“He told me it was okay to walk away, that he wouldn’t think any less of me. This was something I didn’t sign up for. The first words out of my mouth were, ‘You’re not getting rid of me that easily.’ I’d waited 27 years of my life to find a love like this.”
“Her medical team was alarmed and upset. ‘You CAN’T leave. She needs to be here. I’ll write to whomever I need to for her to stay.’ We watched as she regressed.”
“I lost over 20 pounds and had severe pain. I was admitted to the hospital. ‘Why is this happening to me? I should be out with friends, not in pain.’ I only got worse.”
“But seeing his smile when the concept clicks will be the most rewarding win you’ve ever experienced. Please, I beg you, never stop trying.”
“I can tell, behind her mask, she is smiling too. And I think, just for a moment, I made the right choice.”
“My braces grew taller, and eventually reached my thighs. I still recall each time I got a new pair and had to ‘break them in.’ I’d pace our living room till the sweat dripped and tears rolled. With each shaky step, I’d chant, ‘I want, I can.’”
“‘Mommy, why you got blood? Did daddy shoot you?’ That broke me. My babies were shocked at the sight of me, covered in blood head to toe. Some may call me a victim, but I don’t look at it that way. I’m a survivor. I got out.”
“Our 4-month-old son was having seizures. To say we were scared is an understatement. We followed him in an ambulance. All we had now was hope.”
“It didn’t matter that we were all tired. It didn’t matter that we just wanted to get home and take a shower. It didn’t matter that we all wanted to be out of the car. She missed her dad. And when the girl you love is hurting, you do whatever you need to do to fix that.”
“No one I knew looked like me. I remember searching up different variations of ‘three-fingered hand’ to see if I could find someone else out there. It never worked.”
