Emily Richey is a graduate of Pace University NYC. She has written and edited for multiple online platforms, including Love What Matters. She spends her free time petting stray cats.
‘I was called an ‘ugly spotted dog.’ Some of the players refused to touch my hands.’: Woman embraces Bathing Trunk Nevus, ‘I was born to stand out’
“At least 80 percent of my body is covered in birthmarks. My mother told people they were ‘angel kisses.’ Sometimes I’d think, ‘What if I looked normal?’ But what is normal? I was born to stand out.”
‘I was struggling to gasp for air, peeing blood. I heard doctors yell, ‘Code Blue!’: Former NFL cheerleader survives difficult childhood, daughter’s Angelman Syndrome diagnosis
“At some point during contractions, she decided she didn’t want to be pregnant anymore. She hit her stomach a few times. I came out with a broken shoulder, black and blue on one side of my body, and a large hematoma on my head.”
‘It’s the worst possible time to have a child.’ The virus was expected to peak right on our due date.’: New parents welcome rainbow baby in the midst of global pandemic
“You try so hard for something and finally get it, only for a global pandemic to strike. Life certainly seems to have a sense of humor.”
‘A stranger asked, ‘How many children do you have?’ I froze. I couldn’t utter her name. We weren’t prepared for her not to come home.’: Mom of baby born still urges ‘my daughter isn’t invisible’
“My partner was by my side, holding my hand as I screamed and pushed. My midwife still told me how well I was doing. ‘I’m so sorry, your baby has died.’ A part of me died, too. We weren’t prepared for her to not come home. I was a mother of two, but the public only saw a mother of one.”
‘Food was for ‘growing boys.’ I would take an empty lunch box to school so I looked like I fit in.’: Woman overcomes lifetime of eating disorders, ‘I love me for me’
“I was a talented singer, but because of my looks, I was never picked for the lead. I wasn’t the pretty leading lady in Mary Poppins – I was a chimney sweep. One year, I was asked to sing for the lead role but stand in the wings out of sight, while another person acted.”
‘The surgeon said, ‘You’re fine. You’re just a hysterical housewife.’ A piece of metal oozed out of my wrist.’: Woman misdiagnosed and bullied by doctor, ‘It makes you question your own voice’
“My right arm had ballooned so much, it looked like my thigh. My doctor told me I had over-iced it. A small piece of metal oozed from the surgical opening. ‘How do I know you didn’t make it up?’ I was ashamed to say my doctor was bullying me.”
‘Get off the frontline, you aren’t a hero.’ I wasn’t supposed to be seeing COVID patients at 8 months pregnant.’: Physician Assistant fights COVID-19 during 3rd trimester
“I heard, ‘You are a bad mother.’ ‘You’re putting your child’s life at risk.’ It is heavy, it’s raw, and it leaves us feeling incredibly vulnerable. There is no place for shame in motherhood.”
‘You look better, keep losing more.’ We had mealtimes taken away if we didn’t perform well.’: Dancer recalls anorexia recovery, ‘I barely made it through alive’
“They told me, ‘If you want that job, you need to lose weight off your arms.’ I would have black coffee to suppress my hunger and started going for runs. I would never allow myself to finish a whole meal. How greedy of me, I thought. By the middle of the year, I was merely a skeleton.”
‘The doctor said, ‘It’s just a matter of time.’ She started reaching for things in the air. I thought it was the end.’: Mom of five-time leukemia warrior says ‘Ali’s light has remained a constant through it all’
“Holding down my screaming daughter for the third time that night felt like torture. Little did I know, that night was just the beginning. She kept looking at me confused, wondering why I was allowing someone to do this to her.”
‘I gave birth while my husband watched via Zoom and cried over the computer. Surreal, I know.’: Woman gives birth to baby boy alone, ‘Even in this crazy time, we are still making memories’
“He might be the most connected 1-week-old the world has ever seen. He had 200 of his nearest and dearest attend his virtual Bris.”