“When I say her name, I don’t imagine a hospital bed and a funeral. No, I imagine her great, big smile that lit up an entire room. I imagine her laugh, her soft hands and perfect pixie nose. I imagine her holding a flower crown on her head, the wind softly blowing her hair.”
“I began leaking spinal fluid, and it soaked through my sheets. My parents were told they needed to prepare themselves to lose me.”
“Today, I literally had to hold the tears in while my lips quivered under my mask.”
“We’ll be moving forward, hand in hand, for the rest of our lives. I’ve searched the world for love and she was within me the whole time.”
“I choked down an orange while holding back tears. I felt so weak for getting help, for eating an ORANGE. It was one of the bravest steps I’ve ever taken for myself.”
“It is debilitating, mind warping, and disturbing.”
“Her openness in this moment was a ‘Hey, Family.’ It’s about recognizing your fellow human who knows how it feels to avoid glares of judgement. I had forgotten what it had felt like to be recognized like this by a stranger.”
“He was always trying to get me to go places alone with him, bribing me with presents. Funny, he never did that for my brother.”
“‘I’ll call you when we land.’ My phone started going crazy. Holding his hand, I promised him I would move forward with building our family.”
‘In our world of surgeries, doctors appointments, and chemotherapy, he is powerless. In Roblox world, he can protect me. On our couch, tapping our screens, we both rediscovered our strength.”
