“We secretly prepared for the baby. We received the call we had been waiting for. Baby was born. It was time to head to the hospital. If I’m being honest, I was sick to stomach thinking about what the next few hours might look like.”
‘We hugged her. Then, we received a text. When we pushed the door open, all I heard was, ‘We have a situation.’ My heart sank. I knew what those words meant.’
‘I noticed Ellie had a cough. Then everything got scary really fast. All the blood in my head rushed to my feet. I caused my child’s illness.’: Daughter fights for her life after RSV diagnosis causes seizure
“I knew it was serious, so I finally broke down and called my mom. I told her I was in the ambulance and I didn’t think Ellie would make it. She told me she woke up around 3:00 a.m. and started praying because she felt something was wrong.”
‘My wife is now carrying our 8th child, our 8th loss. Everything inside me is twisted with pain.’: Husband mourns as ‘strong, courageous’ wife suffers 8th miscarriage
“I can’t think about the gravity of this situation. Don’t cry in front of all these strangers. Our parents will arrive soon, then the doctor will tell me to come back and see my wife as she wakes up. I’ll look at her and have that tangled up emotion of grief and gratitude. She’ll show her strength like she always does, even though she’s hopped up on meds and just went through one of the most traumatic things ever.”
‘My mother aggressively combed my curls with a plastic fine-toothed comb. It was painful. If I protested or uttered a sound, Mother would punch me on the head and rake the comb harder.’: Young woman survives narcissistic abusive mom
“The comb would make a dry, raking noise. Clumps of hair were ripped off my scalp. I tried not to react. If I winced of moved, Mother would just do it harder. She was careful to only do it behind closed doors.”
‘I couldn’t hide the huge bumps on my face. I felt hideous. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. I genuinely HATED what I saw.’
“A friend told me, ‘You must not be trying hard enough. Do you wash your face at all?’ For years, I didn’t leave the house. He would offer to take me on dates. My answer was always the same. ‘No.’ I became obsessed.”
‘Your heart rate is fast and it skips. We don’t know why. You are young, you will grow out of it.’ The appointments were worthless. The doctor wrote me off as a hypochondriac.’
“I was angry. Enraged is more like it. I realized my major problems started at the end of 2013. What had I done differently that year? I had birth control inserted in my arm. It was just a hunch, but I knew deep down I was right.”
‘His peaceful face let me know, ‘I’m free, I am OKAY Mom, like you said I would be.’: Mom receives message in dream from son that died of cancer
“I have received over 50 vivid dream visits from Logan since his passing, where he is solid, warm and as real as you and I. Some dreams he tells me things, others we just hug, hold hands, laugh together, or spend time together saying nothing at all. One of the most unforgettable things he has told me are, ‘Heaven is just another place. I’m not gone!”
‘Lots of women don’t know where they stand in their relationship. They don’t feel sexy anymore. They feel like the spark is gone. They’re not sure if they’re wanted.’
“They feel like their children, home and family are the only reason their partner hasn’t randomly come home one day, asking to call it quits.”
‘My boy is 13 and he has WHITE HAIR!’ I went into a hysterical panic and phoned his doctor. We waited in a small exam room with dinosaurs. This alone made me sick; my boy was no toddler.’
“I noticed something strange on Daniel’s knee. A white patch. It was the size of a dime and honestly looked like an old scar. When I asked him what happened, he replied, ‘I don’t know.’ I remember nearly yelling at her, ‘Yes, BUT HE HAS WHITE HAIR! Could there be anything else going on with my son?!'”
‘She was at a dead stop in traffic. She looked in her rear-view mirror and saw a car coming full speed behind her. She braced herself.’: Mom warns about the dangers of texting and driving
“When he finally looked up from his phone, it was too late. I’m sure the message is clear here.”