“I DREADED going out in public and the stares when my son would have a meltdown. I was doing everything I could.”
‘I NEED to be the best advocate for my children. I KNOW I’m not the only mother going through this. Your feelings are VALID.’: Mom of boy with autism urges ‘compassion’ and self-care in motherhood
‘I’ve been drowning for so long.’ I washed my hands until they bled and cleaned obsessively. My brain played tricks on me.’: Nurse becomes mental health advocate, ‘You’re NOT alone’
“My family and friends told me, ‘Calm down. Everybody gets stressed.’ I watched my parents Lysol my whole car, shaking on the ground and unable to move. Being on the other side of healthcare as the patient everyone assumed was ‘crazy’ felt absolutely surreal.”
‘We found a baseball-sized cyst.’ It was 3 weeks before my wedding. I knew I still had more healing to do.’: Dietitian shares fertility journey, ‘There’s no shame in medication’
“I was exercising too much, eating too little, and really letting my blood sugar get out of control. I didn’t prioritize my health. It was the time to finally start digging into what was going on with me.”
‘I graduated to a full-time ‘bulimia babe.’ I wasn’t able to digest a cucumber. None of this is glamorous.’: Woman in eating disorder recovery urges ‘change the conversation about body image’
“When I’m on the edge of being sucked back in, I remember the bad times. Being in pain every time I ate. Not experiencing bowel movements for over a month. Eating so much it hurt to walk. I was scared to look in the mirror, to feel my body in the shower.”
‘She might not make it.’ No parent is prepared for those words. She was covered in so many wires, I couldn’t even see her face.’: Mom births baby with Down syndrome, ‘She’s our ray of sunshine’
“We didn’t hear a cry, and all we saw was a room full of doctors. I knew something was wrong. My heart sank. ‘What happened to my baby?’ Her diagnosis was secondary. We just wanted our baby to survive.”
‘It’s stage 4.’ What followed was brutal. My body was no longer my own and the pain was indescribable. I lost my identity.’: Cancer survivor births rainbow baby, ‘It was worth everything’
“I had to start chemo right away and didn’t have time to freeze my eggs. I was told, ‘Pregnancy might be difficult.’ I lost my long hair, my identity, and the life I had just grasped.”
‘I ran to my husband, crying over and over again, ‘I’m not broken!’ I remained hopeful everything was okay. The happiness didn’t last long.’: Couple welcomes rainbow baby, ‘We’re so thankful’
“For 6 years, I was told, ‘All you need to do to get pregnant is to lose weight.’ I was getting nowhere. We were hopeful, with a little extra help, we’d become parents, no matter what the journey may look like.”
‘You’re going to be a dad.’ He towered over me and the world stopped. I was ‘that girl’ at 18.’: Teen mom beats odds, creates beautiful family, ‘They became my happily ever after’
“‘Babies shouldn’t have babies!’ We were just 2 kids, living on minimum wage, trying to prove ourselves in a world which had already branded us failures.”
‘What did I do to deserve this?’ My heart sank and chills ran through my body.’: New mom births boy with Down syndrome
“‘It’s okay to grieve the child you thought you’d have.’ A HUGE weight was lifted off my shoulders.”
‘Everything is fine, but…’ I tensed up. I thought everyone was in as much pain as I was. I found myself alone with NO answers.’: Chronic illness warrior urges ‘NEVER give up on your health’
“Doctors told me, ‘It’s all in your head.’ I started to lose hope. I couldn’t even take a shower or wash my hair without help. I couldn’t swallow without difficulty and occasional choking. It started to sink in. My life will always be different than others.”