“’Really? Haven’t I been through enough?’ I stared at him blankly. The flashing lights and the cold temperature of the metal board my body was put on led me to a profound peacefulness.”
‘I grabbed my stomach. ‘Call the doctor!’ The nurses whispered over my charts. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.’: Mom births rainbow baby after stillbirth, ‘Find beauty through ashes’
‘You’re going to be fine. Stop overthinking.’ My worst nightmare came true. I woke up and I couldn’t see.’: Woman diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, ‘You can get through ANYTHING’
“Fear of my own health stopped me from leaving the house, meeting new people, and taking a job. I was only 17 and every day, I thought, ‘Today is my last day.’ I’ll never be the same again.”
‘It’s the next worse thing to dying.’ Covid didn’t kill me. It took my life.’: Covid ‘long hauler’ urges ‘please be part of the solution’
“How am I supposed to be the mom I pictured when I can’t even get out of bed? Most doctors don’t believe us or know how to help.”
Why I Let Only 1 Of My 4 Kids Open Their Christmas Present Early
“The others whined and whined. I honestly thought the complaining would never end…until it did.”
‘This can’t be happening. They can’t take our baby!’ We couldn’t just have ‘normal.’ Only 200 people in the WORLD have this.’: Special needs mom shares daughter’s journey, ‘Love is strong’
“I let myself live in the land of denial for quite a long time. I allowed myself to live under the ‘she’s a preemie’ excuse as we began to notice delays. Surely she’d catch up.”
‘Oh my gosh, there’s a HEARTBEAT! I’m a MOM!’ The doctor looked puzzled and NOT happy.’: Couple experiences infertility, NICU, ‘I’m enjoying life as a mom’
“I caught my breath. I asked the doctor, ‘Is that a heartbeat?’ He didn’t look happy. I couldn’t understand. He then answered ‘Yes, but I’m sorry.’ I was completely numb.”
‘You’re hired!’ My boy’s face lit up. He cannot read social cues and gets easily overwhelmed. But they gave him a chance.’: Mom thanks restaurant for hiring son with autism, ‘There are still good people’
“‘We’ve never hired someone like this before, but we’re willing to give it a try!’ For 2 years now, my son has wanted a job. This probably seems pretty normal. Except he isn’t an ordinary teenager. He is a teenager with autism.”
‘If I get deployed, do you want to get married?’ I was married to the military. I was constantly lost, never sure what would happen next.’: Military spouse encourages ‘love your own dreams again’
“I was alone for 6 months. Nick was in the military and I wasn’t prepared. You love him, but you’ve both changed. ‘What is wrong with us?’ It hit me. I didn’t need to give up my own dreams to be a military spouse.”
‘Why not have your OWN kid first?’ He’s JUST as much ‘our own’ as any biological child. He crushes every ‘impossible’ goal.’: Family adopts son with autism, ‘It’s better than we dreamed’
“They told us, ‘He may never speak full sentences or want to leave the house.’ His smile lit up the room. We pushed him to be the BEST he could be.”
‘He’s a biter. Will you take him?’ He was dropped off with nothing but the clothes on his back. By the time he left, he called me ‘Mom.’: Single foster mom shares journey, ‘I was made for this’
“He ran from me, crying and frightened. ’What has he been through? What has he seen? Can I do this?’ God sent him to tell me I COULD do this. It’s not an easy calling, but I am living God’s word.”
‘We eloped. 3 weeks later, my wife said her stomach was bothering her. ‘I need to call 911! I screamed. Her words became jumbled, her face contorted.’: LGBTQ+ newlywed details sudden journey with stroke, Moyamoya disease
“Her words became jumbled…like she was speaking into a tin can in slow motion. Her face contorted into a shape I will never forget. She’d never been sick, never had health issues. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We rushed to the hospital. ‘I need to give her a kiss and tell her how much I love her.’ We went from newlyweds to part of a club no one signs up for.”
‘I thought people had to be pretty to work here.’ I acted like I wasn’t bothered, but I cried the whole night.’: Woman with psoriatic arthritis says she ‘isn’t defined’ by her condition
“It was no bigger than a penny, but I wasn’t really concerned. Then a customer said, ‘What’s on your face?’ My boss asked if I was okay, and I put on a brave face and acted as if I wasn’t bothered. Neither of us could believe what had just happened.”
‘You look fine.’ No one sees what you go through each day. I was afraid no one would want to be around the ‘sick girl.’: Woman advocates for invisible illnesses, ‘We are strong TOGETHER’
“When I tell people, the reply is normally, ‘I know someone who had that and died!’ As you can imagine, it’s incredibly upsetting. Some days, you want to scream.”
