“They were neighbors, classmates since kindergarten. As a father, you cross your fingers teenage boys and men in her life will respect and protect her. She didn’t know it, but 6,000 miles away, tragedy would strike and change her life forever.”
‘He was more than a friend. He was her protector. The one at school to rescue her from a tough day. I will never forget him.’: After daughter loses close friend, dad remembers his legacy, ‘He will live on in us’
‘I was crying uncontrollably. There was no heartbeat. I tried to pray, but all I could say was ‘Hail Mary,’ over and over. It felt like a sick joke.’: Mom loses son to pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, ‘He would have turned 7 this year’
“They tried to run an IV through my swollen, bruised hands. I nearly passed out. I remember someone slapping my cheek a little. I was completely naked on the table, shaking uncontrollably. We heard the doctor say, ‘Baby.’ There was no crying, no sound at all. The first time we got to hold him was also the last.”
‘The nurse kept asking, ‘Are you ready to take her off life support?’ She knelt down with her stethoscope and confirmed she was gone.’: Mom loses 3 babies to kidney disease, ‘We love harder and hug tighter’
“My entire future was dark. How was I going to keep living when my baby died? We were always waiting to find out if our baby would die and now we were waiting to find out if we’d have a baby that would live. That moment was when the world stood still. We were pregnant for the fourth time.”
‘Today I sat in my car, in last night’s pajamas, and cried. Like, junior high first breakup kinda’ cry.’: Mom reminds us it’s okay to have a rough season, ‘Sometimes life can be a lot’
“Sometimes motherhood can be a lot. Sometimes marriage can be a lot. Sometimes a career can be a lot. And sometimes? Sometimes it just feels like a lot all at once.”
‘What kind of woman carries a baby for two men?’ I decided to help a stranger. They say it takes a village to raise a baby. Sometimes, it takes a village just to grow one.’: Woman becomes surrogate to help couples battling infertility
“I will never forget our transfer day. She told me, ‘Today is so hard. This is the moment I have to accept the fact I will never carry my own baby.’ Those words hit me hard. 15 weeks in, I began having horrible headaches. I knew it wasn’t just pregnancy paranoia. I called the Intended Mom at 2 a.m. to get permission to remove her baby from my body. There was no heartbeat. Her journey ended with me. I knew I couldn’t give up.”
‘7 months pregnant with his baby, he offered me some meth. I went on a 4-day bender. I wasn’t strong enough to resist.’: Woman survives domestic abuse, says ‘I am living proof there can be a happy ending’
“Every time people saw me, there was another new bruise or broken bone. The night before Johnny gave me some meth and pills, CPS said they had to come and do an assessment. He immediately told the worker I had been ‘up doing drugs all night.’ That night was the beginning of the end.”
‘What’s 6 when you already have 5?’ Then the doctor said, ‘Come in soon. Wait any longer and you won’t be able to terminate your unviable pregnancy.’: Mom of 6 says son is ‘perfect addiction’ after battling pre-eclampsia
“I got excited at the idea of one more child. Then the doctor told me, ‘Time is of the essence for you. It seems the kidney isn’t here.’ Now you might be asking, what about the pee? We lost his heartbeat. They couldn’t get it back. My doctor looked me in the eye. ‘We need to get him out, NOW.'”
‘YOU DO NOT HAVE MY PERMISSION TO TOUCH ME! I DO NOT CONSENT!’ Her screams of anger melted into shrieking sobs.’: Mom urges parents to ‘help ‘children process emotions’
“She had backed her sister into a corner with both sides blocked. Before we changed our parenting, I would have yelled, spanked, and heaped on shame. Now, I had to do something else. ‘I won’t let you hurt your sister. I will help you get control of yourself.’”
‘I found photos of my husband in women’s clothing at flamboyant gay clubs. My ‘manly man’ had on a wig, heels, and clip-on earrings. I was floored.’: Woman discovers fiancé’s secret life, ‘This was the tip of the iceberg’
“Not once had I ever logged into anything of his. I never thought I had a reason to. Our relationship was secure. I was secure. I noticed his email was open. To this day, I am still not sure what made me click on his open email. I like to think it was my grandma looking down, trying to save me from the worst mistake of my life.”
‘Breathe in slow,’ my mother said. Our hands interlocked as the long needle entered my back. She gripped me with her hands.’: Woman recounts how mother saved her life, ‘Moms have this magic way of easing pain’
“The deadly bacterial infection spread to my heart. The machine next to my bed started beeping wildly. I remember the fluorescent lights burning my eyes. The beeps kept getting louder, louder. My mother flew over, piling blankets over me. Though my mother was not calm this time, I breathed her in. That’s all I remember. No pain.”