“My head started spinning. The next thing I knew, I woke up lying on the cold bathroom floor. A team of nurses pulled out defibrillators. ‘Claire, can you hear me?’ It was excruciating. I couldn’t help but scream out.”
‘Babe, were you drugged?’ The entire right side of my body was limp. I opened my mouth but words wouldn’t come out.’: Stroke survivor details recovery journey, ‘I got a second chance at life’
‘But I’m getting married!’ Our honeymoon was at the treatment center. Somehow I had become ‘the problem.’: Cancer survivor battles infertility, ‘This is the year we become parents’
“I didn’t understand what came out of her mouth after ‘hysterectomy.’ NO WAY! Not at the age of 30! I was the strong one, I refused to let anyone see my fear.”
‘Am I going to die?’ I woke to strands of hair on my pillow. My heart sunk. ‘I’m going to be bald.’ I lost my hair a week before prom.’: Teenager shares cancer journey, ‘It opened my eyes’
“I felt isolated from my friends. They viewed me as being fragile, but I was the same person as before. This shattered me. No matter what I did, I was always viewed as the cancer girl.”
‘It’s twins. Congrats!’ Josh was speechless. ‘Again?’ There were 4lb bundles in incubators.’: Gay dads experience surrogacy and have 2 sets of twins, ‘We were blessed twice’
“I will never forget kneeling at Josh’s desk as he opened the email to be greeted with one line. ‘You have twins.’ I looked at him and asked, ‘Are you okay?’ These words would double my dream.”
‘Why didn’t your REAL mom keep you?’ I arrived at the orphanage basically dying. I’m grateful for her sacrifice.’: Transracial adoptee shares journey, ‘Love is so much more than DNA’
“She made a difficult decision. I was severely malnourished, with bowed legs, and developmentally delayed. I lost my family AND my country. It’s traumatic.”
‘Are you sure you want to do this? He’ll be unfaithful.’ It felt like they had betrayed me. I started to doubt everything.’: Woman shares long-distance love story, ‘It’s SO worth it’
“Airport goodbyes are seriously the worst. All you have are phone calls and text messages. No more walks in the park. No more dates. It was easier for me to say, ‘That’s it. I’m breaking up with you,’ than let him in.”
I Have Hearing Loss, And Yes I’m Still A Singer-Songwriter
“A walking contradiction, I never stopped giving it my all.”
‘I’m not a princess!’ I tried to figure out who I was. I couldn’t back away from the truth. Finally, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘I’m a man.’: Transgender man details journey, ‘It was a release’
“I know this body that brings me to school and back is mine, but I don’t feel any ownership over it. Cutting off my hair felt like cutting off a leash. I’m starting to see someone I’ve longed to meet face-to-face for a long time.”
‘Live your life; life is too short!’ We were scared of the virus. We did everything in our power to keep you safe.’: ICU Nurse pens 2020 open letter to daughter, decorates early to bring ‘Christmas Spirit’
“One day, I’ll tell you about how, despite our fears, we secured our masks, wore our face shields, and fought alongside our patients and coworkers in the ICU and on the floor. There were days the anxiety and stress of fighting a virus we knew little about took the front seat. But we stood together, stood strong, and gave our all.”
‘If I can’t have sex with my partner, I’m not staying with them.’ It hurt to hear this from people who claimed to love me.’: Asexual woman shares journey to self acceptance, ‘We deserve the space to exist without question’
“At the party, someone prompted each of us to go around and share how we identified. ‘Gay, Bi, Lesbian, etc.,’ then it came to me. ‘Asexual.’ ‘Oh, you’re the one who’s asexual!’ another friend said. I exclaimed, ‘Yup!’ From there, I continued down the rabbit hole of what asexuality was.”