Touching
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‘They tell me, ‘Go back to your country.’ Many of my patients ask to switch nurses. I’m not Chinese, and I was born and raised in America.’: Nurse vows to continue to fight ‘despite obstacles’
“I head into the shower and visciously scrub my skin until my eczema flares up to match the raw, peeling skin behind my ears from wearing masks all day. I sleep alone, without my special someone. I park my car in crevices to power nap on a makeshift foam mattress in the back of my trunk after a 12-hour shift to head right into another 8-hour shift. I will continue to fight, no matter the obstacles.”
‘I have to send my 3-and-a-half-year-old child away. I won’t get to visit her. I won’t get to hug her. I won’t get to tuck her in at night.’: Nurse mom says ‘I feel punished for having to be the ‘good guy‘
“This is the face of someone who feels punished for trying to be the ‘good guy.’ My job as an ER nurse is just that, my job. This is my current situation.”
‘I lost a baby, too,’ Why is she saying that? I’m not losing my baby, am I? Surely they can save her!’: Woman experiences her baby being born still, ‘I have learned grief is not linear’
“The emotional pain was like something I have never experienced. I remember the midwife placing my daughter on me, I hadn’t opened my eyes and was terrified. She quickly took her off and I remember just crying. All I wanted to do was swap places with my baby. I didn’t understand how this could have happened.”
‘We fully believed I was pregnant. I didn’t understand why this was happening. My whole world felt like it was crashing down’: Woman struggles with infertility, ‘Our journey is messy and painful, but also beautiful’
“We haven’t been publicly ‘open’ about who has the ‘problem.’ We don’t feel the need to share it everywhere because it doesn’t matter and quite frankly, it’s no one’s business. At this point, it changed to the reality we may not ever have kids, period.”
‘I know you think he’s going to stop. One day, sweet girl, there won’t be a next time. One day, it will be absolutely too late.’: Abuse survivor urges others to get out, ‘You’re a warrior. I know you can save yourself’
“One day he’ll have you pinned on the floor with all of his weight, smashing your face into the carpet. I know you don’t want to believe it happened at all. I know you wish, with all your heart, things were different. I know you feel worthless. But I also know you can do it. Stop trying to figure it out, stop trying to make a plan and just run.”
‘She took her life. The mantra became, ‘Be Kind.’ She couldn’t have predicted how it would resonate.:’ Mom in UK describes helpers amidst the Coronavirus, ‘let’s kill the terror with kindness’
“I have never met them. I do not know their faces, surnames, ages, job titles or nationalities, but I know their numbers, and if I ever need ‘any help with groceries over the coming weeks,’ they are close. I’ve read that note, several times over, tears welling in my eyes as I remember I am not alone.”
‘He can never leave the house.’ We have not seen our family or friends in over a year.’: Mom of severely immunocompromised son says ‘I am tired of headlines saying only the vulnerable will die’
“His doctors were hopeful we could take him out of the house for the first time EVER this summer. We could introduce him to his family members and friends. We could let him play on a playground, like a normal toddler. However, now our future is unknown again as the pandemic has erupted.”
‘She was struggling to feed her kids. ‘You can get another job, but you can’t get a life back. Quit whining and be thankful you’re not part of the death toll.’: Woman says ‘it’s okay to mourn and struggle with change’
“My heart broke. When did we decide it was okay to pit each other’s struggles against each other? When did we decide it was okay to compare each other’s grief?”
‘But, I wasted food,’ she sobbed as she knelt down to pick up the mess. I know those tears were more than just spilled Cheerios.’: Mom says to give children grace during quarantine, ‘They’re carrying a heavier load than they can balance’
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had a major spill in the house. But it’s the first time it hit so hard. Those tears were missed classmates and grandparents. An abrupt pause to her school year. Overhearing news stories not meant for innocent ears. Our children should not have to worry about rationing food. Our children should never even know they need to worry about food.”
‘I feel hideous and weak. I want it to end.’ Chemo was killing me.’: Stage 3 breast cancer survivor encourages others during pandemic, ‘You can find beauty, laughter, and joy’
“I don’t know how else to say it. I never once imagined my biggest life lessons would come while being bald and sick as my breast was slowly consumed by cancer. There will be life before and after the pandemic, and I believe the after will be sweeter.”
