When Kay came to Passage House, our Transitional Living Program for teen mothers, she was sixteen, six months pregnant, on probation and facing two years in jail.

At 37 weeks pregnant Kay had an emergency

C-section. That day her beautiful 6 pound 6 ounce baby girl, Katy, was born, but sadly there were complications. During the C-section doctors had discovered that Katy's heart rate dropped because her umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck two times. The prognosis was shocking: Cerebral Palsy.

For Kay, becoming a mother at the age of sixteen was difficult. Becoming a mother of a special needs child was incredibly daunting. Still almost a child herself, Kay had to learn how to cope with the special care and extra time her daughter would need, while also caring for herself. Though it was an immense challenge to educate herself about Cerebral Palsy, learn to navigate the healthcare system, and to find proper services for Katy, Kay persevered. She never gave in to despair about the loss of her dreams for a healthy child. Kay pushed herself even harder to create a better life for her new family and found purpose and direction for her future.