“My mom had me put headphones on so I didn’t have to hear the heart-crushing news. I chose not to make excuses, I put every last ounce of myself into fighting.”
Sara Vianna
‘Doctors told me, ‘It will be a painful death.’ Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I made history.’: Man shares journey with Cystic Fibrosis, becomes youngest person with CF to complete marathon’
‘You look HOT!’ They’d say. ‘I guess this is my life now.’ I was a dimmer set to the lowest setting.’: Woman overcomes eating disorder, ‘My body is designed to keep me alive, not look a certain way’
“I felt ALIVE again, and I used this as motivation to move forward. It was my ‘aha’ moment.”
‘NO! I’m not willing to give this up for ANYTHING!’ I thought no one else could love me.’: Woman finds peace after abusive relationship, ‘If your compassion does not include yourself, it’s incomplete’
“Don’t assume a man or a ring can make you feel the love and acceptance you’re longing for.”
‘I TOLD you, I’m blind. I can’t anymore.’ His response surprised me. ‘So?’ My new life began.’: Man shares journey learning to live visually impaired, ‘Fail, get up, keep moving forward’
“I biked into the back of a parked car. There was a group of people on the other side of the street laughing. I thought to myself, ‘I knew this would happen, you don’t belong on a bike anymore.’”
‘I was striving for unattainable perfection.’: Woman with Cerebral Palsy shares battle with PTSD, ‘I was BORN to thrive’
“I didn’t see an end in sight. I stayed up for 32 hours straight as panic attacks caused me to blackout, resulting in concussions. I was tired. I was done.”
‘I couldn’t feel my legs. My friend was lying on the ground and her eyes were wide open. I screamed.’: Woman survives car accident, finds strength in friendship, ‘We support each other’
“I thought my legs had been ripped from my body. It was INTENSE. I became aware of how important it is to give without expecting anything in return.”
‘The doctor said, ‘Do you know what this might mean?’ I felt CHEATED. ‘There’s NOTHING wrong with him!’ I had to ‘fix it.’: Mom of autistic son navigates challenges, ‘I embrace him for who he is’
“She saw him and said, ‘’My grandson has it, too.’ What? I was in denial.”
‘Please tell me what’s going on!’ It was a freak accident. ‘AM I DREAMING?’ Christmas was supposed to be ‘THE DAY!’: Woman pregnant with rainbow baby, ‘She chose US to be her parents’
“I was rushed to the hospital because it looked bloody BAD. ‘I just have this weird feeling,’ I told him. I was shaking from absolute shock.”
‘Why didn’t you abort her?’ I wanted to put her back in my tummy, where’d she be safe. She had IMMEDIATE surgery.’: Mom loses daughter to heart defect, ‘She shaped our lives’
“They told me, ‘Take her home and let her heart give out.’ I kept going because SHE kept going. It was moment by moment.”
‘Don’t BUG me, I’m having the baby and it ends up where it ends up.’ Mom refused medical care. It was a waiting game.’: Parents foster-to-adopt siblings, ‘We can’t wait to see who comes next’
“‘It’s a girl! I don’t know where she is!’ I sent her a backpack full of food, toiletries, notes from our daughter, prenatal vitamins and clothes, yet she wouldn’t accept it.”
