“I hear him snoring from upstairs and think to myself ‘Crap, he pulled his mask off, I should go put it back on.’ I didn’t though because I have to fully wake him up to do so. He had sleep apnea and used a CPAP machine, pulling it off was a common occurrence. I went upstairs about 20-25 minutes later. Before I got to the room, it felt off.”
‘I grabbed the phone and called 911. ‘He’s not breathing, my husband isn’t breathing!’: Woman recounts losing husband, blaming herself amid arguing, CPAP machine
‘Can you watch David tonight?’ I took her newborn. That night, I missed the call from the Sherriff’s Department.’: Mom loses daughter to suicide, leaving behind newborn son, now lives life ‘to make her proud’
“That night, I went to bed and forgot to take my phone off silent. I didn’t hear it ring. I missed the call. Her sister woke me to 3 words that changed my life forever: ‘Brenna killed herself.’ For so many years, I’d pleaded with God to heal her depression. This is not what I meant. Now, Baby David will never remember his mommy.”
‘Do you have a son in Idaho?’ I instantly knew my son was gone. He took his life after a silly argument.’: Father says son’s death by suicide feels ‘unreal’ after his struggle with mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse
“I heard a knock on my door. I opened and saw a young policeman. He told me he had a phone number I needed to call. I quickly realized we had trouble. The officer claimed he didn’t know what it was about (doubtful). I called the number – it was answered by a person at the Boise morgue.”
Young Girl’s Amazing Recovery From Cancerous Wilms Tumor
“Childhood cancer is heartbreaking. Childhood cancer is a monster. Childhood cancer steals childhood.”
‘Mom, I’m sick of you helping me put my clothes on!’ It’s not natural to do this at my age.’: Young woman describes ‘frustration’ with dressing after being paralyzed, helps others ‘find independence’
“‘I can’t get these, they have buttons!’ I’m like a rag doll when she pulls my arms through my shirt. I still have paralysis in my shoulders, arms, and right hand. I’ve only dressed myself for about 4 years of my whole life. It’s time that comes to an end.”
‘Why are your legs so fat?’ She laughed. I took my headphones out. ‘Pardon?’ Passengers watched.’: Woman brought to tears by stranger’s rude comment, realizes her ‘fat’ legs have ‘done her well’ in life
“I sat between two teenage girls. They were getting louder, being obnoxious. She repeated, ‘Why are your legs so fat?’ The woman next to me berated her for being so rude. I could still hear them giggling. I could feel my face burning. I couldn’t get off the train fast enough. The first thing I did was call my husband, crying, barely able to get my words out.”
‘My disabled child is not an ‘angel.’ He is not ‘celestial’ or ‘heavenly.’ He’s just like you, fully human.’: Down syndrome mom claims son ‘wasn’t sent here to teach you or me something’
“People often refer to my disabled son with angelic, heavenly labels. I’m his mom. I’ve seen things. I know better. When we project this ‘heavenly’ identity onto people with disabilities, we unknowingly strip their humanity and make them more ‘other.’ My son just wants to be loved for exactly who he is.”
‘What the hell did you do!’ He looked at me. ‘You’ll likely be planing a funeral.’: Mom describes years of ‘medical issues’ with son, but he still ‘beats all odds’
“’We did find a few things wrong.’ They rushed him into emergency surgery. ‘There’s something wrong with the baby’s heart.’ Once again, we were faced with the possibility of not bringing him home. Once again, he beat all the odds and baffled all the doctors.”
‘Today my son’s friend said, ‘My family doesn’t hang out with gay people, so I’m not going to hang out with you anymore.’: Mom to LGBT son urges ‘this is why moms like us lose our children’
“Tears dripped from between his little fingers. He climbed into my lap like a small child. ‘If I could take the hurt away, I would,’ I said. My 11-year-old replied, ‘I know, but you can’t take the gay away.’ This is why moms like us lose our children.”
‘Whoa,’ he whispers, unwrapping his present. ‘Isn’t he a little young?’ His mom asks, apprehensive.’: Boy gifted iPhone for birthday ‘grows up too fast,’ was a ‘child last year,’ suddenly he’s not
“Noah’s eyes widen. He’d almost forgotten about presents. ‘Which one should I open first?’ It’s a small rectangular box. Noah pulls off the paper. ‘Whoa,’ he says, staring at the white box on the carpet. iPhone 7. He can’t believe it. His parents both have smartphones, so do a lot of kids at school. He’s so excited, he barely notices his grandparents get up to leave. ‘Oh,’ he says absentmindedly, ‘Bye.’”
This Is My Second Wedding Dress, But I’m Not Ashamed
“Truth is, divorce gave me my life back.”
‘I’ve been on maternity leave for exactly 6 weeks. I couldn’t imagine heading back to work today.’: Mom insists it’s just ‘not enough time’ to ‘connect with our babies’
“In 6 weeks that I’ve been home, I haven’t slept more than 4 hours at a time. My days revolve around changing diapers, nursing and pumping, and trying to figure out why my baby is crying. And while my motherly instincts are loud and clear, we are nowhere near a daily routine yet. I couldn’t imagine going back to work right now.”
