Delaney Gobel is a former content curator for Love What Matters. She is currently pursuing a dual-degree in Media & Communication and Public Relations & Advertising from DePaul University. On any given day she can be found exploring coffee shops around Chicago, playing with her beloved cat, or scouring Pinterest for new vegan recipes to try!
“Jeffery will always struggle to catch up with others his age, but I will be right here pushing him to be all he can be. Jeffery is the best of us all and deserves the world.”
“The second we got off the elevator my heart dropped to my feet. I wasn’t ready for what I was about to see. We walked only a few hundred feet but it seemed like miles. I remember the smell of saline and alcohol as if I was there. The beeping and the sounds of the machines working to keep my nephew alive still haunt my dreams.”
“I was at the peak of what I assumed would be the rest of my life as a young creative in Toronto. Then, I started blowing up like Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The next thing I knew, I was under the disco-ball surgical light in the operating room, counting down from ten.”
“Some days I’m not really sure if I killed my husband or not. I certainly have been accused of it by a handful of people. Family members and close friends have said painful things like, ‘You left him when he needed you most,’ or, ‘He gave up the moment you kicked him out.'”
“My husband comes home. I vaguely remember saying I had interesting news. He says to me, ‘What news?’ I go, ‘I’M PREGNANT.’ Husband looks at me, hugs me, and says, ‘OK! We are having a kid!’ I then say, ‘BUT it’s identical twins.’ Husband says, ‘Oh sh*t.'”
“Throughout the whole relationship, I didn’t realize I was experiencing domestic abuse. I was blamed and told it was my fault. Now I know it wasn’t.”
“I take 46 tablets a day and I’m on a continuous infusion of a parathyroid hormone. This is my current reality. I hope it’s not my forever reality, but the truth is no one knows.”
“I cried the moment I saw my little baby inside of a plastic box.”
“I was introduced to heroin. Heroin invited meth, meth invited fentanyl, and pretty soon, it was just one big, drugged out party of hell. I was sleeping in abandoned houses, porches, outdoor elevators, dumpster enclosures, and sidewalks. I had boils all over my arms and legs, and the wound on my back was highly infected. I smelled like death.”
“I witnessed my parents’ arguments and physical fights. As a child, I remember thinking, ‘Why would anyone get into relationships if this is what happens?’ I promised myself I’d never personally experience this. How wrong I was!”
