“No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t see my child’s future. I was going to have to live it, right next to him. NOBODY is going to come and take this away from us.”
‘Something felt off. With my gown tied in the back and birthing underpants peeking through, I shuffled in search of my baby.’: Mom shares journey of having 2 partially deaf children, ‘They are so much more than I imagined’
‘Is this the same kid?’ I tried to convince myself I was seeing things. ‘Yes, 100 percent.’: Adoptive mom of son from China discovers ‘foster-in-laws’ online
“Our kids came to us with virtually no pasts. This was the tiniest of threads. It may or may not be important to him someday, but it is important to me.”
‘A day after my twins died, I began pumping. I didn’t know who I was going to donate to, or when, but I had to do this.’: Grieving mom donates 3,000 ounces of breastmilk to mothers in need
“I laid the hospital blanket over the bassinet. ‘I’m ready.’ My nurse tenderly unhooked them from the machine and wheeled them out, never to be seen again. I knew I had to honor their deaths.”
‘I know you can’t speak. Simply squeeze my hand. Was the chemo you had RED in color?’ My family began preparing their goodbyes.’: Breast cancer survivor becomes mom of 4, triplet mom via surrogacy
“I squeezed the doctor’s hand as tightly as I could. Within seconds an alarm rang, sirens sounded. Then I felt a voice, a presence, something within me telling me not to give up. This wasn’t the end, I had to find a way through. I held on with every fiber of my being.”
‘Is Mike really dead?’ I went to his funeral only yesterday. I spiraled.’: Woman shares journey with psychosis to break stigma, ‘It shouldn’t be a scary word’
“According to the media, I was going to become a lonely crazy person or a full-on murderer. It was only a matter of time before I became a monster.”
‘Watch out! Your legs are going to break!’ I stopped wearing shorts outside no matter how hot it was.’: Woman overcomes childhood body shaming, urges self-love for young girls
“‘You will never be loved.’ I was devastated. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at my naked body in the mirror.”
3 Brand-New Disney World Experiences Worth Adding To Your Must-Do List
“If a visit to the home of the Mouse is in your future, consider dining (and staying) at a few of these updated facilities for a bit of extra Disney magic.”
‘I failed the hearing test. Not once, not twice, but FOUR different times.’: Deaf woman becomes audiologist at childhood clinic
“Imagine living in a world where you did not hear the hustle and bustle of this noisy world we live in. The voices of your mother or father during the first several years of your life. To not be able to hear your family say ‘I love you’ or hear their voices singing sweet lullabies.”
‘I thought it was stress. When I began crying and shaking without triggers, I realized it was much more.’: Woman opens up about journey to bipolar disorder diagnosis, self-care
“My mom and doctors thought I was just another moody teenager. For a long time, I assumed what I was feeling was normal.”
I Am A Single Mom By Choice, Because Families Come In All Shapes And Sizes
“I wanted him so bad a friend gave me the seed I needed to plant him in my belly.”
To The Family And Friends Of A Chronically Ill Loved One: Come Sit With Us
“They really don’t need judgment or hurled opinions. Your loved one needs community.”
‘Ready to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, I heard someone yell, ‘Are you Jake? The veteran we’ve been looking for?’: Homeless veteran battling PTSD shares emotional 10,000-mile journey across America
“As I gently plucked at the soft nylon guitar strings, something came crashing and sent me flying through the wall. I shuffled in the debris to find a mangled heap of metal that used to be my car. No vehicle, no home, I bought a backpack and tent determined to walk across America.”
‘We’ve got to lift each other up, right?’ She squeezed my hand.’: Woman stresses importance of encouraging others
“I had no idea how in the hell I would ever walk again, let alone roll over or move at all. Sometimes, hope can come knocking when we feel our most vulnerable.”
‘They put Mia on my stomach. We saw her hand and foot were different before they took her away. It was the longest hour in my life.’: Mom to daughter with congenital limb difference vows ‘I wouldn’t have her any other way’
“Operations and prosthetics included, our daughter has been a dream since birth.”
‘He jumped out and screamed boo during hide and seek. She never turned around; she was still wondering where he went.’: Mom details her and daughter’s journey being hard of hearing
“She started to sign to me. ‘I don’t use sign language, I can hear and talk.’ I had unintentionally made a judgment about Deaf/HoH people, not realizing I’d judged myself in the process.”
‘I used to be a horrible friend. I was alone, lost.’: Woman overcomes insecurities and anxieties to be better friend
“If someone had something great, I instantly felt less than. I was sarcastic, pessimistic, and judgmental. It was the swiftest, most needed kick in the face.”
‘The doctor secretly put in my chart, ‘Borderline personalities due to dislike of multiple providers.’ I was down to 107 pounds, in constant pain. No one was willing to listen.’: Nurse, chronic illness warrior shares emotional journey to diagnosis
“I was ignored by providers during my cries for help. Friends stopped asking me to hang out. My long-term partner was emotionally unavailable. I had to learn to pursue the life I deserved despite the labels.”
‘I was 8, ‘dating’ everyone in my grade for validation. I was acting out to feel something, ANYTHING.’: Woman overcomes body image issues, finds online support community
“I posted a TikTok, and it skyrocketed from one view to one million views within hours. Then thousands of hate comments came in.”
6 Things You NEED To Know Before Adopting
“Despite being deemed competent and fit by my state of residence to adopt, I was ill-prepared for all that comes with bringing a child from another family into my home.”
‘Your mom left you with me to babysit and never returned.’ He was a young Marine, just back from the Vietnan war. He made the ultimate sacrifice.’: Adoptee shares journey to self-acceptance, motherhood
“‘Initially I found a babysitter for you, but I realized you needed stability, so I brought you home – and filed for adoption,’ he said. He was my first love, my first teacher, my first protector. He encouraged me to believe in myself.”
‘I hid behind my mom the 1st day of kindergarten, afraid to walk into a room of kids who did not yet know I was different.’: Woman with alopecia shares self-love journey, ‘I show up for myself’
“A close friend asked, ‘Can you be a bridesmaid at my wedding?’ I realized I couldn’t do it with my usual head coverings. The whole time at the wig shop, I cried. With each one I tried on, I felt like I was giving up, forced to resign, like I was surrendering to a new life with no hope.”
‘He said they were ‘non-symptomatic.’ I was sent off feeling relieved it wasn’t worse—if only I knew.’: Woman shares journey with Tarlov Cyst Disease to raise awareness
“When I woke up, I had lost sensation completely in my left leg, and I lost control of my bladder. The pain was excruciating.”
‘We shoot 1000 pictures of the same instant, but we often forget to live it.’: College student urges ‘capture the moment’ rather than the picture
“‘The quality of the pictures suck.’ I wasn’t worried if my smile was too big, or if my hair was messy, or if my makeup was smeared, and it truly made all the difference.”
‘In ONE week, I’ve heard: ‘What’s wrong with her?’ ‘That’s so sad she has no arm.’ ‘She’s scary, I don’t like her.’: Special needs mom shares important reminder to teach inclusivity
“As you buy the backpack, and the crayons, and do all the school preparation things, please do the most important thing.”
‘The adoption lawyer said, ‘See you soon!’ We both said, ‘This is it!’ Our family of 6 was complete, or so we thought.’: Couple adopt daughter’s sister from foster care, ‘She’s the piece we didn’t know we were missing’
“We received a call from our little girl’s bio grandma. CPS had a baby girl in foster care a few hours away. ‘I was hoping you’d be able to take her.’ Siblings are meant to be together. And as much as they needed each other, we needed her too.”