“You have the entire world at your finger tips, but that world is whatever you decide to make it. We cannot apologize for the things we want when and if they do not fall in line with the expectations the world has set for us.”
You Are Meant To Forge Your Own Path In This Life, Not Someone Else’s
‘Today social media attacked autism. It mocked, insulted, and made fun of people like my boy.’: Mom to son with autism responds to ‘ugly’ TikTok challenge
“My boy is only 4 years old and his battles are just beginning. The bullying hasn’t come to him. Yet. I want to believe his battles will be small, just like he is now. But today I let the ugly in the world get the better of me.”
‘My daughters rushed across the hall. ‘Mommy, Bates is spitting up blood. You need to come.’ One of his arteries had opened in his throat.’: Mom urges ‘don’t take your children for granted’
“My son, Bates, was only 7 years old. He started coughing up blood uncontrollably – over and over. It wouldn’t stop. I remember the horrific scene of him leaning over the sink. Earlier that day, I’d been frustrated with him for not remembering to put something away. In this moment, I realized how trivial it seemed.”
‘I can’t wait for everything to get back to normal so I can pretend this never happened.’ I felt a pang in my chest.’: Woman urges ‘don’t give up on the safety of those around you’
“They proceeded to talk about planning a ‘social distance’ birthday party. By that, they meant they were going to cap it off at 25 guests. There was no talk of masks or staying 6 feet apart. In fact, they stressed that it is ‘probably okay’ since the pandemic would be ending soon anyway.”
‘I ran through the door screaming, ‘Joe!’ My heart sunk. My girl was telling me goodbye, I just didn’t know it.’: Baby passes due to Miller Dieker syndrome, ‘It’s not her death that changed me, but her very existence’
“The hardest thing was breaking our son’s heart. After shedding tears, he proudly wore his ‘Big Brother’ shirt the next day. He told me, ‘Even if sissy looks funny, I’m going to love her just the same. And if anyone makes fun of her, I’ll tell them she is who she is and we love her.’”
‘Turn on the lights. What’s wrong with my baby?’ He thrashed in my arms and went limp. Our perfect boy was unconscious.’: Baby boy saves 3 lives after passing from aneurysm, ‘There is beauty to be found in the ashes’
“Finn threw up in my arms before the paramedics arrived, but I never put him down. A social worker and chaplain ushered us into a small waiting room and told us, ‘This occuring was a 1 in 100 million chance.’ Something in me knew this was the end. I could feel my heart ripping from my chest. We were not giving up on our boy.”
‘I met another woman coming out of the office, bawling her eyes out. She, too, was going home to wait for that all too important phone call.’: Couple battles infertility for years, ‘It’s a horrible waiting game’
“I literally sat in my car down the road, screaming and crying for at least half an hour. They found I had stage 4 Endometriosis. Well, no wonder I had been having such painful cycles! Babies came easy to us. But not this time. Not for my second marriage.”
‘She had tubes down her throat. She immediately grabbed my hand and wrote ‘I (heart) U’ with her finger in the palm.’: Woman grieves mothers death, ‘I lost her 10 days before I graduated college’
“She was so upset I was at the hospital versus at college studying for my final exams for my senior year. She kept writing ‘I am okay’ on a notepad. She held on a few moments longer. My last visual memory is her sitting up, waving goodbye because she was doing ‘better.’ I can’t help but think that was her plan all along.”
‘I know you’re thinking, ‘Wow she is really trashing IVF and praising adoption,’ and to that, I’d say, HELL YES, I AM!’: After adoption woman wishes she could travel back in time, ‘I would tell her to stop’
“This is a true story and I’m here to say what others might not. I was there. I wanted to love and be loved unconditionally.”
‘I can’t hear.’ I tell her to write. She gives me a dismissive hand wave.’: Deaf woman reminds us to be patient during the pandemic
“The tears fall. She gives me the wave off with her hand saying, ‘Nevermind.’ I’ve faced frustration, but never like this.”