My husband
and I are MORE than grateful for connecting with Care Net. Everything happens for a reason and while I
couldn’t understand why we unfortunately lost our first baby last October, I
knew that God must have had a plan for us.
I just didn’t understand… didn’t know why all these bombs were going off
in our lives… I had never felt so alone
and so upset and scared.
Time
certainly helps to heal but after finding out just three months later that we
were pregnant again, we were excited, scared, nervous, and very anxious. I didn’t have health insurance…. I had no
medical support and all I wanted to know is if this second baby – rather this
second miracle - was okay or not. Was
there a heartbeat, was I going to lose this baby too, was I doing something
wrong? I knew all the worrying and
anxiety was bad for both me and my baby, I knew stress was not good in
pregnancy… my mind was racing and my heart unsettled.
Feeling so
desperate and scared, I began to research pregnancy services in my area and
discovered Care Net in Port Saint Lucie.
I truly believe God put this place on our path. My husband and I were able to receive an
ultrasound* on our very FIRST visit – and I know most places make you wait
until you reach 20 weeks to get an ultrasound! Receiving that ultrasound was like putting a
Band-Aid on our hearts. We were able to
see that heartbeat, that flicker of light… I knew I had life inside of me… a
feeling that I cannot even begin to describe.
On that very same first visit we were given ultrasound photos to take
home and were also given a homemade patchwork quilt – so very nice! Not only
that, we were able to meet with the Men’s Director, who just happens to be a
local pastor and a peer-counselor who met with my husband and I together and
also separately. Through the love of God
this place has shown us support, love, and caring in such a way that sometimes
it’s unfathomable to think that such a place really exists right here on the
Treasure Coast!
I first
entered Care Net in a state of terror and crisis. I knew that my emotions were
getting the best of me. I kept thinking
about what had recently just happened to me and my husband and how it had begun
to chisel at my marriage. I felt that I
didn’t have the support that I needed to grieve... I was pregnant again and
supposed to be feeling all this joy and happiness, but fear was blocking
everything. Walking in to Care Net that
evening changed everything – not only for me, but for my husband too.
I’m now 25
weeks pregnant and mountains of positive progress have been created and shaped
for me, my husband, and my son – who will make his grand debut in September! Care Net offers an Earn While You Learn Video
Series. We are able to choose from a
wide array of interactive prenatal and postnatal video topics that we are
interested in most as expectant parents. As we watch videos we earn points and are then
able to go ‘shopping’ in their store, which is amazing!
All they want to do is help in any way they can
– whether it’s with words or with items that we are in need of. Sometimes our peer-counselors will watch
videos with us, which is really comforting because we can pause the video,
comment and share thoughts and ideas which is helpful - and quite fun actually
too!
We look
forward to our weekly meetings. Emails
are shared throughout the week and we feel like we have met some truly
incredible people. People that care
about us and pray for us. These people
have helped me enjoy my pregnancy and have helped me in my marriage as well
through counseling and through the Bible – amazing blessings have come our way! I no longer hold onto this fear and anxiety
because they have helped us to feel and to KNOW that it’s all going to be ok. Again, we are grateful to Care Net and to
God for allowing us to connect with such a beautiful and spiritual place. We are also excited to continue to connect
with them – even after our son is born!
We’d like to
send our appreciation to all the staff and volunteers that have helped us. We don’t know where we would be without all
the hugs, support, and love. THANK YOU
from the bottom of our hearts!
*(Care Net
offers free ultrasounds on a limited basis.)
