“She has been my patient from the first day our unit opened and was on a ventilator for 15 days. I stayed in the room for 15 minutes just holding her hand and sobbing. I feel my purpose of coming here was to save her life.”
‘She squeezed my hand and mouthed her first words: ‘I love you.’ I started to sob. Tears were running into my N95 mask.’: Nurse gets touching thank you after COVID-19 patient survives 21-day battle
‘I have ‘cuddle buddies’ of all genders. I have hugged trees and hugged myself. I admit, I’m a marvelous hugger.’: Advocate for physical touch says ‘things came to a screeching halt with COVID-19’
“We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
‘I could feel the tears well up as she fell asleep on my chest. Our circumstances may not be ideal, but we’ve been given the most beautiful gift.’: Mom says ‘enjoy every tiny second of this blessing’
“I overheard my littles discussing when they would go to college as my newborn drifted to sleep on my chest with her sweet nuzzling. I felt a lump in my throat, and my breath was gone.”
‘I never thought it would come to this. My beloved grandma died when I was 22 weeks pregnant. ‘I don’t feel happy at all.’: Woman with postpartum depression says ‘admitting something is wrong was the first step’
“I closed the bedroom door and said, ‘I’m not here.’ The people who shouted the loudest before I gave birth: ‘I’m here to help you, I’ll come over and look after the baby, do some shopping, etc.’ I haven’t seen or talked to them since my baby was born.”
‘Would you be willing to take in a 7-year-old boy during quarantine?’ I knew it was a risk, but I also knew all he needed was love.’: Single adoptive, foster dad says ‘my house is not a blessing unless it’s shared’
“I’d spent weeks protecting my son and I from this virus. We had no clue where this child had been or who he’d been in contact with. ‘But where will he go if I don’t take him in?’ All the offices were closed. I knew it was dangerous, but I also knew all he needed was someone to love him.”
‘A stranger asked, ‘How many children do you have?’ I froze. I couldn’t utter her name. We weren’t prepared for her not to come home.’: Mom of baby born still urges ‘my daughter isn’t invisible’
“My partner was by my side, holding my hand as I screamed and pushed. My midwife still told me how well I was doing. ‘I’m so sorry, your baby has died.’ A part of me died, too. We weren’t prepared for her to not come home. I was a mother of two, but the public only saw a mother of one.”
‘She melted into me and really let it all out. ‘IT’S NOT FAIRRR,’ she cried hard. At that moment, she was all of us.’: Mom comforts daughter through big feelings, ‘Life as she knew it was taken away’
“She had been looking forward to this Jell-O. She had really, really wanted it. In a split second, everything changed. My 3-year-old was all of us today.”
‘Food was for ‘growing boys.’ I would take an empty lunch box to school so I looked like I fit in.’: Woman overcomes lifetime of eating disorders, ‘I love me for me’
“I was a talented singer, but because of my looks, I was never picked for the lead. I wasn’t the pretty leading lady in Mary Poppins – I was a chimney sweep. One year, I was asked to sing for the lead role but stand in the wings out of sight, while another person acted.”
‘I went into my late wife’s inbox and found some humbling words she wrote about what I meant to her.’: Widower thanks late wife after finding lost emails, ‘You helped me all these years’
“I haven’t cried in quite some time. But tonight, I did. It was as if I could hear her voice, something I haven’t heard for so long.”
‘My card declined at the grocery store. I stood outside my car door, ready to jump in, when a car pulled up next to me.’: Mom drawn to faith by random acts of kindness, ‘I’ve been getting signs for a long time’
“As he walked by he said, ‘Hey, I’ve been told to tell you to listen to 89.9 FM.’ I cried. Well as best as I could.”