Seeking Answers and Finding Hope

Tomisha closed her eyes and threw back her head. She could hear the faint buzzing of the overhead fluorescent light as she stood in her tiny dorm room. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. There was the light fixture. There was the ceiling with the hairline cracks in the paint. Tomisha lowered her head and saw her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall.

There was Tomisha.

Hair disheveled. Sleep-deprived eyes. Tense mouth. Yesterday’s T-shirt.

She glanced down at the pregnancy test she’d picked up from the drug store this morning. Then she eyed the one from the day before. Positive. Negative. Which was it?

She was desperate to know, one way or the other. To be stuck in between was torture.

Tomisha placed her hand on her flat belly. The cramping was causing her anxiety. Was something wrong with her? Was she pregnant? Was her fear of being pregnant just manifesting itself in this way? She couldn’t even imagine facing her mom with the news if the pregnancy test truly was positive…

She felt like her very life hung in the balance. Halfway through college, in a far-from-serious relationship, this was no time to consider a baby. She had plans, and they did not include motherhood any time soon. Did they? Could they?

Her tired mind groped through her cluttered thoughts. Where could she get a definite test result? Quickly? With privacy? And little expense? Even the co-pay for a doctor’s visit was tough to come up with on her limited student’s budget.

Suddenly, she remembered that van. It was blue, with an advertisement for free and confidential pregnancy testing. She had seen it in the vicinity of the campus. Alpha-something. Tomisha grabbed her cell phone. After a quick search, she found it: AlphaCare.

Tomisha looked at herself in the mirror once again. Then she dialed.

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As pandemic restrictions lift, Philadelphia college campuses should be resuming in-person classes in the near future and the Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) will most likely be “on the road” once again in April. Please pray for AlphaCare as we hope to gain more of a presence in University City. Pray that we can reach more young college women like Tomisha with hope and help at a time when they feel overwhelmed, afraid and alone.