- I got married.

I married my high school sweetheart,

and we easily got pregnant,and were devastated

when our first child wasborn with a disability,

and he lived twelve days.

- [Narrator] It wouldn't bethe last time Susan Scotton

would feel the sting of losinga child to a birth defect.

Her second son died at two and a half,

on December 22nd, 1986, justthree days before Christmas.

- I had a hard time havingany faith, any hopes.

I couldn't have a healthy child.

I was angry.

- You think pregnancy, baby.

You think happy.

And, I didn't feel that way.

And then I felt guiltybecause I felt the way I felt.

[Narrator] Melissa Coleswas an unmarried, poor,

and pregnant 18-year-old, whofelt she only had two options.

- I was scared out of mymind and I was so conflicted;

that I could keep him, it wasn't too late.

And the other,

you know, do what is easiest for everyone.

As I'm walking in, my heart's racing.

The doctor came in and washed his hands,

put on his gloves, andhe didn't speak to me.

He didn't tell me what he was gonna do.

He didn't ask me how I was.

He didn't explain anythingwith the procedure.

I think every negative emotionthat someone could feel.

- [Narrator] At the sametime, 800 miles away,

another woman was holding onto the hope

of adopting a newborn.

- I just prayed for a healthy child,

for the right thing to work out.

[Narrator] After thedeath of her second son,

Susan's husband left,

and she swore she'dnever get pregnant again.

Now remarried, she and her husband, Jimmy,

had tried for two years to adopt.

There were so many letdownsand the process was difficult,

but I kept saying, we can do this.

God's helping us and wejust need to stick with it.

- [Narrator] Back in Indiana,

a doctor was mere secondsfrom aborting Melissa's baby.

- Right as his hands went in to touch me,

his glove hit my left leg.

(baby's heartbeat)

I heard this voice say,

"It's not too late, get up."

I know it's the Lord, 100%.

I just said, "I can't do this."

The doctor gets up, rolls hiseyes, rips his gloves off,

and leaves the room and left me.

- [Narrator] Having decidedto save her baby's life,

Melissa still faced uncertainty.

Then later, a social workergave her an alternative

she hadn't considered, adoption.

- I wanted him,

and, I think if he was withsomeone that was more like me,

that he would have been raised more

like how I would have raised him.

- [Narrator] After finding an agency,

Melissa received dozens ofletters from potential parents.

The one that grabbed her attentionwas from Susan and Jimmy.

- And then I just fell in love with Susan.

She starts telling me her story.

And she'd been througha lot of pain herself.

- [Narrator] But it wasa phone conversation

that sealed the deal.

- "Susan," I said, how do youbait your hook down there?"

- When we go fishing,we use a Cocahoe Minnow,

and you have to put the hookthrough the eye of the minnow.

I said, "And I always bait my own hook."

- And I just said,"Congratulations, you're a mom."

Because I knew, I just knew at that point,

she was gonna be the mom thatwas gonna take him fishing,

and teach him the kind ofthings I would teach him.

- [Narrator] In December,1993, Melissa gave birth

to a healthy, baby boy.

She was given the choice to hold her son

before she gave him up.

- I just knew that holdinghim could make it hard,

and harder

to let go.

But I'm glad I did.

He didn't cry.

He was just peaceful.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, inLouisiana, Jimmy got the call.

- I was excited, and so muchwas going through my mind,

I almost forgot to call Susan and tell her

that the baby was born.

- [Narrator] It was December 22nd, 1993,

seven years to the day thatSusan lost her second son.

- I get to the phone, andhe's like, "It's a boy."

And I'm like, okay, is it real?

Is this really real?

- [Narrator] They named him David James,

after Susan's father who hadpassed nine months earlier.

They held him for the firsttime on Christmas Eve.

- I am crying happy tears.

They're just flowing, flowing.

He's beautiful, he's just perfect.

It's so joyful.

We walk out the hospital,Jimmy and I together,

and it starts to snow!

Now, from Louisiana, that isjust like tears from heaven.

Just joy and just theultimate, ultimate joy!

It was like, wow!

- [Narrator] Melissa later married

and started her own family.

In the coming years, not a day passed

that she didn't thinkabout the son she gave up.

- Deep down I knew I did the right thing.

I knew he was safe, and Iknew that they were giving him

everything I couldn't.

- [Narrator] David grew upin a loving, Christian home.

And yes, spent lots of timefishing with his mom and dad.

He always knew he was adopted,

and in high schooljoined a pro-life group.

At 18 he reached out to Melissa,and the two agreed to meet.

By then, a documentary teamhad picked up their story

and was there to film their reunion.

- [Melissa] My heart was racing so fast,

and I couldn't get outthe door fast enough.

I wanted to get out thereand hug him, no matter what.

I just wanted to feel thathug and feel that connection,

and it was a beautiful moment.

- [Narrator] There was somethinghe wanted Melissa to know.

- She had made a brave decision

and a courageous decisionthat wasn't easy.

That was the whole reasonthat we were coming there,

was to thank her and reaffirmher that her decision

was the right decision.

- I felt a lot more freedin my spirit, hearing that.

- [Narrator] Since then,David has finished law school,

and he and Melissa havejoined in a common goal.

Through speaking engagementsand the documentary,

"I Lived on Parker Avenue",they work to inform women

about adoption and encouragethem to choose life.

- Knowing that for every 100 abortions

there's only two adoptionsfacilitated in this country,

we really had a unique opportunity

to share the adoption option.

I think that was God's calling for us.

God played a role in all of this.

The chain of events is just too amazing,

for me not to think that.

- God has had his handin this from the get-go,

and he carried me through.

He molded everything.