“You’ll grieve the life you thought your child would live. You’ll wonder why this happened to you and your family and your baby. You’ll wonder if you did something to deserve this. And all those thoughts are okay. That’s how you get to the other side.”
‘The results came back 90% positive.’ My world crumbled. This wasn’t our plan. This wasn’t how we envisioned our family.’: Mom shares Down syndrome acceptance journey, ‘We’re LUCKY’
‘This has been a hard journey. I know the want to give up. This road isn’t meant to be walked alone.’: Woman pens open letter to chronic illness warriors, ‘I’m fighting beside you’
“You can be in your bed, on a couch, in a hospital room, or a doctor’s office. It doesn’t matter where your life is taking place. There’s a beautiful life waiting for all of us if we choose it.”
‘I’ll deal with it when I graduate.’ I was drinking daily, but had NO CLUE how to ask for help. I was always reaching for the next drink.’: Woman overcomes alcohol addiction, ‘I’m healing’
“I bought a dog. I bought a house. Everyone thought I was doing great. But I had bottles of alcohol all around my house. I would wake up with full resolve to never drink again, and would find myself with a bottle in my hand by the evening. Things got really dark, really fast.”
‘It’s bad, and it’s everywhere. There’s too much to take out.’ I fell into his arms. We fought through the grief to stay one.’: Couple battling infertility adopts two sons, ‘We see perfection’
“I lived with a Fentanyl patch, which barely touched the pain. My uterus was sitting on my pelvic floor and had compromised my bladder. Our dream of two or three children became a hope we could just get ONE.”
‘What’s wrong with my baby?’ Her head was measuring large and her femurs were small. We were in denial this could happen to us.’: New mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘It DOESN’T define her’
“Everything had gone so wrong. ‘Did I eat something I shouldn’t have? Get exposed to something harmful?’ What was supposed to be the happiest part of our lives had turned into a nightmare.”
‘Will he live a normal life?’ There was silence. All I could think of were the things he WOULDN’T be able to do.’: Autism mom shares son’s diagnosis journey, ‘It is NOT an illness’
“At his 18-month appointment, the red flags were noted. He still had no words. ‘This is it. The life I thought I was going to have is over.’ Would he ever speak? Would he have the life I dreamed of him having?”
‘How can we take on another?’ We knew nothing. Just that this little girl needed a home and we had one.’: Couple become parents to 8 after adoption, miracle pregnancies
“My husband only wanted one. I picked him up from class to surprise him with an extra kiddo. We had 15 miscarriages and a long road to each of our kids. But it’s been worth all the pain.”
‘You ugly Dalmatian!’ He just laughed at me. ‘Why did God make me like THIS?’ I had to run away.’: Young woman with vitiligo fights for acceptance, ‘The struggle is worth it’
“I believed in God, but I did not understand: Why? Why me? Why did He allow me to become this ugly?” It got so bad that I had constant thoughts of ending my life.
‘What’s wrong now? You’ve got nothing to be sad about!’ I felt like I was the only one going through this. I blamed myself.’: Woman shares mental health journey, urges ‘fight for what you need’
“I was alone. No-one liked me, and I had no sense of belonging at all. I was a very lost teenager in a very big world. It was a difficult place to be in. I didn’t understand I was anxious or depressed.”
‘We’ve been robbed. All our stuff is gone.’ This only cemented it for us. Material possessions AREN’T important.’: Couple ‘hit the road’ in van, ‘It’s been the ride of a lifetime’
“We threw the idea around for a few weeks. ’It’s always been my dream to leave it all behind.’ I mean, we had just met. That would be crazy, right? But we did it. We bought a VAN!”