“What do you do when you have a child who explores the world around him by touching and feeling everything he sees? Last night, I broke down. All the thoughts and emotions came pouring out of me on my bedroom floor. As a parent of a child with a disability, NOTHING can prepare us to make the type of decisions we are all abruptly facing.”
‘How do you send a child who doesn’t understand personal space, let alone social cues, back to school?’: Special needs mom says ‘I trust we will all make the best decision for our family’
‘Stop trying so hard with others who don’t make you feel right.’: Woman urges ‘find the friend who will walk with you through every season of life’
“Like when you go through breakups, layoffs, and downgrade your life to an apartment in the basement of a crappy apartment complex. Or when you have surgeries, family health scares, fights, and can barely pay the bills. Like when you say hateful things about people in the heat of the moment.”
‘You get the invite. You roll your eyes, instantly scoff. ‘She won’t even remember this or know what’s going on!’: Mom powerfully explains why first birthdays are ‘not just about the baby’
“First birthdays are not just about the baby. There, I said it. When a mother sends you an invitation, she assumes you’re an ally.”
‘You’re sitting at the computer too often.’ He prescribed a painkiller. Then, I got a call. ’You could die.’: Woman with tethered spinal cord learns to walk again, ‘My scars are badges of honor’
“I woke from surgery unable to feel my leg and in septic shock.”
‘My eyes were moist. ‘Margie, you made my day. We appreciate you.’ She came running down to the corner.’: 4-year-old girl becomes best friends with garbagemen, ‘This is beyond anything we ever expected’
“She wasn’t feeling well all day. When she heard them coming down the road, she asked, ‘It’s the garbage men!!! Can I go outside?’ Since that day, her love of trucks has become more about who is driving them than the truck itself. This has gone beyond anything we ever expected.”
‘You have one brother, Andrew,’ she said. ‘Is he healthy?’ I didn’t know him at all anymore. We WERE normal.’: Woman shares grief journey for brother with opiate addiction, ‘Allow yourself to feel’
“My brother and I were blessed with a picture-perfect childhood. Every moment was a Kodak moment. As we got older, our lives changed. After 6 months of studying abroad in Spain, I came home to a new reality, an opiate-infused reality.”
‘You could have gotten rid of us because he’d be a burden. Your efforts are seen. You are heard.’: Twin to Down Syndrome brother writes beautiful thank you to DS mamas
“I had a hard time making friends. There were times I wished I had a ‘normal’ sibling who could talk, who I could share my secrets with. My mom showed me how much of a blessing it is to have Michael.”
‘His brother said, ‘I didn’t get to tell him goodbye today.’ All I could see were his little bare legs, dangling.’: Woman loses infant to SIDS, starts foundation in his honor, ‘Love pushes you to go on’
“She said, ‘It’s an emergency. It’s Knox.’ Looking to the back where he was, all I could see were those bare legs. I had no idea how much this decision would replay over in my head and haunt me.”
‘I’m sorry, you were my second choice.’ 2 weeks later, we got an email titled URGENT. They’d changed their minds.’: Family of 5 adopt newborn from birth mother, start beautiful open adoption
“Again, our social worker was on the line. ‘Look guys, I know you’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. I hate to bring up another question, but the birth mom called us today.’ We took Revere home from the hospital on Valentine’s Day.”
‘When I interview for a job and think I nailed it, only to find out they went with another candidate…I smile and send that person love.’: Mom of 6 says ‘find the good in every little annoyance’
“I used to play the victim. I used to think the world was out to get me.”
‘I notice the lump in my throat getting bigger. I fight back tears as my sons stare at me wide-eyed. I pray God will help me carry all this weight.’: Mom with anxiety urges ‘life is too short, throw in the towel’
“It’s hard to take care of yourself when you’re always taking care of everyone else. I’m struggling to find the balance between keeping it all together without falling apart and realizing when I need a break. I pray to God to help me carry all this weight.”
‘The wild of his heart makes me tired. It’s a constant tug-of-war. Most of the time, if I’m being honest, he’s winning.’: Mom shares realization for parenting ‘wild-hearted child’
“I spend all day clashing with his strong will until the day is over, and I go to bed feeling like a worn down nub. He is bruised knees and outside voices, ninety miles an hour, all day every day.”
‘This is the third time you’ve been here.’ My son witnessed it all. He made a scene. She wasn’t having it.’: Woman thanks restaurant manager, reminds everyone to ‘be kind’
“I thought I knew what I was supposed to do, but it never felt right. I woke up 2 hours early. ‘Why don’t you tell me what you need?’ she said. ‘You had my son as a customer and he witnessed the whole thing.”
