Last fall, I had the opportunity to meet with a client; we’ll call her Julie. Julie came to PDHC after she had scheduled, rescheduled and cancelled two abortion appointments prior to coming to PDHC. She has experienced more in her young life than anyone should have to in a lifetime. From assaults, to rape, to sex trafficking, to drug and alcohol addictions, Julie was caught in a cyclical pattern of hurt and abuse. She had graduated from a half-way house earlier in the year and was sober for a short time until she met a man who abused her and used her to earn more money and drugs.
Julie relapsed after months of sobriety. When she discovered that she was pregnant with much courage and strength, she refrained from drug and alcohol abuse and she fled the toxic environment she was living in to stay with a family member.
When she arrived at PDHC, she was inquiring about the baby before she went through with an abortion. After her consultation and during her ultrasound, her baby measured over 20-weeks gestation! Julie was tearfully watching as her baby moved, kicked and jumped around on the ultrasound screen. She stated “I didn’t know the baby was that big…It’s really hard to think of aborting the baby after I saw how big and formed he was”. As her nurse, we then discussed fetal development and what an abortion at this gestation would entail. The client left our center with a handful of resources, including counseling, sober-living encouragement, and doctor’s referral for fetal development after exposure to drugs in utero.
Two weeks later, Julie contacted me through our hotline and explained that she had decided to keep the baby and had a doctor’s appointment scheduled to begin prenatal care. She contacted her sober-living home and is back in therapy. She also signed up for our parenting classes to earn material aid and was very engaged in the program.
Recently, I had the opportunity to see Julie and her baby GIRL again, but this time, she was in her arms. Julie has remained sober and had an uncomplicated delivery of a healthy baby girl- Praise God! Her family and community have rallied around her to support her. After I provided her with help breastfeeding, Julie looked at me and said, “Alyssa it’s so surreal being here…I can’t believe I considered aborting her…but now I’m a mom and I can’t imagine my life without her”.
Julie has a deep love for her child and is seeking help and healing from her past traumas. She is still actively involved in our parenting education program and benefiting from other PDHC partnering community resources. God used this pregnancy in Julie’s life to save her from the chains of abuse and addiction. What an amazing, brave and selfless thing she did to say YES to life for this child- and herself!
by Nurse Alyssa