“No one appreciates your half-arsery, my dear ones. Get it done right the first time, and I’ll look less like a crazy person with smoke coming out of my ears. Doesn’t that sound good? You can do this. I have faith in you.”
‘Guess what? I CAN STILL SEE ALL THE STUFF. You are not fooling anyone.’: Mom’s candid response to her ‘sweet offspring’ and their lame attempts at ‘cleaning’
‘I hate you! I want a different mom!’ He is getting bigger, I have to physically restrain him.’: Mom says son’s childhood has been ‘violently stolen’ due to PANDAS/PANS diagnosis, ‘It’s sad, unfair, heartbreaking’
“I wrote the single hardest thing: ‘I don’t like being a parent.’ His meltdowns consist of screaming, hitting, throwing, breaking things, slamming doors, spitting, you name it. I have to restrain him. I poured my heart out, frustrated, at my wits end. Then I got a message. ‘I think your son has PANDAS/PANS. Have him tested.’ Then the warning came: Some people don’t believe in this diagnosis.”
‘That girl’s going to wish she didn’t sit by that nasty homeless chick.’ Patrons gave me side-eye.’: Woman encourages compassion after random act of kindness for homeless woman, ‘We’ve gotten so afraid to connect’
“After I placed my muffin on the table, I noticed a pile of filthy, worn bags filled with her belongings. A large piece of folded cardboard peeked out from the top of the bag. Immediately after I sat down, she asked me a question. ‘Have you seen any phone books anywhere?’”
‘Is this a nightmare?’ We said goodbye, not knowing if she’d recognize us again. Our sweet, perfect girl was dying.’: Mom ‘crushed’ by Childhood Alzheimer’s diagnosis, ‘We spoil her every day’
“5 hours after she was born, they needed life-flighted her to another hospital. ‘Your baby is breathing a hundred breaths per minute.’ I was numb. She stayed on oxygen for two months, but there was still no diagnosis. Her file read, ‘Unknown respiratory issues at birth.’ I felt hopeless for answers.”
‘Since you’re 30 weeks, we do a mental health evaluation,’ she said matter-of-factly. I hesitated. ‘Uhhh. Okay.’: Mom shocked to be diagnosed with antepartum depression, depression during pregnancy, after nurse midwife surprised her with ‘mental health evaluation’
“Immediately, the nurse midwife started asking me questions. ‘In the last 2 weeks, have you had thoughts of harming yourself or taking your own life most days, some days, or not at all?’ Me: ‘Most days.’ My throat became dry and tight. I couldn’t hide it anymore.”
‘If they have a disability, they shouldn’t be trick or treating anyway!’ I want to admit something.’: Adult woman with autism urges what is ‘lacking’ on Halloween is ‘acceptance’
“I’m seeing so many posts in groups saying, ‘My kid isn’t autistic, but we will carry the blue bucket too, so people won’t be rude to my child.’ And I want to admit something. My first initial reaction was: ‘Ok, so now people are taking an autism thing and making it about their non-autistic kid. WRONG.”
‘You’re not getting implants for me? After all I’ve done?!’ Just like that, my marriage was dead.’: Woman divorces husband after pressure for plastic surgery, ‘Never alter yourself for a man’
“He was the perfect husband, until my 27th birthday. He took me into the storage closet of our tiny apartment. ‘Surprise!’ he said, pulling out a white envelope. I thought it would be a cute card. Inside I found cold, hard cash. Literally hundreds of dollars. ‘I saved it. For your new boobs!’ I felt rage overtake my body.”
‘Learning his mistress was pregnant with twins felt like his hands were still wrapped around my neck.’: Woman escapes domestic abuse relationship after neighbor overhears desperate pleas for ‘help’
“I’d get dressed, only to realize my keys were gone from their usual spot. ‘Babe, I took them by accident,’ he’d tell me. My husband had his cellphone number programmed to receive all the notifications when visitors buzzed our apartment. No one could visit me. At 7 months pregnant, I rushed into my closet. I was in the fetal position cradling my stomach. I whispered to my baby, ‘Mommy will always protect you. We’re going to be okay.’ ‘Get out of there immediately,’ my cousin told me.”
‘It’s a girl! I have a 35-year-old child. I do not know who the mother is.’: Man ‘mind blown’ after discovering adult daughter he never knew existed, becomes a grandfather overnight
“I did not know Heather existed. In the early 80’s, high school in Southern California presented many opportunities to throw caution to the wind. As a 17-year-old boy, caution was thrown as often as possible. Caution here, caution there, caution was thrown everywhere. On that fateful night, I was enjoying a late dinner with my wife when I got the news.”
‘Holly are you sitting down?’ I cheated death. Cardiac arrest caused 6 of my family members to die.’: Woman is 9th person in family to inherit heart disease, ‘I believe my own life was spared to save others’
“‘I’m glad you’re still with us,’ my surgeon whispered. Tears of gratitude spilled from my eyes. I felt a kiss on my forehead. With less than 90 seconds to spare, my surgeon had saved my life. The defibrillator implanted in my chest was 10 years old, with fractured wires, on the manufacturer’s recall list, and requiring immediate removal. In the middle of this dangerous procedure, a vein suddenly ruptured. My blood pressure plummeted.”