My Success Story 

By: 

Ruth McMahon

Hi my name is Ruth Nichole McMahon. I am a 33 year old mother of two children.I was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. My oldest is Malakii he is 10 and was born on May 31st 2012 and my youngest is Serenedee, she is 5 and was born December 18, 2017. I'm currently engaged to an amazing man. I was taking the Pharmacy Technician course through KLR in Term 4 which started February 21 2023 and ended on April 21st, 2023. I was told about the program from my academic coach at Christel House DORS Academy West located at 55 N Tibbs Ave Indianapolis IN 46222. There were several options to choose from but I figured Pharmacy Tech would suit me better. I had attended the excel center multiple times before but didn't seem like the teachers there were actually there to help me achieve my goals. To me it seemed like they were only worried about numbers not actually helping if that makes any sense.A little background on my life before becoming a KLR student. When I was younger I wasn't such a good student or even child/teenager. I was expelled from my highschool ( Lawrence Central High School) my Junior year for throwing other students' heads into the metal lockers and destroying school property. I hated school. I wasn't doing so well and didn't seem like I was going to graduate with the rest of my class because of my own actions on top of not understanding the material and not getting the help that I was asking for. So pretty much I just gave up. Well at the age of 15 I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, which made everything else even harder to handle. I was so bad that my own mother wanted to get two jobs just so she didn't have to be around me. In 2015 i put my life on hold because my mom got sick and I took responsibility as her caregiver. She had a massive heart attack and was in a medically induced coma for well over a month. Then came months of rehab to relearn everything. Well then she had to have a tracheostomy tube put in her throat because her windpipe had collapsed. So I was a full time caregiver to both my mom and my child so I put myself on the back burner a lot. Well fast forward to 2017 I reconnected with my now fiance and found out that I was pregnant with my daughter in May of 2017 which put my conception date just two weeks after me and him got together. Due to my high risk with my son I was considered high risk with my daughter so I was seeing all kinds of specialists for this pregnancy. So not only was I taking care of my mom and my son, I was forced now to take care of myself. Something I wasn't used to. Due to my high risk the doctors thought it would be better to deliver my daughter via c section as well so this time was a scheduled c section. Well I lost my mom in Nov of 2018 just a month before my daughters 1st birthday. That was a major hit to my mental health and I hit rock bottom. I've been in motels since then. I finally decided enough was enough and that it was time to take control of my life again so I signed up to get my high school diploma through the Christel House Dors and have hit several barriers in the meantime but I’m pushing through. Lost my father to a massive heart attack in front of my eyes in January of 2023 so that was another obstacle. I really enjoyed the KLR program. I mean it was a lot of work but at the end of the day it was completely worth it. Katie, Naomi, Shawna, Brent and the whole KLR team were very understanding, compassionate, and helpful. I enjoyed getting to meet new people and learning new things. Even though it was a lot of repetitive assignments and at the time seemed annoying it actually helped me remember the material. I plan on working in a hospital setting pharmacy after i finish getting my diploma. After i work to accomplish my home goals i plan on saving up to return back to KLR and take the medical billing and coding course as well and gain that certification as well.