‘We have an 11-year-old with identity issues. Would you be able to take him in?’ We said yes to 30 days from now. Then we received a call: ‘Can he move in today?’: LGBT couple adopt 4 children from foster care
“‘Am I too young? Am I good enough?’ The fear set in. Soon, he arrived at our house with nothing but two trash bags, his life packed away in them. His shoes were too small, his clothes barely fit. The days of bouncing from home to home would finally be over.”
‘It’s not good news.’ Our hearts sank. How did I lose both of them at the same time? I didn’t know how much more I could take.’: Couple battles infertility, ‘We aren’t ready to give up.’
“While grieving another month with no baby, I called my doctor to set up more appointments. I’ve got 8 more embryos waiting for me. Waiting to become a life. One day, I will be called mommy.”
‘I begged for a miscarriage. ‘I don’t want this. I’m not going to be good at this.’ I was in SUCH a dark place.’: New mom shares pregnancy acceptance journey, ‘It’s okay if it feels scary’
“I peed on that little stick. ‘One line…. phew. Oh, wait, another line is forming. Holy smokes, that line is AGGRESSIVELY dark. Can these things be wrong?’ Immediately, I just started sobbing.”
‘Uh, excuse me? What are you doing?’ I noticed my husband taking an empty milk cup out of the dishwasher. It sparked a fight that resulted in days of angry feelings.’: Woman urges ‘never stop trying to understand your partner, the kids are watching’
“I am so glad we had this argument over the milk cup. It wasn’t about the cup of milk.”
‘There’s nothing more we can do.’ I hit his chest to wake him up, screaming his name. My world turned upside down.’: Woman beats drug addiction after losing brother, ‘It is possible’
“When I woke up, I was starting to withdraw. I asked Anthony if he wanted one and he grunted. Because he was sick, I helped him shoot up. When I looked down, his eyes were rolled back into his head.”
‘You don’t deserve better than him.’ I saw texts with a girl we both knew. My thoughts ate me alive.’: Woman diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder shares mental health journey, urges others to ‘accept help’
“‘How could I let this happen to me?’ My family looked so hurt. My mother, holding back tears, and my father, who is one of the bravest people I know, both looked terrified. My thoughts were eating me alive.”
‘Your best course of action is IVF.’ Surely this wasn’t real. I didn’t know anyone who had gone through this. We told everyone.’: Couple advocates for infertility awareness, ‘I never lost hope’
“I cried so much. Why would people put themselves through this? Hope. Desperation. Longing. I realized this wasn’t something people wanted to share or talk about. Surely I wasn’t the only person going through this?”
‘Let’s give this a go, shall we?’ The first time we met, I can’t even tell you how nervous I was. It’s about giving up control.’: Moms co-write blended family journey, ‘Life is humbling and messy’
“It’s weird meeting the one your husband had a relationship with. Turns out, the fear was worse than the situation itself. She was kind, bringing wine and cake. She got it.”
‘Stop being sad, Heather. People would kill to have what you have.’ You cannot push grief away. It’s going to show it’s face, one way or another.’: Woman reminds us ‘joy and grief can co-exist, even during Christmas’
“Last night, I put up my Christmas tree and cried. It happens every year. For many, many years, I thought I hated Christmas. I’ve come to realize I don’t it. I hate the pressure of trying to hide my grief, for the comfort of others.”
‘He looks directly into my eyes. Behind his gaze, I see everything he can’t yet say. No amount of syllables strung together could ever recreate that magic.’: Mom to nonverbal son with autism gushes ‘our love will never need words’
“I don’t need words to catch the joy dancing behind Mason’s eyes when he sees me enter a room. I don’t need his voice to tell me he loves me when his warm embrace wraps around my neck. Our love has not, and never will, need words.”
It Isn’t Shallow To Want To Look Beautiful—Until It Steals Your Joy
“I went to take a sip of water and all of it dropped out of my mouth. I looked in the mirror to find half of my face sagging. Paralyzed. My face just stopped working.”
‘I can have him ready as soon as I need to.’ With shaking knees and wet palms, we froze. Our family was being built.’: Couple adopts two boys from foster care, ‘It was a very easy yes’
“It felt like months of tug-of-war. ’The judge is refusing. You need to be in Texas by Friday.’ Through tears, I called my husband. ‘Looks like we’re headed to Texas.’ I just wanted my boy.”