“I was rushed to the hospital into intensive care. I was not expected to survive, but luck seemed to be on my side. The nurse who was caring for me suspected what it was – her daughter also had it.”
‘The nurse checked if my skin was salty to confirm her suspicions. She was right. I came out of the hospital and immediately changed my job.’: Woman diagnosed with ‘life-threatening’ Cystic Fibrosis, ‘I couldn’t be more alive’
‘My wife sat me down. ‘We are going to adopt.’ l couldn’t bear letting her down. I wanted to yell out, ‘That’s not fair to the child.’ I had my first panic attack.’
“Despite my ‘advanced maternal age,’ everything looked great. We naively thought getting pregnant would be easy for us. I felt stuck in the middle of two worlds.”
‘Her exact words were, ‘He has a large birthmark on his back.’ The nurses looked at each other wide-eyed. I didn’t understand.’: Parents thrown ‘curve ball’ as son was born with ‘huge mole’ on his back
“By the time he was 2 weeks old, it had tripled in size. Then we got the worst news. The lump wasn’t just a lump. It was a tumor and it was cancerous. As my husband drove, I completely broke down.”
‘I looked at my daughter standing beside me. You could see the fear in her eyes. No one was talking. I finally yelled out ‘HELLO!’
“I kept thinking, ‘I just have to make it to the hospital, I just need to make it to the hospital.’ Her coloring was terrible. I entered the door carrying my limp daughter.”
‘Are you prepared to take care of someone with an EXTREME disability?,’ she asked while practically rolling her eyes. It wasn’t a question. It was more of an accusation.’
“His head was shaped differently, his ears were low set and he had an extra thumb on his hand. ‘Did anybody see this?,’ I asked. My midwife nodded.”
‘Where is my son? You aren’t the person I raised,’ she said through tear-filled eyes. She was curled up having a nervous breakdown on the bathroom floor. Pleading me to stop, but I can’t do that.’
“Cops showed up at my mom’s house looking for me. She and I would hide behind the couch. She was my biggest enabler. Then, she had enough. With all of her jewelry, she said, ‘Is there anything you can sell so you can stop?’ There wasn’t anything real left. I had already sold it all.”
‘I remember falling into his arms, bawling. ‘It’s not fair! Why me?’ I desperately wanted a normal, healthy baby. I remember walking to the car, feeling as if someone died.’
“I immediately cried to my mom. ‘What if I’m embarrassed of my own child?’ Our little girl’s heart was broken. She had a hole right in the center of it. I prayed for mine to be broken instead.”
‘I stood in our doorway. After 9 years together, these are the final days of just me and Jake. With an aching I can’t shake, our lives are far from perfect.’
“Tonight, it hit me. These are the good old days. My man, this bedroom, that quilt, those dogs. Now let’s pause for a second and set the record straight.”
‘You’re a single guy… why don’t you try TINDER?’ I literally laughed out loud. ‘What’s that!?’: Man discovers love of his life on Tinder
“I took his advice and downloaded the app in hopes of finding someone I could have genuine conversations with. I was looking to build a friendship before becoming romantically involved. Eventually, I came across the profile of a beautiful angel wearing a Mets jersey.”