“’Katie, is now an okay time to talk?’ It was our IVF coordinator. ‘Unfortunately, I don’t have very good news.’ I choked back tears, and thanked her. He had a total of 12 sperm. My husband hugged me and apologized. It was heartbreaking. Our doctor grabbed my hand. I looked at her in disbelief.”
‘I sobbed as my husband picked up. He knew immediately it was a ‘no.’ We made plans of all the ways I’d ‘surprise’ him with a pregnancy announcement. This call was NOT part of our plan.’
‘As she opened the door, her eyes welled with tears. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. She was weak in my arms.’: Woman shares act of kindness for friend grieving miscarriage
“A month ago, my friend’s otherwise perfect pregnancy ended in a blood bath, and her saying goodbye to a lifeless version of her daughter. Her words, ‘She’s gone! My baby is gone!’ will forever ring in my head. Then, I received a text from her husband. ‘She’s not sleeping. Not eating. Please help me.’ So, I did just that. That’s just what friends do.”
‘Daniel may have trouble fathering children. He had a botched surgery when he was very young. As 18-year-olds, we didn’t grasp the seriousness of his male infertility. Then I realized something was wrong with me, too.’
“My husband’s counts had dropped to almost nothing. Six live sperm were found. Six! No six thousand. Just six. We got a letter in the mail. The yearly fee to keep his sperm frozen was due. It was hundreds of dollars. We had to make a decision about our future– right now. At 26 years old, I VOLUNTARILY had a hysterectomy. Then, we got the call.”
‘Lani, my baby girl. Please wake up.’ Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. I dropped to my knees and just screamed.’: Little girl survives go-cart accident, ‘She is embracing her new normal’
“I hear the engine shut off. My husband screams and the world stops. ‘I need mommy.’ The motor belt scalped the whole right side of her head, crushing her skull. She looked at me and said, ‘Mommy, the angels were with me.’”
‘I asked her when vacation starts. ‘In a week. I’m DREADING it. I already lied to my church and said Nicholas was 5 so he could go to Vacation Bible School.’ This warmed my soul.’
“One of my girlfriends called. We’ve been friends for almost 20 years. We sugarcoat nothing. Summer is NOT amazing. And if you ask your kids, it’s BORING. These vacation snapshots are the best 5 minutes of the day. The other 23 hours and 55 minutes are a complete cesspool.”
‘I couldn’t get hold of my husband. ‘That’s odd? I just had a baby.’ My instinct urged me to check his Facebook.’: Woman escapes abusive relationship, marries ‘incredible man’
“He walked in nonchalantly. ‘Are you having an affair?’ I should’ve known he was lying because of how calm he was. He was NEVER calm. ‘Of course not. I love you!’ I showed him the messages.”
‘It was a long time ago. Get over it!’ The victim, I thought my family would hold me. Instead, I was blamed.’: Woman details healing journey after revealing brother’s sexual abuse
“I sent my brother an email. ‘I was a wake last night.’ He never came into my bedroom at night again. When it came time for my wedding years later, my mom insisted I do things ‘her way.’ She wanted my brother to stand beside my husband. We danced around it, but nothing worked. I had to tell her what my brother did to me. ‘How could you do this to us? You’re tearing our family apart,’ I was told. For years, I tried to navigate this deep, dark pit and find light. She threw me back into the dirt.”
‘Our birth mother had disappeared. It was alarming. I felt sick. It was very close to her delivery date. We anxiously awaited the call. This frightened me. We were in complete shock.’
“When we got the sonogram picture of the baby, it finally felt real. To see this tiny treasure inside of a tummy was so surreal. My husband and I were in contact with her weekly. Then, complete silence. My heart started pounding. It was like someone punched me in my stomach.”
‘He looks oddly pale,’ I said. I thought it was bad lighting. I felt him. Cold as ice. His father slammed the window shut. I couldn’t stop screaming!’
“Our truck had been broken into, so we packed up our son and went to a nearby shop. I took pictures of him sleeping in the car seat as we waited. That night, his father worked overnight. When he came home at 7 a.m., I heard him say the worst words you could ever hear.”
‘I had to wear a wig on my wedding day. ‘What’s going on?!’ my mom asked. ‘I don’t know,’ I lied. It was my dirty little secret. I was a prisoner of my own body, and I put myself there.’
“I had anxiety about what people would say to my son about my hair. Would he be teased because of me? I just couldn’t do that to him. I bought a wig and started an 18-year game of hide-my-hair. I couldn’t believe what I was doing to myself. Each day, I hoped no one caught me.”
‘After I delivered, my doctor handed me my girl. I did not see it. In all of my medical training, I could not tell. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She was PERFECT.’
“I am a Southern girl and a doctor and I’m used to having it all together. I turned everyone away from the hospital that day, including my sister. I thought I had ruined our lives. I thought I had done something so terrible my husband and child were being punished.”
‘I woke with tired eyes, snappy replies. I had a mountain of laundry to start. ‘What if, for once, I wasn’t productive?’ I had this eager feeling. So, I did it. Disguised in active wear, I rented a five-dollar robe.’
“My husband and baby were gone. I shaved my leg fuzz, packed a bag, and drove to the fitness center. Now, don’t be fooled. I haven’t completely lost my mind and decided to partake in some sort of exercise. Let’s all calm down. No, no, no. This place has LOUNGERS, and ROBES, and a JACUZZI! Remember a jacuzzi?! Neither do I!”