‘My name is Steve.’ I left on a high. Six months into our marriage, I stumbled across something on the computer that sent me into a spiral.’: After divorce, couple co-parents as friends
“We were happy, content, and had a healthy thriving marriage. Through all of this, there was a side of Steve and went unfulfilled and wore on our relationship. I stood frozen as Steve’s eyes caught mine. Something had changed. Something was wrong.”
‘I was getting married in a month, they wanted me to have my operation ASAP. I had a panic attack in front of the nurse.’: Woman survives recurring skin cancer, ‘The support has been massive’
“That weekend was my bachelorette party. It was changing shape, getting very painful, and wasn’t normal. She said something I never expected her to say. Should I really put myself through this? It felt like the longest wait.”
‘I don’t see any red flags.’ He began screaming and running into walls. There was an 8-month waitlist. I wanted answers.’: Mom fights for son’s autism diagnosis, ‘My strength comes from him’
“I know you’re not supposed to compare, but I had friends with kids around the same age as Logan and seeing them together was eye-opening. ‘He has a mild delay.’ I couldn’t shake the feeling it was something bigger.”
‘I wouldn’t step out of the house in shorts or skirts because of the scars on my legs. ‘Why me?’ I was tired of crying out to God.’: Woman with rare Ollier’s Disease disorder and Scoliosis finds self acceptance, ‘I was handpicked’
“I became so caught up in trying to appear ‘normal’ I began to lose myself. At the end of the day, I felt like I was living a double life. I would often wear long sleeve shirts or jackets to hide my left arm. I wanted people to look beyond the scars and differences.”
‘He’s not going to cry! I can’t do this! HE IS NOT GOING TO CRY.’ I looked down and saw my perfect baby. I never wanted to forget his face.’: Mom of stillborn baby says, ‘I am a mom of four’
“The nurse asked me when the last time I felt the baby kick. I said, ‘2 hours. I’m sure I’m overreacting. We were put in a room at the far end of the ward. I assumed it was so we wouldn’t hear any babies cry, but I later realized it was so no one else would hear us scream and cry in the agony that was to come.”
‘I don’t think any social worker will jump to place a child with a 20-year-old, single male.’ I agreed and said, ‘I’ll be patient.’ I checked all the boxes.’: Former foster kid becomes adoptive dad to 3 boys
“They didn’t have any information other than his name. I was convinced it was a black child. Imagine my surprise to see a white child sitting at the table! I was internally panicking. At the time, he was the first white child I had ever interacted with. In the end, I agreed to take him in.”
‘Two generations ago, I would have lived in an institution.’ There’s a buzz in the air. A new day is approaching in the world of disability!’: Wife of man with cerebral palsy becomes disability advocate, ‘Let’s crack this dialogue open together’
“I was the most apprehensive, uneasy person he ever met. Me. The person who went on to marry him, and have kids and a life with him. Very simply put, I got over it. The chair, the speech impediment, all of it. I’m happy I got brave enough to get to know this whole and magnificent human.”
‘Jango bit down on Hunter’s leg and violently shook him like a rag doll. He’d ask, ‘Why would God let this happen?’: After terrifying dog attack, boy learns to thrive with prosthesis
“A resident called me over and spat out medical terms. I heard a word I recognized, one that will forever haunt me: ‘Amputation.’ My knees crumbled beneath me. A member of the hospital staff caught me by the arm. ‘I think you should sit down.’”
‘Please end his suffering.’ The universe heard me wrong. He was only 8. Now one was sick and the other, gone.’: After losing son, mom teaches others how grief can lead to empowerment
“‘Please put an end to his pain. He had over 300 seizures. My husband shouted, ‘There has been an accident!’ A phone call confirmed a mother’s worst nightmare.”
‘I blurted, ‘I’m already ready for school to start!’ I’d forgotten how to act normal in public.’ Without hope I’m lost.’: Mom says of extended summer, ‘I’ve had plenty, thanks’
“All I say is ‘No.’ I’m tired of my kids’ disappointment. I’ll take ANY version of normal I can get my hands on. I bought school uniforms in June. I love summer, but I’m ready to exit the ride.”
‘Congrats!’ No! You don’t understand! I felt awful wishing I wasn’t pregnant. I had one test, and I took it. Life would be much easier.’: Pro-life mom adjusts attitude after surprise pregnancy
“He asked, ‘Are you?’ Softly I said, ‘I am.’ I was shaking, crying, and hyperventilating. The baby I wasn’t sure I even WANTED, might not survive. All while thinking, ‘Life would be so much easier without being pregnant.’ I don’t swear much, but I definitely swore in that moment.”
‘We won’t be needing any donuts after all.’ I didn’t yell. I didn’t make a scene. 2 miles down the road, I turned the van around.’: Man shares confrontation with exhausted worker, ‘I was rude’
“My flesh convinced me this was the time for me to be a patriot. I looked at her straight in the face and told her she was rude. I left. The same woman was standing there; I walked right up to her.”