“The doctor laid him on my chest and instant panic came over my face. He was a shade of blue. I had done this five times before. I knew what a newborn should look like. He began to throw up and for a newborn, it was a lot! Why was this happening?”
‘DING DING DING.’ His heart rate dropped. All of the tests were negative. He was known as the ‘mystery baby.’: Woman births baby with Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome, ‘Our lives would never be the same’
Dear Parents, Remember Teachers Are Humans Too
“I am watching my teacher friends talk about making wills. These are not the conversations we normally have in July. We are not healthcare workers or first responders. And for the love of God, do not give them fever reducers so you can send them to school.”
‘Something ain’t right.’ She NEEDED HELP. The response was, ‘Sorry, but insurance won’t pay any longer.’: Widower lost wife after childbirth due to negligence, ‘Her name will ring forever’
“She was a wreck, but the nurse came in with the news it was time for us to pack up and go. I urged the doctor to keep us there. ‘Insurance won’t pay.’ I can still feel the wind from doctors running past me, responding to the ‘code black.’ It haunts me.”
‘At 11-years-old, I coded on the table. ‘You’re on your second soul.’: Chronic pain warrior with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome suffers stroke, finds community, ‘It’s about being there for each other’
“My first stroke was at 11 weeks old. By the time I was 4, I had three open-heart surgeries. Once, I made a list of things I have tried over the years for my pain. It was three pages long. You name it, I’ve probably had it.”
‘I’ve told you I’m a virgin a million times!’ She slammed on the brakes. ‘We need to find an adoption agency.’: 16-year-old birth mom pursues open adoption, ‘He deserved better than me’
“They would take him home and raise him in all the ways I couldn’t. It all seemed to happen really quickly. This is when regret and doubt in my decision came crashing down on me. He is mine. He was mine for 40 hours.”
‘I drove 11 hours with my babies. I just needed to feel my ‘home.’ I wanted to laugh together like the world isn’t burning.’: Mom talks about finding the positive during a pandemic
“I needed to taste my mama’s pancakes. I just needed to feel my ‘home,’ and not through the blue light of a screen. I didn’t realize what a release it would be to just pull up in a familiar driveway, knock on a door, and have it open wide.”
‘Her brain doesn’t look normal.’ The odds weren’t in our favor. There was a 1% chance she would live six months.’: Baby born with Semilobar Holoprosencephaly defies the odds, ‘She blows us away’
“The doctor saw a spot on our baby’s brain that didn’t look quite right. Her brain had not completely divided into two complete hemispheres. We went from planning on welcoming a little girl into our family to planning a funeral.”
‘I’m trying to hold on for you and the boys. I’m so tired,’ he said. We had so much hope.’: Widow asks friends and family to write letters to twin sons from late husband, ‘They will know how great their father was’
“When I was seven months pregnant, Justin’s health rapidly declined. ‘I don’t know how much strength I have left.’ I think he knew it was time. I wish he wrote letters to the boys, but we never lived a day thinking he would die. I think that was the best way to live.”
’Each appointment, we were given no hope. ‘He will have severe disabilities.’ If it was not for my amazing doctor, I believe Henry and I would not be here today,: Woman gives birth to baby with hydrocephalus and L1 Syndrome.
“Our road came to a halt soon after. 1 in 30,000 is what we were told. We became extremely concerned. We begged the doctors for answers and we felt defeated.”
‘Did you know you are pregnant?’ she said. ‘Umm…what?’ The 6 hours I spent on a stretcher in the back hallway were a blur.’: Couple details secondary infertility battles, ‘I’ll never stop hoping’
“Nine months later, and just one week after moving clear across the country, I found myself in an Uber heading to the local emergency room. The kid was a giant. I still have PTSD.”