‘The doctor said it so nonchalantly, ‘Your baby has this.’ I looked at my husband. ‘What’s that mean?’ We were not ready for this diagnosis. The tears poured out. How is this happening AGAIN?’
“We were pressured over and over. ‘Get an abortion. Your time is running out. You know there’s a deadline on these things. He’ll be just laying still forever.’ At every appointment, this is what we were told.”
‘Your HUSBAND cleans?! Isn’t that your job?’ My jaw dropped. I could feel my blood boiling. Then, he proceeded to ask questions.’
“I invited my friend and her boyfriend over for a fun wine and painting night. ‘Where’s your son? Is your son asleep?’ he asked. I told him no, he was gone and under my husband’s supervision for the night. ‘WHAT? HE is gonna watch the baby? Why aren’t YOU watching him?’ I was LIVID.”
‘I had a great 4th of July. Except for when I almost died.’: Woman shares 4th of July food allergy mishap
“My ears started to burn. My lips tingled. My thoughts consumed me. My brain went into overdrive. The voice inside my head started panicking and screaming into my itchy ear, ‘That’s it, you’re gonna die.’ I had to act quickly before my throat closed and my hands seized. Then, I saw it. It took my breath away.”
‘I begged the doctors to check for popcorn in her lungs. ‘She’s fine!’ they told me. It was too late.’: 3-year-old girl nearly dies after ‘aspirating’ on popcorn, ‘Advocate for your child’
“After repeat visits to the emergency room, the doctor was frustrated. I was over it and sick of watching her struggle to breathe. She couldn’t run, swim, or play. I knew this wasn’t normal.”
‘I held this dark secret. I remember thinking, ‘What the heck? Are people weird like me, too?’ Cruel kids would ask, ‘What are you doing? Why are you pulling out your hair?’ I’m done hiding.’
“When I was 8 years old, I vividly remember pulling out an eyelash as I sat in my mom’s car in the drive-thru. And you know what? I LIKED the feeling from it. It was oddly satisfying. I kept pulling them out until my eyelashes were bald. Then, my parents began to notice. They couldn’t accept I was doing this to myself.”
‘He went quiet. ‘You’re out with who?!’ he snarled. Surprised by his reaction, I laughed. His anger grew. ‘Tell him to go home. Tell him to leave. Now.’ This must be my mistake, I thought.’: Woman leaves narcissistic relationship
“As an insecure 18-year-old, it felt great that this older, successful man liked me. When he asked me to be his girlfriend only two weeks later, I was all in. I was so charmed by him. When I went upstairs to gather my things, he followed, blocking the front door. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’ He wouldn’t move. He wouldn’t let me leave.”
‘You need to get over it,’ he said. ‘You’re being ridiculous.’ My boyfriend yelled at me in our Uber. He was so upset with me, and told me I was ‘too emotional.’ All I felt was fear.’
“We went out. I had too much to drink. I went to the bathroom and thought my current boyfriend was going to wait for me, but instead, I couldn’t find him after. Then all of a sudden, I saw a guy from my past. I was a victim of his, and I had a panic attack. I found my boyfriend. ‘We need to leave.’”
‘As I lay on the operating table, I heard the ONE word I dreaded. They wrapped him up, brought him over. I began to sob. ‘How can my heart be rejoicing and breaking at the same time?!’
“The room began spinning. I was thrilled to have my baby but terrified by the words used to describe him. Unlike his older brother’s birth, not one person came to see him. No flowers were delivered. No one knew what to say, so they said nothing. On that day, my life became defined by two words. Before and after.”
‘If I could flick a switch and turn it off, I would.’ We cried that night. When he announced his engagement to a man, I came to a crossroad.’: Christian mom embraces gay son, ‘In the end, love wins’
“He knew I was a woman of faith and that there were plenty in the church who believed it was wrong, including the man I was married to. ‘Mom, I want you to open this.’ Soon after, I realized this was no choice.”
‘Are you on drugs? Pregnant? What are you not telling us?’ My managers pulled me aside. A football-sized disc floated in my chest.’: 17-year-old diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, gives birth despite infertility after chemo
“My high-school sweetheart cheated on me, then dumped me. My friends couldn’t cope with my ‘new normal’ and turned away. I didn’t want to be different. My body was thin, my face swollen. I looked like an alien. Minutes later, he pointed to a black hole of goo where my lungs should’ve been. I frantically tried to make it to the break room but blacked out.”
‘We emerged from deep under the streets of New York. To our surprise, a tall, dark-haired man came from nowhere. ‘I just know I need to,’ he said.’
“‘I see you have a notebook there,’ I said. There we stood, unlikely friends totally blocking the stairs to the subway. It was a moment of pure magic.”
‘Amazon: Thank you for your order!’ I glance down at the photo and price. $430?!?! ‘What’s this? I didn’t order anything?’ SHEER PANIC. Then, I connected the dots.’: Daughter mistakenly orders from Amazon without permission
“My first thought was, ‘Did I buy this in my sleep?!’ It was already in transit to my house. It was too late to cancel the order. Then, I got it. An email notification. I went into full blown panic mode with no off button.”
‘It never happens!’: Big brother surprises sister with foul ball after she forgets mitt at home. Her reaction will bring you to tears.
“After Joseph caught the ball, he ran giddily back to his seat where his siblings were waiting. No one could have predicted what happened next. It was nothing other than fate.”