“The day after our wedding, while on our honeymoon, my wife stopped holding my hand. ‘What’s wrong?’ She began shaking. ‘Let’s step outside so we can talk,’ the ER doctor said. ‘She will never walk again and can’t give you children. You need to get a divorce immediately. With the way you look, you can free yourself of this burden.'”
“I bought a Doppler I used every day to make sure I could still hear a heartbeat. It should’ve been crystal clear I wasn’t okay. I spent hours Googling, ‘How to get your baby to sleep.’ I felt like I had to ‘prove’ I was a good mom.”
“I couldn’t walk like most kids or use my arms. The doctor tried to scare my parents, ‘She won’t survive.’ My mom was frightened when she heard this. She didn’t know if I would have a future or what would become of me.”
“Our love story was a modern-day version of ‘The Notebook.’ When our eyes met, it was a full-blown fireworks extravaganza. His co-worker called me, crying. ‘He’s gone. Mose is gone.’ They handed me his wedding ring and wallet. It was real. The nightmare was happening to ME.”
“When I went off to college, I expected my life to get so much better. I had high hopes of finally feeling whole again. But I spent my time there battling severe suicidal ideations, and I stopped eating and sleeping almost completely. My whole family watched me throw away my dream.”
“I’d delete pictures so there was no evidence. In tenth grade, I was kicked out of a private school. ‘I have bad days, I am HUMAN!'”
“My body’s injustice and betrayal would send me fleeing to a quiet place where I wouldn’t be discovered by my kids. I’d hide in my closet, trying my hardest to muffle my crying. As the tears fell from my cheeks and were washed away, I’d wish they were carrying the sickness out of me.”
“After spending my entire life reassuring myself I’m not crazy, I hid my secret from everyone.”
“We played ‘ding dong ditch’ on our neighbors, leaving hot chocolate bombs in our place. We bought extra groceries to donate, shared cookies with strangers, and left an extra-large tip at dinner. If we can be anything in 2020, let’s be kind.”
“I’d leave in the middle of class to throw up in the bathroom. I’d lay on the floor during lectures just so I wouldn’t pass out. I woke up choking on my own saliva. It was the hardest time of my life.”