‘I couldn’t ‘let the holy spirit take over.’ I questioned God. I believe more than just ‘my kind’ are making it into Heaven.’: Young man feels ‘hurt, anger’ at God after his mom’s death
“I wondered where my mom wound up. I was hurt, I felt anger but I don’t know if I was ever actually angry at God directly. I was angry at my situation. I wondered why I had lost my mom and my dad by 14.”
‘The doctor sat down and began to cry. ‘It could be nothing,’ she said. But we knew it was something.’: Mom describes shock of finding out her son’s ‘life-changing’ genetic disease
“One of the nurses came in the room and said to me, ‘If you guys were my kids, I would tell you to go straight to the children’s hospital. Something is wrong with your baby.”
‘Honey, they’ve tried reviving him 6 times. He’s not coming back.’ I was barely hanging on.’: Mom loses son to fatal car accident, finds ‘beauty in the ruins’ of child loss
“The doctor spoke the words ‘unsurvivable injury’ over and over and over again. I was in denial and almost laughed at the report. ‘Do you want to donate the organs? You’re ruining the chances by keeping him alive.’ How could this doctor be so concerned with saving one life, but so inclined to let another go? After 10 minutes, a police officer walked over with a Ziploc baggie of Christiano’s belongings.”
‘Finally, just my mommy and daddy.’ He sighed, before taking his last breath. We whispered, ‘We love you.’: Mom gets sign from baby in heaven moments before giving birth to rainbow baby daughter in hospital
“The day of the c-section I told my husband, ‘He will be with us, just keep an eye open for signs.’ After tear-filled moments in pre-op, we stopped in the hall. I laid there praying, staring up at the ceiling tiles. Just above me was a small sticker on an air conditioning vent. That’s when I saw it. In that moment, I smiled, so relieved. I knew he was here, watching over us.”
‘Gah, you are so skinny! I hate you! Don’t you eat? Just go get a hamburger!’: Woman describes how much ‘hate’ she felt for her body after being ‘skinny shamed’
“I had what people wanted! I was what Hollywood told everyone they should strive to be but inside I was hurting. I didn’t want to be hated.”
‘We went from 3 to 6 kids in two months. Then all hell broke loose. Our house became a warzone.’: Adoptive mom once on verge of ‘mental breakdown’ vows to do everything in her power to help families in ‘craziest, worst of situations’
“‘I’m dating to find a wife, so if you realize you can’t marry me, let me know. Also, whomever I marry has to be open to adoption.’ That’s how my husband opened our first date. What he didn’t know, was I was an adult adoptee.”
‘My son, this chubby baby, is currently on chemo. He has cancer. He can’t be in this waiting room.’: Mom has ‘immense guilt’ for every mother experiencing loss, childhood cancer treatments now that son is healthier
“‘Enjoy it,’ a man said, looking at my happy son. ‘I’m enjoying this more than you know.’ Just 6 months ago, I walked into that waiting room with my son closely held to my chest. His bright blue eyes peeked up at me – almost completely covered by a paper face mask. I’ll never forget placing Jameson on the table. ‘Does his belly look too big?’ I asked, concerned. Our perfect, happy, healthy baby boy had a belly full of tumors. Cancerous tumors.”
I Used To Be A Wine Mom, And It Ruined My Life
“Once the wine hit my throat, it never stopped. My desire to hold on to that feeling of lightness would lead me to pour another glass, then another. More nights than not, I emptied the bottle and stuffed it deep in the recycling so no one would see it. I got tired of pretending, of hiding, of going to bed stupid drunk. To quit drinking sounded scary. But even scarier? Losing everything if I didn’t.”
‘That’s it, I’m going to write a suicide note and be dead by Monday.’ I’d already attempted once by taking 90 Benadryl.’: 14-year-old describes feeling ‘no one cared,’ his life was ‘worthless’
“I got home and checked an Instagram group chat I was involved in and saw everyone thought I was actually dead for 4 days. It made me sad because at the time I didn’t think anyone cared and I felt everyone would be better off without me.”
‘I was dating a guy. He ended it. He didn’t see a future because while he was partying ‘I’d just stand there.’: Woman recalls the perks of dating sober, ‘You learn this awesome thing called standards’
“I used to consider going to the bar and getting hammered a ‘date.’ It’s nice to learn about a person and actually remember it now, rather than waking up the next morning and thinking, ‘Wow, this guy drinks as much as me – so I know he won’t judge me. He’s a keeper.’”
‘He never trusted me again. If he called and it rang too many times, I was ‘cheating’ on him.’: Woman vividly recalls the ‘last time he put his hands on me,’ leaves abusive relationship to find true love
“We were introduced through a friend who believed we’d be ‘perfect’ for each other. She invited me to a birthday party he was set to attend. I didn’t plan to stay long, but changed my mind once I met HIM. We talked, laughed and danced for hours. I asked my friend for his number. She obliged. Years later, I wonder if that friend realized it was that moment that changed everything.”
‘I am older than he was when he died. There is nothing more unnatural. He is suspended in time at 45.’: Wife’s emotional reason for not wanting to celebrate birthdays after husband’s death to cancer
“The first birthday I spent with my husband, I turned 16. I remember where we went, what I was wearing. It was the first time he really held my hand. There was something magical about it. It was fall. We were coming out of a hot summer, the night air was cool. There was nobody else I wanted to spend it with than him. The last birthday I spent with him was my 43rd. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. Nothing has been the same since.”