For Nicki Parrish, the sound of the phone ringing at 6:30 a.m. was troublesome. Even though she was exhausted in the early morning hours, the maternal instinct of worry that comes with unusually late or early phone calls kicked in.

 

Perhaps it was that early hour or the exhaustion that didn’t let anything else creep into her mind. After all, Nicki and Jason Parrish were still trying to get themselves planted in their new home in Austin, Texas.

 

Their family had moved from Bridgeport as Jason had applied for a new job in Austin and had been successful in the pursuit. In just a few months, however, they had to sell their home, buy a home, move from their old home and get started anew halfway across the country.

 

Add to that Jason getting acclimated to his new job territory, Nicki looking for and finding a job in the education field on a relatively short time frame, getting their one remaining child still living with them – Gavi – into a new school and the exhaustion that came from the move out of the city on July 12 was understandable. Exhaustion, however, was about to be replaced with the type of fear and panic no parent should have to go through.

 

It all happened less than a month after the move.

 

“The phone call came on August 3. I won’t forget the date – ever,” said Nicki.

 

The fear something was wrong proved to be spot on. The assumption as to who it had transpired to was not.

 

“When my phone rang, the caller ID said Morgantown. I thought something happened with (my son) Coleton (a BHS graduate and WVU student). It turned out the number was from my daughter Delaney’s friend Peyton who has a West Virginia number,” said Nicki.

 

Peyton was Peyton Ryan from Fairmont. She is the daughter of Bridgeport’s Claude Ryan and the stepdaughter of Briana Ryan. She also happens to be Nicki daughter’s Delaney Marsh’s friend and roommate.

 

The call, however, wasn’t from Morgantown. Rather, the 23-year-old Delaney Marsh (a 2014 Bridgeport High School alumna) and Peyton Ryan are roommates in Miami where both are doing their part to create their own professional niche. That niche for the 2019 West Virginia University graduate with a degree in fashion merchandising nearly was derailed in a horrific and unforeseen way.

 

“Peyton called and was bawling; she told me something was wrong with Delaney. She said they were in a late-night club in Miami and someone had drugged her,” said Nicki.

 

With fear already gripping her from the time she heard Peyton’s voice, the fog of processing what was transpiring and knowing how far away she was from her child got worse when Peyton told her the call was coming from an ambulance. Things were only going to get worse from here, but before going to what was about to transpire after the phone call it’s important to know what transpired prior.

 

“One of the things I talked about with Delaney when she went to Miami were some of the things that happen everywhere but is more prominent there. I talked about young ladies having their drinks drugged and to make sure someone she trusted was always with her and for them to keep their eyes on one another,” said Nicki.

 

Peyton Ryan had her eyes on her friend. As she watched her, Nicki said Peyton told her she didn’t didn't think her West Virginia friend was doing okay.

 

“She told Delaney they should leave now and started walking down the stairs and just like that Delaney lost control and she need to be carried to an Uber,” said Nicki.

 

Things then went from bad to horrific. Only needing to go a few blocks to their apartment, Delaney began having seizures for the first time in her life. She was foaming at the mouth and things in such a short time frame deteriorated.

 

The friends never made it inside the apartment. Instead, Delaney was lying on the sidewalk and, fortunately, someone seeing the situation called 911 as panic ensued. First, the police arrived. Then, an ambulance arrived, and Delaney Marsh was off in the earliest morning hours to the hospital.

 

“That’s when Peyton called. She told me she couldn’t see what was going on, but she said they were working on her inside the ambulance,” said Nicki. “… Peyton was certain someone had drugged her.”

 

Drugs were, in fact, in Delaney’s system. The medical report showed four types of drugs – stimulants and depressants – of a nature that Jason Parrish, who is in the pharmaceutical industry, had to look them up. That, however, was after the situation. Now, the situation was still taking place and declining at the same time.

 

“I got a call from Peyton minutes after that. She told me they felt I needed to here and that’s when I started freaking out. Peyton said doctors were surrounding her and working on her,” said Nicki. “After that Jason was trying to find the quickest way to get there. Thank God he was there because all I could do was get on the floor and pray.

 

“It wasn’t long after that the hospital called and said she was gravely ill and in the ICU,” said Nicki. “I can’t explain the feeling I had across my body.”

 

The seizures continued. She was unconscious. She had a breathing tube.  And one of the worst parts was her eyes weren’t dilating.

 

“They were worried there was brain damage and we learned she was going to get a CAT scan and we heard almost immediately after the scan there was no brain damage,” said Nicki. “You hear that and have a little glimmer of hope, but we had been told that they weren’t sure she was going to make it through the day. It was the early stages of the worst day of my life.”

 

Part of the day was spent flying after Jason had managed to secure a route via air to Miami. From Austin to Miami was not direct and it took Nicki Parrish 14 hours to get to her daughter. All mom knew when she left Austin was that her daughter was in a bad way and the next few hours were crucial.

 

“I was on that plane knowing something could happen and had no way to find out because you couldn’t be on the phone. It was torture of the worst kind,” said Nicki.

 

By 3 p.m., Nicki Parrish was on her layover. She immediately took her phone off airplane mode hoping for the best, yet mentally preparing for the worst.

 

“The first news I got was they were going to try and wake her up and no longer keep her sedated,” said Nicki. “Again, you had some relief. At the same time there was still fear because I just didn’t know.”

 

That would change in an airplane terminal that her memory can’t recall as she waited for a connecting flight to Miami. Her phone rang. Delaney was on the other end and facetiming with her.

 

“I was sitting there weeping in the airport. The relief can’t be measured, but at least I knew before getting on my next flight she was okay,” said Nicki. “I just kept thanking God because I believe God saved her. I hardly told anyone, yet people knew, and they were praying for her. God intervened. No one will convince me He didn’t.”

 

A few hours later, Nicki Parrish was with her daughter. Her body littered with IVs; mom realized face to face her daughter had nearly died.

 

“She didn’t remember any of it,” said Nicki. “Amazingly, she was released the next day; less than 24 hours later.”

 

What happened? Nicki said it’s likely they’ll never know as her daughter is back on the road to normalcy as she and Peyton have a new apartment, Delaney continues to work at Nordstrom, and a near-death experience has made an already cautious pair of friends go to an even higher level of caution.

 

“I think she was drugged to be raped or to be taken into sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is a huge industry in Miami. Thank God Peyton was there watching her because I think if that was going to happen, she thwarted it,” said Nicki. “I have a hard time thinking about the outcome without Peyton being there.”

 

Nicki also was thankful for Claude and Briana Ryan. The couple, in Florida at the time, were there in the earliest part of the dilemma and gave the Parrish family a bit of comfort in a situation where little was to be found.

 

“I can’t thank those two enough,” she said. “I also can’t tell parents enough to talk to your daughters that this is possible anywhere and educate them. I talked with Delaney about this and it still happened, but the fact she knew to be with someone saved her life. He listening to that advice means we still have her.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is a portrait of Delaney Marsh, while she's shown with mom Nicki Parrish in the second photo. A third photo shows Delaney in a hospital in Miami after her incident. The fourth photo shows Jason and Nicki Parrish with the family, from left, Gavi Parrish, Delaney Marsh and Coleton Marsh. In the bottom picture, Delaney, front row, second from left, is shown in high school with her BHS friends. All photos courtesy of Nicki Parrish.