“She looked like an alien creature. She stunk, she couldn’t see, and she bled all over our couch. We held our breath for the next 36 hours until our vet opened—we were afraid Lainey would succumb to her infections. She never had a chance to be a puppy.”
“I was ready to yell, no BLAST whoever was there. I felt RAGE. Rage. I opened the door and I saw my little girl, Sofia. ‘You scare me mommy.’ Her normally cheeky smile was replaced with big brown eyes full of fear.”
“‘If the baby goes home with us, the outcome will be tragic.’ She had only known this family since the beginning of the school year, and it was only because their 7-year-old was her student. They were virtually strangers to one another. And yet, my friend did what truly good people do. She said yes.”
“As we walked into the ER, we did not expect to get the news we did. We thought she just needed fluids.”
“I heard him say, ‘Wake up mother f**kers, it’s time to clean.’ I knew this was bad. Then, I heard a loud bang. Then, another bang. I could hear him, soundly mildly amused. Suddenly, I felt I was being stared at.”
“The nurse I was assigned to made fun of my face painting and I got incredibly sick. I stood next to our car, afraid I would fall over while I screamed, ‘NOT ME!’ over and over again in broad daylight. I asked him one question, ‘Am I going to die?’ He didn’t answer.”
“I can remember several times telling my husband I didn’t know if I could keep doing it with this child. This particular boy proved to be the child who would rock our family. He had only been living with us for a month when he asked that pivotal question.”
“A sickening feeling took over and my chest tightened when the attending physician walked in. I could see bad news written on everyone’s faces, but I still didn’t believe it. We were left with ashes in a cardboard box.”
“My eleven-year-old self ran to my bedroom, fighting back tears. Fast forward 20 years. I didn’t think my husband, Jeff would go for it. I didn’t remember seeing an advertisement on tv for foster parents but there it was. I still didn’t say anything. But he did.”
“His seizures came ROARING back with a vengeance. We unwillingly checked back into hell. We sat by our baby boy’s bedside in a state of utter despair, as he was intubated and unconscious.”
