“I got a call I could have never expected. ‘The doctor thinks I may have cancer.’ Our dreams and future slipped out of our grasp. I looked at that little stick and thought, ‘Maybe things are looking up after all.’ But I just had this feeling deep down in my gut something wasn’t right.’”
‘Your chances of conceiving are zero.’ I could also lose my husband. We couldn’t catch a break.’: Couple births baby with Down syndrome while husband battles cancer, ‘She was the missing piece of our puzzle’
‘THEY CALLED A CODE BLUE!’ He started screaming and grabbing the sides of his head. ‘It hurts!’: 8-year-old survives AVM brain rupture, ‘He’s still a fighter’
“A text came through that said, ‘Get to the hospital now.’ I thought it was a typo. His dad carried his limp and lifeless body into the hospital. I was shaking and screaming. ‘No! Not my baby, not my Ricky.”
‘She may not survive surgery.’ For 9 days, her chest remained open. She wasn’t the baby I expected.’: Mom has photo shoot in ICU before preemie passes to ‘make each day beautiful’
“Her body was too small to close over her swollen heart. Piles of machinery overwhelmed her metal crib. I hesitantly brought a small box into the ICU. Inside was a blanket and matching hair bow. I was shocked by how stunning she looked.”
‘That’s crazy!’ I filed it away under the ‘that would never happen’ section of my brain. Then came ‘the call.’ I broke down in fear.’: Baby diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, undergoes liver transplant, ‘She’s full of life’
“I was sleeping in hospital chairs at 20-something-weeks pregnant, walking a bridge back and forth between the children’s hospital and the cancer center, visiting my mom who was undergoing treatment for her second round of cancer. All while my husband was laid-off for needing time to help watch our other children.”
‘But it doesn’t run in our family!’ I’m too young for this. Is it really happening twice?’: Brother with Down syndrome helps parents accept son’s diagnosis, ‘We had so much hope because of him’
“The phone call came early afternoon. I should have known something was wrong. ‘Excuse me? I’m not even supposed to be at risk.’”
‘What am I supposed to tell my 5-year-old?!’ Now I’m removing my earrings. I was daring him to fight.’: Construction worker’s shocking kindness reminds mom how to ‘drop the rope’ during an argument
“A guy came running at my truck yelling for me to stop. The nerve! My anger hit an all-time high. This was going to end in tears and disappointment from my boy. I was absolutely astonished.”
‘I can’t wait to hear him cry!’ Everything was okay. Until it wasn’t. I will never forget the panic in the room.’: Bereaved mom starts company to ‘honor a life only 2 days young’
“The room was silent. Shortly after, the commotion from the NICU team began. I screamed. I yelled. I cried and sobbed as my husband sat next to me, holding my hand, feeling emotions I can’t even imagine as he watched his baby and his wife fall apart in a matter of seconds.”
‘My chin looks dumb when I smile.’ Your baby girl compares herself to the cheerleader who got a date.’: Mom preaches body positive parenting, ‘You MUST talk to them’
“’I’m so fat.’ ‘I hate this outfit.’ The word ‘thigh gap’ will enter your daughter’s hemisphere. Every billboard, commercial, random dude, social media post, and Hollywood movie will talk to her about her body. Let that fight START WITH YOU.”
‘All of a sudden, he was quiet. ‘Is this when the monster started growing?’ The terror waited around the corner.’: Mom loses son to brain cancer, ‘He was so happy to be a part of our family’
“I like to go through my pictures of Aiden. The people in them have no idea what is coming. I always slow down as I get close to the day he was diagnosed. Maybe I’m trying to stop it from happening.”
‘We believe she can’t see.’ I held her tight as she screamed. I’m not letting them take my baby alone.’: Baby diagnosed with ‘ultra rare’ Canavan Disease, ‘I WILL save my child’
“I held her down while they poked the biggest needle I had ever seen into her back. The acid was destroying the white matter of her brain. That’s when it hit me. ‘There’s no cure.’”