Rebecca Balfe is a former editor for Love What Matters. She resides in NYC, owning and rescuing adorable cats. She is an avid Lupus fighter and advocate.
‘Never in a billion years would I have imagined myself a stay-at-home mom with 3 foster kids.’: Foster mom starts movement to help others understand ‘the effects of childhood trauma on foster and adoptive youth’
“I was working as a marketing consultant. ‘What are you REALLY passionate about?’ I got on a soapbox about trauma and foster youth. She just looked at me and said, ‘That’s your passion girl. That’s your THING. Until you’re all in that, you’re not gonna get where you want to be!’ I quit my job. She was right.”
‘I was living in a tiny NYC apartment, working long hours.’: Woman quits job at bank to become ‘professional kitten cuddler’
“I wasn’t really aware how big the need for kitten foster homes was when I started. I missed having a pet, but with working long hours, having a tiny apartment, and my love of travel, I figured that adoption was out of the question. I requested kittens from the shelter and it’s been a revolving door ever since.”
‘I was 253 pounds. My stomach rested in rolls on my hips like a pile of dough. I was disgusted with myself.’: Man loses nearly 100 pounds, claims ‘potential is limitless’ if you overcome ‘fear and excuses’
“The doctor walked in and bluntly said, ‘Welp, you have a broken back.’ My promising college baseball career was over. My girlfriend broke up with me. The crutches in my life that helped me ignore how unhappy I was with my body were GONE. My moment of clarity didn’t come from a diet fad. It came in a ‘toilet moment’. I was simply disgusted with myself.”
‘I got my period every other week, 7 days straight. I had bruises up and down my legs. I thought it was part of ‘being a woman.’: Woman diagnosed with Endometriosis after malpractice, urges us to ‘fight for answers’
“Inexplicable things started happening. I looked pregnant. Everyone poked fun at me napping every day. I sat in the parking lot of my doctor’s office with yet another pamphlet for painful periods. Every ounce of me wanted to run back and tell him to figure it out! Instead, I put my car in reverse and drove away in tears. Silenced, once again. I was absolutely losing my mind.”
‘When will we get our baby brother?’ We needed $4,000 and had no idea how to come up with that money.’: Couple embark on adoption ‘roller coaster,’ community unites to raise money
“We have his room all set up for him. We have clothes, toys, a family waiting for him. All the while, others share their highlight reel of adoption and make it look like a breeze. I want to teach him words, love on him, watch him run around the house and yard with his brother and sister. My heart is aching for him to be with us.”
‘Look what I did, Papa!’ Poop was EVERYWHERE!’: Dad says ‘the struggle is real’ when it comes to potty training
“I walked into her room. REALLY?! ‘Don’t lose your cool.’ I had to remind myself one day we’d laugh at this.”
‘2 days after my 43rd birthday, our ‘little frosty’ was transferred to me. My belly is growing at an astounding rate and I love it.’: LGBTQ couple pregnant with baby ‘so loved already’ after ‘agonizing’ miscarriage
“Our consultant discussed choosing a sperm donor with us and suggested while looking at our tiny heights we ‘Choose someone tall, let’s give it a chance!’ which really made us laugh. I just want the next 6 months to hurry up so we can hold him or her in our arms and say, ‘We’re your Mommies.'”
‘Minutes after being born the doctors noticed my skin peeling from just being wrapped in the typical blanket they use with newborns’. Woman describes the pain of living with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa
“There’s often the misconception my illness is not a big deal and it’s ‘just a skin condition.’ If my illness was as minor as people tend to believe I wouldn’t have lost the ability to walk over the years, or my hands wouldn’t be webbing from years of scarring and friction.”
‘If I have surgery, I might not wake up. If I don’t, the tumors will grow, killing me anyway.’: Mom with 23 tumors pens heartbreaking love letter to her sons
“I want to watch you grow up. I want to see what you wear on your first day of school, who you fall in love with. I don’t want to miss a moment. If I wake up, I will fight for you every day. If I don’t, please don’t ever doubt the power of my undying, unrelenting, never-ending love for you.”
‘We were given a pamphlet. Everything said ‘lethal’. My boy had other plans.’: Baby with Osteogenesis Imperfecta ‘makes his own rules,’ defies all medical odds
“I didn’t learn anything was wrong with my son until 2 weeks before I had him. It went from ‘something might be wrong with his foot’ to ‘he is completely incompatible with life’. We waited for the genetic results to come back knowing every hour could be his last. All I could think was, ‘This can’t be his story.’ He’s a warrior.”