“‘Lexi has AIDS’ was written in graffiti outside my science class. Soon, the whole school knew. I was spit on, constantly told, ‘I hope you die.’ I was tired of fighting. ‘I don’t care if I die anymore.’ Immediately, my stepmother began planning my death party. ‘Enough is enough.’ A family friend took me to the school counselor to repost the abuse at home.”
“The nurse brought her to me. Tears streamed down my face. ‘This is a happy moment. You are going to love this baby!’ Truer words were never spoken. I can’t thank him enough for saying that.”
“They had to ask us three times. He was so tiny I could barely see him through the blankets, but I’ll never forget the moment I looked at this precious, helpless human. To learn of all he had experienced so far… it broke me to the core.”
“It’s 3 a.m. and my face is wet with tears. I’m Googling, ‘Am I an alcoholic?’ I never thought I’d be here. I had a glass or two most weekends during pregnancy. Why does this keep happening?”
“Every winter, I would get a sinus infection and be put on antibiotics. I had no idea what I was putting into my body was fueling my sickness. The pain was so bad. All hope was gone.”
“I watched as we passed the downtown buildings, saw them fade. ‘Where in heck are they taking me?’ I BEGGED to go back home. I didn’t even have my sister with me.”
“’We need to amputate.’ I’d never be able to play sports again, I’d never walk again, I probably wouldn’t go to college or get married. Everything I planned for suddenly came crashing down on me.”
“I just didn’t want sex. I told my partner, ‘I think I’m greysexual.’ I explained what it meant and…they did not get it.”
“I had this perfect idea of what our lives would look like. I’ll never forget that phone call. ‘Your testing came back positive for Down Syndrome.’ I felt scared, but I also felt PEACE.”
“Some days I’m her confidante, some days her big sister, some days her disciplinarian. I love Corey to death, but right is right. When he’s screwing up and Robin gets painted as the bad cop, I say so.”
