Healing after trauma

Nadine was still struggling with past trauma when she came into our clinic.

When Nadine found our clinic, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The year prior, she moved from New York City to Dallas, and she had an infant son. She had no family in the area, and she was still trying to find steady work. When Nadine took a pregnancy test and saw two pink lines, her heart sunk: she was pregnant. She could hardly believe it.

“I panicked and didn’t know what to do,” Nadine said. “I didn’t know how I would take care of two kids. I was going through a very rough time financially. I didn’t have a stable job. It was bad back then.”

Nadine lost her first child, Tiara, due to a brain tumor when the little girl was just six years old. The lingering emotional toll from the loss of her daughter, along with the strain on her finances, made Nadine feel like she couldn’t handle another baby. She felt abortion was her only option.

While looking up pregnancy options online one night, our clinic came up during a Google search. She decided to make an appointment.

“I saw on the ultrasound that the baby already had a heartbeat,” Nadine said. “When I saw that, I couldn’t do [abortion]. Thrive helped me decide to keep my baby.”

Clinic staff—including her advocate, Annie—walked alongside her throughout her entire pregnancy. They prayed with her, listened to her concerns, and encouraged her. While pregnant, Nadine began attending Earn While You Learn classes. She took classes on discipline techniques, what to expect in toddlerhood and beyond, and financial topics including budgeting. After each class, Nadine earned “bucks” to spend in ourbaby store, and was able to buy essentials such as diapers, wipes, and clothing to prepare for her new baby.

“It helped me a lot,” she said. “Especially the full course I did on finance, which showed me how to manage money better.”

Today, Nadine is the proud mother of two toddlers—three-year-old Tariq and one-year-old Talise, the little girl whose heartbeat she heard on our sonogram machine. She also has a steady, full-time job she enjoys, serving as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) in a hospice.

“I can’t imagine not having Talise,” Nadine said.