‘THERE’S A HEARTBEAT!’ she screamed. Next, we found ‘the bump.’ All I could feel was shock.’: Baby survives twice despite all odds, ‘he was worth every step of the way’

“My doctor saw blood and wouldn’t even attempt to check if my baby was alive. ‘WHAT?! You’re not doing an ultrasound? Blood work? Doppler?’ He shook his head no. ‘There is no use. You’re losing your baby.’ He dismissed us without emotion and left. The next day, we went to the OB to confirm the miscarriage. WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP. The nurse burst in, full-on sobbing. We were urged to terminate the pregnancy.”

‘Do we know each other?’ I remembered the mystery guy’s friend request. I was SO nervous.’: Single mom meets man of her dreams, he adopts daughter after ‘blossoming’ relationship, ‘He hasn’t left’

“I pulled up his profile, scrolled through his pictures, and hit the add button. I waited for at least 3 days. No message, no anything. I went back to assuming he just added ’random blondes.’ I finally decided I would make the first move. I didn’t want my daughter to wind up even more heartbroken.”

‘UM, IAN. Cough. IAN!’ I expected a box of pizza on the floor. I found foot-tall flames.’: Mom recalls dangerous fire pet dog accidentally caused before 6 a.m.

“I hear the sound of a huge dog clambering down the wood floor hallway. If toddler silence is a dangerous sound, this is the doggy equivalent. I chased her around the house trying to dislodge a slice of Meat Lovers. Then I saw the flames. The kids come running in. ‘FIRE! FIRE! WHAT’S OUR ESCAPE PLAN?’ We don’t have one, but bet we do by this afternoon.”

‘Did she stick her finger in the power socket?,’ strangers asked.’: Little girl embraces ‘fuzzy’ hair caused by Uncombable Hair Syndrome, ‘I look like a lion with a crazy mane’

“She was picture perfect, blonde hair, blue eyes, so cliché. But around 3 months, we noticed something different. Her hair was growing straight up, not flattening down. It glistened in the light. ‘What’s wrong with her hair?’ Complete strangers would peer into her stroller, stare, take pictures without asking. One lady said, ‘Your daughter looks just like Doc Brown, the crazy scientist from Back to the Future!’ Our little girl was so special.”

‘I was awful to her. I totaled the friendship. I’ll never know why she accepted my apology.’: Woman thankful for ‘second chance’ with BFF, admits ‘not all friendships should be resuscitated’

“When I eff things up, I do it spectacularly. The same is true with friendships. Eventually, I’m going to say or do the WRONG thing. My mistakes haunt me. I was awful to my life-long BFF. When what I’d done hit me, I was crushed. She chose to love me when I deserved nothing. I am still in awe. Forgiveness separates my gal pals from ‘ride or die’ besties.”

‘I had to drop out of high school. My identity was being ripped from me.’: Young woman devastated after dropping out of school due to mental health problems, later graduates in adult education

“The one thing I was ‘known for’ was being taken from me. I vividly remember I’d have to hide in the bathroom before school started, practically unable to function, dragging myself to my classroom at the last minute. I felt entirely numb. I felt absolutely nothing. How could I not be graduating? It was my senior year!”

‘Social media was NOT designed for children. I can’t imagine a worse time to access it than middle school.’: Mom urges us to restrict social media access, ‘don’t give that smartphone power in your home’

“Middle school kids. Your daily parenting may include statements like, ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all!’ ‘How many times do I have to tell you not the use that word?’ ‘What were you thinking?!’ Then, it happens. We cave. We give them our old phone. Something we haven’t thought about. We aren’t prepared for it.”

‘I’ve never seen him do that.’ I watched as he scratched his face in his sleep. It was a Hail Mary.’: Mom shocked by Celiac disease diagnosis after noticing ‘moody, volatile’ behavior in son

“I started seeing a shift. He was moody, had bouts of rage. He was volatile. Every moment felt like walking on eggshells. I felt constantly on edge, waiting on the next blow up. He was always tired. I mentioned all this to the pediatrician. Nothing fit. I was losing my sweetheart of a boy. Finally, I said, ‘What about Celiac?’”

‘Where did you get these?’ I knew. ‘Ren’s nursery.’ He didn’t realize how serious I was. ‘Put them back.’: Wife unexpectedly triggered by husband’s attempt at act of kindness, ‘It was all downhill from there’

“We ran out of toilet paper and Tommy was supposed to go to the store. Irritated, I asked him to get me something to use. Maybe a paper towel? He finally walks in holding a pack of wipes. They were a very specific kind, Huggies all-natural wipes. I started tearing up. ‘Put them back, please.’ He laughed and insisted I used them. He didn’t realize how serious I was until I started bawling. Something in his room was now out of place.”

‘Your son cut class today.’ I got the phone call no parent expects. ‘Excuse me?!?!’ I was LIVID.’: Mom comforts teen son battling depression, ‘We should treat mental illness the same as physical ailments’

“My first thought was, ‘They have the wrong boy.’ My son loves school! Frustrated, I yelled, grounded him. Then, the next morning, I heard it. Sobs coming from the shower. ‘Mom, I’m not feeling okay.’ He told me he felt extremely depressed. That it was so bad he contemplated killing himself and had skipped class to find a quiet space to cry alone and breathe. Instantly, I felt a pang in my heart.”

‘You’re so lucky to have the opportunity to be at home.’ So, I shut my mouth.’: Overwhelmed mom urges others ‘Don’t be quiet’ when feeling depressed, hurt, isolated

“No one mentions that you disappear into your own walls. A part of the furniture. Like an old armchair that’s jumped on all day and the last thing you want to do is talk to someone or be touched. We have to be grateful, so we shut our mouths. I’m in silence listening to others say, ‘I never felt like that, I loved it.’ Sinking deeper into our guilt.”

