“The pilot was there as I got out of my wheelchair to board my flight. He followed me and the flight attendant who volunteered to carry my bag. I fling myself into my seat. It was him. Honestly, I’m still shocked.”
‘Were you in the military?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Afghanistan 2010?’ Surprised I slowly said, ‘Yessss.’ He recognized me, my injuries, and my face. He never knew if I survived or not.’: Veterans re-unite in airport
‘I blacked out. ‘I’ve died, haven’t I?’ I couldn’t see anything but bright white light. I lifted my head. My airbag had deployed. You weren’t beside me anymore.’
“I lost control of my car. You stopped to help me. I felt safer as you stood by my driver’s side window. That changed. In a split second, I saw your smile turn to concern as a semi came over the hill.”
‘Can you come to the hospital right now to meet your daughter?’ It was relatively late on a Friday night, but we immediately recognized the number. We fought hard for Grace.’
“Less than 45 minutes after that call, directly from the hospital, she came home for the first time. It felt a bit chaotic and strange at the same time.”
‘We were literally one in a million. This happens once out of every million pregnancies! We had been chosen for this task.’: Mom births Identical twins with Down syndrome
“The ultrasound technician laughed. ‘What is it?,’ we said. She looked at us. ‘There are two in there!’ I immediately cracked up laughing. Rayni looked like she had seen a ghost! ‘Are you serious?’”
‘I opened the gate to drive my mower out, and there he was. Spinning donuts on my lawn.’: Army wife thankful for friendship with neighbor, ‘Ari reminds me there are still good people in this world’
“This is my neighbor, Ari. He knows my situation, with Matt being deployed and everything that’s on my plate. He’s the one that calls when it looks like things aren’t going well over here; the one that wheels my trash to the curb if I forget; the one that mows my lawn when he has time.”
‘I turned to the nurse, ‘If you won’t take me to see her, I will crawl if I have to.’ My best friend looked at the nurse and said ‘You might want to read her chart, she’s not kidding.’
“When everyone around me was telling me to give up, I took a chance. I did what every 21st century parent does, and what every doctor tells you not to do and I googled it. I found cannabis.”
‘I cornered her. How was it possible someone so inexperienced could walk into a hospital and leave with another person’s baby? The little booklet read, ‘Your New Baby: An Instruction Manual.’
“He’d made so much progress that school year, and I knew being forced to leave his school would make things even more difficult for him if he was removed from his home.”
‘Our daughter was referred to as a number, I still remember that number to this day. I dropped to my knees and cried and begged and pleaded.’
“I felt so guilty, why couldn’t my body handle being pregnant?”
‘I kept hearing questions, ‘Should we keep resuscitating the baby? Mom, can we wheel you closer?’ I resisted coming closer; it meant goodbye.’: Woman pregnant with twins after infertility loses son after early labor
“Nurses and doctors flooded the bedside of a tiny precious human. My little boy. Alex stood off to the side letting the team work.”
‘I married a wealthy man at the age of 19. He was already divorced and 15 years older. I ran away and broke all ties with my parents. I was vulnerable.’
“I remember someone from another relationship telling me, ‘You should be happy, at least I am taking off one major thing in your to-do list by marrying you!’ I made the decision that my son and I will never meet him again. People often remind me I am a single mother. I tell them, ‘I was a single mother even when I was married.’”