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A Client Shares Her Thoughts (1) Most people think that by the time you are 28 years old you should know better than to get yourself pregnant. When I was a teenager my mom and dad always told me to never be sexually active until I was married. When I was 27 I met Tony, a man that I thought was “Mr. Right”. Tony swept me off my feet. I never had a reason to doubt him nor did I ever question him. I thought he was a traditional man who respected me. Eight months into the relationship I was laid off from my job. My bills started to get behind and Tony offered for me to move in with him. I felt I had no choice since all my family lived out of state. I figured it was the best option I had. It did not take long before our relationship moved to the next level and Tony and I became intimate. He kept telling me that his love was genuine and that he would never leave me no matter what. Unfortunately when I missed my first period I hoped it was just the stress of being unemployed so I ignored it and waited for the second missed cycle before I went to the dollar store. When the pregnancy test turned positive I rationalized that it was a cheap test and probably defective. Shortly after I took the test I began to throw up and no matter how hard I tried to make excuses I knew I had to be pregnant. The next step was to tell Tony. I thought that would be easy. I waited until he came home from work to tell him. I had made a nice dinner and once we were both sitting down I shared what I thought would be favorable news with him. He did not say anything for a few minutes and then he asked me if the baby was his or someone else’s child. I could not believe what he was saying. I told him I had never been with anyone else and that the baby was definitely his child. He just kept saying over and over that he did not understand how this could have happened. He told me that he thought the best thing would be if I just had an abortion. He did not want children at this point in his life. He felt we were not financially ready for children. He made abortion sound like the best option. In the morning Tony took me to a clinic. When we got out of our car there were people standing near us passing out cards. They handed a card to Tony and said something about some people who could help us. I started to walk toward the door of the clinic. Tony was holding the card the man had given him. I reached over and took it from him. The first thing I noticed was this woman holding a baby on the card. She looked so happy to me. I wanted to be her. I started to cry and Tony stopped and stared at me. I turned away from the doorway and walked toward our car just holding that card. I wasn’t sure what the place on the card was but I knew it was a sign that someone cared. Two days later Tony and I contacted The Lennon Center and made an appointment. We met the nicest people at the center. They were informative and provided us with so many referrals for insurance, doctors, housing and possible employment positions for me. When we left we both were so glad we had gotten their card. We never would have known about a place like The Lennon Center if the man outside the clinic in Dearborn had not handed us that card. While I am not proud of the fact that I ever considered having an abortion I am sure glad of the fact that I took the time to look down at the lady on that card. I think somehow she was trying to talk to me that day. Her face jumped off the page and smiled at me and gave me hope. Tony and I have been back to the center on several occasions seeking counseling and material assistance. We are hoping to take parenting classes soon also. Visiting the Lennon Center is like visiting family. Lisa and Tony |
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If you are interested in this program or other aspects of the Lennon
Center Programs, Send mail to
thelennoncenter@ameritech.net with
questions or comments about this web site.
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