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.

‘Every doctor told me, ‘He will be brain damaged. We just have to see how much.’ They wanted to put me under, but I said, ‘If I am put under, I will never wake up.’

“Something felt ‘off.’ She noticed the same thing. Then, things moved quickly. They had never seen this happen.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 15, 2019

‘The mother left them like this. Our 3-year-old Lily looks up at me longingly. ‘Mommy, can baby stay?’: Family founds children’s hospital to help orphans

“’How old is he?’ I asked. ‘More than 4,’ the relative said quietly. ‘Months?’ I asked. ‘No, 4 years,’ he clarified. ‘This is his twin sister,’ he said pointing to Selena. There were no shoes, socks, or undergarments. I pressed him against my body, attempting to cover him as best I could as we passed the crowds of school children on the street.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 15, 2019

‘You can’t do this. You’re 27.’ My husband was untraceable. I couldn’t divorce a man I couldn’t find.’: Woman marries divorce lawyer who comforted her in aftermath of domestic abuse

“I wasn’t like him. He was a prestigious lawyer, while I was a beaten, broken, and utterly lost human being. I’d lost all of my future at the altar 8 years earlier. I didn’t say anything as I tried to choke back the tears. Eventually he said, ‘let me help you,’ breaking the silence, and branding the words onto my heart.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 14, 2019

‘My husband left. My son was homeless. My daughter swallowed 160 pills, and my baby would likely be stillborn.’: Woman details surviving ‘massive ball of horror’

“The next morning, I awoke in our empty bed and reality came crashing down around me. I completely shattered. It had been almost a year since I walked out on our back deck and breathed in the gorgeous fragrance of the fruit trees in full bloom, felt the warm sun on my skin, and took a big, deep breath as my heart swelled with gratitude. Now, my life felt unsurvivable.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 14, 2019

‘Years after meeting my now husband, I got a call from my father’s new wife. ‘Mommy, are you crying?’ I think she’s on to me.’

“I didn’t need him in my life. ‘We can make it on our own,’ she would say. And I did, for so many years. Then, in early July, he called.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 14, 2019

‘The doctor has my husband bend over, takes one look and says the words you don’t EVER want to hear. WHAT HAS HAPPENED? We were hiking just weeks ago.’: Woman shocked by husband’s cancer diagnosis, ‘We were so in love’

“We came home and I made him scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. He fell asleep on the chair. About 8:30 or so, I thought WOW he’s been asleep for a while now, and I tried to wake him up.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 14, 2019

‘When people ask me why I would ever do something like this, I have a simple answer – ‘I have a uterus, it works, I’m not using it, so why not let someone else who doesn’t have that same ability?’

“I was supposed to be the one to bring them fertility, and yet here we were, almost a year later and nothing.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 12, 2019

‘We heard this loud, echoing bang above us in the bathroom. Thirty seconds later, this scream came from upstairs. I can still hear it to this day. There she was, on the bathroom floor.’

“My best friend entered before me. She begged me not to come in. I did anyways – I had to see for myself. All of her shoes were neatly lined up next to the foot of the bed. Her clothes were hung up, and her beauty products were organized.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 11, 2019

‘She told me I ‘look like a damn banana’ and needed to go to the ER right away. I had been fighting horrible flu-like symptoms for almost a week leading up to this.’

“They sent me home with strict orders not to take my birth control anymore. I wish I had known this was possible. I met with the doctor and got the scariest news of my life.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 11, 2019

‘She calmly said, ‘You’re a complicated case.’ I replied, ‘I know,’ with laughter. ‘No, the babies, this is a really complicated pregnancy.’ In that moment, my world shattered. I knew.’

“‘Are you sure your OB has heard the heartbeat on the Doppler? Maybe she is just hiding!’ I knew then, they were buying time.”

Published by Colin Balfe - Jan 11, 2019