“As I opened my eyes, I could see the blank white ceiling, hear the sound of alarms going off, and feel the indescribable pain spread across my body. The surgery was successful, but did that mean I was okay?”
‘I went to the bathroom 10-12 times a day. Each time, I sat crying and begging for it to be over. Then, the last straw. My bottom ripped open after a 2-week recovery.’: Woman’s journey with Crohn’s and perianal disease
‘By age 9, I had thoughts about my own funeral. I wondered who would attend. Mom would find my Barbie dolls with notes like, ‘I want to die.’ Not at all normal for a child to be saying.’
“I remember telling my parents, ‘I love my life.’ That would soon change.‘ I lost the majority of my friends due to bullying. ‘I couldn’t even kill myself. I’m a failure.’”
‘We decided to fight for Oliver. His dad said, ‘If you’re in, I’m in.’ I was extremely nervous. He looked right into my eyes the moment we met.’
“What would we tell his big brother? The results came back negative, so we were left with no answers. I was then approached by a family member who informed me of a syndrome that had affected boys born into my family in the past.”
‘Why didn’t you call the police?’ ‘I would have fought back.’ ‘Well, why didn’t you?’ ‘You got married really young. Did you see the signs before you were married?’: Woman ‘angry’ she was never ‘educated on what abuse is’
“I would hear the words, ‘I want a divorce,’ for the first time, on our honeymoon. A friend had an intervention with me. An aunt told me, ‘You know, you don’t have to do this,’ right after we were engaged. I remember scoffing, thinking, ‘All it takes is commitment.’”
‘This child was made for YOU. You’re the only mother for her. She’s going to be your greatest pride.’ These words broke me. I didn’t know if I believed her.’: Woman shares family’s journey with Down Syndrome, cancer, tumors
‘We were given the all clear and were starting to live our lives! Then one night, my husband found a lump in his neck. I felt so extremely sick. I was throwing up. That’s when my husband suggested, ‘I think you should take a pregnancy test.’ ‘There is no way,’ I told him.”
‘My 7-year-old child was taught how to attempt suicide. She was constantly told to ‘go kill yourself’ by other gamers. She was shown HOW to.’
“Sunday night, she had a full-blown anxiety attack. I held her and sang to her while she got through it. Monday, she drew this in school.”
‘Katie, Katie!’ Bullets pinged. I had a death grip on my friend’s hand. No way in hell I was letting go.’: Route 91, Las Vegas Mass Shooting survivor shows ‘random acts of kindness,’ ‘we will NOT let him win’
“We always want to know where the nearest exit is. Our minds are forever thinking of an escape plan. The triggers can hit when we least expect it. But I won’t let HIM win. It took us a while before we picked ourselves up and got back to doing what we love to do: go to concerts. WE win. Love wins. Kindeness wins.”
‘There was something wrong with his face. ‘It’s not fair! I wasn’t supposed to have a baby like THIS.’ My husband kept telling me the doctor was wrong, but I knew otherwise.’: Mom a ‘blubbering mess’ after ultrasound reveals son’s cleft lip and palate
“I walked to the parking lot, then to my car. As soon as the door closed, and no one was watching, the tears started to flow. How could there be anything wrong with my baby?! I couldn’t even picture it. It didn’t make sense. I felt like I let everyone down.”
‘My daughter changed her profile picture. After 5 minutes I get a text. ‘I didn’t know she was dating a black boy, did you?’: Woman recounts unexpected racist interaction
“It took me all day to think up a response.”
‘I didn’t get a date to our senior prom. I went instead with a gay classmate of mine. There was no one to shield me from the bullies.’: Woman details journey with cerebral palsy, aggressive ovarian cancer
“Every time a breeze blew by, I could see strands of hair falling to the ground. All I could do was sleep. Every time my brother tried to carry me, I would scream in pain. He rushed me to the nearest hospital, and I begged them to operate on me. The tumor burst inside of me and spread cancer cells all over.”