“She was told, ‘You should be grateful your son is alive.’ As someone who sits through my own season of suffering, I’ll tell you: most of us know the Good. But it does not negate the suffering. They just co-exist.”
‘Today a friend shared on social media that her medically complex son isn’t sleeping and she’s tired. ‘You should be grateful your son is alive.’: Special needs mom calls for end to ‘Gratefulness Shame Game’
‘We usually tell women at this stage to complete their families.’ I was only 17. That wasn’t an option. I had no idea how unlucky I’d be.’: Woman battles stage 4 endometriosis, 2 miscarriages, and hysterectomy
“I was about to turn 25, recently separated. I had only been dating this guy for a month, and had told him I couldn’t get pregnant. Now, here I was, in my aunt’s bathroom, staring at this stick like it had just back-handed my momma. I scheduled my first OB appointment since my regular gynecologist/surgeon is not an OB. ‘I don’t see a baby,’ she said as nonchalantly as humanly possible.”
‘He was dying before my eyes. Doctors said, ‘He must be teething.’ He cried for 18 hours a day.’: Mom births baby with rare neurodegenerative disease, ‘Listen to your gut’
“The doctor glanced at my son’s chart, looked up at me, and said, ‘I’m going to go get you in to see the best pediatrician we have.’ I remember running into her arms saying, ‘Thank you. Thank you for finding something.’”
‘I used to avoid social gatherings because I was so scared to be seen in a swimsuit. I would sit outside the pool, fully clothed, as my kids begged me to have fun with them.’: Woman urges ‘you are more than what you look like in a swimsuit’
“I missed out on so much. I missed out on moments I can never get back. Finally, I realized enough is enough. My kids, my family, my (true) friends absolutely DO NOT care how I look in a swimsuit, and I will bet you my next paycheck yours don’t either.”
‘My doctor called pregnancies at my age ‘geriatric.’ When the f*ck did 38 become geriatric? For the first time in my life, I felt older than I was.’: Woman recounts IVF struggle, ‘Turns out with age comes resilience’
“The only reason we sought IVF after all was due to my husband having a vasectomy. Our doctor sat us down and informed us moving forward at this point would be futile. Women my age seemed to be doing just fine, thank you. I was the problem. Me. I was only 38!”
‘You may only have use of your eyes and voice.’ I was told, ‘You should live a less ambitious life.’: Woman with GNE Myopathy says ‘knowing my body is temporary has caused me to truly live’
“I’m told, ‘You will never see research being done because you’re too rare.’ I have lived my life with fear, against a silently ticking clock.”
‘I was in a wheelchair for 3 months, unable to walk or make a living. We were homeless. Friends donated furniture, filled our pantry, and clothed us.’: Family stays hopeful after ‘losing everything’ in fire
“We decided to build a small barn and live in it temporarily. Two weeks from being able to move in, I took a bad ladder fall down the side of the house. What little cash we had left now had to become living expenses. But, God!”
‘My husband died on a Saturday. Monday, we planned the funeral. Thursday, I started a new job. I thought if I stayed busy, it would fix the brokenness.’: Woman urges self care for fellow widows, ‘It’s a daily battle’
“What no one prepares you for is what happens after the last sympathy card is opened and people have moved on. I stuffed away every bad feeling. I am a broken person trying to piece my life back together.”
‘I noticed a young black boy walking into our yard. Something was strange. Then, I realized he had his hands up.’: Man urges ‘we need to do better’ after heartbreaking encounter with boy
“We were sitting here having lunch when his ball had rolled into our yard. He looked nervous. He walked so slowly, looking straight ahead. Then I realized he had his hands up.”
‘Today I woke up from my fight with one pandemic, and turned on the news to be reminded of another pandemic entirely.’: Mom recovering from Covid-19 says ‘America has a RACISM PANDEMIC’
“I am weary. My heart is broken. Friends, America has a RACISM PANDEMIC that is claiming the lives of our black brothers and sisters at a horrifying rate. When a black child is stolen from us, EVERY mother’s heart should bleed.”