“March 23rd. I start coughing up blood and it’s hard to breathe. My Apple Watch is saying my resting heart rate is 157. It’s never happened before, so obviously it’s concerning.”
‘You can’t withstand this storm.’ I AM THE STORM. I’m determined, I pushed myself harder than I ever have in my life.’: Woman recovering from COVID-19 and complications details hospital experience, ‘I will always keep fighting’
‘You need to get away. You need a BREAK.’ So what did I do? YUP, I called my sister. Who else would do this for me?’: Woman writes story praising ‘superstar’ late sister, ‘She was my rock’
“She called from the hospital to let me know she would try to be well enough to make that trip down here. She had COVID. She helped in every way possible for me to navigate widowhood. She was on the ventilator eight days. The one I leaned on my whole life.”
‘If you’re not excited, you’ll be a bad mom.’ Who decided this? What does THEIR life look like behind closed doors?’: Pregnant woman grieves ‘death’ of old self, urges ‘it’s okay to not be excited’
“I will never be the woman I was before the morning of July 4th, when we tried translating a Spanish pregnancy test in the morning light along the Mexican coast.”
‘You’re a survivor, not a victim.’ BOTH CAN BE TRUE. The mixed messages surrounding this are dizzying.’: Woman advocates for mental health awareness, ‘It took YEARS to rebuild my trust’
“Before Casey left the state with me, before he promised me forever and before we said ‘I do,’ I explained the mental weight I carried. Somehow I knew it would be an added challenge. I wasn’t wrong.”
‘I’m in a different boat. We’re terrified of losing our children. I’d never wish for any parent to be where I’ve been.’: Special needs mom begs ‘do your part, stay safe for us’
“For years, we’ve been sanitizing and wearing masks. Sitting on hospital bathroom floors, begging for our child to live. Seeing our child intubated and whispering, ‘Please be okay.’ It feels like you’re watching us sink.”
‘The doctor leaned in. ‘Your body is not damaged. Stop the surgeries, stop the fertility treatments. Something is missing, and I’m going to find out what it is.’: Woman pregnant with rainbow baby thanks doctor’s kindness, ‘She spoke life into me’
“You have a 2% chance of ever conceiving a child.’ I didn’t know when or how it would happen, but I felt it deep within my soul.”
‘I did something wrong.’ He turned blue. I dropped to my knees. ‘Sorry, we can’t help you.’: Baby born with rare genetic condition, ‘We won’t give up if he doesn’t’
“‘Prepare yourself. I don’t know what’s happening with your baby.’ His size confused them. The moment we waited for finally arrived.”
‘Am I going to be able to do this forever?’ I wasn’t ME. I felt let down and abandoned. The anxiety was horrific.’: COVID-19 nurse encourages healthcare workers, ‘We’ll get through this’
“When I was a new nurse, I walked with a pep in my step. I had new scrubs, perfect pens, and a glow. I went from feeling calm to terrified. The pandemic rages on. The frontliners are still there, showing up, sacrificing their own safety.”
‘How is this so easy for some people?’ I’d sit in my car and cry before work. What if my dream was taken away?’: Nurse battles infertility, pregnant with IVF baby, ‘Don’t lose hope’
“I struggled going to work to take care of babies. All I ever wanted was to be a mom. ‘Are you okay, sweetie?’ I absolutely lost it. Infertility affected every aspect of my life.”
‘People yelled from their cars, ‘Fatty!’ It was clear I was the ‘fat one.’ I thought if I lost weight, the bullying would stop.’: Woman shares self-love journey, ‘I deserve love at any size’
“I saw myself in the mirror and started to cry. My stomach stuck out. My body jiggled. I was introduced to diet pills, skinny teas, calorie counting. It was more important to shrink myself than to be happy or healthy.”