“I quietly closed the door and drew him closer, our sides and knees touching as we both sat against the wall. His head hung low as he shared the lies the voice in his head had been telling him.”
‘He sat there, now facing me, in awe I was able to see into his mind. That the voices in his head were in mine, too.’: Mom shares understanding, comforting son with anxiety
‘Like a tsunami we never saw coming, our boys were diagnosed with Duchenne. I didn’t know how to be a ‘regular’ mom anymore.’: Mom shares ‘surrender’ to reality of sons’ rare disease
“Surrender is not about throwing in the towel or giving up the fight against this awful disease. I will advocate, care for, and fight alongside my boys until my last breath – but I refuse to let it steal my joy or my hope.”
Miracle Baby Born At 2:22 On February 22, 2022 In Room 2
“My husband and I had been dating for three months before I was diagnosed. We were told if we wanted to start a family, it’d be nearly impossible. She’s definitely a miracle.”
The doctor said, ‘No one ever told you about his head circumference? It’s really small.’ My heart sank.’: Mom of baby with microcephaly fights for diagnosis, ‘I wouldn’t trade him for the world’
“I laid him down and I noticed his head was turned all the way to his right and his arms were bent up. He looked almost frozen. I told my husband, ‘Ben just did something weird.’ We had seen many pediatricians and they all told me he was healthy. But I knew something wasn’t right.”
‘I think we can both agree it’s better you terminate.’ Only a year later, crying into a flight attendant’s shoulder did I realize I’d be parenting solo.’: Strong single mom shares her journey
“For a long time, I saw this point of my life as the worst chapter, but I was so, so wrong. By her side is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
‘I experimented with 9 months of sensory isolation. There was never a moment when the pain was below a 7.’: Man shares story of triumph over chronic pain and illness
“‘You’ve gone enough today.’ I was the ‘sick’ kid who was bullied for wetting my pants. But now, instead of an endless nightmare, I have joy and dreams.”
Pray For Ukraine Because Humankind Is Your Business
“They are ours because they are humankind. This is 100% our business. If you are breathing, humankind is your business.”
‘I arrived in December 1989 only 3 pounds, with my organs outside of my body.’: Exomphalos warrior defies all odds, overcomes bullying to start national support group
“With how small I was, and how rare it was, they told my family I wouldn’t live. Little did they know, I was a little warrior who wasn’t going to give up.”
‘It’s not just a bad headache or a really bad hangover. It is a hell you cannot escape.’: Young woman details life with chronic migraines, vows ‘I am not giving up’
“It’s lying in bed for days at a time in complete darkness. You can’t concentrate or think because the pain is so bad. You can’t look at even a sliver of light without piercing pain. You can hardly form words or speak. Sometimes, you feel like you are actually going to pass out.”
‘The only explanation given was miracle.’: Boy starts breathing immediately after parents must ‘pull the plug’ on ventilator
“We were told he would never survive. The doctors have no explanation and are at a loss for words, saying science and medical data does not support this.”
‘You look in her eyes and don’t need to say a word. You feel her sadness and defeat. Without choice, you carry it home.’: Birth worker shares candid peek inside emotional profession
“The phone rings. A client of yours is bleeding at 15 weeks. She’s worried and has a history of loss. You go over to listen for a heartbeat to find no fetal tone, no baby’s heartbeat. That look on her face; you carry that home and it sits on your mind heavily for the next few days. You couldn’t stop thinking about her even if you tried.”
‘He died as he lived, a hero in every sense of the word.’: Ukrainian-American man dies defending Kyiv from Russian attacks after lifetime of uniting forgotten kids with loving adoptive families
“Serge was shot and killed last night while helping to defend Kyiv from Putin’s Russian forces, reportedly the first American casualty of the war. He didn’t have to be there. As a dual citizen, he could have chosen safety. But he acted exactly the way all who knew him expected him to act; he stood up for those who could not protect themselves.”
‘Sometimes, I don’t want to play with you. Not because I don’t love you. But because I’m exhausted.’: Mom says it’s OK to ‘press the pause button,’ take care of yourself
“I don’t have the energy to help Batman defeat the Joker today. And that’s okay.”
‘You lost your first tooth, and I lost a tiny piece of my heart.’: Mom shares accepting new milestones, son growing up too fast
“How did I manage to blink, only to find a little boy where my baby used to be?”
University Student’s Homemade Bumper Sticker Saves Suicidal Stranger’s Life
“Please don’t take your life today. The world is so much better with you in it. More than you realize, stay.”
‘I am here because someone heard me.’: Suicide attempt survivor shares important message about listening to those struggling
“When someone trusts you enough to talk…please listen.”
‘There’s so much I wish others knew. So many incorrect assumptions make life even harder for someone like me.’: Special needs mom clears up biggest misconceptions
“I can see the conversation shift when I walk over. I know you feel awkward talking about taking your kids hiking or going to the park. But there is no need to walk on eggshells around me.”
‘How did I make those decisions?’ Like so many times before, I was so confused and broken.’: Mom with bipolar disorder shares mental health journey
“I will never forget the doctor’s words, ‘We think Brooke should be hospitalized.’ My daughter gave me the courage to be authentic and not view a diagnosis as a cloak of shame.”
‘In Chinatown today, I saw two police officers standing over an old Chinese man bleeding on the ground. I assumed the worst.’: Man witnesses community act of kindness, ‘Only together will we survive the hate’
“As we wait for an ambulance, hundreds of Chinese people walk by and also assume the worst. Rather than let the cops have to address everyone one at a time, I stand off to the side and tell people what happened to set the record straight. It’s the least I can do.”
To My Future Babies, I Will Continue To Write Our Story
“No matter how many more chapters there may be, or how much longer it will take, I will never stop writing the pages of our story until the day comes that I finally get to share them all with you.”
‘Who holds the mom while she holds the baby?’: Woman shares reminder to check in on new moms
“We tend to put more focus on the baby than the mother. I’m convinced this is why postpartum depression exists to the extent it does.”
‘I am more than any number, and I have more to me than just my body.’: Woman shares journey to overcome anorexia, find self-love
“My eating disorder was my best friend, my confidant, the thing I could turn to when I felt like I was spinning out. I was so attached to this way of coping that it was killing me—literally.”
‘I was super excited to post my announcement, but instead of pressing the button, I burst into tears.’: Woman candidly shares reality, anxiety of pregnancy after loss
“I don’t think a post on Instagram is going to make me lose my baby. It’s that trusting my own happiness is a whole mess of memories and emotions.”
Dear Postpartum Body—Despite Everything, I Still Love You
“I’m sorry I tuck you into high-waisted leggings so no one sees the excess skin that held my beautiful babies. I’m sorry for hating the way my hips grew in order to bring two children into this world.”
‘I am finally living.’: Child abuse survivor shares tumultuous mental health journey
“My emotions do not control me or what I choose to do. I can smell roses and see color.”