“But then, people I love dearly got laid off. But then, I found myself on the phone with older family members I naively thought would live forever, suddenly wondering ‘what if.’ But then, people started to die. In what felt like a matter of minutes, it became more clearly into focus what was really at stake.”
‘We cancelled our baby shower. I went from Googling dangly monkey earrings to ‘28-week baby premature survival rates.’: Woman expecting her rainbow baby says ‘I will continue to stay home and fight to be a helper’
Teacher Creates Stunning Laundry Art During Quarantine: ‘I want to remind people to look for beauty and humor in everyday life.’
“There are so many people stuck at home right now. I wanted to give kids, teachers, and parents something to smile about.”
‘You’re asking me to take in a 15-year-old teenager who is about to give birth?’ This is not what we signed up for.’: Couple become grandparents at 35, ‘She made our life better’
“’She’s due in 3 weeks and has nowhere to go. Would you guys please take her?’ We can’t do this. On the other hand, how could I say no? This young girl was just desperate for a mom, her mom, and she was getting me instead.”
‘Don’t touch that!’ I screamed as she reached for the elevator button. She was near tears.’: NYC mom of 5 reflects on life in quarantine, ‘We have to find our new normal’
“Here we are, a family of seven with one 13-year-old and four babies under 2, living in the heart of Manhattan. Throw a pandemic in there and life has gotten pretty complicated. Keeping these children busy all day is hard work. It feels like we are moving in slow motion.”
‘Just keep me comfortable.’ She seemed sure and confident, even in the whisper that had become her voice.’: Woman describes bond with ‘vibrant’ grandmother, ‘I appreciate having been on the receiving end for so many years’
“The first thing my daughter, Leah, said upon entering the hospital room was ‘pacifier,’ referring to the CPAP keeping my beautiful grandmother’s lungs expanding in that crisp, white hospital bed. Her red hair was squished in the back, eyes revealing fatigue, but thankfully not discomfort. She drove a white Thunderbird when I was a kid.”
‘Most of us will get this virus. Our hospitals will be overwhelmed. And there is nothing we can do.’: Husband of doctor welcomes baby during pandemic, ‘I couldn’t let the kids see my fear’
“He is a doctor. That’s what you ‘sign up for.’ No. That is not what he signed up for. I would absolutely feel more inclined for him to help if I knew without a shadow of a doubt he had the life saving P.P.E. he needs to stay healthy. He needs it and his family at home needs it. WE NEED IT.”
‘Sorry we dropped the ball and didn’t tell you about this, but we found it in your blood work 4 years ago.’: After years of fatigue, husband is finally diagnosed with rare blood cancer
“He just needed to learn how to de-stress properly after work. He just needed to sleep better. He just needed to make more of an effort. Fine. Whatever. ‘Honey, I need you to take me to the ER.’ I looked at my husband, who absolutely hates stepping foot inside of a hospital. Something was wrong.”
‘This is not homeschool. This is you being thrown into the deep end of a pool you didn’t choose, with no time to plan.’: Homeschool mom urges ‘please give yourselves a huge break’
“You’ve had no time to transition. You are running businesses from your coffee tables. To all my friends who have expressed they are struggling with homeschool – this is not homeschool. I homeschooled my kids for several years, and what you all are doing is a thousand times harder.”
‘His family kept up appearances and cared what people thought. Everyone knew mine was a hot mess. We’d never seen a relationship we would want. We had to go find it.’: Woman claims the ‘communication’ is the key to a healthy relationship
“We were too young, too inexperienced, too still in college, too poor… I was 18 and he was 20. Nobody wanted us to get married. His family got quiet, tiptoed, and avoided.”
‘How did this happen?’ I was compliant. I self quarantined early out of precaution. I thought I followed the rules.’: Woman tests positive for coronavirus, ‘I don’t wish this illness onto anyone’
“You might think you’re being safe, but I thought that too. Someone I came in contact with wasn’t. That’s why I’m sick. Someone didn’t wash their hands or cover their mouth. They didn’t avoid public places. They carried on like normal.”
‘A state trooper pulled me over. As I sputtered to apologize and waited for a ticket, he reached in to hand me five N95 masks. I burst into tears.’: Health care worker thanks state trooper for act of kindness, ‘We are going to be okay’
“He reached in to hand me what I assumed was my license back. It wasn’t until my hand had closed around it that its unexpected bulkiness drew my eyes to it. I burst into tears. This complete stranger, who owed me nothing and is more on the front lines than I am, shared his precious masks with me, without my even asking.”
‘This is my face after spending a 12-hour shift on a Covid-19 ICU team and crying the entire 30-minute drive home.’: Nurse urges ‘teamwork is the only way we can get through the hard stuff’
“My fellow rockstar nurses had to code a patient while wearing full PPE. After seeing a whole group of people gathering in a culdesac in my neighborhood yesterday, I felt I needed to share this.”
