I am often at the bedside of a patient at the end of their life. Usually, and sadly, they are often alone, unable to speak and scared. It is a poverty that so many people are left alone to die, as families disconnect from each other, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is both humbling and a privilege to be with, and to serve people at the end of their life; especially those abandoned in the hospital at their last hour. How ironic, that the woman in a crisis pregnancy and her unborn child are often in the same dilemma or predicament as those abandoned at the end of their lives...most are scared, alone and confounded by the pressures of life, such that they experience a poverty of support.
I think Mother Teresa left us a blueprint for what our response should be in both situations
"It is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving."
but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving."
When a person feels alone, abandoned and in despair, panic and darkness can easily take residence so that one simply loses the will to carry on and gives in to that despair. Our mission at Alternatives, is to lead kindly, through compassionate care and advocacy, a person in crisis 'to the light', so that no matter what ultimately happens, the person receiving care at APC, leaves our clinic knowing that we care for them.
Today, the nurses were scanning a client whose real connection to her child began the moment she saw her child on the ultrasound image projected on the screen over her head, and in that instant, she broke down in tears with amazement and joy. "It's really a baby?!" she cried as the we handed her tissues and completed our medical report. The storm we face in this fight to shed light on the truth is that most women are misinformed about the very human nature they possess in their pregnancy. Whether they are told by the abortion industry who stands to profit from her unplanned pregnancy, there is nothing but a 'blob of tissue' or some other lie, the ultrasound waves wash over the unborn child, revealing human form, human movement, and a beating heart. Diagnostic imaging, a veil lifted to reveal a truth, so that a connection can be made between a mother and her child. Does every ultrasound result in a connection? Not always. But, can it save lives and bond human beings to each other before birth? Inexplicably so, and our staff has been witness to it, time and time again.
Those who support Alternatives through their time, their talent and their treasure are really the foundation of this wonderful bulwark; like pillars and bricks of a long weathered lighthouse. Standing on the shore at the edge of a large storm...a powerful light always seeking out those who are lost and need help.
In charity, we provide free medical services, in a safe and compassionate setting, where a woman can receive free pregnancy testing, limited obstetrical ultrasound, parenting/sexual health courses, post abortive care and client centered counseling that places her welfare & that of her unborn child as our first priority. In that spirit, the light that ultimately is shed upon her is truth, compassion and love. No matter what she decides, no matter where that journey takes her, our doors remain open to her, like a beacon to a safe harbor.
Tammy Maher RN, BSN, PHN
