“I thought I had a UTI. ‘We have to remove it just in case.’ I couldn’t believe this horrible thing had been growing in my body.”
‘It might be something nasty.’ I sat in a waiting room, surrounded by men 40 years my senior. Nothing can prepare you for this.’: Ballet dancer raises awareness for bladder cancer
‘At 9:00 a.m. Thanksgiving Eve, my phone rang. ‘It’s time.’ Nothing could have prepared me.’: Chronic illness warrior receives life-saving liver transplant after triple diagnosis
“‘There are only 400-500 cases in the United States.’ I was a 30-year-old healthy, young woman ready to embrace a new decade and start her family. But being 30, as I was going to quickly find out, would have a whole other meaning.”
‘I lost control of my legs. ‘Call an ambulance!’ My tongue started to go down my throat. The pain was excruciating.’: Chronic illness warrior shares journey with fibromyalgia, POTS
“’Will you be able to drive? Work full time? Have children?’ I struggled to accept my fate. Secretly, I hoped I’d recover.”
‘I grabbed her hand and yelled, ‘RUN!’ The rush of people overtook me. I fell underneath thousands running for their lives.’: Woman survives Las Vegas mass shooting, ‘I live a life that matters now’
“The ‘a-ha’ lightbulb went off and fight-or-flight kicked in. That moment when you think of your kids, your husband, your family, who you may never see again.”
‘Mary Kate’s eye is drooping a little. Do you see that?’ I felt the air leaving my body.’: Brain cancer warrior passes away days before second birthday, ‘She’s guiding us every step of the way’
“One day, she could barely open her left eye. You know those situations in your life when everything changes and you didn’t even see it coming? This was one of those.”
‘Crumbs in the sheets. Worrying about the next career move. Life is messy. Don’t just clean up, laugh in the mess.’: Woman shares powerful reminder ‘only you know what your heart needs’
“You only have this life and the clock started ticking the day you were born. Let go of their approval. You’ll never be remembered for the house, anyway.”
‘He wouldn’t give me my son. He slammed me into the wall so hard I blacked out.’: Woman shares heartbreaking story of abuse, ‘You don’t realize it’s not right until it’s too late’
“I was pregnant and with my kids’ dad at the time, so I didn’t give him the time of day. He told me he had herpes. Just like that. After a year, and he is just now telling me.”
‘My mind is always racing, and I can’t turn it off.’: Special needs mom gets candid about mental health, urges ‘find the joy’
“I know immediately when someone is being genuine with me, and when someone is just ‘getting along to get along.'”
‘Just stop being OCD and relax!’ I wish I could. Trust me.’: Woman gets real about mental health, urges ‘be kind to people’
“I’m convinced my husband is dead if he’s even five minutes late. I can’t drive behind log trucks because I get actual full-on mental pictures of the post-accident carnage. But I do a terrific job of ‘pretending.'”
‘Domestic violence is a funny thing. It can take YEARS to untangle the toxic beliefs in our minds.’: Woman celebrates 6 years of ‘freedom’ after getting out of abusive relationship
“She has taught me so much, led me home, and reminded me of my humanity. I love her.”