Help A Father Meet His Baby Girl

Hello, and thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my story. My name is Zach*, and I’m 23 years old. I currently have a steady, well-paying job, a nice home, and a wonderful relationship with my girlfriend of almost 2 years. What more could I ask for? The answer to that question is exactly the reason that I created this donation page. I have almost everything that a young man can ask for to make my life grand. The one thing that I don’t have, however, is the ability to see my 1 ½ year old daughter, who we’ll call Rachel. If you don’t mind taking a moment to read my story, you’ll soon understand why.

Mid-2010, I found myself with a wonderful job and a girlfriend of whom I wished to begin a family with. My daughter wasn’t an accident – She was planned, adored upon discovery, and highly anticipated.  I remember attending an appointment with the mother of my child, where we were shocked to be told of the blood clot, a subchorionic hematoma, that had formed inside of her. We were devastated – I remember crying and praying to God that nothing would interrupt the pregnancy, and that this baby would come into the world, safe and sound. My prayer was heard, and the blood clot disappeared. We were thrilled, excited, anxious, to name a few emotions. I was so excited to meet our child.

Shortly after this milestone, however, my girlfriend at the time split up with me, despite the fact that she was 3-months pregnant. Soon after we broke up, I lost the well-paying job that I was depending on to support myself and my endeavors to see and support my baby. I tried to contact my daughter’s mother on numerous occasions post-break up. After countless attempts, I realized that trying to contact her in that manner was pointless, and I finally gave up. While we were together, I went to every single doctor’s appointment that she had scheduled. After the breakup, however, I was never asked to attend the appointments. One would guess that a mother would have the heart, not to mention the decency, to contact the father for doctor’s appointments during the pregnancy. I thought maybe her pregnancy hormones were just affecting her. I thought that she would change her mind towards the end and allow me to be a parent for our child’s sake. That never happened.

During those six months, I decided to go back to college to earn a degree in Computer Science to better take care of myself and my daughter. Since I started college, all of my money is being drained that I am able to earn from working. I’ve tried so hard in college; I have made the president’s list twice and the dean’s list once out of three semesters so far. I was also named a commencement marshal for my school and have earned the respect of many instructors at my college. All this is of course an effort to someday support and secure a future for Rachel.

Inevitably, the day came when Rachel was born – I found out 9 days later through my grandmother, who reads the local newspaper often. I was shocked that her mother hadn't contacted me to tell me that our child had been born (I still had the same phone number). I was even more shocked to find out that another man, her boyfriend of 4-months, had signed the birth certificate and my daughter had taken his last name. The reality was finally setting in – it was going to be a long time before I would be able to be involved in my daughter’s life.

Since the mother of my child and I had been living together at the time of the break up, I was forced to relocate. I had to start from scratch – I had nothing. I had a car that I could no longer pay for, a minimum wage job, and no stable home to bring my daughter into. I’ve had to rebuild my life. Now I’m ready to bring Rachel into it, but it’s taken such a long time. Rachel just recently celebrated her first birthday, of which I was able to see pictures of through my current girlfriend’s Facebook (My ex, of course, has me blocked). I’ve never seen my daughter’s face in person. I’ve never been able to hold her or tell her how much I love her. I didn’t get to wish her happy birthday. I didn’t get to see her dive face-first into her first birthday cake. These are all things that a willing, decent father should have the chance to experience.

I want nothing more than to see Rachel and be a father to her. There’s a huge problem with that though; the other man’s name is on the birth certificate. Not only will I have to get a DNA test , but I will also have to go to court for joint-custody (which I am adamant about pursuing). All of these costs can possibly add up to $10,000 plus. These are the reasons why this page has been created. I don’t want any more time to go by without being able to be a part of her life. Time is going by so fast and I feel like someday it will just be too late for me to be the father that I yearn to be. I am currently saving every penny that I don't put toward my car, my insurance, and my living expenses, but it just isn't adding up to be enough. Please, help me meet my daughter for the first time – any amount that you donate will be extremely appreciated and you would have my thousand thanks for eternity for helping me meet my baby girl.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the father/mother/child.