lives.
Making a holiday gift to MADD Canada is a tradition I hope you’ll keep this season.
The holidays are also a good time to join our Guardians of Hope monthly giving program. With your gift each month, you’ll help us do everything in our power to fight impaired driving all year long.
However you choose to give, please do it today. Every December, families receive devastating phone calls. Holiday tables have empty chairs. And, the arms of Canadians ache to hold their missing loved ones. Your gift will help us end impaired driving – a tradition we cannot allow to continue.
With gratitude,
Trisha Dosaj
National President
MADD Canada