“‘You can’t eat baby, it’ll hurt you.’ We agreed he could hold them. He took a cookie out and breathed in. ‘Mmmmmm.’ Then he put the cookie back in its bag. It broke my heart.”
‘Home please. Home PLEASE!’ He looked like a living skeleton. Fear made time stop.’: Young boy beats liver cancer, ‘We have a new outlook on life’
‘My teacher told the class, ‘You’ll never meet anyone with AIDS.’ I sat silently screaming, ‘I HAVE IT. YOU KNOW ME!’: HIV ‘stigma warrior’ details journey with virus
“I was getting ready for senior prom when I started throwing up. I slipped out of my Bebe cocktail dress and into sweats. My vision faded. The doctors warned, ‘You’ve gone blind. We have no idea if your vision will come back.’ Soon, I was told I’d be moved to hospice. ‘You’re going to die.'”
‘We used Zoom to ‘gather’ and share your gender. We did a drive-by and virtual ‘shower.’ I have loved ones who never saw my pregnant belly in person. I’m glad I can consider 2020 the year of YOU.’: Mom pens touching letter to ‘pandemic baby’
“No waiting mass of family and friends in the waiting room. No hospital bedside meeting with your sissy. Just us. And you.”
‘It’s so easy to get caught up in what life could have been. Autism wasn’t a death sentence back then and it isn’t now.’: Autism mom pens open letter to kids, ‘I promise to always fight for you’
“Mama’s only human. I can’t promise I won’t ever let bad thoughts creep in or have bad days. But I can promise I’ll always be there.”
‘Dad, I need help.’ Drunk, I broke down in a fast food parking lot at 8 a.m. I was taking 40 pills a day.’: Dad in tears walking sober daughter down the aisle
“I called my dad crying and told him the truth. I was living a secret life, raising a 4-year-old. Not once did he scold me or judge me. He came to my rescue.”
‘Why don’t I see the heartbeat?’ The room went blurry, everything was in slow motion. ‘Your baby died.’: Mom battles miscarriage, becomes pregnant with rainbow baby, ‘I could never replace you’
“I was at the gym when I got the call it was probably not a viable pregnancy. So, to take my frustration out, I went and lifted as heavily as I possibly could. The following week, I went in for blood work to make sure my numbers went to zero. When I got home, my husband and I went for a walk with Michael, and then the doctor called me. My numbers didn’t go to zero, they more than doubled.”
‘My mug shot was on the news. ‘I’ve been using drugs and I’m in trouble. I don’t want to live.’ The nurse said, ‘You’re in the right place.’: Woman overcomes addiction, ‘I help people like me’
“I contemplated if I was in love with the pills and white powder he seemed to always have or if I loved him. Any loyalty I had eventually shifted to the drugs.”
‘One day you’ll find the gift in all this.’ She had the audacity to put a positive spin on my crisis. I’d been suffering for months.’: Woman shares how she ‘finds the gifts’ in life
“The system isn’t perfect. Gifts aren’t always easy or life-changing or neatly packaged. Little things like spending more time outdoors with my kids during the pandemic can be a gift within a tragedy. I’ve also had hardships that didn’t seem to yield any gifts.”
‘We’ll need swings for two babies.’ I told my daughter, ‘Not this time.’ Then my doctor whispered, ‘You won’t believe this.’: Woman gives birth to preemie rainbow twins
“My doctor scanned back and forth. ’There’s two.’ I looked at my daughter, who had her arms folded. She said, very matter-of-factly, ‘I told you.’”
‘I’ll just be a fat mom.’ Over 14 years, I had 5 more babies. Now what? I knew I wasn’t finished.’: Mom of 8 transforms body, ‘Be PROUD of what your body can do’
“I felt so proud but looking back, it was just sad. Unfortunately, it was the norm for girls my age.”