“Before we were even ‘out,’ the church preschool where we both worked found out about our relationship and fired us. We were told we were living a life of sin.”
‘We are expecting twins. But, not just ANY twins. We sat together on the bed and just held each other.’: Lesbian couple pregnant with twins using an egg from each, ‘There were no words’
‘I walked into the NICU. Her nurse said, ‘Hey momma, I was just about to call you.’ I knew that wasn’t good. My heart started pounding. I could feel it in my ears as I choked back tears.’
“‘Am I allowed to kiss her?,’ I asked the nurse through tears. I didn’t want to leave. I cried even harder as they wheeled me out. I was frantic inside.”
‘I couldn’t walk without my body feeling like broken glass. How did this happen? All of a sudden I was a vegetable.’
“My head was spinning, my body was giving up on me, and the medications were slowly killing me. If I didn’t take my health into my own hands – I would be dead by now.”
‘I heard him speaking to my OB. ‘It’s nothing to worry about – it’s just a little spotting,’ he told her. As that word ‘just’ rolled off his tongue, I cringed.’
“I’ll never forget laying in that cold, sterile room, praying that I was wrong, hoping that I was being overly cautious. But I knew with certainty I wasn’t.”
‘Both of our babies had cancer. In 2 weeks, our 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son began the fight for their lives.’: Mother describes ‘worst day’ of her life after children diagnosed with medulloblastoma
“‘I’m sorry, but we found a mass in your daughter’s brain.’ I thought that would be the worst day of my life. Little did I know, only 13 days later, THAT would actually be the worst day of my life. In a different ER, a few floors below from where my daughter was, another doctor pulled a different curtain, looked at my husband and me, and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ Time stopped at that moment.”
‘I’m 10 years older, and 20 pounds heavier. I carry tweezers in my car to pluck chin hairs. I still have acne. And I refuse to apologize for it.’: Woman talks aging, self love journey
“I learned to compete, not with the girl standing next to me, but with the girl I used to be. I learned that strong women stumble, and even stronger women ask for help when they need it. I learned that worry doesn’t change anything, except my level of energy.”
‘The doctors looked at my parents. ‘We have no idea how this child is still alive.’ At that moment, the relief was greater than the fear. They were finally going to help me.’
“We didn’t know how hard it would be on my body. And what if I got pregnant with twins? That would make an already high risk pregnancy, that much more high risk.”
‘I got knocked up by the first guy I ever met from Tinder.’: Woman courageously places son for adoption after unexpected pregnancy
“‘I want to build us a van to live in. We can show our kid the world.’ I wish I remembered exactly what he said—I was rage-deaf by that point. It was the moment I knew we weren’t going to raise this baby.”
‘It was only weeks since we’d said ‘I do.’ I don’t remember what the fight was about. His hand was wrapped in my hair, close to my scalp. Then he yanked. There I was, a pastor’s wife.’
“I was about to get in the shower when the phone rang. Surprised, as it was around 7:45 a.m., I stared at my mother-in-law’s name on the screen. My heart sank. He had left me a few voicemails a few days prior.”
‘My adoptive parents told me I was given up because my mother was too poor and couldn’t take care of me. Later on, I learned there was much more to the story.’
“She ended up getting remarried, and never told her husband about me. When she changed her mind, she met us in secret.”
‘Yes, this is our daughter.’ My husband cut me off. I could hear him telling everyone, ‘I’m going to be a dad!’: Military family adopts child who was ‘always intended to be ours’
“’Hear me out, before you say anything.’ Those are the first words I heard. ‘It’s a girl. She’s due next month.’ I could barely speak. Our hearts ached for her, we stood there sobbing because this strong, smart, selfless birth mother’s deepest grief would be our greatest joy. Our daughter’s maternal grandma brought us both close in a warm hug. She whispered, ‘Go get your daughter,’ before she left.”
‘It stopped my heart. I landed on a glass I was carrying, and a chunk of it punctured my jugular. A voice came to me and told me I was dying. Oh God, no! I didn’t want to die.’: Woman collapses after too much caffeine
“I suddenly felt nauseous. I was standing at the kitchen counter – and my next memory is opening my eyes, and I’m lying on something red. I felt shattered glass falling from my face. I ran my hand down my chin, where I felt something snag my finger.”