‘Nana is in the hospital.’ She had a tear in her heart and only had three more days to live. It was unreal.’: Woman raised by grandma says ‘it is truly a miracle she is still here with us’
“I got a phone call from my mom. ‘Nana is in the hospital.’ I needed to spend her last few days by her side, just like she spent my whole life by mine. She didn’t know how little time she had left, and we wanted to keep it that way. I boarded a plane right away to go home.”
‘We picked up our food and the girl at the register bagging up the food had a cough! She was coughing and packing people’s orders!’: Nurse thanks community for acts of kindness, ‘This is not a drill’
“I’m more uncomfortable in the grocery store, without my mask and gloves or hand sanitizer, than I am at the hospital. To the people dropping off masks and food for those of us on the front lines, we appreciate it more than you know.”
‘Nutrition staff show up, knowing school breakfast and lunch might be the only meals kids eat.’: Mom, Director of Food & Nutrition Services creates ‘positivity bananas’ to give kids a smile
“With so many kids already receiving free or reduced-price meals, how are families going to cope if they lose their income AND school meals? I wondered what I could do to bring back some of the happiness the kids feel at school while in the lunchroom, with their favorite teacher, or playing at recess.”
‘I thought I was dying. The pain was so bad, all I did was writhe and vomit for 8 hours. After it was over, I felt an incredible emptiness.’: Woman claims lemonade cliché is true, ‘All this tragedy happened for a reason’
“Our loss had to be so bad that it was newsworthy. Without it, Mac wouldn’t be here with us. If I didn’t believe it before, I now most certainly knew that every damn thing that happened TO ME over the last 40 years of my life actually happened FOR ME.”
‘If you see your delivery person coming towards you, please DO NOT OPEN YOUR DOOR.’: Delivery man urges ‘please keep us safe’
“We deliver your parcels and letters every day. What you may not be aware of is that we ARE classified as KEY WORKERS through these terrible times. Think about safety first, for you and your postie.”
‘My girl fought when I tried to give her some medicine to help with her cough. So much so that she peed on my bed and me.’: Mom says ‘I cried about everything, and, that is okay; it’s allowed’
“I stepped in dog poop. I cried tonight because I felt spent. I watched a video on how, in Spain, they don’t have enough ventilators, and so no one over the age of 65 is getting them, only the young. And then I cried a little more because I felt guilty for feeling spent.”
‘We met at an empty parking lot at 7 a.m. and chatted from the safety of our trunks. Your people help you cope with the unknowns.’: Woman praises mom tribe during quarantine, ‘I’m lucky to have found my people’
“We will do everything we need to do to keep each other’s families safe and sane until we can hug each other again. I’m lucky to have found my people.”
‘It is Day 14 of quarantine in my house with my two children. I don’t know what to do with myself right now. I feel overwhelmed and antsy.’: Woman says during quarantine ‘One breath. One step. One hour at a time. We will carry on.’
“One breath. One step. One hour at a time. We will carry on, in whatever manner we can. Not because we are in control or because we know things, but because we choose to show up and love every piece of ourselves. Steady on, my friends. We are in this together.”
‘I still wanted to be the nurse who helped. 365 days ago, you died. I still wake up in the night crying for you.’: Woman who lost partner to overdoes says ‘though your death broke me, I think your death rebuilt me
“You texted me at 10:34 p.m., and I responded two minutes later…but you never responded back because it was too late. Your death wrecked me but your life and love and death made me the nurse (and person) I am today.”
‘She’s cancelled the baby shower. She stands alone, quarantined, for her first prenatal appointment. There will be no visitors—at the hospital or at home.’: Woman pregnant during pandemic says ‘I will choose to be fearless’
“Mom-to-be should have been preparing the nursery, spending way too much time shopping for baby’s perfect take-home outfit. Instead, she’s buying diapers and wipes online—worried there may not be enough to go around. She thinks of her husband—will he be allowed to see his son come into this world?”
‘Something hard cracked over the back of my head. I could feel his fingers on my neck, checking for a pulse to see if he’d just committed murder.’: After surviving domestic abuse woman says ‘don’t stand by in silence’
“I woke up that morning and I just felt this bad feeling. I felt a searing pain. I remember dropping to my knees, the cat taking off, and my bag going flying. As darkness was taking over, I felt my body being flipped around. The last thing I saw before everything went black were C’s eyes looking down at me. It was my own personal horror story.”
‘Will my husband stay at home and miss the birth?’ My contractions were 8 minutes apart. I was shrieking in pain.’: Mom births baby during pandemic, ‘We pray we can all embrace again’
“Our parents cancelled their flights. We debated what to do. With each contraction, I started cursing for my husband. I needed him. In a movie-worthy scene, my husband arrived, breathless, as I dug my fingernails into his hand. Being in the midst of a pandemic while becoming a mother is something I truly never anticipated.”
Nurse Shares Plea For Grace Amid Covid-19 Pandemic
“Give us some grace as we navigate these uncharted waters.”