Christopher's story

I was fifteen sexually active and pregnant with an already unhealthy child. When I think back now upon the choices set in front of me at such a young age, I feel the severity of the time coming full force and reckoning with me.

I was young, a mother to be, a teen pregnancy. You have heard the stories of the heartache and heart break of teen pregnancies.

Mine is not much different from those in most senses except that the choice I was forced to make might be inconceivable to most.

I was told in the beginning of my pregnancy that my unborn child would indeed have some birth defects.

I was seen by the Neo natal specialist she informed me that my son was unable to urinate in the womb.

Now I at least knew what was wrong with him. The doctor explained that having a child with dissabilities was a huge responsiablity.

She I do believe thought that a fifteen year old girl was not ready to raise a child with special needs. She was coarse with me and giving me the most gruesome possibilities.

The tact to scare me just made me more determined. She told me that she would like to do a procedure called the amniocentesis, her reasoning for this particular procedure was to ensure the baby was not going to be mentally handicapped as well.

For if this was the case then the doctor would terminate my pregnancy. The amniocentesis consisted of a very large needle being injected into my stomach and into the incredibly delicate umbilical cord.

Then the fluid of the cord would be with drawn and tested for mental retardation.

The results from the procedure were normal indicating that the baby would be healthy mentally.

The doc was still not convinced not knowing the extent of my sons problems, that a teen could care for a child that would for sure be a ridiculous amount of energy and time.

After again voicing her opinion she gave me two weeks to think over my decision to have the child or medically abort.

As soon as the words left her mouth an uneasy feeling subsided over me for the next few days. What a terrible thing to think of much less decide.

Many have to make decisions on rather or not to keep a child but few have the decision of rather or not to keep an unhealthy child.

I admit I was young and scared I turned to my family for support.

My mother being the kind and giving women that she is did not impede her opinion on to me like some other parents have done to their children in the past. She simply told me if I deiced to keep my child she would support us.

As you know that is the most unselfish gift a mother could offer her child and unborn grand child who is sure to have health issues.

My grandmother was alive at this time and being a most spiritual and understanding women I spoke with her of my concerns.

I had several of course I wanted my child but would it be fare to bring him into the world knowing he would not be healthy.

Could I really handle a child with special needs? Give him the love and attention he would need.

I was torn between the dream I had of being a mother and the cruel reality.

My grandmother listened to me earnestly and then said there was only one piece of advice she had to give, it was the most honest intriguing thing and it made all the difference.

She said "Jenny the baby is alive now if god wants him home early then let god take him, but don't you send him home early."

That one sentence that one piece of advice clenched my decision and once it was made I never looked back.

After several failed attempts to implant a shunt into the baby's bladder while he was still in the womb the doc decided she would like to try an experimental procedure on me and the baby.

As I sat and listened to the plan and all of the pros's and con's versus what was already facing us.

I decided to do it after signing several legal documents stating that I understand the experimental procedure was no guarantee that my child would live through it or my self.

We began.

I reported to my doc's office three days a week for the first week. The procedure consisted of this.

Inserting an amniocentesis needle through my stomach through the baby's stomach and into his bladder.

Now there was a syringe attached to the needle and the doc would drain the badder by drawing the urine into the syringe, then pulling the needle out of the bladder and stomach of the baby and stopping just in side the amniotic sac.

She would inject the urine trying to fill the dry amniotic sack. Thus increasing the baby's chance of survival by helping to develop his lungs.

This procedure seemed to be working wonderfully for the first two weeks. Then I started to have complications.

I began to go into labor after each session and the doc had to subside my labor with medication each time. The more we did it the harder it became to stop the labor.

Finally I had hit my 36Th week and the doc's wanted to give me steroid shots to develop the baby's lungs.

This would prepare him for birth as a c-section was schedule for the following week. I was to receive two shots. Begining Tuesday and Thursday of that week. Tuesday I arrived for my app and received my shot.

After,I went home and as I felt in tuned with the pregnancy noticing and paying attention to every movement and non movement of the baby.

I noticed a slight tugging nagging feeling in the back of my stomach not pain, no not labor, something else.

I knew that I would be sent home but on the side of caution I had a family member take me to the hospital and drop me off at the emergency room which had been like a second home through my pregnancy.

The monitors were placed on me and in no more than 20 minutes time. I was informed an emergency c-section was needed.

They gave me 15 minutes, before surgery and time was allowed for me to contact family. They lived ten minutes from the hospital.

I am told the family arrived seven minutes later and I was on the table already being cut for the delivery.

I woke up some time later and was presented with a beautiful baby boy. He had already had surgery when he was born then he spent three minutes with me.

Then suddenly he was being whisked away for more hours of surgery.

In those brief minutes that I held my son I saw how generous God really was. The baby was born with all his fingers all his toes and no other physical deformity was visible at that time.