‘Your husband was killed on impact. Everything that could be done, was done.’: Woman ‘stands up’ for her 3 children after losing husband in tragic car accident
“I collapsed in the middle of the backyard. My face buried in the grass, which Scott took so much pride in maintaining, everything on me curled up. A single thought floated to my mind. Our kids. And I stood up.”
‘The geneticist was blunt: ‘She’s going to become the pet of the school.’ It was like a tornado hit the room.’: Mom feels ‘immensely proud’ of daughter with Down syndrome after initial shock
“The life I imagined crashed before me and fell to pieces. The sadness consumed me like an angry fire I couldn’t put out. I heard the words, ‘She has characteristics of Down syndrome.’ But then, I saw my daughter with her big marble colored eyes and blonde hair. Finally, I embraced it.”
‘I don’t understand how you don’t love me anymore, just like that,’ I said. I grabbed her hand and clenched so tight.’: Man loses wife to ‘rare, aggressive’ cancer, ‘It is possible for the living to die too’
“‘John, you didn’t lie to me,’ she said. ‘What do you mean?,’ I asked. ‘You told me you would never leave.’ ‘I do still love you,’ she responded, and then stopped.”
‘The billing department doesn’t care if your baby died. The medical companies don’t care if you’re on unpaid leave because your child is a long-term patient. You still have to pay.’
“It keeps me lying awake at night, tears and stress making my heart race. I’m drowning in medical debt. And I know I’m not alone.”
‘I heard a lady say, ‘I would never NOT care if my child was running around. I’d STOP them.’ She gave me a disapproving look when my son threw himself forward and I had to catch him.’
“My son clung to me like Velcro. I had to peel him off me to grab my purse to order. He screamed, he yelled, he wanted to leave. I know what people think of parents who come in with kids screaming at restaurants.”
‘Katie, get off the couch!,’ was the last thing I heard before witnessing the shattering sound of the gun.’: Woman overcomes extreme trauma to marry love of her life
“Suddenly a steamy, hot single dad appeared with an adorable little kindergarten girl ready to meet her teacher. That teacher was me. I don’t know how to describe what I felt when I stared at him, but there was a knowing. A knowing this would be deep, intimate, epic love I had done all the work for. He was different than any other man. He was the one for me, this I knew.”
‘We were forced into protective isolation, I was told to stop breastfeeding. Then: ‘Do not kiss your baby, do not allow any visitors, keep her covered.’
“Little did I know, all of that planning would be in vain. Our lives were about to take a turn we never could have planned for.”
‘They tell us a baby boy has been born in Texas, our home state. They don’t know many details, but ask if we would be interested. I cannot imagine what she must be feeling.’
“The next hour is a blur. She has until 12:30 to make her final decision and she is spending the morning cuddling her sweet boy.”
‘There is something wrong. She won’t open her eyes and is very weak.’ I drove to the babysitter’s house like a rocket! I collapsed in tears. Everything was chaos after that.’
“At lunchtime, I received a call no mother should ever receive. Who could be capable of hurting our baby? We trusted everyone around her.”
‘No matter what he says, we’ll be OK.’ He told us we had a .001% chance of conceiving on our own. ‘You’re pregnant, with twins!’: Foster mom becomes pregnant, ‘God doesn’t give you more than you can handle’
“My heart started racing. Why was she calling? ‘Would you be open to the placement of this sweet boy again?’ I blurted, “YES, of course.’ Then I started sobbing. How can I care for a toddler AND twins?”
‘As a little girl, I remember running in the forest over dead bodies, hearing gunshots, and seeing people killed by machetes. I don’t think we ever slept.’: Refugee shares overcoming painful past through ‘kind people’
“There was no looking back. Kids knew to hide, and run as fast as you could, even if you got separated from your parents.”
‘I find myself apologizing a lot lately. ‘Hey, I’m so sorry, can we reschedule?’ ‘Man, I forgot to respond to your text, I’m so sorry.’ I’m saying I’m sorry ALL. THE. TIME.’
“Can I be honest for a second? I don’t want to be apologizing anymore.”
‘Are you sure you want to marry her? She comes from a broken home. Her parents are divorced.’: Woman assures others they are not defined by something that happened in their past
“My heart sank into my stomach as I read those words. They were written in a letter addressed to my soon to be husband.”