Chantel Tankersley
Everest University
Having a child young opens your eyes to a whole new world. You realize that you have to grow up and put this perfect precious being before yourself, you find a new kind of love for the child you have had the privilege of bringing into this world. I was eighteen when I found out I was pregnant, had just broken up with my boyfriend (the father of the child), was living with my parents and had no job. I was in no way ready to have a child. About a month after I found out I was pregnant I went and applied for jobs everywhere I could because I knew that there was no way I would be able to buy things I needed for this baby. A week after putting in applications I got called in for an interview at Bob Evan’s to be a hostess, after two interviews I got the job. My ex and I had been talking and trying to work things out of and on but it was just one of those relationships that wasn’t ever going anywhere, it was like a constant battle. Needless to say we ended it for good and he said he wanted nothing to do with our child. I was devastated at first because how could he not want to be in his child’s life, watch he/she take their first breath, first word, first steps, all the things I was looking forward too. After a couple months I wasn’t upset anymore because I was getting my life together, had a good job and a great support system behind me and I knew that I was going to be able to raise this child on my own.
At six months I found out I was going to have a beautiful baby girl and couldn’t have been more excited. I was falling so much in love with this little being inside me and it was the most amazing feeling. I was so excited to go out and shop for her and get everything ready for her arrival in August. Two weeks later I was having horrible stomach pains and couldn’t walk so my mom rushed me to the emergency room. They immediately took me up to the maternity ward and put me in a room. The doctor came in and made me go to the bathroom so they could take a urine sample, I did and to my horror I was peeing blood! They hooked me up to iv’s and put the belly monitor’s on to make sure my baby girls heartbeat was normal and did a sonogram to see how she was. Luckily baby was perfectly fine I had a severe bladder infection and was ordered by my doctor to have bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy.
About a month and a half of bedrest I went to my doctor’s appointment and thankfully everything was fine and I didn’t have to be bed ridden any longer. I was so happy and grateful that my baby was healthy and I could go back to work and continue on about my life. I was ready and ecstatic that I was so close to giving birth to my daughter. Needless to say on July 17, 2003 at 6:14 a.m., four weeks before my due date, I was going into labor! So many emotions were running through me at that time. I was scared, nervous,