“After finals, my family came to visit me on campus. My dad was very somber. ‘I didn’t want to hide this from you.’ I can’t describe the pain.”
‘I wanted you to graduate without worrying about me.’ It had spread to his brain.’: Woman describes grief of losing both parents to cancer
‘She’ll never walk or talk. Her future is unknown.’: Mother details journey with daughter’s rare chromosomal disorders
“The thing I hate hearing the most is, ‘You just need to wait and see.’ She’s so rare the doctors don’t know the answers to our questions.”
‘Her 9-pound body flopped back lifelessly. She died in my arms at 2 weeks old.’: Mom shares daughter’s journey with rare genetic disorder
“My husband grabbed her from my hands, tossed her over his knees, and started CPR. ‘Please hurry,’ I begged dispatch. I will NEVER forget that night.”
‘Your dad’s been waiting for you.’ I cried like a child. I should’ve been there.’: Man finds ways to assist aging parents after medical emergency
“All he could say was ‘Son.’ I apologized for my shortcomings. Mom soothed me while dad weakly patted my head like I was a little boy. I realized how much they need me.”
‘Days before his 24th birthday, we received messages. ‘Jake has not shown up for work or class.’ His roommates hadn’t seen him.’: Woman navigates grief after losing brother to suicide, sister and nieces to car accident
“Exactly 2 months later, my sister and two beautiful nieces were killed in a car accident. I heard phrases like ‘everything happens for a reason’ more times than I can count. I was told my sadness was a result of my lack of gratitude and my focusing on the negative. I was encouraged to move on, to forget, to focus on the positive and live in gratitude with love.”
‘I called her, sobbing. Her response? ‘I’m driving you. Do you prefer me beside you or in the waiting room? What can I bring over in the meantime?’: Mom shares true meaning behind ‘it takes a village’
“Without hesitating or thinking, she washes bottles. Folds a blanket. Holds James so I can use the bathroom. Her love is instinctual.”
The Time Has Come To Normalize The Mom Bod
“I felt confident in my body. I ate healthy and worked out all the time. I was skinny. Then, I became a mommy.”
‘I heard a gunshot and I don’t know where Michael is. What do I do?!’: Woman starts suicide prevention initiative after losing both brothers to suicide
“I came home from school to find Stephen in the backyard smoking a cigarette and crying. He broke down and told me he had thoughts about wanting to end his life. He said the world would be ‘better off without him.’ After losing him, we did not anticipate Michael would die by suicide as well just nine years later.”
‘You’re SO inspirational!’ This is NOT a compliment.’: Young woman with Acute Flaccid Myelitis says ‘my life isn’t less worthy’
“It may SEEM like a compliment, but it’s exactly the opposite.”
‘What if she has it?’ My husband answered swiftly, ‘She’s our girl. She’ll be awesome regardless.’: Mom in ‘awe’ of daughter with Down syndrome
“I had a thousand questions, but all I could muster was, ‘How does this increase my chances?’ She replied, ‘From about 1 in 320 to 1 in 6.’ The wind was knocked out of me.”