At CODAC Behavioral Health Services' Las Amigas, Debbie Crowell is learning to be a sober parent to Sabrina and her other children.

Fortunately, Sabrina has been hooked up with services since birth. Her development is closely monitored.
Crowell is learning about FAS. It's difficult for her to accept that her babies were damaged by her drinking.
"The guilt is tremendous," she said. "I did it again and again and again.
"Having to explain that I did that to them is going to be the hardest thing. I don't know how I'm going to tell them about what I did. It was something I could have prevented."
Crowell has been a serious drinker for more than half her life, and sobriety isn't easy. Cravings taunt her, beckoning her to return to the old ways.
Not long ago, Crowell walked to a nearby drugstore to buy a Sunday newspaper.
"I found myself standing there, looking at the quarts of beer. I could taste it in my mouth. I had the money for the newspaper in my hand. It would have been so easy. Then I thought, 'Why would you want to throw this all away for a beer?'"
Crowell said her children keep her sober. Sabrina lives with her at Las Amigas. The others live with her husband in Ajo and visit on some weekends.
"I can't be a mother to them drinking," she said. "At least now they have a chance to have a normal mom."
Crowell tries to focus on rebuilding her family. She wants to complete her GED and go to culinary school. She dreams of becoming a chef. And she doesn't want any more children.
Crowell knows she cannot return to Ajo. She doesn't think she can stay sober there, so she and her family are considering leaving the state, to start over.
Talking about how she damaged her children isn't easy for Crowell. But she hopes it will stop other women from hurting their unborn babies.
"Hopefully someone who hears my story will think twice about it," Crowell said.