“A beautiful person is found with the heart; not the eyes.”
Dear Parents, Please Teach Your Children About Differences
‘I couldn’t sleep laying down anymore, I couldn’t laugh without gasping for air. I was dying. I was 22 and writing a will in case anything happened to me.’
“I was so busy moving forward I wasn’t even aware my mind was stuck. A few months afterward, the actual nightmares began. I would try to sleep and flashbacks and memories bombarded me. I cried every night for weeks. I knew I needed help.”
‘I looked straight at my husband. ‘Why isn’t he crying?’ He was like a wet sponge. Within seconds, he coded blue.’: Mom births baby with centronuclear myopathy, ‘I will do everything in my power to give him a full, happy life’
“My husband gripped my hand firmly and hugged me. ‘Please take care of our boy. Do anything you need to make sure he’s going to be ok.’ I reached out to hold his little hand. He couldn’t even grip it. His eyes were unable to open. He couldn’t close his mouth. He just lay there. The geneticist told us, ‘These types of cases very rarely live to see their 6-month birthday.’ He then shook my hand and left. I was in literaly hell.”
‘I went to my doctor to get an ultrasound of my abdomen. The results sent my world into a spiral. I was in complete shock. Was this the end for me?’
“We all have that inner voice that tells us when something is wrong. Something in your gut. Mine was saying this news wasn’t going to be good. The gynecologist came in, sat next to me on the bed, and said, ‘I’m sorry kiddo.'”
‘It’s all in your head. You just need to be happier. Go take a walk, be a ‘normal’ 20-something.’ I had just woken up, still bleary-eyed from anesthesia. These were the words my doctor said to me.’
“I laid there and sobbed, how could it have come back normal? After hearing enough doctors downplay my symptoms, watching them roll their eyes as they told me it was ‘just gas,’ I stopped telling anyone how miserable I was.”
‘I’m worried about him getting this surgery. He doesn’t need to do this.’ I remember them telling me, ‘Just focus on your breathing,’ as they put the mask on me, and I was put to sleep.’
“The doctors said to my mother, ‘It’s time for you to say your goodbyes, there is really nothing else we could do.’ Up until this point, my mom had always been on top of the plans, making sure things were done perfectly. But now in the chaos, she was disorganized and unsure of everything. Then, a miracle happened.”
To The Man Who Made Fun Of My Weight, I’m Only Sorry I Couldn’t Take Up More Space
“I think we have all said something unkind at one time or another, and this is just a reminder that we do not know the battles people are fighting and that we just need to be a little kinder to each other.”
‘My hair became dull and greasy, falling out in clumps in the shower. I was on the pill for 6 years. It wasn’t until going off the pill I realized what it was doing to me.’
“If a period can be described as glorious, it was.”
‘There is smoke all around me. A bright flash followed by debris rushing past my face. A pitched ringing in my ears. My mouth is moving, but no sound is coming out.’
“The smell of burning flesh is in the air. My helmet chin strap is inside my mouth and being forced down my throat. In a state of panic, I pull at it and choke violently. All my senses are in shock. In an attempt to escape my impending fate, I notice all movement is restricted by an unseen force. Then, I wake up.”
‘It’s 10 a.m. and I’m ‘too drunk’ to be seen. With tears in his eyes, he opened the door, ‘It’s always going to be ONE more Kascidy.’: Woman overcomes years of alcoholism, ‘I am alive’
“I called 911 on myself. I asked them to send an ambulance. I was hallucinating. People were walking past me in my own home. Walking in front of my car while I was driving at night.”