“I was 22 years old and feeling lonelier by the day, as my disease progressed faster than I could have imagined. One day in particular, I broke. I cried and cried. My mom saw it happening through the kitchen window and rushed to me in the driveway. She hugged me. I still think about that hug.”
“Our 12-year-old has been struggling with anger lately, erupting when the slightest thing sets her off. ‘Why do I feel this way?’ We found an old desk on the side of the road. Jeremy gave her a hammer. We wanted her to dismantle it. It went faster than I anticipated.”
“I saw him from afar, pacing. He was looking down, fiddling with his hands. Like my Cooper does. He had bright yellow noise canceling headphones on. He stood out. I immediately smiled. I was in awe. The young man waited, every few seconds trying to step forward. ‘Please be kind,’ I thought. I was actually holding my breath for him.”
“’Mommy, I’m hurting!’ He let out the most painful cry I’d ever heard. ‘The doctor said, ‘He has a bit of pneumonia.’ This time, it was uglier. Little did we know, that night was the beginning. ‘We are not crazy! Something is wrong,’ we pleaded.”
“I have no intention of ever stopping.”
“The night before, on my 21st birthday, I participated in an escapade that led my boyfriend and I into a terrible fight at a country club. The cops had to break us up. Nobody knew I’d spent hours in a holding cell after being arrested. Or that I’d blacked out on the highway and cheated on a few of my boyfriends. Or even that I’d drink a bottle of wine after my nursing shifts and show up to work hungover, my patients’ lives in my hands. I didn’t want to believe I had a problem.”
“At the end of the day, I just wanted to be told it would be okay. I just wanted to be told my baby is beautiful, rather than different.”
“‘Y’all this is how you uplift women. She knew it was rough over here and just made things a little easier and better. Thank you girl!!! From one mommy and woman to another… thank you!!!'”
“My husband and I decided to fly to Kenya to help build orphanages. ‘Why go there?’ Despite negative reactions from others, we pressed on and purchased our tickets. Little did we know, I was pregnant! 4 months into my pregnancy, I became ill. I was rushed to the hospital. ‘How long have you had malaria?’ I was extremely frightened for the unborn child within my womb. I tested positive.”
“Our life has been a series of indescribable highs and unspeakable lows. We welcomed my baby half-sister in the world and into our home. The father we shared died and we gained custody. I was in the midst of a miscarriage. We were heartbroken. I don’t know if I’ve felt lower than I did the day we traveled 40 minutes to a food bank just so we could eat.”
