“I know how to love different, how to embrace different, how to see all the different and know that it is beautiful. But most importantly, I know how to love a special little baby with my whole heart, and give him the life full of adventure he deserves.”
To My Special Needs Child: I Knew Our Lives Would Never Look The Same As Anyone Else’s, But We Picked Up The Pieces
‘I don’t need to run on fumes. I need to recognize I’m human and ask for help.’: Special needs mom shares son’s sweet reminder after rough day
“‘Anything you want to thank God for?’ Without even a whisper, he simply looked up at me and pointed. ‘Me? You want to thank God for me?’ He nodded with a sweet smile. He wanted to thank God for me. The one who thought she was an utter failure of a mom that day.”
‘How can I be an advocate one day and a sobbing mess the next? The ups and downs were exhausting.’: Mom of boys with rare degenerative disease says ‘it’s OK to not be OK all the time’
“It’s only through the hard days that I get stronger. It’s only after those long, painful sobs that my tears turn to courage. It’s only after I wallow in the valley of sorrow that I’m able to find the strength to climb back up that mountain and choose joy again.”
‘I was chosen to be their parent, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.’: Woman takes in 5 foster kids, births miracle baby in wake of father’s passing
“I first came to Tanzania in 2010 to follow my dream of volunteering in a baby orphanage. Little did I know, I would still be in Tanzania eleven years later.”
‘I didn’t like the idea of not having a womb. Suddenly the very thing that had caused me so much agony was a symbol of my femininity.’: Woman battles through Adenomyosis leading to a hysterectomy
“My mother was convinced I had the same condition she had called Endometriosis. She kept taking me back to the doctor and pushing for more investigations. Each time the doctor would dismiss us both, treating her as the overbearing mother and me as the attention-seeking teenage girl.”
‘We’ve spent over $100k and still don’t have a living baby.’: Cystic fibrosis warrior shares candid reality of infertility battle, IVF
“It’s been two years of pumping my body full of every hormone you can imagine. One to make me ovulate, one to stop ovulating. Birth control pills to control your cycle, then hormones to throw you into menopause. Estrogen pills, patches, vaginal suppositories, and injections.”
‘Where there is will, there is always a way.’: Husband builds rickshaw for wife with multiple sclerosis who lost ability to walk
“One of our favorite things to do was go on long walks. I made up my mind I would do everything in my power to make her life as normal as possible. As long as my legs are still strong enough to walk, Jan and I will still have those long walks in the woods.”
‘I need to speak with you about your ultrasound.’ My placenta had connected to my firstborn’s face.’: Mom shares journey birthing son with cleft lip and palate, blindness
“I noticed voicemails on my home phone. Everyone had our cell numbers, so I couldn’t imagine who could have called our house and left not one, but three messages. Surprisingly, it was my doctor. ‘Something doesn’t look right.’ She wanted me to call her back, but didn’t say any more than that.”
‘You need to parent her like she is neurotypical and she’ll act neurotypical.’: Mom shares difficult road to daughter’s autism diagnosis
“I sat in disbelief as the doctors claimed the girl they saw in front of them had too much autonomy and confidence, worked too hard to engage, and had far too great of abstract thinking to possibly be on the spectrum.”
‘Hold on, Zac, the ambulance is coming.’ I was face down in the middle of the road, and I couldn’t feel any of my limbs.’: Man shares journey towards recovery after spinal cord injury
“I woke up out of a dead sleep and said to myself, ‘It’s time to get to work.’ It felt as if a weight was just lifted off my shoulders. This injury will not define me.”