“If you feel like this again, call and I’ll talk you off the ledge.’ I was ashamed to admit I was having thoughts of harming myself. It triggered something I have never experienced: intense rage.”
‘I smashed the window while holding my son. ‘Go buy essential oils,’ the nurse told me. I was pushed aside.’: Mom of 2 advocates for postpartum depression, ‘There’s no need to suffer in silence’
’38 weeks pregnant with twins, the doctor said, ‘Your other son has cancer wrapped around all his organs.’: Recovered addict urges ’embrace the challenges’ after birthing twins, Neuroblastoma survivor
“The only words I could get out were, ‘He won’t die, right? He won’t die.’ As long as I live, I will never forget the doctor’s response: ’50/50 chance.’ He called me an ‘idiot’ for wanting to place him on a second treatment trial. ‘We need to stop.’ I knew it was right for our boy.”
‘My boyfriend who ‘loved me’ broke up with me over the phone once I was in the hospital. My health deteriorated at lightning speed.’: Woman details journey with Crohn’s Disease, ‘You can rise above and flourish’
“I went from being a perfectly healthy 21-year-old with the world by the tail to 105-degree fevers every day. One day, my mom found me lying on the couch at dinner time in my pajamas from the night before. ‘It’s time to get to the bottom of this.’ Something wasn’t right, but we couldn’t put our fingers on it.”
‘Numbness consumed my whole left side. ‘You’re tying your boots too tight.’ The next thing I knew, I collapsed.’: Navy Ordinanceman battles MS during leave, ‘Be the person you need to be’
“I couldn’t move nor feel the entire left side of my face. I chewed a hole on the inside of my cheek due to no feeling. Looking at my mom and sisters’ faces filled with tears, I knew it wasn’t good.”
‘She was too scared to sleep for fear she wouldn’t wake up. She swore she was going to die at the hospital.’ : Parents share reality of 9-year-old’s battle with brain cancer, ‘Her faith is high’
“We didn’t know what real heartbreak was until we were forced to watch our baby battle childhood cancer. Even though we walk around the house with a smile, being brave for each other, our hearts are smashed into tiny pieces. When you try to picture the future, it takes your breath away, because you can’t picture life without them.”
‘The baby weight will melt away with breastfeeding.’ When my milk never came in, I was devastated. I hated my body.’: Mom discusses postpartum self-love, ‘You’re worthy at any size’
“I saw all these moms on Instagram, three days after having their babies, in jeans going out for coffee. I had a mom pouch, wider hips, wider thighs, and lots of new stretch marks. I felt like a failure already at one week postpartum.”
‘Motherhood feels like an unrealistic dream.’: Woman pens open letter to the ‘sweet mama who didn’t have to wait’
“Give those sweet babies all the kisses and hugs, tell them you love them. That even on the hard days you wouldn’t trade them for anything. Because some of us only dream of doing so.”
‘As I was thinking about how wonderful life was, my head slammed into the steering wheel. My final summer was gone.’: Teen suffers brain injury, graduates college, ‘Always have hope’
“I was the girl in the neck brace. ‘Just give it time,’ they repeated. My memory betrayed me, forgetting class times, notes, names. Every day, I woke up with a headache. Doctors warned me graduating was unlikely.”
‘Not to worry, you’re SO young.’ We were filled with false hope. Naively, we did the baby dance for a year.’: Woman pregnant with rainbow baby after infertility battle, ‘Keep climbing mama’
“Our Doctor looked at us and said, ‘I WILL have you pregnant.’ We entered the dark world of empty bank accounts, bruised and botched bodies, and a home with stained walls from our screams. We couldn’t give up.”
‘We felt a bump while being intimate. A wave of utter darkness hit me. I felt like I never stood a chance to win.’: Woman says overcoming breast cancer was ‘the fight of my life’
“I freaked out. Then, BOOM! I said ta-ta to both of my tatas.’ Words cannot express the fear I felt.”