“She was still groggy and her chest sounded raspy. It was agreed it was almost certainly bronchiolitis. This was completely routine and very common. The hospital consultant came in. But before he’d even had done much checking at all, Carrie became distressed. And then she arrested. And then she died. Just like that. And our lives broke.”
“Our consultant discussed choosing a sperm donor with us and suggested while looking at our tiny heights we ‘Choose someone tall, let’s give it a chance!’ which really made us laugh. I just want the next 6 months to hurry up so we can hold him or her in our arms and say, ‘We’re your Mommies.'”
“It was the first time since hearing about that poor child who died choking on a grape that I didn’t cut them in half. It was my fault. I figured, she’s almost 5, she isn’t the kind of kid to shovel food and choke, and I was rushing to finish cleaning the house.”
“A neighbor in the apartments behind my house asked if my mom was okay. I slowly shook my head, I was confused… how does this stranger know my mom…? Turns out he watched my mom sometimes, but not in a creepy way. He could tell she was disabled and wanted to make sure that if she fell, he would see and be able to help.”
“I told him I was a long-lost family member. He told me to give him a call so he could help me. I thought he knew what I was going to talk to him about. He did not. He said he grew up in Glendora, she moved away when she was around 40 years old, and he had 2 sisters. I knew it was him.”
“My wife and I have done everything in our power to do best by him. We trust you will do the same.”
“My mom was pregnant with twins when doctors quickly realized I was growing a lot slower and smaller. Being a nurse, she knew diagnosis was grim. My dad got a call from my mom saying her water broke and he needed to get back to the hospital as fast as he could. Baby A, which was me, was ready to come out and see the world! Everyone else was not.”
“After children, text messages aren’t butterfly provoking; date nights are few. Stolen kisses become less. When people told me they wanted to get married, I’d say, ‘Why? Everything changes, don’t do it. You lose love.’ I was so wrong.”
“June 26 was the day the doctors told me my second daughter has cancer. 2 days after my second wedding anniversary. 5 days after my 30th birthday. I begged for my 7-year-old to understand why she couldn’t hold baby sister. ‘She’s very sick’ I would say, and my heart ached with guilt.”
“Spoiler alert. I left my husband. We are divorced. The relationship is over. Our marriage failed. I had to admit that my husband was an addict. My ability to hide it from everyone was over in the most public of ways. I had to tell a police officer that my husband was an addict after he finished taking pictures of the handprints, cuts, grass stains and rug burns that were all over my body.”
