‘She missed school events, birthdays. I longed for a mom I didn’t have to constantly worry about dying every day.’: Woman shares ‘heart-wrenching’ reality of growing up with an addict parent

“I was afraid to have friends over at my house because I didn’t know if she would be sober or not. When she was out, I lived in constant fear of her getting hurt, dying, or going back to jail. She was tired of fighting. I wanted to fight for her.”

‘Can we take him home with us?’ My little patient had fought more in 6 months than most adults. He was in custody of the state.’: Nurse adopts special needs patient, ‘He is our little boy forever and ever!’

“He was born 4 months premature and needed a ventilator to breathe. Nurses aren’t supposed to pick ‘favorites,’ but I couldn’t help but get lost in his infectious little grin. The state prepared him for foster care. On the day of the court case, my work phone rang. ‘Congratulations, it’s a boy!’ A shock of adrenaline hit me.”

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