Kristina's Story

When I think back on the journey that brought me to Lakes Area Pregnancy Support Center, I'm filled with joy, peace, and gratitude for a support system I wasn't sure I even wanted, let alone needed.

In early 2025, I experienced a miscarriage that left me in absolute shambles. A month before I became pregnant with my son, Griffin, I retired from the U.S. Army and moved to the area, leaving behind friends who had become my family.

I often joke that I'd rather go back to Afghanistan than be pregnant again because at least I had trained for Afghanistan! I had access to all the resources of the VA care system, but I still couldn't put my finger on the one thing I was missing: connection. So, I scheduled a "Free Consultation" at LAPS.

I didn't want to be there. I wanted a nap, and unless someone was going to rub my feet, I had very little interest. But at the end of that first appointment, Kaydi asked me one question that would forever change my story.

She asked, "Can I pray for you?"

The short story is that I said yes. The longer story involves refusing to acknowledge God for the ten years prior to that moment. I bowed my head, folded my hands, and closed my eyes.

As I entered my 28th week of pregnancy, complications began. My baby's growth had declined significantly. On December 23, an ultrasound led to an emergency referral to Children's Hospital, just in time for Christmas Eve.

I kept thinking God would take this baby from me, just as I had lost my first. While I continued to struggle with doubt, I kept coming back to LAPS, and Kaydi kept praying, all the way through the urgent induction of my son.

At one month old, Griffin was diagnosed with a tethered spinal cord and would need major spinal surgery before his first birthday. For the first time in more than ten years, I prayed. In the dark, in the middle of the night, while feeding him and watching him sleep, I prayed.

Kaydi prayed. And she kept praying.

On July 13, Griffin was sedated for an MRI of his spine. It was the first time I had ever handed my baby to a stranger. I felt more helpless than ever, and yet, I prayed.

The neurosurgeon told us Griffin did not have a tethered spinal cord. He said, "We don't really need to see you ever again for this."

I sobbed more in that moment than I had throughout my entire pregnancy and Griffin's first six months of life combined.

Some days, I came back just for a pack of diapers, with a screaming newborn in his car seat. But I was always excited to see Kaydi.

Through one short prayer, Kaydi and the entire LAPS organization changed the trajectory of my life and my son's life. LAPS became the bridge to the "big thing" that had been missing in my life. It was a light in my darkest hours and a little prayer that helped bring me back.

– Kristina Larson