Almost eight months after her nightmare, not only is Margaret MacDonald of Cranbrook still waiting to get charges against her dismissed, she's still waiting for a court date.

On the May long weekend of last year, MacDonald, 82, was charged with failing to provide a breath sample, given a Notice of Driving Prohibition for three months, told to pay a $500 fine and informed her car would be immediately towed.

The thing was, MacDonald's blood alcohol content was zero. The 82-year-old senior doesn't even drink. And not only is she out of pocket for charges and legal fees for something she didn't do, those costs are mounting.

"I have still not been to court," MacDonald said on Wednesday. "And now, I have to pay more money to my lawyer to continue."

On May 21, 2011, MacDonald was returning from visiting a friend in Jaffray. Coming back into Cranbrook at about midnight, she inadvertently turned down the wrong side of the meridian on Cranbrook Street. She thought it safer to keep on to the intersection ahead rather start backing up on the Strip. There were no cars in sight in front of her anyway. She thus safely made her way home.

However, she had been followed by an off-duty police officer, who said she had summoned a patrol car to administer a breathalyzer test to MacDonald. When the officers arrived, MacDonald says they made her attempt to give a breath sample around 15 times.

However, MacDonald was unable to generate sufficient breath, due to various issues she has with her lungs. "I told the RCMP several times that I could not blow hard enough because I had had pneumonia and that I had lung scarring and congestion. This made no difference to their behaviour and they continued to try to give me the test."

By this time it was about 1:30 a.m. MacDonald was dressed in only sandals, a skirt and T-shirt as the temperatures dropped.

"I had been standing in the middle of the street all the time in the glare of the headlights from the RCMP car. I was becoming much more stressed and cold and my legs started to hurt. I could see some of my neighbours watching from their windows. I was traumatized."

One of the officers at the scene - who MacDonald said was relatively polite - finally called a superior, who eventually arrived 35 to 40 minutes later, MacDonald said, and insisted she continue with the testing. This officer, MacDonald said, was rude and aggressive, shouting at her, banging his fist on the hood of her car, saying that she was deliberately impeding the test and that she was drunk.

"I can smell alcohol on you," MacDonald says he shouted at her. When she replied that she didn't drink, he of course didn't believe her. "They all say that," he said.

MacDonald was forced to stand out in the street for about another hour, she said. A tow truck came at 2:45 a.m. and hauled away her car. She was given the maximum penalties under the new impaired driving laws the province brought in in 2010.

MacDonald was traumatized and embarrassed, but she had the presence of mind to immediately take a cab to the hospital, where a blood test was taken. The result? Zero per cent blood alcohol content.

On the Tuesday after the long weekend, she went to the Cranbrook detachment to complain about her treatment.

The corporal in charge was very helpful and apologetic, MacDonald said. He told her he didn't have the power to drop the charges, but provided her with a letter to the the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (SMV) that read: "I believe it is only fair that this Driving Prohibition and Vehicle Impound be terminated and removed from your driving record as soon as possible to mitigate any further impact to yourself."

The corporal then helped her file an appeal with the SMV adjudicator. But despite the letter from the Cranbrook corporal and the blood test certificate saying MacDonald had zero blood alcohol content, the adjudicator upheld the charges.

The day after receiving this news, in June, 2011, MacDonald suffered a mild, stress-related heart attack and was in hospitalized for several days.

"I've been through a lot in my 82 years," she said. But the physical and ongoing emotional and financial stress was taking its toll.

MacDonald said the attorney general's department did eventually reinstate her license, if she would postpone a June court date until September. This appearance was moved to October, in Golden, and that date itself was cancelled.

Now, her case has gone into limbo for at least six months. In late November of last year, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jon Sigurdson declared part of the province's tough new impaired driving law unconstitutional. He subsequently suspended his decision for six months, to give the province time to review and correct flaws in the legislation - especially in regards to the higher penalties applied.

"So I'm driving," she said, "but I still have the court date hanging over my head."

MacDonald added that it gives her no joy to be taking on the RCMP. One of her sons, in fact, was a Mountie, and even served in Cranbrook.

As of now she is waiting to see what will happen. But she is determined to continue to fight to have her name cleared and the thousands of dollars in costs recouped.

"I can't be out thousands of dollars like that, for something I'm not guilty of," she said. "I'm on a fixed income. I moved to Cranbrook because living is cheaper, and because it's a more stress-free life." MacDonald laughed as she said that.

"But I still have to go the Supreme Court, and hope I get this wiped out, and recover at least some of my costs."