“I was experiencing odd symptoms, such as chest pain, sweating, and tingling in my limbs. Yet, I had no diagnosis.”
‘I worked 9-5 trying to hide the pain. My job still let me go. I realized just how sick I was.’: Woman gets masters degree despite mystery chronic illness
‘She has no one left to help her.’ I stared at the screen in disbelief. She looked nothing like I remembered.’: Woman adopts child, ‘My life wasn’t complete until she came home’
“When I left Liberia, my goodbye to her was the hardest. ‘I’ll never forget you.’ Three years later, I got a call. ‘Probable tumor in her eye. Untreatable in West Africa. It’s an emergency.’ We were terrified.”
‘I made a HUGE mistake. The kids are gone.’ My heart broke. ‘Can you return and take her?’ It was too late.’: Mom describes ups and downs of foster care, ‘The journey’s been worth it’
“We met at a McDonald’s parking lot, her belongings in a trash bag, and had a quick goodbye. I was left dumbfounded. She would yell, ‘I’m going to burn your house down!’ People on the outside had no idea what went on behind closed doors.”
‘We saw bubbles at the surface of the pool. ‘Someone needs to get him up now!’ He was limp and grey.’: Family share shallow water drowning PSA, ‘Please let your loved ones know’
“This was a pool game we played all the time. We knew many family and friends who did the same. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”
‘Look at you! What’s WRONG with you?’ Ants were crawling under my skin. I lay on the cold cement floor of my jail cell.’: Woman overcomes felony charges and drug addiction, ‘You CAN recover’
“I had a spot on my shoulder, and MRSA entered my body. I remember the moment Dilaudid entered my IV. It felt like a warm pot of honey. That high was it. I wanted that forever. There was no soul left in me.”
‘How was your first day of school, honey?’ He mumbled, ‘The mask was hard.’ Inside, I felt so much sadness.’: Mom thanks school staff, ‘You are leading with your hearts, and it shows’
“I wasn’t sure how this was going to work, or if it was going to work at all. I went to school that morning needing to see it for myself. When the bell rang at 3 p.m., my heart lurched.”
‘I’d go to yoga high as a kite. I shared needles with everyone. It eventually caught up to me, and I got sick.’: Yoga instructor celebrates 8 years sober, ‘I manifested my life’’
“My boyfriend broke up with me because I couldn’t stay sober. I got evicted. All my dreams faded away as I got deeper into my addiction. I realized there had to be a bigger meaning to my life.”
‘Doctors swarmed around in panic. We got a diagnosis for both twins. Then, their life-saving appointment was canceled.’: Twins battle eye cancer together, ‘They’re so brave!’
“We got a trip to Disney for their battle against cancer. When we returned home, they got sick, very sick. ‘Haven’t we been through enough?’ I cried. Their doctor appointment was canceled indefinitely. We were told to wait by the phone. I panicked while they suffered.”
‘My daughter had a weirdly, rapidly progressing sunburn. We couldn’t figure out why, until we realized it wasn’t a sunburn.’: Mom shares PSA on harmful sunscreens
“I was so embarrassed I let this happen to my baby. This photo was taken 4 days after.”
‘She missed school events, birthdays. I longed for a mom I didn’t have to constantly worry about dying every day.’: Woman shares ‘heart-wrenching’ reality of growing up with an addict parent
“I was afraid to have friends over at my house because I didn’t know if she would be sober or not. When she was out, I lived in constant fear of her getting hurt, dying, or going back to jail. She was tired of fighting. I wanted to fight for her.”