Posts by: Colin Balfe

Colin Balfe is the Founder and Chief Content Officer of Love What Matters. Colin was inspired to start Love What Matters after his mother passed from Ovarian cancer. Through his grieving process, he saw the need to connect a like minded community around a deeply personal storytelling platform. He's proudest of the communities within LWM, strangers united by powerful and impactful experiences, underserved people connecting around mutual challenges, hopes and dreams. These communities include Adoption, Mental Health, Infertility, Addiction, Grief, Special Needs Parenting, LGBTQ+ and many more.

‘It sounded like a freight train coming towards us. I swung open my door and began to run. When I finally broke out of the fire, I saw my crewmates were not behind me. I woke up a month later.’

“I ran up to one of the fire engines to look at myself in the mirror, but a firefighter pulled me away. They wouldn’t allow me to look at myself. I knew right then it must have been bad. Soon after that, it all went black.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 28, 2019

‘It’s all in your head. You just need to be happier. Go take a walk, be a ‘normal’ 20-something.’ I had just woken up, still bleary-eyed from anesthesia. These were the words my doctor said to me.’

“I laid there and sobbed, how could it have come back normal? After hearing enough doctors downplay my symptoms, watching them roll their eyes as they told me it was ‘just gas,’ I stopped telling anyone how miserable I was.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 28, 2019

‘I’m worried about him getting this surgery. He doesn’t need to do this.’ I remember them telling me, ‘Just focus on your breathing,’ as they put the mask on me, and I was put to sleep.’

“The doctors said to my mother, ‘It’s time for you to say your goodbyes, there is really nothing else we could do.’ Up until this point, my mom had always been on top of the plans, making sure things were done perfectly. But now in the chaos, she was disorganized and unsure of everything. Then, a miracle happened.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 28, 2019

‘My hair became dull and greasy, falling out in clumps in the shower. I was on the pill for 6 years. It wasn’t until going off the pill I realized what it was doing to me.’

“If a period can be described as glorious, it was.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 25, 2019

‘There is smoke all around me. A bright flash followed by debris rushing past my face. A pitched ringing in my ears. My mouth is moving, but no sound is coming out.’

“The smell of burning flesh is in the air. My helmet chin strap is inside my mouth and being forced down my throat. In a state of panic, I pull at it and choke violently. All my senses are in shock. In an attempt to escape my impending fate, I notice all movement is restricted by an unseen force. Then, I wake up.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 25, 2019

‘It’s 10 a.m. and I’m ‘too drunk’ to be seen. With tears in his eyes, he opened the door, ‘It’s always going to be ONE more Kascidy.’: Woman overcomes years of alcoholism, ‘I am alive’

“I called 911 on myself. I asked them to send an ambulance. I was hallucinating. People were walking past me in my own home. Walking in front of my car while I was driving at night.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 25, 2019

‘Not following his rules would unleash what I began to call, Satan. I loved him in a very dark and twisted way.’: Woman overcomes years of abuse

“After the first incident, he had parental locks put on my phone, like I was a child, his property. I blamed myself for what happened. He convinced me if I hadn’t had been talking to my mother that night, nothing would have happened to me. I believed him.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 24, 2019

‘It seems your water has broken, baby has no fluid left.’ I looked at my husband, full of tears. I squeezed his hand and took a deep breath. I didn’t notice I was holding it in the entire time.’

“My husband was by my side in a heartbeat, and said, ‘let’s fight and give this baby a chance!’ I knew in my heart I needed to fight for this little life inside me. It was alive, it was thriving and it’s heart was beating. I couldn’t decide it’s fate.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 24, 2019

After Losing Brother To Gun Violence On Halloween, Woman Performs 31 Acts Of Kindness Each October

“This man, carrying a canoe paddle, yelled and threatened to call the police, and then took down my brother’s license plate number. I don’t know if that was why Adam felt the need to go to the door or not, but he did. Wrong place, wrong time.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 23, 2019

‘I woke up to Dan yelling for help. He was at the top of the stairs with his inhaler telling me it wasn’t working. Dad was hysterical screaming at me to get there right now.’

“I had a weird feeling. I decided to go after them. Then, my phone rang. I saw it was my dad, and instantly my heart fell to my stomach.”

Colin Balfe - Jan 22, 2019