When their baby began to touch their faces in an unusual way after they returned from a party, Marylee and Miguel Mifsud realised their drug addiction had gone too far.

Even their one-year-old son could no longer recognise them.

That realisation almost 20 years ago was the turning point for Marylee to make the life-changing decision to break free from her addiction and support her husband until he, too, managed to quit drugs many years later.

Now the couple are sharing their journey, to help raise awareness and funds for the organisation that helped them, Caritas. 

Marylee, 42, and Miguel, 45, knew each other since childhood and eventually started dating. He began experimenting with drugs at 14 and she was even younger, aged just 13. Soon enough it spiralled into a destructive cycle of substance abuse for both.

“We started taking drugs together,” Marylee said. “Ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana. I would sometimes even take five ecstasy pills at once.”

Marylee and Miguel on their wedding day.

A former footballer

Miguel, a former footballer who played for Hibernians, Sliema Wanderers and the national team, said he would do drugs as a reward for winning matches. He celebrated with anything he could get his hands on, from marijuana to heroin.

Marylee remained off drugs temporarily when she became pregnant with their son but relapsed after giving birth.

The pivotal moment for her came when her infant son displayed signs of distress, sensing his parents’ altered state when they returned home from a party during which they had consumed drugs.

I would sometimes think I’d better die because I couldn’t get out of the problem

But it was not as easy for Miguel, who continued to struggle to overcome his dependency.

“It came to a point when even I was tired and fed up of myself, let alone those around me. I would sometimes think I’d better die because I couldn’t get out of the problem,” he said.

‘She wouldn’t give up’

However, on their wedding day, Marylee had promised him she would stick with him for life, through thick and thin, and she was not willing to give up now. She continued to encourage him until he recovered. 

“She was the only person who believed I could actually do it. Her support was incredible,” Miguel said.

“It’s hard to see someone you love in that situation but that’s what drugs do to you,” Marylee added.

“A drug addict is like a sick person whose mind ceases to function properly. And, just like there is hospital for sick people, Caritas is the hospital for drug addicts.”

Caritas is always there with open doors, they said, and will guide you and support you unwaveringly, even when you are at your worst.

Marylee has been clean since 2005 and Miguel since 2020.

Caritas doors always open

Miguel now trains as an athlete, and, in April, he took on the challenge of running 100 kilometres around the coast of Malta to help Caritas raise funds. He completed the run and his last stop was the Caritas centre, in San Blas where users spend months working on themselves to quit drugs.

As for the son who changed their lives, he grew up supporting them through their battle with addiction. Marylee says he was a pillar of support from a very young age. He has since been joined by two other siblings and is a billiard player with Malta’s national team.

The couple will now help Caritas again today, during a fundraising telethon that will be broadcast live on all television stations between 11am and 11pm, during which people can donate to help the organisation carry out its work.