Story of Karli

Karli Ann Mangum

Born :
December 18, 2007
1:23pm
3 pounds 11 ounces
17 inches long

Delivery Type:
Emergency C-section

Mother:
Jackie Paschall
20 years old

Father:
Kelvin Mangum
33 years old

How it all began:

It was January 2007, I was working at a gas station while also going to college. I met Kelvin at the store, he would come in every evening when he got off of work, buy him a couple of beers and cigarettes and he'd tell me how pretty my eyes were. One day he asked me for my number, I gave it to him and deep down inside kind of hoped he wouldn't call but he did. We hit it off pretty good. He would come to the house, he was around me & my family, we went to the beach once and hung out a lot. April 2007, I realized something was different about me, I was sleeping entirely too much and felt sick at times, plus my appetite went crazy and I was hungry all the time. After a few weeks of worrying I went to the pregnancy center in Bay City and took a test. Positive. I was pregnant. I called Kelvin to share the news with him and everything changed. He wanted proof. So I showed him my paper from the center and he was a totally different person. Although he told me he'd be there for me he wasn't. I was 7 weeks pregnant when an unfamiliar number showed up on my phone. Her name, was Kera. Back in January when Kelvin had first started talking to me, she had given birth to his daughter Kailyn on the 17th. They had been living together for two years, were engaged to be married, and already had a family together. This broke my heart. There was no way I'd ever dream of giving up a child, so I told her I planned to have the baby but as for me and him we were done. I was 19 years old and pregnant I never dreamed of being a single mom, I wanted my child's father to be in her life. So everytime he called saying him and Kera broke up and he wanted to be with me, I went running back. This only caused problems between me and her. They fought, he beat her up, she put him in jail. December 2007, I was 8 months pregnant. I went to the doctor on the 18th for a regular doctor's visit. He had me on a heart monitor just keeping a close eye on the baby because she was smaller than normal. I knew nothing was wrong..until he came into the room, looked at the paper and walked out. He returned a few minutes later and asked me if I knew I was having contractions. I told him no, I felt something but it didn't hurt. He showed me on the paper how everytime I was having a contraction, Karli's heart would almost come to a complete stop. She was just as stressed out as I was, and the doctor had to get her out of me. I was rushed over to the hospital and as they prepared me for surgery, my doctor warned me that there was a possibility she wouldn't make it. 1:23pm, my daughter was born. 3 pounds 11 ounces, 17 inches long. A head full of hair, lungs stronger than mine, and a stomach that could hold more milk than any other baby in the nursery. She was strong, just like her mother. She came out ready to eat, breathing on her own, no machines needed. I was so grateful, so happy to have my small but healthy baby girl. The first time I held her, true love was felt. We both got to come home 2 days after her birth. She weighed 3 pounds 8 ounces when she left the hospital. Exactly one week before Christmas, she was my miracle baby. Several months later her dad got out of jail. From all of the letters he wrote me, I thought he'd be there for us. I thought he'd be a father to her. But, that wasn't the case. He pulled this he wanted a dna test crap. So I took him to court for child support, he got his dna test, got proof she was his and I wasn't lying to him. 2 years later, Karli has turned into a beautiful toddler. Even tho she looks a lot like her dad, she is still beautiful in my eyes. Her dad still doesn't come around. He will come see her, then again 6 months later. He expects her to know him, but his crazy girlfriend Kera won't let him come alone to my house. After everything he has put me though, I'm not stupid enough to get involved in that again. I have no love for him. He is nothing but a sperm donor to me, and when Karli is old enough, I will tell her why her father was never there. I will tell her everything he put me through. Everything he never did for her. All of the birthdays he missed, the first steps, first words, first tooth, first hair cut. He can't get any of that back. And honestly, I hope when she's walking across the stage at her high school graduation and accepts her diploma, she looks at me and says "Thank you mom for everything" and if her dad is even there "I did this without you" . I have no complaints of being a single mom, I can say I've enjoyed everything he has missed out on. How a man can chose a girlfriend over his own child is beyond me but Karli Ann Mangum is my heart and soul and I will always love her.