Happy
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‘She has a 2% chance of survival.’ My whole life became this beautiful little girl. Then I realized we had more in common than I thought.’: Man with autism turns to running to show daughter ‘Daddy can do it’
“Doctors thought she was blind, but I knew she was autistic. I needed to show her autism could be a gift. Running was the answer to how I was feeling. I downloaded an app, gathered equipment, and our adventure began.”
‘Mom, I want to join cross country!’ She looked confused. If your child had a life-threatening disease, you’d hesitate too.’: Runner with cystic fibrosis follows dream, ‘Giving up wasn’t an option’
“Who’d believe a little girl like me with such an evil disease would be SO GOOD. My mom called my dad and said, ‘Your daughter is winning, and not just by a little!’”
‘I TOLD you, I’m blind. I can’t anymore.’ His response surprised me. ‘So?’ My new life began.’: Man shares journey learning to live visually impaired, ‘Fail, get up, keep moving forward’
“I biked into the back of a parked car. There was a group of people on the other side of the street laughing. I thought to myself, ‘I knew this would happen, you don’t belong on a bike anymore.’”
‘Are you ready to meet him?’ He was born addicted to methadone. I didn’t know what to expect. The moment I saw him, I knew he was my son.’: Couple battling infertility for 7 years share adoption journey
“Each pregnancy announcement was more and more heartbreaking. It felt like we weren’t meant to be parents. Our attorney called, ‘She’s interested in talking to you.’ We were beyond shocked.”
‘Am I going to get sick?’ I lived in fear of myself and what people thought of me. I started ripping my hair out.’: Woman shares struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder, ‘It gets so much better’
“I found myself missing school daily. I’d wake up, feel a little sick, and have a full-blown panic attack. Panic attacks made me hate every second of my life. I wanted to end it all.”
‘What about the birth parents?’ We were gaining HER, too. We had no morning sickness or ultrasounds. THIS was the plan.’: Mom shares adoption journey, ‘She’s brought more joy than we ever thought possible’
“When we finally saw her, I was in awe. We couldn’t just gloss over the trauma our newborn felt. Adoption is full of celebration for the love of a child, but it is also full of pain, loss, and grief.”
‘An idea popped into my head which sounded CRAZY.’ ‘You are going to ruin your daughter’s life!’: Single mom builds loving home in van, ‘I want us to truly LIVE’’
“We don’t have NEARLY enough time on this planet to just waste our lives on what society says is the way to live.”
‘Dad and I are still friends.’ It was absolutely gut-wrenching. We were determined to beat the statistics. We could still be great parents together.’: Mom shares co-parenting journey, ‘We’re one family, full of love’
“I was devastated at the thought of being just another set of young parents who couldn’t make it work. We were still raising a child together. Four adults opened their hearts to ensure this little boy never felt like he was missing out.”
‘It’s something small, but it can change your WHOLE day. We felt the love, even in what seemed like endless darkness. I wanted to HELP.’: Woman crafts handwritten cards to ‘send kindness through the mail’
“I pulled out my stationery box from where it was collecting dust in a closet. For the first time in weeks, I was energized and felt like I was making a difference! As I put the letters in my mailbox, I had the desire for this to become something bigger.”
‘I feared I wouldn’t make enough for her, so I built a MASSIVE stash. Just because it’s a natural thing doesn’t mean it comes naturally to every mom.’: Woman donates breast milk, ‘I’m SO grateful to help’
“I never knew where breastfeeding would lead me. I never had an end goal in mind. To be honest with you, I didn’t know any of this was possible.”
