“‘You are having twins!’ I looked at my husband. We were in total shock. When we went to the doctor experiencing bleeding, we were sure something else was the issue — not twins. It was a dream come true. Minutes later, I sat on the toilet. I heard a ‘pop.’ I felt this flow of water between my legs.”
“He’d deliberately go out and ‘ghost’ me. I felt trapped in a thick fog of confusion, heartbreak, and betrayal. My children and I grew to appreciate when he left to work. We could be ourselves and not have to walk on eggshells. Every time he’d swindle his way back in, I felt like I betrayed myself.”
“It was a magical night. One month later, everything changed. I missed my period. I was, in fact, pregnant. My friend convinced me to tell the father. That didn’t go well. I knew it wouldn’t, because what freshman in college wants to be a parent?”
“We told others to not make plans for a baby shower. I didn’t want to have to return things if my baby died. In the shower, I’d cry out with all my heart just to be able to have my daughter no matter what difficulties she might have. As the date approached, I considered planning for the possibility of a funeral.”
“Then, everything shifted. ‘You don’t have CANCER, you can GET OVER IT’. My husband was like a deer in the headlights. The phone rings. What? How? I can’t do this AGAIN without them.”
“No one came to see me at the hospital. It took my ‘friends’ a year and half to even notice I was gone. Until one day I was caught at the school by the gym teacher in the girl’s bathroom. ‘You should’ve just killed yourself a faster way and got it over with.’ Soon after, I met a man.”
“‘Can my day just be done?,’ I heard her say. She then said a word that took me by surprise, and scared me: ‘Abort.’”
“My baby girl’s leg had swelled, had a red line running down her calf and was warm to the touch. Her fever rose to 103. Everything started going downhill. It can be contracted by a scrape, wound, new tattoo, or even a bruised area of skin. It is CRITICAL to be aware of the signs.”
“It was the one month anniversary of Albert’s death. ‘I trust you,’ I said.”
“I headed to the hospital. I remember being in the room, feeling blood dripping from my body. I watched my friend’s body bleed simultaneously, signs of life, as she waited to bring her baby into the world. A life leaving and a life beginning all in the same room at the same moment. I was transfixed.”