‘What’s going on, mom?’ Deep breath. I’ll never forget their little faces looking up at me.’: Wife suddenly loses husband to massive ruptured brain aneurysm during ‘hardest point in our relationship’

“‘The room looks good!,’ Eric peeked in. I didn’t smile. I didn’t say thank you. Instead, I was short with him. ‘Well, it’s done.’ We were hurting. ‘Come over here and give me a kiss,’ he smiled. I heard him say goodbye to the girls in the living room. He yelled, ‘love you’ and then the garage door slammed shut. Later, I heard my phone. It was a football coach’s number – not Eric’s. I pulled both of our blonde-headed girls to me. I wasn’t sure the words would escape me.”

‘She was beautiful, hilarious, different from other women. What if he loves her more than me? Was this a mistake?’: Couple unexpectedly forms polyamorous throuple relationship, ‘There are no rules to love’

“I’ve always been a one-man kind of girl. I was 22 and had just ended a 5-year relationship. Jak burst my bubble immediately. I was scared of these new feelings, but it was the most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced. This is where it gets interesting. My whole life, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be with a woman. I never told anyone. We decided to experiment together. This turned out to be a life changing decision for us both.”

‘A classmate tried to put a toy away. My daughter went ballistic, lashing out at the little girl, in hysterics.’: Mom ‘so mad’ at daughter’s ‘unfair’ autism diagnosis, ‘She’s viewed as weird, rude’

“I got a call from my daughter’s teacher. She said there had been a pretty catastrophic incident while cleaning up. I listened intently, but none of this was a surprise to me. I got off the phone and was so mad. That little girl would never ask her to play again; likely she’d run home and tell her parents about the bully in class.”

‘Birth control?!?!’ At 18, I was told I wouldn’t conceive. WELL, one little puck slipped past the goalie.’: Woman receives emergency hysterectomy at 23, ‘it still stings to think about’

“I was STRONGLY encouraged to wait for kids. My incision was paper thin. 3 months later, I was pregnant. My little baby was growing alongside fibroids the size of ORANGES. To make matters worse, he was sunny-side up. My life was in danger. In my foggy head, I heard, ‘Amber, we can’t get the bleeding to stop. Do you want your tubes tied?’ I woke up covered in blood.”

‘Jess, call 911,’ he gasped before the phone went dead. I arrived home to discover my husband laid out on a stretcher.’: Woman loses husband to brain cancer, marries again after receiving ‘message from a complete stranger’

“‘Oh God no. Please no…’ I whispered that night, my legs numb from sitting motionless. I stared straight into the eyes of the young doctor, trying to digest the news I’d just heard. Brain cancer. Earlier that evening, within 5 seconds of pulling into the driveway, I received a frantic call from my husband. ‘No, no, no,’ the only coherent thought I was able to form.”

‘He accused me of the baby not being his. Didn’t want anything to do with us. I’d be dead if I hadn’t gotten pregnant.’: Single mom says daughter saved her life from heroin addiction, ‘I thank God every single day for her’

“The ‘love of my life’ went to prison. ‘Why?! Finally, I can get away from him! And now I’m carrying his child!?’ I was so scared. Once I had my daughter, I didn’t say a word. Until one night, she was 3 months old, he randomly shows up at my door at 9:00 p.m. When I opened it, my heart felt like it was in my throat. He just stood there and stared at her as I held her in my arms. She was his twin.”

‘MOMMA?’ Wait WHAT?! I’d never been called that. ‘Sweetheart, he’s calling YOU.’ I turned around.’: Couple adopt son from foster care after grueling, 4-year infertility battle

“My phone rang. I could hear excitement in the social worker’s voice. I waited anxiously. ‘Sydney, we have a match. 18 months. Biracial. He’s perfect!’ He walked in. Little snowsuit on. Shy, but curious. He didn’t make a peep, but he took my hand. I cried the whole way home. 4 years. Thousands of tears. Millions of prayers. One phone call later. This was it.”

‘I remember his name, I remember his face, but most of all, I remember his scream.’: Nurse says healthcare professionals have a ‘different kind of resilience, ‘They are superheroes, in every sense of the word’

“As I stepped into the room, I experienced something I never could have prepared myself for. The look of absolute misery on his face, the way the tears streamed down his cheeks, the way his eyes pleaded with us to stop. I helped hold him down. It was necessary, yet so horrible. I had tears in my eyes. I went home that day wondering how I was going to come back tomorrow.”

‘In a Waffle House bathroom, I wiped. Bright red blood. Stunned, ‘Oh my God, this can’t be happening again.’: Couple suffers 5 miscarriages to finally welcome surprise rainbow baby, ‘All 9 of my children are and were a gift from God’

“I called the doctor. ‘It should be ok, sometimes people spot. Just come in when you’re back.’ The bright red spotting didn’t stop our entire beach trip. We get to the doctors, in the same ultrasound room as our last baby. I stare at the same ugly ceiling, look at the same vagina poster. I yearn for baby to be ok like the babies pictured in the hideous Sears-looking newborn photos on the wall. It was not ok. The words came once again. ‘I’m sorry.’ Silence. Again. 5 times.”

‘I typed his case number into the box. ‘Refused.’ It had to be a mistake, a processing error. A goof.’: Couple finally adopts son after 2-year wait to bring him home

“We should’ve been on our way to pick him weeks ago. But morning after morning when I clicked on the tab in my web browser, I was greeted with the same disappointing message: ‘Pending.’ Until one morning, it changed. ‘I hate to tell you this news. He tested positive for Primary Koch Infection.’ ‘Primary what? What’s that?’ ‘CJ has $%*&-ing tuberculosis,’ I whisper-yelled to my husband.”