“My husband said, ‘At the end of the day, when we’re looking back on our life, we want to know we did everything we could.’ Two months later, we began IVF. I heard the words I’d prayed over for a long, long time.”
‘I thought I just had a ‘strong’ pregnancy. ‘You don’t think it’s TWINS, do you?’ Sure enough, we saw two of the most beautiful heartbeats.’: Couple battling infertility welcome twins, ‘It’s a dream come true’
‘She’s going to slide right out, right??’ Suddenly, my midwife’s eyes went wide. The color drained from my face.’: Mom survives extremely rare Group Strep A placenta infection, delivers miracle baby
“This never happens. EVER! My white blood cell count went from 16, already a little high, to 38,000. Yes, you read that right.”
‘She is probably tired.’ There was no movement. I found a glimmer of hope. I’d be with her every minute I could.’: Daughter born with Cerebral Palsy, ‘Her strength is inspiring’
“Even in our darkest hours, we find joy. Jaxlee’s smile can light up a room. She shines with joy but also resilience. She has weathered SO much.”
‘Get AWAY! You’re not my mom!’ I couldn’t believe what we’d gotten ourselves into. We were NOT cut out for this.’: Couple embarks on foster care journey, ‘It truly takes a village’
“‘You’re the LAST family on our list.’ They were going to be separated. ‘Can we really handle 2 kids right now?’ We COULDN’T be the reason they were separated. We agreed to ‘try.'”
‘Are you ready to meet your son?’ she asked with a big smile. 2 days earlier, I didn’t even know he existed. There was no turning back.’: Couple shares beautiful adoption journey
“We got a call from our caseworker. ’Can you be in Georgia tomorrow?’ I answered ‘YES’ without a second of hesitation. My husband silently mouthed to me, ‘Are you nuts?’ I knew. My heart was pounding, but I knew.”
‘Can you quit drinking to support me?’ It felt so unfair. Why should I give up drinking when HE was the alcoholic?’: Mom celebrates 5 years sober, ‘I’m truly proud of the person I am today’
“I honestly had to think about it. I was devastated at the thought of divorce but the thought of a life without alcohol seemed unbearable.”
‘What if I can’t help people learn Kit’s song? Do I know his song? Does he?’ Then it dawned on me. I’m not the composer of his masterpiece. He is.’: Mom to son with autism says ‘his world is beautiful’
“No parent chooses their kids’ song. Kids aren’t like a jukebox. As long as we can find music our children love, we must be doing something right.”
‘Why would he want to take on my baggage?’ Most days I was a puddle of tears, ashamed I’d ended up a statistic.’: Divorcees marry and create beautifully blended family, ‘We’re unbreakable’
“How would this work? I was divorced with 3 kids, he was divorced with 3 kids. I had to realize I was worthy of LOVE again.”
‘I must be crazy.’ The façade was crumbling. I had a rash on my face, feet, and hands. I tried to smile and stay strong.’: Lupus warrior shares journey, ‘I am STRONG and radiant’
“I participated in an online course about ‘positivity,’ which aligned perfectly with my mentality of sugarcoating all my symptoms. I thought to myself, ‘All this can’t be true.’”
‘I think she has some fractures.’ Nobody knew what was wrong with me. The pain was EVERYWHERE.’: Chronic illness warrior fights to ‘stay positive’
“All my problems, physical and mental, changed me. I get more medical visits than visits from my friends. But I still need to see the positives in life.”