A Mother and Her Child
Martina Williams and Kameron Williams
Martina Williams was seventeen years old and eight months pregnant when she transferred her prenatal care to The Corner Health Center. Having just moved to Ann Arbor from Jackson, she knew immediately that The Corner Health Center was a good place for her. She met teenagers in the waiting room who had concerns similar to her own.
"From the beginning," Martina says. "I was very comfortable here. I knew that everything I said was confidential. This was not like any other clinic I had ever been to."
Martina's son Kameron was born on Christmas Day 2000, just a week before Martina's beloved grandmother died.
Cuddling Kameron, Martina says, "It's hard to have a baby at my age, but I felt that Kameron came at the right time."
Martina has continued to rely on The Corner Health Center for Kameron's health care as well as her own. She returns for Kameron's regular check-ups, takes part in the WIC program, talks with a Corner social worker when she needs a helpful ear, and participates in the A Star is Born program which sends Corner staff to her home to discuss parenting skills and to videotape her and Kameron together.
Martina lights up when she talks about her son, a smiling wide-eyed baby just itching to walk. She says when Kameron learned how to play patty-cake Martina was happy to see that landmark listed on the child development materials provided by The Corner Health Center.
When asked about the future, Martina has dreams and plan for both her and her son.
For Kameron, "I don't want anything that he doesn't want. I want to be a proud parent, watching him get on the school bus. I want to have high expectations for him."
Martina herself aspires to be an actress. Acting, she says confidently, fits her go-getter personality. Though Martina doesn't rule out achieving this long-term goal, she also has interim plans - to complete her GED, attend college and become a kindergarten teacher.
For now though, Martina is rushing off to take Kameron to childcare and to get to her job. As she leaves The Corner Health Center, she stops briefly to talk to a number of staff members.
"Everyone here knows me," she comments. "This is like my community, and people act like they're family."
|
