“After 93 days in the hospital, she was able to walk out.”

“After 93 days in the hospital, she was able to walk out.”
“Carter went from speaking two-word sentences to having his vocabulary drop to less than ten words. ‘He’s 3 and not potty trained?’ I laughed, ‘Oh, you know boys.’ Our sweet, joyful little boy did a complete 180 before our very eyes.”
“The nurse lectured me about being active and eating healthy, even though I could clearly see the box of Twinkies on her desk. I made three separate trips to the ER for bleeding. The doctor said, ‘There is nothing to be done now.’”
“Next time you see an addict on the street and you think they’re just a junkie or piece of garbage, please remember that’s someone’s family, someone’s dad, someone son, someone’s sibling, and they were someone before drugs or alcohol took them over. My dad may be an addict, but he never stops trying.”
“Stella was nursing very often but having very few wet diapers. I could tell she was losing weight. I panicked and tried all the things. I ate more calories, ordered breastmilk support supplements, latched Stella what felt like a million times a day, then pumped after that. I was suffocating.”
“He used to say to me, ‘Why can’t I stop at one drink?’ It plagued him. He drank. Then he drank a little more. I grabbed the essentials and I left. I thought I was making the best choice possible.”
“I didn’t quite look like the other girls. I was curvy and had a big chest. I stood in front of the mirror in my grandparents’ bathroom, analyzing the shape of my body. I was peeling off an old layer of me and discovering the depth of my true identity.”
“I made him toast and got him a coke. He seemed better. We talked for a minute and he fell back asleep. His eyes were no longer tracking me. I hurried as fast as I could to the car, carrying Baine in my arms. Within 5 minutes, he was losing consciousness. He was making horrible noises in his seat. He was scared, but he couldn’t communicate. His brain was being slowly poisoned.”
“I felt like I had a connection with an elderly couple walking their dog on the side of the road. So, of course, I yelled. ‘Who was that?’ the kids asked. ‘I have no idea.’ They were both mortified. I realize I’ve said something weird, but they can’t see my flaming cheeks while I’m wearing a mask.”
“I used to sit on the floor and play with him. Now, I sit court side while he plays. I used to plan play dates. Now, I watch him go out on dates. I used to pray for his health, his happiness, and that I could somehow be the mother he needed… and I still do.”