“I woke up and cried for my mom. Here I was, a grown adult, and all I wanted was to see her. The nurses wouldn’t let me. I was in too much pain and they feared how my mom would react.”
‘The only way to fix my legs would be to BREAK the femurs. I’m learning to walk for the 3rd time.’: Woman with anteverted femurs details journey, is supported by her courageous mom
‘I heard an odd noise coming from my son. I looked over to see orange drool trickle from his mouth, his body rhythmically bouncing.’: Mom fights for answers to son’s undiagnosed seizures, ‘We will never stop trying’
“We had no cell service. There were no other vehicles on the road. We were alone, on a deserted highway, with our child who was quite likely dying, and we had no idea what to do. Nobody wakes up one day and thinks to themselves, ‘Today is the day my world will explode. Today everything is going to change and I’ll never get over it.’ But that’s exactly what happened.”
‘Every morning I was injected on an exam table while my classmates grabbed Starbucks.’: 19-year old diagnosed with IBD, ulcerative colitis advocates for change
“I was warned about the freshman year dorm life and told where to go for mental health counseling if exams became too stressful. I was not told what to do, how to continue, or who to turn to if I was suddenly forever ill.”
‘My chest tightened, and I fought back tears. I suffered in silence.’: Mom shares journey with depression, anxiety, ADHD
“I couldn’t eat, I slept all the time, I lost 13 pounds in two weeks. I really didn’t know what to do.”
‘I spent my whole life trying to fit in, suppressing the things about me that made me different.’: Woman diagnosed with autism at 41
“I put on a show for the sake of others, all the while denying myself the opportunity to live authentically.”
‘Today, for the first time ever, I had to call an ambulance because of my anxiety. Unable to breathe, I threw up and broke down screaming, ‘Why me?’: Woman shares PSA on reality of anxiety
“Anxiety isn’t just having a hard time catching your breath. If you know someone who struggles with panic attacks, please be there for them.”
‘She’d look back on her life and think SHE was the reason I drank. It was just too much.’: Mom details sobriety journey, daughter’s battle with Type 1 Diabetes
“There was no intervention. No one said ‘We think you have a problem.’ There was no rock bottom. It was waking up one morning with my daughter asleep in my arms next to me and worrying about her future.”
‘It’s been years since he could ‘see’ my face. But he got to hear me laughing through my tears as I recited my vows.’: Woman shares her marriage, pregnancy journey with husband’s vision loss
“It makes me sad to know he couldn’t see me on our wedding day, or when we were engaged, or when I told him I loved him for the first time. But love has overcome all of these sad truths.”
‘I received a recall letter in the mail from the manufacturer of my implants.’: Mom of 4 details sudden journey with breast implant illness, pre-menopause, alopecia, and separation all in same year
“My right implant had ruptured and was leaking. Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, my guy of 4 years walked out on me; he couldn’t handle all of it anymore. I lost most of my own breasts, then my partner, and now my ovaries were shutting down, too.”
‘The world needs you. Not despite the darkness, but maybe because of it.’: Man shares open letter to those considering suicide
“I had a plan to die once. I knew exactly how I was going to do it. The darkness crept in until it nearly took over everything. But here I am, writing to you, telling you the darkness doesn’t last forever.”