“I had a Grand-Mal Seizure. I was completely unresponsive. They had to cut my clothes as a life-saving measure. I understood why, but seeing everything cut to pieces shattered me. I sobbed. As soon as I got home, I ordered another jacket. Then I noticed a strange package. It was my coat, the same style, size, color. No one had any clue what I was talking about. I want to find out who did this for me.”
“I’m not ever going to tell them that I wasn’t thinking about the mess, and that I was loving their little faces and the joy that was taking place. That’s MY secret. But it’s the little things. Really. It’s not really about WHO cleans up the mess, it’s about the lesson.”
“I remember feeling the most horrendous pain shoot up my left arm. ‘Please, God, don’t let me die. My three children still need me.’ An overwhelming sense of doom came over me. All I could see were the dark eyes of my doctor hovered over the rail of that hospital bed. He told me, ‘This is a wake up call, Adrienne.’ I was alone, naked, vulnerable, and helpless. The only thing I could do was pray.”
“‘You’re not leaving this table until you finish what is on your plate! Do you hear me?’ My parents begged, pleaded, and demanded me to eat. But my disease was much bigger than them. At 5’11” and 86 pounds, I was admitted to a hospital away from my school, my family, my friends – everything I knew. I’ll never forget the absolute horror of having to be pried off of my parents, not knowing when I would see them again.”
“The doctor was holding a box of tissues. I let out the most piercing wail. I was inconsolable. I asked my husband, ‘Can we pray?’ It was the only time I saw him break down. We both buckled at the knees. I was lead back to a corner room at the end of the hallway. A nurse was there. ‘I am sorry for your loss.’ My son had an aura around him, an angelic light radiating behind him.”
“The surgeon oh-so-casually said, ‘While I have you under anesthesia, I can take out the IUD, too.’ Two months later, I was pregnant. I never fully understood how much I wanted to experience pregnancy until my first one ended. In couple’s therapy, tears and snot poured down my face. I tried to explain to my husband how much I wanted to be pregnant. While I was running errands later that day, I saw a rainbow. My friend’s response? ‘God doesn’t mess around when it comes to signs.'”
“24 weeks pregnant, we got devastating results, yet again. But this time was different. We found out our miracle child had a rare diagnosis. We were given the option of terminating her, just after I finished telling the doctor how beautiful she was. After 5 long, painful, and agonizing years, I cried. Nothing was going to stop us from having the family we dreamt of.”
“I had thoughts of ’maybe something is wrong with me. Will I ever have another healthy pregnancy again?’ My doctor told us we could start trying again as soon as we felt ready. I slowly looked down. ‘Alex, there are TWO lines!’ We’d made it to the safe zone. ’I think this baby is going to be just fine, congratulations!’”
“To say I am jealous is an understatement. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I am extremely jealous. It’s just not fair. The going to see Santa Claus, throwing birthday parties – it all stings. Hearing what cool new toy they added to their Christmas list to Santa. My children have never cared about any of that.”
“My mom covered her mouth and ran out of the room with tears in her eyes as my brother sat next to me. I was dying. I took 30 more pills slowly, not realizing what was happening. I should have died, and I almost did.”
