“I’d just been diagnosed with the flu on March 5th and started to feel better until this hit. I was cleaning the restroom when Dante came in and said, ‘Mom, what are you doing? Get out of the bathroom! You are putting on too much bleach!!! You are going to stop breathing!’”
“If you need help during this time, please call a therapist. You are not bothering us! We want to help you! We have never in our lifetime dealt with the loss of our lives as we have at this moment.”
“A doctor said, ‘Everyone is going to get this virus before it ends,’ and it terrifies me. I take medication on a daily basis just to breathe normally. My body is weak. I have so much left in life I want to see and do. I’ve been fighting my whole life, and I don’t plan on stopping now.”
“Months ago, a tornado ripped through their home in the middle of one terrifing night. And there they stood. In front of that torn down, knocked apart, and REBUILT beautiful house. Today, I didn’t get to be there as a bridesmaid. My parents didn’t get to be there. They stood tall and fearless, saying their vows and promising forever.”
“I scream for my husband, ‘DAVE. HELP!!! THERE’S NO MORE TOILET PAPER.’ He shoves in a random t-shirt from my drawer and a plastic trash bag. So, there I was. Going liquid. No TP. No time to prepare.”
“In light of this, our family is giving you blanket permission to do this however the hell you want for the next two months. I don’t care if you teach my kids one more thing this semester.”
“Telling my Nana my life wasn’t going to be what she expected, as I’d met the person I intended to marry and it was not a ‘he,’ was the most difficult moment of my life. I watched her heart break in front of me, fully aware I was the cause. Years later, at my wedding, she looked at me and said, ‘The LGBTQ community is the happiest group of people I’ve ever been part of.’ Today, Nana left us. My heart is broken.”
“10 minutes after childbirth, I began shaking. My temperature skyrocketed. It was recommended we remove our precious, new baby from my care, and into theirs. I handed her over. We weren’t allowed visitors. My husband could only visit me with protective gear. But hindsight is 20/20.”
“I woke up completely drenched in sweat. I called the COVID-19 hotline. 5 minutes later, a very condescending man came on. I was told I sounded ‘fine’ and was likely just ‘exaggerating’ the symptoms due to anxiety. I had a seizure. Blood had started pouring out of my mouth. I wouldn’t realize just how much until later.”
“It started with neglect and evolved into mental, emotional, and physical abuse. I endured this silently, for I thought it was what I was destined for. All the while, I was hearing voices and believing I was seeing dead people. My husband went along with my delusions. I truly thought I was a vampire and he encouraged it.”
