“Have you ever had a medical professional look you in the eye and tell you it’s a MIRACLE your child is alive, and then say they have no medical reasoning as to how they ARE alive? Children born with no immune system unknowingly die from the common cold… Bella survived septic shock and 4 bowel surgeries.”
“The innocence you had before the atomic bomb of grief is gone, and left are the ashes of a life you wanted to live.”
“No one was proud of me for walking through hell—domestic violence, separation, abandonment at 4 months pregnant while raising a toddler and autistic child and simultaneously maintaining a career. But they went out of their way to express their pride when I lost 40 pounds.”
“It’s another instance of women being told what to do with their body, then being shamed no matter WHAT she decides.”
“I’d wake up early enough to reapply makeup on top of the makeup I slept in then get back into bed so I could look ‘pretty’ for my boyfriend when he woke up.”
“I couldn’t find my voice. My brain was still processing. She placed him on my chest. He was so warm, so beautiful. As I took him in, the film ‘Wonde’r I’d watched during pregnancy flashed. I’d turned to my best friend and said, ‘I could never be ashamed of my child if they were born special. That’s all the more reason to treasure them.’ Gratitude filled my heart. I was chosen for this.”
“This story makes me crack WIDE open with vulnerability. But I felt so alone during the first few times I went through it. I can only hope I can provide a source of support, hope, and inspiration to others.”
“If I can turn my pain into empowerment to inspire others, then there is hope for those who are still stuck in the grips of human trafficking.”
“No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t see my child’s future. I was going to have to live it, right next to him. NOBODY is going to come and take this away from us.”
“I squeezed the doctor’s hand as tightly as I could. Within seconds an alarm rang, sirens sounded. Then I felt a voice, a presence, something within me telling me not to give up. This wasn’t the end, I had to find a way through. I held on with every fiber of my being.”
