Author: Melissa Baca

Course: N/A
Instructor: Sandra Jackson
Researcher: Lucas Keeling
Summary: Melissa Baca’s story recounts her tragic experiences of
losing her boyfriend while being pregnant with their child. She
articulates how she felt like she took him for granted. She discovered his
body with his mother scaring her. This trauma lingered for years and in
her own words might never go away. She simply learned how to
persevere through it. Losing the child also made her feel inadequate but
her belief that everything happens for a reason enabled her to continue to
push through these tragic experiences. She goes from someone who
can’t even bring herself to seek help from her family to someone who is
actively engaged in therapy and seeks help often. The lesson she learned
from this was to be grateful for your time with those you love knowing it
can be snatched away at a moment's notice. She learns the beauty of life
through reflecting on its inherent tragic nature. The meaning she
constructs through this process makes her more courageous and capable
of persevering.

Codes:
Taking Happiness for Granted (L1-L1) - Traumatic Loss (L17-L48) -
Inability to Seek Help (L32-L34) - Denial (L35-L38) - Loss Induced
Anxiety (45-L48) - Trauma-Induced Single Motherhood (L51-L55) -
Family Bonding (L52-L57) - Denial and Goodbye (L59-L61) -
Trauma-Induced Misscarage (L65) - Guilt (L65-L66) - Belief in Inherent
Meaning (L66-L68) - Cocnsluive Self-Reflection (L69-L78) - Seeking
Help (L71) - Lingering Trauma (L70-L78) - Gratitude (L72-L74) -
Meaning Making Experience (L72-L78)