Touching
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‘It is so unlikely, you have better odds at winning the lotto.’ Before the tests came back, I knew something was wrong.’: Twins battle Leukemia together, ‘I‘d be a liar if I said it gets easier, you just get better at dealing with it’
“We woke to my son crying and covered in vomit. The next day, his brother was the same and couldn’t keep anything down. We thought it was a stomach bug, but it kept happening. ‘Both your boys have leukemia.’ It felt like being stuck in some kind of messed up Groundhog Day where all your nightmares are real. I felt helpless.”
‘I was 14 and pregnant. ‘Would you be willing to meet?’ 9 years after she was born, my birth daughter’s family encouraged her to hug me. I didn’t want to let go.’: Woman shares perspective as an adopted child, birth mom, and adoptive mom
“I chose an amazing woman to be the mother of the child I birthed. And yet, I no longer knew how to approach her. Nine years after placing my daughter the adoption agency called me with news that would change the rest of my life. My birth daughter’s family had contacted them to see if I would be willing to meet.”
‘I’m tired or vibrant. I’m drinking water or in the drive-thru with a Coke. I wake with the sun and get everything done or I’m coasting till bedtime.’: Woman admits ‘I often wake up wondering which side of the line I’ll fall on today’
“I’m either an hour into the elliptical or I’m halfway through a bag of Doritos. I’m either a mom with a bath/book/bedtime routine, or a mom locked in the bathroom hoping they’ll soon fall asleep. I’m always thinking of all the good things, or sometimes it’s just pure worry. I often wake up wondering which side of the line I’ll fall on today.”
‘He’s a different kind of boy. He watches musicals, not football. He’s a rule follower, almost to a fault. He’s not ‘boy’ enough for the boys, and not ‘girl’ enough for the girls.’: Mom’s plea to teach kindness to our kids, ‘All differences should be valued’
“He is sensitive and shy. The misbehavior associated with ‘boys being boys’ does not apply to him. He finishes library books in 2 days and eats his lunch in order of healthiest to least healthy. His punctuality is constant and profound. Yet another day he came home, reduced to tears after no one wanted to be in a group with him during gym class. Another day he bows his head, in fear he will be mocked.”
‘If I could go back, I would never put you down. I’d enjoy the cuddles, even at 3 a.m. I’d study your little fingers and toes, and soak it all in.’: Mom urges ‘cherish every moment’ with your newborns, ‘You will never get the chance again’
“When I was pregnant, everyone said to me, ‘Enjoy every moment. It goes by so fast.’ I wish I could go back and re-do the first few weeks with my firstborn. I would cherish every moment. It feels like just yesterday you entered this world, but now, it’s a distant memory.”
‘Your little brother is being life flighted. I don’t know what happened, but it seems your father hurt him.’: Woman adopts sisters from foster care after father jailed for killing 5-year-old brother
“I was sitting at my desk when I received the call that destroyed my life. I hopped on a red-eye flight. 36 hours later, we were told, ‘He has no brain activity. He won’t survive without the assistance of machines.’ I never got to say goodbye, I never got to say how sorry I was. ‘The state has decided to place your sisters into emergency foster care.’ And just like that, my life changed. I went from being a single military mom to a 6-year-old, to pursuing adoption to become the legal mother of my own siblings.”
‘5 months after my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, I felt a soft lump in one breast. ‘It’s not cancer,’ the doctor assured me. I believed her.’: Mom diagnosed with breast cancer 5 months after daughter’s leukemia
“All throughout her treatment, I asked, ‘Why her and not me?’ Well, someone was listening. It wasn’t until she finished treatment, I took some time for myself. I felt a soft lump in my breast. I knew it was cancer. ‘Whatever happens, please stay positive.’ My daughter with leukemia was ready to take the lead and help me.”
‘I’ve loved my ex for 5 years.’ I was in the toilet, vomiting. I watched the father of my 3 kids die right in front of me.’: 40-year-old woman finds happy ending after infidelity, ‘Love will find you in the hardest of times’
“My biological father was a serial philanderer. I used to tell my husband, ‘You ever cheat on me, it will be the last time.’ Little did I know, 18 years later, I’d be left with 3 kids while he was out joyriding in my car with the another woman. ‘Well, don’t you think it’s too soon?’ In the chaos of my marriage ending, I never thought I’d fall in love with my best friend’s brother. When I give my heart to someone, I give it.”
‘We cry in the car until we can’t breathe. We suck it up, smile. We hug our babies tight, because we could never imagine someone beating them repeatedly.’: Woman shares harsh reality of social work, ‘Next time you see a social worker, tell them thank you’
“‘All social workers are is baby snatchers.’ It’s dealing with the 5-month pregnant momma who just relapsed on meth. It’s talking to the girl molested from ages 3-15. It’s losing your client to suicide. Listening to the 17-year-old who was kicked out and has nowhere to live, or the widow who lost her husband of 50 years and doesn’t know how to live again. It’s crying when your client finally says, ‘I am beautiful, I am loved, I am enough.'”
‘I was suddenly watching her monitor flat-line. Countless nurses rushed to save her. It happened 20 times that day.’: Mother shares traumatic process diagnosing daughter with Adrenal Insufficiency
“I never planned to be a medical expert, or to have to inject my daughter to save her life. Ten times I’ve swallowed back tears while holding my limp child in my arms; remembering each step to prepare the syringe; taking a deep breath as I jab it into her thigh; praying she will jolt awake, open her eyes, and come back to life.”
