‘My life was out of control. I drank as much as possible to escape. ‘Why is this happening to me?’ I only had half of my hair left, but I couldn’t give up.’: Woman with alopecia takes back her life, ‘I made myself a priority’

“I covered all of the mirrors in my apartment and closed all of the blinds. I didn’t want to see my family or friends. I didn’t want anyone to be near me. I was so ashamed and disgusted with myself. My hair was my security blanket, but it was almost gone.”

‘I heard my phone ding and felt my breath catch. ‘A little boy was born last night. He’s in critical condition.’ Without a second thought, we said, ‘YES!’: Couple shares beautiful open adoption

“I was sure we would have heard by now. Not a minute after I let myself lose hope, my phone rang. A little boy had been born the night before. His birth had been traumatic. ‘Is there any reason we’d say no?’ We were sure he was meant to be our little boy.”

‘Will Nash be a baby forever?’ There are days where it hits me like a ton of bricks. More than the pain, I feel joy.’: Mom shares son’s journey with rare ADNP syndrome, ‘I can’t imagine a world without him’

“We waited for the phone call that would change our lives forever. The first words out of my mouth were, ‘Is it fatal?’ A giant wave of relief washed over my whole body. I thought this was the end of our worries, but it wasn’t.”

‘You’re just a worried mom. I’m sure he’s fine!’ She placed the probe on my belly and gasped. ‘How did you know?’: New mom shares ‘powerful’ intuition about son’s cleft lip, ‘I’ll continue to stand up and say something’

“I’d never met anyone with a cleft. I’m not sure if I’d seen one in person either. I had no knowledge of them, but I absolutely knew my son had one. The tech gave me a big hug. ‘You have a powerful gift.’ I knew I was ready to tackle anything.”

‘What if someone calls you FAT again?’ That word held so much pain. I associated my worth with what my body looked like.’: Woman shares journey healing from eating disorder, ‘It’s worth the messiness’

“At 13, I started dieting and exercising compulsively. It became an obsession. I hung up pictures of bodies I wanted mine to look like in front of our treadmill. It can be gruesome to think of food, something you need to survive, as an enemy.”

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