Planned Parenthood Narrative

I was blessed enough to grow up with every single one of my family members being happy, healthy, and all just a short walk away. Every one of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins live in the same neighborhood as me. The only time I ever had to visit the hospital was when my grandmother got knee replacement surgery.

I never knew I was so lucky until I heard friends in school talking about visiting their sick grandparents in the hospital or losing close relatives. When friends would lose a family member I didn’t always know what to say. I could listen and respond but I had no way of relating or knowing what to do to make them feel better. I’ve watched friends cry as they describe their evening spent in a hospital room the night before,

At first I was terrified. I was just a senior in high school I couldn’t except I was going to be a mother. My boyfriend was equally worried. It was a mistake but there was nothing we could do about it. After talking with the amazing women at Planned Parenthood, we both began to relax a little. My boyfriend and I both had good paying jobs, and families that would continue to love and support us, so I knew everything would turn out okay. We had decided together to wait to tell our parents, but we did share the pregnancy with a few close friends and siblings. Things were quickly begining to feel exciting. We were talking about baby names and what sport he would play. (I wasn’t far enough along to know the gender, but I just knew he was a boy.) Even though things weren’t planned, it seemed like everything was going to work out perfectly. On February 8th, 2016th, we lost him. I remember every single thing about that day. What I was wearing, what the weather was like outside. I will never forget it. I could never have guessed losing someone could hurt so bad. It was like nothing I had ever felt in my life. The first months were the worst. I began to distance myself from everyone I loved because I didn’t to laugh or feel happy. I ended up losing 50 pounds rapidly because food just didn’t taste good to me. Life didn’t feel worth