“After leaving the doctor’s room, I smiled at the receptionist, walked to my car, and burst into tears. I felt alone. I felt lost. I felt so vulnerable. I knew I had a long journey ahead, and at the time, I was frightened.”
‘I’m sorry but you have bowel cancer.’ My head was spinning. I’m too young! I just beat testicular cancer!’ Army Captain talks about beating the odds TWICE, asks doctor if he has the right person
‘A woman complained I wasn’t ‘shushing’ my crying daughter loud enough. I smiled through tears.’: Mom gushes over ‘amazingly fearless’ deaf daughter
“We watched her when the dog barked, we’d vacuum right next to her as she slept. Friends would watch football, loudly. NO response. Nothing seemed to disturb her. We knew something was terribly wrong.”
‘We found live sperm!’ I gasped, looked at my husband. He had tears in his eyes. ‘LIVE SPERM,’ beautiful.’: Couple hasn’t gotten ‘happy ending’ after vasectomy reversal, but know their ‘angels in heaven’ will choose the ‘perfect child’ for them
“I sent the text, ‘Let’s have a baby.’ He finally responded, ‘How? I’m fixed. Thought you didn’t want one?’ The blood drained from my body. ‘We can get your juice out. I looked into it.’ He then said the most romantic phrase ever. ‘I’d love that too.’ My heart was glowing. Our best option was a full vasectomy reversal. My husband nearly burned a hole in the carpet pacing back and forth. We knew what we were up against.”
‘I found my son lying on the ground, his little heart jolted out. I cradled him in my arms as his soul left his physical body.’: Mom loses son to rare cardiac arrest after struck by baseball bat
“I was inside doing dishes when I felt a pang in my heart and heard the urgent words, ‘Check on Luke!’ I flew out the door to find him lying on the ground. He had been struck in the chest.”
‘I’m okay babe. I overslept.’ My phone lit up with her beautiful face. We went to my hotel room rather than dinner.’: Boyfriend discovers his ‘baby’ overdosed in bed next to him, despite being ‘happiest in a long time’
“She didn’t want me to stay at her apartment because of her obsessed ex that was still showing up uninvited, and unannounced. She was the most beautiful person I’d laid eyes on. She had 3 little girls she loved dearly. All our demons had disappeared. Or so I thought. My sweet Elena told me she was going to the bathroom to take some medicine. Then we sat and talked. ‘I love you so much, just don’t hurt me.’ How silly I thought. She went to sleep soon afterwards.”
‘I have to go the bathroom,’ my husband says, handing me the diaperless baby with poop on his hands. He rushes off.’: Mom quickly realizes she does NOT want another child after initially thinking she does thanks to friend’s precious newborn
“I met my friend’s new baby! I smelled the newborn goodness. I watched her little mouth open while she yawns and holds my thumb. Then, I felt a familiar sensation… my ovaries start to go off like firecrackers, like my little uterus has pressed the red button and is screaming MAYDAY! MAYDAY! We need a fetus!! I message my husband saying, ‘One more?'”
Dear Women: It’s Okay To Depend On A Man
“Women tell girls to ‘never depend on a man’ as if it makes you less of a woman. Well, call me weak. I depend on this man right here.”
‘Her face, tongue were covered in hives. If they’d waited any longer, her throat would’ve closed up.’: Mom ‘begs’ parents to keep food containing peanuts home despite there being ‘nut-free tables’
“She’s scared, and she was afraid that we were mad at her. She’s also confused, because she didn’t eat any peanuts, and doesn’t understand why this happened to her. This will most likely trigger anxiety for her, and hopefully, she won’t be afraid to go back to school.”
‘I understand you’re not in the stadium to see the marching band or cheerleaders, but PLEASE clap for our kids, too.’: Band, cheer mom reminds us to ‘yell, applaud’ for the marching band, ‘They work incredibly hard too’
“At most high schools, the football team is applauded and admired while the marching band is made fun of. The halftime show is their chance, for a few minutes, to be cheered on. Please DO cheer. Their formations are equivalent to touchdowns. They march, practice, and give up summer free time in 90-degree heat to get their ‘game’ ready, too. There’s no ‘marching band madness.’ The newspaper won’t give a run-down of their show. The halftime show IS their big moment.”
