{"id":221648,"date":"2020-04-13T12:36:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T17:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=221648"},"modified":"2020-04-12T23:11:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T04:11:26","slug":"woman-chose-life-raped-cousin-son-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/woman-chose-life-raped-cousin-son-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman chose life after being raped by her cousin: ‘My son is my greatest gift’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At age 25 and living in North Carolina, Zoey Pardo found herself at the home of one of her cousins one evening, planning to enjoy a night of talking and catching up with family members. The night would end, however, with Pardo being drugged and raped by one of her cousins. When she learned she was pregnant, she at first decided on an abortion — but ultimately, she chose life for her son.<\/p>\n

During the evening of her rape, Pardo began to feel “woozy” and said she needed to lie down. Her cousin offered her his bedroom, and Pardo didn’t think twice about it.\u00a0“I was safe. I was with family. I was with my cousins,” she wrote<\/a> in an essay for Love What Matters. “At no point did I ever think I was in danger of being raped.”<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Raped and pregnant at 17, Mara planned to hide her abortion forever. God had other plans.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That night, her cousin entered the room, and Pardo woke up during the assault. She froze with fear. “I was afraid,” she said. “I was afraid of what was happening. I was afraid to say something. I was afraid to move inadvertently.”<\/p>\n

She stayed frozen for the rest of the night, and in the morning waited until she heard other voices before getting up. She was alone and saw her underwear on the floor. She realized that what had happened wasn’t a dream, but a living nightmare. She went about the morning as if nothing had happened and later, when she arrived at her friend’s house, told her friend what had happened. They headed to the hospital where a nurse performed a rape kit and gave her the Plan B pill and anti-viral HIV medications. The police were called and she recounted the rape to them along with a description of her cousin. She didn’t tell anyone else about the rape until six weeks later when she learned she was pregnant.<\/p>\n

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I enjoying being more open about my life and my story. Here\u2019s Caiden guys. My son is 6 years old and on the spectrum. He came as a surprise considering he was the result of a sexual assault by a family member. I do not see my son as a negative product, but as a blessing. He SAVED my life. He taught me love, patience, kindness. No one wants to have a child with a label, but I have learned so much from him. He knows when I\u2019m happy. Sad. He makes sure I\u2019m safe. It\u2019s weird like sometimes he\u2019s the parent lol. He\u2019s been receiving services since he was 1 yrs old. He didn\u2019t start talking until he was 4. We have overcome a lot of challenges, him and I. From being hungry and homeless together to now being this unstoppable mother son duo. I love this little guy with my whole heart. He\u2019s not my assault, he\u2019s not my enemy, he\u2019s my beloved. He doesn\u2019t look like me everyday and even on those days the only person I see is Caiden \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f #autism #autismawareness #love #rapevictim #rapesurvivor #itsnotyourfault #useyourvoice #removingthemask #removingthetoxins #blessed #blessed? #metoo #mystorywillbeonpapersoon #confident #silentnomore #twins #thatsmyboy #sonday #mommasboy? P.S. these pics were taken after his swim lesson. Yes my baby can swim. He gonna be the black Michael Phelps ??<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Zel<\/a> (@pardonmyvsg) on