“In one second, I became the kid from the accident. The boy whose brother died. To the prosecutor, I was the delinquent child who murdered his brother. The guy who survived the wreck that killed his brother.”
‘Shotgun!’ Travis got in the front and Isaac got in behind me. They both fell asleep on the ride home. The next thing I remember is waking up in excruciating pain.’: Man shares how he chose not to remain in the ‘victim mentality’
‘Through screaming, I coded at 1:25 p.m. 5 minutes later, my son was born not breathing. He was bagged and taken for CPR.’: Mom births baby with rare apert syndrome
“The next thing I knew I felt like I was drowning. I could hear codes being called as my birth got harder to take.‘He’s not fatal, but we have no idea what’s wrong.’ He had 10 fingers and 10 toes, but they were fused together. A first-time mom, I feared I was going to break him. Every irrational fear went through my mind.”
‘You asked me today if I was okay. I lied and said, ‘I’m fine,’ but the truth is I’m tired. No, I am exhausted.’
“You’re probably wondering where that girl went that you married, and under her matted bun hair, tired eyes and cheese-stained clothes, she’s there. You probably miss her, and I do too. That’s why I need you to understand what I’m about to say.”
‘I woke up feeling ‘different.’ I sat shaking with a pregnancy test in my hands. Two pink lines.’: Woman suffering from ‘stomach paralysis’ meets new love, has ‘miracle’ baby
“He was just gone. I came home one night to the apartment my boyfriend and I shared to find everything was missing. He terminated our lease and emptied our joint bank account. I had less than a month to find a new place to live, no savings, and I was having surgery in a week. I didn’t think I could go on without him.”
‘I walked to the balcony in a rage of frustration. ‘Jump,’ I said to myself. ‘Just do it, no one loves you, you don’t even love yourself, do it.’
“As I put my leg over the rail wanting to end my life, a soft, still breeze swung upon my head. The breeze brought me to my mother’s empty coffee cup, sitting half drunk on the table. I love you Josh,’ my mom said, kissing me.”
‘I received suspicious looks for being a grown man at the park at 2 p.m. with his kids. ‘It’s nice of you to do your wife’s job,’ is what they were really saying.’
“I ran into friends at the grocery store, and they asked me if I’d lost my job. All of it was maddening.”
‘Staring into my Poppy’s eyes, I asked him to pick a baby for us when he got to heaven. I kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear, ‘Make it a girl.’: Mom births baby with Spina Bifida, ‘She does things in her own way’
“One morning, a woman came in swiftly wearing a leopard blouse and clicking her heels. She walked right over to me. ‘Sorry for the bad news,’ she said and walked away. What bad news?! I wasn’t informed of any bad news! I broke out into tears as she exited. During the gender reveal, I was hiding this secret while watching my mom cut into our cake. I was giving them a broken baby.”
‘Our attorney told us we shouldn’t get our hopes up. It doesn’t happen like this and it would not turn out in our favor. I didn’t know if we would hear from her again.’
“We were contacted by several women. Then I got a Facebook message from a woman who had seen our post.”
‘We have a baby who cries for hours, with a mysterious rash. Bright red, with a distinct swirl-like pattern. We had fallen under the radar, but my mama instinct knew we were dealing with more.’
“We were prepared to keep pushing until we were satisfied! Then she paused. ‘Unfortunately I have something else very important to tell you.’ I looked over at Dane, unable to speak. His face was so pale I thought he was going to pass out. My heart now felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.”
‘I can’t look like this anymore!’ I begged my parents for surgery. I’d arrive a new person and no one would have anything to say about my looks anymore. I was sure this was it.’: Woman overcomes bullying for cleft lip and palate
“She replied ‘Oh my god… it is unbelievable they let people like you work in a place like this! I want someone else to serve me, someone normal.’ I returned to school after going under the knife. ‘Are you thinking about a career in porn? You look like a porn star now,’ a boy said. I was shocked. I decided it was time to finally fight back.”