Married for eight years and her husband had just left.
Desiree came into the Pregnancy Resource Center and her suspicions were confirmed. She found out that she was pregnant and let us know that she already had 4 children at home. She had been married for only 8 years and through tears let us know that her husband had left her only a few weeks ago. Her husband didn’t know about the pregnancy and she was not sure if she would even tell him.
His violence had escalated over the years. At first it was arguments filled with angry words and then a push or a shove. He was always apologetic, but Desiree convinced herself that he didn’t mean it. The day he pushed her oldest daughter was the day she decided to leave. While he was at work, she threw anything she could in the back of the van, buckled the kids in the car and left for Central Oregon. They drove for days and slept in the car because she only had money for gas and a bit of food. She arrived on her mom’s doorstep in the middle of the night and she welcomed her with open arms. It was the fresh start she needed.
Desiree was facing a storm of change. She was now a single mom, she was looking for a job, needed assistance to provide financially for her kids and permanent housing was still uncertain. Desiree came to the Pregnancy Resource Center thinking she had to abort this 5th child. How could she support the family she had, and how could she start a job if she was pregnant? She would admit to not knowing if she wanted another baby from the man who abused her so often.
As she left PRC, Desiree wanted an abortion. She had agreed to come back in 5 days to have an ultrasound, just to know how far along she was, but was not going to change her mind. To her surprise, when she saw her baby on the screen her heart melted. The baby was already 15 weeks old, was moving and had a heartbeat. She saw it squirming, and although she could not feel it as it moved inside her belly, she fell in love with her baby at that moment.
As the winds of change threatened to topple her, the Pregnancy Resource Center cared for her and gave her the strength to move forward. Over the course of her pregnancy she was connected to resources in our community and she left our center on multiple occasions with her arms filled with food and clothes for her and her unborn baby. Her anchor came in the form of a small group at a local church that we were able to connect her with. This small group adopted her family, cooked for her, cleaned for her, paid a few bills, prayed with her and gave her children new backpacks to start the school year.
Because Desiree arrived at the doorstep of the Pregnancy Resource Center, she was able to endure the storm she was facing. If you are being blown away or tossed around by the storms in your life, call us. We can help you too.
