“‘Get up!’ everyone shouted. I couldn’t move ANYTHING. I looked up and realized a man fell off the balcony. He landed on my head.”
‘I felt an almighty THUD, initially I thought I was being ATTACKED. I fell backwards, and my head hit the floor.’: Paralyzed woman becomes athlete, searches for cure, ‘I’m not sitting and waiting, I’m facilitating the process’
‘She’ll be in a wheelchair by 40 and you’ll end up her caretaker.’ I accomplished everything his dad said I COULDN’T do.’: Wife with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, finds love, defies all expectations
“My husband’s dad gave him a book about cerebral palsy, probably written by a doctor who retired in 1975. I read it because I wanted to know what my life could’ve looked like. But my husband NEVER did.”
‘I’m coming home.’ I’d wait for my momma at the end of the driveway until physically dragged crying into the house.’: Daughter candidly shares life and loss of mom battling addiction
“I hated her, but I loved her. I wanted to be nothing like her, but I also wanted to be just like her. Oh God, what I would do to hug her right now and tell her how much I love and forgive her.”
‘I was 34 weeks and collapsed to the floor holding my tummy. I feared he wouldn’t meet our new baby.’: Family incorporates daily gratitude after dad survives cancer, ‘Love and kindness are never wasted’
“Cancer was the start of our gratitude journal. It taught me to see the miracles and magic right in front of me and to remember there is ALWAYS someone craving your daily reality. It has given us the lifelong gift of perspective.”
‘I found disturbing messages and pictures from different numbers. He lied to my face.’: Woman overcomes infidelity, domestic abuse, ‘I broke a generational curse’
“He lied, even with evidence in hand! He cried and held me in his arms, begging for another chance. I gave in. I just wanted him to love me the way I deserved.”
‘A letter fell out. ‘Let’s never give up and keep pluggin.’: Anniversary note reminds wife of former addict to ‘cherish and celebrate’ their love story
“I can actually hear the sigh of relief through his words on the paper. ‘We’re still here.’ We are still defying the odds.”
‘How could I cope with being a widow before the age of 40? My heart broke.’: Mother births rainbow baby while husband battles brain tumor
“She was conceived and born during a global pandemic, using frozen sperm from the week her daddy was diagnosed with a brain tumor.”
‘At 2, they decided amputation was the best option. But NOTHING could have prepared me for adolescence.’: Amputee shares experiences with athletics and modeling, ‘My leg is a work of art’
“I wore pants when it was hot, crossed my left leg over my right, and wore revealing clothes and WAY too much makeup to detract attention from my prosthesis. Their eyes bore holes into my soul.”
‘I’m a better mom than friend. I show up late to your birthday dinner. I miss coffee, because someone awoke with a cold. I’m unreliable, burnt out.’: Mom admits ‘my kids always come first’
“Because one day, when I’ll have more time to meet my friends, I know I’ll miss this. Because soon they’ll be older, and I’ll no longer be the center of their universe, but a supporting role in their lives.”
‘If mom can do drugs, so can I.’ I was punishing her. Little did I know, I’d create my OWN demon.’: Woman shares life with mom addicted to heroin, her own drug abuse, ‘I want to bring hope to other addicts’
“I’ll never forget dropping her off at rehab in another state and just sitting there in the car sobbing, not wanting to leave her. It felt like I was leaving my own child.”