‘This is my house. You will respect me.’ I didn’t see him until 3 a.m. before OUR DAUGHTER WAS BORN.’: Retired Air Force mom leaves narcissistic husband after nearly 9 years, ‘never felt happier in my life’ as single mom
“Each day I came home, more things were missing. Not just random papers. I’m talking, MY stuff. When questioned, I got, ‘I’m doing what needs to be done, don’t question me.’ I was like his child, not his wife. I married a full-blown narcissist. Ugh, I finally said it. I couldn’t live like that anymore. There was no sign of life, it didn’t feel like a home. So I left – 6 months pregnant with two small children in tow.”
‘I clung to his casket, stroking his cold cheeks. My entire world lay there, lifeless, nothing but a shell.’: Woman loses grandma to lung cancer, then loses mom and brother to addiction shortly after
“I noticed my brother kept ‘falling asleep’ while talking to me. He tried to explain it away, but I knew he was lying. ‘You’re nodding out, James. Are you high?’ He finally put his head in his hands and started to cry, shaking his head yes. ‘I learned how to shoot up.’ I was devastated. Now, I must listen to his playlist to feel closer to him. My baby brother is gone.”
‘I’m pregnant. I know you’re the best thing for him. He’ll thank me for this one day.’: Birth mom unexpectedly shows up to court, surprises couple by ensuring they’ll adopt son, ‘He is the most loved boy in the entire world’
“‘Are y’all going to be at court tomorrow?’ she asks. ‘Yes ma’am, of course,’ I quickly reply. ‘Little Man’s birth mom was wondering if you’d be willing to speak with her.’ This was not what I expected to hear. ‘Sure, no problem. See you there,’ I told her. I nervously pondered. The ride on the elevator is quiet. I hear the ‘thump’ of flip flops down the hall. I look to my right, and see his birth mom walking down the long hallway. Here it goes.”
‘Please quit, that’s enough.’ I leaned over you as we tried to pump life back into your soul again.’: Nurse pens emotional tribute to patients lost, admits she loses ‘a little of myself’ every time
“The look in your eyes said you were already gone. Your family wept, told us to keep trying. They didn’t want to let you leave. So, we continued on. Medications. Shocks. Pumps. Sweat poured down my face. I tried to hide my tears by staring at my shoelaces. We watched the life leave your body and go to a place none of us know or understand. We tried so hard to save you. We just couldn’t do it that day.”
‘Sweet boy, Mommy and Daddy love you so much.’ His silent 3-pound body was wrapped in a blanket.’: Parents of child loss know they will see son ‘in heaven,’ celebrate living twin’s life while grieving their loss
“We cried, touching him gently. The room was filled with silence. ‘What color would you like Noah’s casket?’ ‘What outfit will he be buried in?’ I struggled to answer. I couldn’t stop thinking, ‘I’m not supposed to be making these decisions. Parents aren’t supposed to bury their children.’ We celebrate his twin brother Liam as we grieve Noah. But death is not the end. We will see Noah in heaven some day.”
‘My daughter was put in detention for the day because ‘her skirt is too short.’ She’d been in school ONE HOUR.’: Mom furious after first day of school turns to ‘nightmare,’ challenges ‘outdated’ school rules
“When I asked IF the length of my daughter’s skirt affected her education and ability to learn, I was told, ‘Yes.’ When I asked HOW, I was told, ‘School policy.’ I pointed to 3 staff members wearing shorter skirts than my daughter. She looked at me dumbfounded and didn’t answer. This isn’t about my daughter or her school. This isn’t a child issue, or even a parents issue. This is SO MUCH more than being about ‘just a skirt.'”
‘I couldn’t move. They said I’d never walk again. I WALKED down the aisle at my wedding.’: Woman finds her ‘purpose’ after being paralyzed in horrific car accident
“I remember hearing someone scream ‘say something, say something!’ and all I could say was ‘help.’ I remember him running over to me and saying ‘I have help on the way, it’s going to be okay.’ I don’t remember anything after that.”
‘I’m okay with being a just-good-enough wife. I don’t keep a tidy house. I don’t wash my hair for days.’: Mom once obsessed with perfection realizes that was ‘exhausting,’ the quest for perfection is ‘completely unnecessary’
“When I was younger, I wanted to be everything. Smartest, prettiest, funniest… I desired to be the total package. I yearned to be the best possible version of myself. Quite frankly, it was exhausting.”
