“The specialist sat us down to give what typically is a solemn discussion. We cheered! To us, it was great news! Our hope for her was that she’d be a fighter.”
‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’ The results came in. She was beautiful, but seeing her in person was a shock.’: Baby born with spina bifida welcomed into family, ‘She’s a ray of sunshine’
‘Your daughter tested positive.’ I asked, ‘What does this mean for her?’ The reply? ‘You can Google it.’ I was HYSTERICAL, but we didn’t give up.’: Woman becomes advocate after daughter born with Trisomy 18
“They told me, ‘She’ll grow out of these issues.’ If they didn’t see the potential in our daughter we weren’t having it. She fought like CRAZY to be here, and we weren’t giving up because of a piece of paper.”
‘The doctor said, ‘If you buy a toaster and it’s smashed, you know it won’t work.’ We were SPEECHLESS. We had to find a new ‘normal.’: Daughter born with Microcephaly, ‘She’s made AMAZING progress’
“‘We witnessed a little girl in a purple wheelchair being shaken and yelled at.’ That little girl was Melissa. Sometimes life leads you in the right direction at the right time.”
‘It HAS to get better!’ I didn’t want divorce. But dating sounded AWFUL. We both ate our words.’: Single mom finds love after heartbreak, ‘I’m the happiest I’ve been’
“My world shattered before me. Everything I thought I knew was put into question. I told myself ‘I’m not dating ANYONE for at least a few years!’”
‘My dad said, ‘You’ve been emotionally beaten.’ I knew THIS marriage was different. Our kids were smitten.’: After abuse, woman blends family with new husband
“He wouldn’t come to bed. ‘I married you for the wrong reasons.’ In a year I went from a working single mom of 2 to being a married, homeschooling, stay-at-home mom of 4.”
‘She said, ‘I am a girl in my heart and brain.’ I felt guilty she had to be physically restrained for haircuts.’: Mom advocates for trans daughter, says she ‘blossomed before our eyes’
“‘YOU made her this way!’ Dempsey had a strong interest in princesses and sparkly trinkets. She’d put fashion pajama pants on her head to simulate long hair.”
‘He had to learn how to ‘read’ tattoos. He started vomiting before every shift, always locking the doors and closing the curtains. He became suspicious of EVERYONE.’: Wife shares husband’s PTSD from job as a correctional officer, ‘It changed him’
“He left the penitentiary, but it didn’t leave him.”
‘Well, my daughter got constipated. For three days. And let me tell you, I did as much as Google could provide me to stimulate her bowels.’: New mom says the ‘excitement was SILLY’ when daughter finally poops
“We started to get anxious. I was ready for my own bed, I was worried about my cat, and I just in general do not enjoy the hospital. Tension was high and we finally made a choice to go to the store for formula.”
‘It’s not time!’ I thought I gave my baby a death sentence. But our little boy became a MIRACLE.’: Mom of 7 births baby with CDH and BPS, ‘His determination kept me going’
“The nurse told us, ‘We can help the heart patients, not the lung patients.’ The air was knocked out of me. I had to put my emotions aside. Nothing could stop him.”
‘Rico called me nasty!’ She’s only FOUR. I remember that exact moment. I remember trying to be small, to disappear.’: Mom helps daughter through bullying, ‘I’m changing the narrative for her’
“‘If Rico calls you nasty again, I want you to tell him, ‘Rico, you are strong; Rico, you are brave; Rico, you are smart; Rico, you are kind. Just like me. I am NOT nasty, and neither are you.’ Adi, sometimes when people are mean, they’re just not happy with themselves.’”