“My life’s purpose is not to lose weight. It’s to live my life’s purpose.”
How I Healed My Toxic Relationship With My Body
‘That’s enough to knock out a horse.’ I sobbed, begging the nurses for help. I can’t blame them. I was pregnant junkie.’: Woman recovers from drug addiction, ‘There’s always hope’
“Without the pills, I was sick. I couldn’t afford to be in withdrawals and take care of a baby. On my first Mother’s Day, I tried heroin. The emptiness I felt was unbearable. I had to fight for our lives.”
‘When she opened her eyes, I knew something wasn’t normal. ‘She doesn’t look like I thought she would.’ The room got quiet.’: Mom gives birth to baby with Down syndrome, ‘She’s a DREAM’
“The doctor stitching me up stopped and very calmly said, ‘She might have some markers for Down syndrome.’ The nurse panicked. In my mind, I kept saying, ‘It’s okay. It’s okay.’”
‘Something’s off. I’m married to someone I love. I have a good job. I’m healthy. Things are good.’ Until they WEREN’T.’: Woman shares divorce, mental health journey, ‘Only YOU have control over your destiny’
“I woke up to the news my grandfather had passed away. And 3 hours later, I was signing my divorce papers. I decided I was done. I was done feeling sorry for myself.”
‘My doctors said, ‘This is enough.’ I knew they were right. My body was giving up on me. I was a prisoner of my own mind.’: Woman shares anorexia recovery journey, ‘I’m fighting for my future’
“My weight dropped dangerously low. Everything ached: my skin, my bones, my muscles. I destroyed myself. I’d never felt so weak, isolated, and depressed. I decided it was enough.”
‘Is there something we can do?’ We watched his heartbeat fade. We weren’t supposed to meet this way.’: Couple battling miscarriages welcome rainbow baby, ‘We’ll NEVER forget them’
“I told him, ‘I’m so sorry.’ It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I hated that I failed him. I screamed at God, ‘Give me my baby back!’ This isn’t what I wanted for either of us.“
‘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.”
‘I can’t breathe.’ My vision faded. Life wasn’t worth living. I was too expensive to be kept alive.’: Woman battles Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, ‘I’m on the road to acceptance’
“I left the ER with no answers. I began to give voice to the intense pain I experienced daily. ‘Something is very wrong with you!’ I smiled. Finally, someone believed me.”
‘The cashier said, ‘How old is your baby? She’s old. She doesn’t need to be breastfed.’: Mom urges ‘it’s none of your business how long someone nurses their child for’
“Since when is there a time limit on nursing your child? I’m 18 months in and she has no interest in stopping, and quite frankly, neither do I.”
‘Are you sure we’re ‘called’ to do this? We had our plan to become parents. Then I had a dream like no other.’: Couple pursues foster care after ‘lifelike’ dream, ‘It’s SO worth it’
“‘We’re by NO means equipped to care for someone else’s child. We don’t even have OUR OWN kids.’ I knew I couldn’t just let that dream pass me by.”