 Once pregnant and unwed, a young mother celebrates 'the value of life' By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Winter told more than 175 people at a Presbyterians Pro-Life gathering Saturday night that she "really enjoyed school," where she was working toward an elementary education degree. "Then I met a guy," she said. "And not just any guy – he swept me off my feet." Saying that she fell in love over the next year and a half, Winter said one day she learned she was pregnant, which "was devastating news at a small Christian college. We were confused – confused over where we would go, what I would do." She said the two of them had to make "a lot of hard decisions that day. Our love was so strong – we wanted to start a family; we planned to get married." Then, Winter said, we faced the question of "what about the baby? We had three options: abortion, which would have been very easy to get rid of the discomfort in our lives, but with our strong Christian upbringing, the life was valued; adoption; or raising a baby." She said they "talked about adoption, but we soon fell in love with this baby growing inside. We knew we had to tell our families that we were going to start a family. That was the hardest thing to do - tell them that we were going to sit down and start a family knowing about all their dreams for us, for our education." Winter said their families supported them, so "we planned a wedding filled with joy and excitement for life." Then, as her pregnancy progressed, problems developed and the baby was going to be born prematurely. She said the doctor told her that, if the baby was born that night, "the changes of survival would be less than 10 percent." They told her of possible problems, like "cerebral palsy, blindness, the list went on and on." Winter said the doctors tried to stop her labor, but it continued to progress. "We had no choice but to have the baby. She weighed one pound, 9 ounces and could fit in the palm of your hand." After the delivery, they "whisked her away and hooked her up to many machines." She said that, after she had recuperated sufficiently from a Caesarean section, "I went over to her, knowing full well that it might be the last time I saw her. There was nothing I could say or do. At that point, I knew that she was God's baby, not mine. He was the only one who could give her comfort. I had to surrender my will." But the baby did survive, Winter said. There were "long days – 75 days" in the neo-natal intensive care unit - but eventually she was able to take the baby home. She "was on monitors; there was therapy; and we didn't know what her future held." Then Winter talked about the effect the birth of her daughter had on her marriage. "We celebrated six years of marriage last week," she said. "God blessed us in so many ways. I understood the value of life. I understood how precious His children are. They are God's strength, His promise to us." "On July 16th," she said, "we celebrate another birthday. My daughter turns six." And then Winter introduced her daughter – and her younger sister – to the audience. |
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