‘Take your kids, get out of there! Leave him now!’ There was a knock on our door. The cops. They’d seen the video.’: Woman narrowly escapes abusive man, flees home to family who cried when she was ‘finally free’
“My heart was pounding as I stood in the middle of the airport. My two boys aged 3 and 4, gazed up at me with sleepy eyes. It was 6:00 a.m. We were flying home to the USA. I was trying to act calm. The woman at check-in gave me a bewildered look when I told her we had no luggage to check. I was terrified I was going to be asked if I had their father’s permission to take them out the country. I didn’t.”
‘No one asked if I was OK.’ I was 15 when I attempted suicide. I went to church, sat alone. I cried the entire service.’: Woman urges Christians to discuss mental health, ‘you don’t need to hide it’
“It was a Sunday afternoon. I cried for the WHOLE service. I sat alone in a row towards the back. I was told by my Pastor if I attempted suicide, I would go to hell. I was told by my elder I was beyond reaching, not worth saving – I had fallen too far for God to find me. Trusted friends told me if I had stronger faith and prayed more, I wouldn’t need anti-depressants. I was told my depression was a result of my sin. But as far as I knew, my only repeated offense was existing.”
‘I was 6 months pregnant when I said ‘I do.’ I picked a cheap dress, wore borrowed rings, and didn’t have a honeymoon.’: Woman claims wedding was the ‘best day of her life’ because she ‘chose the right man’
“I planned our wedding in less than 2 months. I was pregnant, so I didn’t care what my hair looked like on our special day as long as it was out of my face so I could quickly vomit. We were married on a Sunday and went back to work on Monday. I wasn’t wearing my dream dress. But my loved ones surrounded me, and when I said ‘I do,’ I believed in the person I was choosing to lead me into our new life.”
‘I’m driving home, my son and his broken bone. I prayed. Please don’t need surgery. I cried. And it hit me.’: Mom learns to count her blessings rather than letting anxiety spiral out of control
“As I was driving home from the ER this week for the 50th time (I’m a boy mom – don’t judge) looking at my youngest in the back seat, my mind was racing. Here’s another broken bone, that means another doctor visit, another possible surgery, another doctor bill. My mind was going everywhere. I only need to take 4 hours off work. If they do surgery, I’ll need the full day off. I’m an awful mom. And then it hit me. Get your big girl panties on. It’s nothing terminal. I silently cried the whole way home.”
‘If things don’t improve, we will let you go. They get a choice whether to believe me. My illness isn’t visible.’: Woman describes being ‘dehumanized’ after being fired for being disabled
“When they pick my performance to pieces and criticize my every move, I then have to deal with being humiliated and adding another layer of my ‘not being good enough’ complex to the myriad of problems I already have to face on a daily basis.”
‘I broke things off with my husband. It was a shock to my family. I hid my unhappiness well. Then I met Sean.’: Teen bride finds ‘unconditional love’ after realizing she didn’t want to be ‘pastor’s wife,’ is ‘grateful for second chance at happiness’
“I was 18 when I married my high school sweetheart. I hesitantly resigned myself to becoming a youth pastor’s wife, and told myself I’d learn to bake casseroles and become the epitome of domesticity. I told myself this was who I was. I never anticipated the crash.”
‘My heart was pounding. My husband had been gone for 3 years. I’d completely written off ever finding his phone.’: Widow’s discovery on late husband’s phone solidifies she’s ‘marrying the right guy’
“As I scrolled through his pictures, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. A few weeks before his death, Chase had gone to a basketball game. There was only one member of the team showing in both pictures. It was Nick, my fiance and now husband. I’d always had the feeling Chase approved of Nick, but this seemed like a message from Heaven that I was on the right path. I was marrying the right guy.”
‘Doctors: Don’t expect him to crawl, walk, or walk. Cash: Hold my sippy cup. Watch this.’: Mom feels ‘lucky’ to parent son with Down syndrome, ‘he has taught us all to love wholeheartedly’
“The doctor was cold, rude, and uncomfortable. He ignored my husband every time he tried to speak and suggested we ‘put him up for adoption.’ Yet, NO ONE agreed he had Down Syndrome. We looked at his little almond-shaped eyes and back at each other and just KNEW. Our lives didn’t ‘fall apart.’ We didn’t ‘mourn’ the loss of a ‘perfect’ baby. We were just so in love.”