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By Kristen Schorsch Staff writer for Daily Southtown (Sunday, May 13, 2007) – Donning a tie-dyed shirt and a Styrofoam visor, Donna Balachowski leaned on her wheelchair Saturday as she
walked behind it for her final lap around the Centennial Park path in Oak Lawn.
She didn't have any ties to the Southside Pregnancy Center, which hosted the Walk For Life, but she wanted to give back as a woman who gave her baby up for adoption instead of ending his life.
"God blessed me, and the fact that he took care of me when I was pregnant, this is my way of saying thank you," said Balachowski, 49, as dozens of other walkers passed by on the cool morning.
About 250 walkers a year typically register for the 90-minute event, which also included snacks, clowns and fake tattoos for children.
"I like it," 3-year-old Morgan Johnson said as she gently touched her cheek, which glistened with a freshly painted smiley face tattoo.
Officials did not know how many people registered this year, but at least 100 or more walked the path Saturday morning.
The goal of the walk was to promote the sanctity of human life, said Kathy Bozyk, director of volunteer and client services for the pregnancy center.
"That life is precious and that we are promoting alternatives to abortion and hope to girls in crisis pregnancy," Bozyk said, adding that the walk has taken place for more than 20 years.
Balachowski's story began when she was hit by a car at the age of 22 while walking home after dinner and a movie with a friend in Chicago's Beverly community. When the car struck, Balachowski's body flew five feet high and across two lanes, she said.
"I lost 7.5 pints of blood because an artery in my left leg was pulled and snapped," said the woman who lives at Rest Haven Central Nursing Home in Palos Heights.
Balachowski flat-lined during surgery, and her family was told not to expect her out alive. She woke up three days later paralyzed from the waist down. Her left pelvis was shattered, and her right one was broken. She broke her tailbone and ruptured two discs.
"I wasn't supposed to be alive. I wasn't supposed to have my (left) leg. I wasn't supposed to walk, period,"Balachowski said. Eventually, she regained her ability to walk but is disabled and has nerve damage in her left leg.
About 10 years after the accident, Balachowski said she was raped by an ex-boyfriend and became pregnant. Because of her injuries from the accident, doctors told Balachowski she would be able to conceive a child but would have to deliver it through Cesarean section.
Frances Andrew Balachowski, named after his grandfather, was born Dec. 10, 1991.
"When he was born, I turned around and counted all his 10 fingers and toes like a mommy would," Balachowski said. "This child was perfect in every way, shape and form."
But when it took her 10 minutes to change his diaper for the first time, Balachowski said she knew she wouldn't be able to give her son the life he deserved.
"I'm thinking, this child's going to be moving real soon," Balachowski recalled. "My hands were really horrible. I dropped (Frances) in the pillow when they first handed him to me."
She was referring to injuries from the accident that came out through her pregnancy.
Balachowski thought about giving her baby up for adoption and met with a counselor. On Dec. 20, 1991, she placed her son up for adoption. Coincidentally or not, his adopted mother's name is Donna.
"The one thing out of my entire life that I am content with is giving my baby up for adoption," Balachowski said.
On Saturday, she finished up her last lap sipping on an iced blueberry coffee and walking strong.
"I did really good," Balachowski said with a smile.
Kristen Schorsch may be reached at
kschorsch@dailysouthtown.com
or (708) 633-5992.
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