Adriana Escobedo remembers the joy of getting a box of toys each Christmas that contained puzzles, bouncy balls, coloring books and stuffed animals.

The presents were given through the generosity of the Houston Chronicle's Goodfellows program, which provides toys for children whose families need help because of unemployment, illness or other family circumstances.

Now a parent herself, Escobedo, 21, is counting on Goodfellows to help her son Zachary.

The single mom works full time to make ends meet, but struggles with extras like Christmas gifts.

The Houston native said she is trying to catch a break.

In the fall of 2010, Escobedo was a high school senior gearing up for the start of basketball season. A few months into the first semester, she was diagnosed with lupus.

Escobedo said her body ached and her doctor put her on 12 different daily medications.

"There was a point when I took steroids, and my face got really big. I just blew up," she said. "I was in my doctor's office crying because my prom was coming up."

Initially she hadn't planned on attending the high school dance because her mother was out of work and she couldn't afford a dress. But with the help of a family friend, Escobedo found a dress and made it to the prom.

Shortly before graduation, Escobedo received the news that she could not have children because of a medication she was taking to control her lupus.

That diagnosis proved false when Escobedo welcomed her son, Zachary, on Nov. 15, 2012.

According to her doctors, it is rare for a patient taking a drug called CellCept to become pregnant. In the event that she does become pregnant, the likelihood of a miscarriage is high.

Escobedo calculates that she had been off CellCept for roughly three months when she got pregnant, lowering Zachary's risk of harm.

"Nothing was wrong with him," she said. "He didn't have to be in NICU or ICU or anything. He was fine - his weight, everything. He had all of his fingers and his toes."

Zachary is now a healthy, vibrant toddler who will benefit from the same Christmas program that helped his mother years ago.