“The nurse said, ‘Ariel is perfect too.’ I looked at her tiny 3-pound body covered in wires. She was starving.”
‘I don’t know how to tell you.’ He looked fearfully at her twin. My body turned into a science experiment.’: Preemie twin diagnosed with Down syndrome, ‘We truly are the lucky few’
‘We take the backseat. Our job never ends. We give every bit of who we are and stare at reflections, searching for a small part of who we once were.’: Mom urges ‘you’re motherf**king superwoman’
“We live repetitive groundhog days. We argue with tiny people who think they know better. We cook meals that aren’t up to their satisfaction, and bend over backwards until we collapse. We may not get ‘paid’ for our job, but it’s 24/7. Our lives consist of putting everyone else first.”
‘A woman on the bus kept pointing at Meriton and touching me on the back. ‘Is he sick?’ She was loud and kept repeating herself.’: Woman urges ‘there is no cure for human being’
“The whole time I was trying to show Meriton we are equal, something was missing. I got a tattoo of a chromosome and said, ‘This will make us equally different, forever.’ The only sickness in life is the bad attitude towards people with special needs, and I’m not going to stop working to show society different.”
‘She started with, ‘So the good news is…’ My heart sunk. When they took her away we were a mess.’: Baby with Down syndrome diagnosed with congenital heart failure, ‘She is a miracle’
“I sat in my car crying in the parking lot. ‘She’s going to need surgery.’ I mourned the loss of the child I thought I was carrying.”
‘You look great now, but you’d look even better at 102 lbs.’ I’m terrified of my sweet, innocent little girl hearing the lies I’ve heard.’: Woman reinvents 10-year challenge, ‘Your body is a gift’
“I sent a message to the friend who had to deal with my food and weight issues up close and personal for years. ‘Thank you for all you did for me, and stickking with me.’ She simply responded, ‘Your weight has always been the least interesting thing about you.'”
‘Get to the hospital now.’ I had a front-row seat to her pain. We opened the nursery door cautiously.’: Couple finally adopts their ‘tiny fighter,’ ‘My heart grew bigger’
“She decided to parent. We closed the nursery door again. My heart was broken and we were exhausted. The baby is not yours until papers are signed.”
‘I feel it deep in my bones. I don’t know who I’ll be on the other side. I hope she’s someone I can live with.’: Woman feels change in times of protests and Covid-19, ‘It’s scary but full of hope’
“These hands know when it’s time to write a new page. I am learning to listen to my body. I am me, but I’m not me.”
No One Would Take In This Foster Boy With A Homeless Mother, Now He Has TWO Loving Moms
“‘We have a 3-year-old boy. His mother is homeless. No one will take him.’ Our jaws fell open.”
‘There’s nothing left we can do.’ My knees went weak when I saw them. Their skin was almost see-through.’: Young mom gives birth to twin micro preemies, ‘They are thriving’
“My blood pressure was so high, they were surprised I hadn’t had a stroke. It was time for them to come out. As a single mother watching both kids fight for their lives, I was lost.”
‘I came out basically dead. The doctor broke my spine. ‘She won’t be able to do ANYTHING.’: Woman paralyzed at birth finds soulmate, ‘EVERYONE deserves love ’
“I was paralyzed, all due to a doctor who cared more about the college football game than delivering a baby. They said I wouldn’t be able to use the bathroom by myself, move, talk, or go to school.”