“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.”
‘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.’
‘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.”
‘What’s going on, dear?’ Weeping, I shamefully got in the front seat. The veins in my neck bulging like a hose.’: Woman living in ‘epic bliss’ after overcoming extreme PTSD, ‘I transformed from victim to viking’
“‘Stay with us Katie, stay with us.’ I either had the option of being victim to my trauma or I had to stare at it head on, whatever that meant. I trusted her. I had to put on my big girl panties and fiercely bring light to my inside compass. At a ripe 19-years-old, I wasn’t expecting to be fighting for my life, especially at a random house party.”
‘Every doctor told me, ‘He will be brain damaged. We just have to see how much.’ They wanted to put me under, but I said, ‘If I am put under, I will never wake up.’
“Something felt ‘off.’ She noticed the same thing. Then, things moved quickly. They had never seen this happen.”
‘The mother left them like this. Our 3-year-old Lily looks up at me longingly. ‘Mommy, can baby stay?’: Family founds children’s hospital to help orphans
“’How old is he?’ I asked. ‘More than 4,’ the relative said quietly. ‘Months?’ I asked. ‘No, 4 years,’ he clarified. ‘This is his twin sister,’ he said pointing to Selena. There were no shoes, socks, or undergarments. I pressed him against my body, attempting to cover him as best I could as we passed the crowds of school children on the street.”
‘He looks at me. ‘What’s wrong?’ I respond, ‘I’ve been punched by your son and your daughter has done a massive poop in the bath.’: Mom recounts funny ‘stay at home mom’ instance
“He hands me a paper towel. I mean dude, what the hell am I gonna do with a paper towel? Dry the poop? Soak the bath water?”
‘Don’t worry, you’re young and have plenty of time,’ is what a complete stranger said to me at work. He asked me how many kids I had. ‘None yet!’
“I’ve gotten the ‘Why did you rush into marriage?’ question, because I was married at 22 years old. But being young isn’t doing me any favors.”
‘You can’t do this. You’re 27.’ My husband was untraceable. I couldn’t divorce a man I couldn’t find.’: Woman marries divorce lawyer who comforted her in aftermath of domestic abuse
“I wasn’t like him. He was a prestigious lawyer, while I was a beaten, broken, and utterly lost human being. I’d lost all of my future at the altar 8 years earlier. I didn’t say anything as I tried to choke back the tears. Eventually he said, ‘let me help you,’ breaking the silence, and branding the words onto my heart.”