Crystal was a guest speak at this year’s banquet. She is a former client and a wonderful mother. Here is her story as well as a link to her video at the bottom of the page.
I was a teenage runaway. When I was fifteen, I got pregnant. I thought abortion was my only option. My mother died when I was 7 of breast cancer and my father remarried quickly. I didn’t have time to grieve, so I got caught up in other things. My son’s father is much older than me. I found out I was pregnant in winter of 97. I felt devastated. The only option I knew was to not get pregnant. And if you did, you had an abortion because there was no way you could take care of the baby. So I made an appointment.
At that time, the abortion clinic was on Bellevue. There were people outside the clinic. I was sitting in my car because I couldn’t getout. I was crying. There was a lady who came and knocked on my window. She had been watching me battle with myself. She said she could help me, that I could talk about other options, and that I didn’t have to make a decision right then. I talked with her and made an appointment, I think it was a counseling appointment.
I felt afraid. But my appointment was so smooth. They referred me to a gyno who gave me prenatal vitamins and an ultrasound. I had two appointments at Life Choices and that was enough. I didn’t have to terminate a life. I knew if I walked out of the abortion clinic door I would be a killer. But I didn’t have to. I could do this. Life Choices helped me know that I COULD be a mom, what I could do to help my baby. I am so glad I went. It changed my whole life. My son is 18 now. I adore him. I wouldn’t know my dimple faced boy if it weren’t for Life Choices.
I really grew up with Kylan. I had him two months before I turned 16. His father was supportive through his childhood. My son has always been loved by both me and his father. His father is incarcerated now, and that has been really hard on Kylan, but he still stays in touch. His dad’s parents were awesome too, his grandmother was a huge part of his life. I had an amazing support system, from his parents, my dad and step-mom and my best friend.
I thought it was really important to keep Kylan busy with sports so he had structure and knew how to follow directions. He played football all through his childhood into highschool. He was the starting quarterback in highschool in10th,11thand 12th grade.
Now he is playing football at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock. They have a mandatory Bible study every Wednesday that he attends, and he goes to church on his own. He has a solid foundation. I am so proud of him. He has been through a lot, we were always honest with him. He knows I work hard and get a paycheck, but knowing real life has made him a stronger person. He wants to be the man his dad wanted to be, and he wants to be a family man.
The best thing he told me was when I dropped him off at college, he told “Mom, you should be proud of yourself, because you sent your first child to college. I couldn’t have done it without you, without your loving me, being there for me and teaching me.” That alone was worth every tear, heartache and worry I ever had being his mom. I cried like a baby when I took him to college. He is so helpful, he has a heart for the underdog. He feels that everyone should have love and know love.
Click HERE to view Crystal’s video.
