“It was back to square one. I had to learn to sit up, roll over in bed, get dressed. The one single aggravating moment I remember well was trying to put on my socks, which felt like an impossible feat. It literally took over an hour. It was never easy.”
Devon Ledbetter
‘All of the sudden, I heard a gunshot and fell to the ground. ‘I can’t feel my legs.’ I lifted my shirt to see a hole in my chest.’: Paraplegic advocates for accessibility, ‘It’s made me who I am’
‘You know I’m in a wheelchair, right?’ I canceled our date. I limited myself on the love I truly deserved.’: Interabled couple share love story, ‘Our relationship is 50/50, no matter what society thinks’
“Plenty of guys asked creepy questions or even had a wheelchair fetish. My hopes were never high. He changed the course of my life with one message. ‘Hi.’ Teenage me would have never imagined this kind of love for herself.”
‘Would you be open to picking up a 2-day-old baby girl?’ I’ll never forget my husband’s response. ‘I think this is the baby we’ve been praying for.’: Pregnant mom opens heart to fostering, adopts after ‘humbling’ 798 days
“If you asked me if I’d care for a newborn while 30 weeks pregnant, I’d have thought you were crazy. I’d sit at night, feeding our foster daughter while feeling our little girl wiggling around in my belly. We’d been praying for her years before she was even born.”
‘I’m going to dance at your wedding!’ Something about him struck me. I tried to play it cool. We never saw what was to come.’: Woman loses husband to Covid-19, advocates for other victims after viral post
‘I will never forget the moment I first saw him, the world seemed brighter. I told him, ‘You’re going to sleep, but in a few days we’ll pick you up. I found a note from him saying, ‘Always be happy no matter what.’”
‘How are we going to make this work?’ Our families thought we were crazy. We really felt like this was forever.’: Interabled couple share love story, ‘Get rid of the idea disabilities hold you back’
“I started to get nervous. ‘Do you think I need to help him get to the bar?’ I’d never dated a guy in a wheelchair before. After that, we were inseparable! He pulled out a ring box. ‘Of course!’ I screamed.”
‘When I think back to 2020, I’ll remember the anxiety and fear. But I’ll also remember the camaraderie of my coworkers and time spent with family.’: Nurse pens goodbye to 2020
“With every dark memory, there is light too. When masks and food were left at my doorstep. The way my sister never failed to include us in her grocery trips. The way our teachers persevered. There’s a silver lining to take away from it all.“
‘I felt my throat closing. ‘Buddy, the monster’s back. We have to fight him again.’ He gave me a fist bump. ‘We got this, Mama.’: Mom shares son’s journey battling Ewing’s Sarcoma twice
“We went to Urgent Care 11 times in a month. They kept sending us home. ‘We don’t know why he’s in pain.’ I was a nervous wreck. When we found it, the tumor was the size of a softball in his tiny body.”
‘What’s wrong with her?’ I’d sit in the corner and draw for hours. I always knew something was different about me.’: Woman shares autism diagnosis journey, ‘Different is beautiful’
“People would say hello to me, and I’d ignore them. There’s a myth black girls don’t have autism, so they didn’t think to test me. I was called crazy, moody, shy, or a brat, but I was far from any of those things.”
‘If you had autism, you’d be a unicorn.’ My social life was thriving, but I was a mess on the inside. I hated not being myself.’: Woman shares autism diagnosis journey, ‘My differences are a gift’
“I was told I was special or unique. I was the center of attention, and not in a good way. From the clothes I wore to the things I said, everything was wrong. I couldn’t fit in with the ‘normal’ people.”
‘My daughter said, ‘When you were married, you always fought. I’m happy now.’ Don’t think staying together for the kids will help.’: Mom shares co-parenting journey, ‘It won’t be this hard forever’
“I woke up from brain surgery knowing this was my second chance. This was not a marriage to be proud of. The kids deserved better, and so did we. The divorce was the best thing that ever happened to us.”
