How a retired couple and a flip phone filled a postpartum depression void

At first glance, the old Nokia flip phone sitting on the dining room table of a modest St. James home seems unremarkable.

Nearby, there are stacks of papers and reference material about postpartum depression.

Most strikingly, peeking out of the front of a thick notebook, is a newspaper memorial of a beautiful young womanand two little children Lisa Gibson,her two-year-old daughter Anna and three-month-old son Nicholas.

Michele and John Brooks keep the family's pictures in that log book, where they keep track of the calls coming in to the the Postpartum Warm Line.

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The couple providethe warm voices behind the crisis support telephoneline, whichwaslaunched in October 2013.

Itwas createdthree months after Gibson,in the grips of postpartum psychosis,drowned her two little ones in the bathtub of her Westwood home.

Gibson, 32, was laterseen walking and looking distraughtnear the family home, which is close tothe Assiniboine River. Days later, her body wasfound in the Red River, near the point where the two rivers meet.

The children's deaths were ruled as homicides, while Gibson's death was deemed a suicide.

The Postpartum Warm Lineis open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. If you call it, you will reacheither 66-year-old Micheleor 69-year-old John. They take the phone everywhere.

'I felt very lost'

So why would a couple of psychiatric nurseswho retired in 2012spend their retirement tied to a phone, discussing the most serious of topics?

The Gibson family tragedy sent a wave of grief through the community.It hit John and Michele hard.

John had known Lisa Gibson as a work colleague at the Grace Hospital,where she was a pharmacist.

"I got to know her to say hello, and one of the things about Lisa was her friendly smile," he said."To actually hear about what happened to her and her children was shocking."

The Gibson tragedy also stirred memories of a difficult time in their own lives, when Michele suffered postpartum depression after giving birth to both of theirchildren,who are now 41 and 37 years old.

"I felt very lost, hopeless, scared and very depressed," saidMichele, who recovered after getting the proper medical help.

'Take care of yourself, let others help you, and you willfeel better.- Michele Brooks

Michele saideven with her training, she didn't recognize what was wrong with her. And even with John's training, he had a huge challenge in getting his wife help. He eventually took her to a hospital and refused to leave until a psychiatrist friend came to see her.

The thought thatGibsonwasn't successfully treated in time haunts the couple.

So whenthey heard the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba was looking to start a phone line dedicated to families experiencing postpartum depression,they jumped into action.

They immediately phonedTara Brousseau Snider, the association's executive director, to volunteer.

"We just told them we were very upset about Lisa and wanted to try to do something to help and to prevent this from happening again," recalls Michele.

The couple stressedthat immediate help is often what's needed a human on the line, someone who has been through what they've been through and can offer not only practical help, but also the hope that things will work out.

"It's kind of a cold thing when you phone a number and end up either with an answering service or leave a message and hope somebody will get back to you," John said.

120 calls to date

The couple has had about 120 calls so far. About one-third of them comefrom moms experiencing problems, anotherthird are from health workers seeking guidance,and about one-third are from family members.

"They are genuinely concerned about their granddaughter not keeping up with the baby's care,orshould they intervene more to help, orhow do they call a doctor or where do they find services," said John.

Michele saidthe main advice they give tonew momsis to "take care of yourself, let others help you, and you willfeel better."

She said mothersoften tell her that they don't want to bother family members by asking them to help.They feel they shouldbe able to handle their babyby themselves.

"I tell them that it's OKto reach out."

In about three cases, John says multiple family members unbeknownst to each other called with concerns about the same mom. He and Michele were able to connect the dotsand the family members started to work as a team.

"It worked out well," he said.

Callers are invited to keep in contact with the couple if they want to. Some do call backand share their progress. Many share their thanks.

The couple'shopeis that they can raise the awareness of the Warm Lineand help more families.They know they are just scratching the surface of the need.

Brousseau Snider agrees.

"There are about 10,000births in Winnipeg every year. Between 15 and 20 percent of women will have postpartum depression, so we are looking at about 1,500 to 2,000women a year." she said.

And a serious thought to consider, says Brousseau Snider, is that an estimated 100 women a year in Winnipeg will have psychosis or a psychotic breakdown, the illness which claimed Lisa Gibson and her children.

The Gibson family's tragedy is a constant part ofthe couple's daily lives.John admits he thoughtthey'd be spending their retirment boating. However, he saidthey are driven to do this work because they have the life experience and the education to help.

"Given our own experience, given that Michele was very sick, given that our kids are grown now and doing really quite well in their vocations,we are able to see that we can offer a perspective to some folks," saidJohn.

Michele saidsoftly,"That's one of the main reasons we do it for Lisa and her children and her memory."

Families can phone the PostpartumWarm Line at(204) 391-5983.