Touching
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‘We’d finally decided to tie the knot. One year and 6 days later, he was dead. There were no warning signs, just a phone call telling me my husband – who I’d spoken to only hours ago – had died.’
“There was no accident, no cancer diagnosis, nothing amiss beyond what the doctors said was the flu.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘It isn’t fair, she couldn’t take care of us.’ These were the words spoken by one of my kiddos as they broke down at the news their biological sister would be returned to their birth mom.
“‘Will she be back?’ My heart broke. ‘No, she won’t be.’ They all just sat there. The greatest tragedy was the fact my oldest 3 were getting used to losing people they loved.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘We surprised mom and dad with someone they love. She wasn’t looking at him, but she was smiling. She was giggling. And then it happened – she started humming.’
“We were beside ourselves with the happiness he was bringing her and how she was letting him, and all of us know, she knew he was there. She knew who he was. We soaked it in, knowing it all may be fleeting.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘It’s been a long day. She doesn’t feel good. She is exhausted. And, do you know what she needs from you? She needs you to HUG HER.’
“It is not lost on me that, for you, it has been a long day too. But, you asked for this. You wanted this. You must have known this is what it would be like. So, why are you complaining?”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘He woke up in silence and called my name. It was his way of saying ‘goodbye.’ I made my way through the IV’s and monitors and laid next to my husband in the hospital bed.’
“When he was admitted into the hospital, I wanted to be there in the middle of the night if he needed me. One night, he did.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I am the mom with two dead daughters. If that sounds harsh- it should. It’s a harsh reality.’
“He may look like an only child- but I can assure you, he’s not. You may not be able to see all of us, but we’re here.”
By LJ Herman -
‘I boarded a plane in the early hours of the morning with nothing more than my 6-month-old and a duffel bag’ Mom documents beautiful and enduring autism journey
“While many people don’t see why his autism or other special needs have anything to do with this shoot, I think many will. This is him in his element.”
By LJ Herman -
‘I remember our first marital therapy session vividly. I sat separated from Ryan and the tension between us felt so strong. We were two hurting people only hurting each other.’
“I had so much I wanted to say to Ryan, many things that I had said to him before, but saying them in front of someone felt like they would be heard. But that day my heart ultimately exploded, literally, in the form of tears and anger.”
By LJ Herman -
‘I was 14 when I gave birth. It’s not every day you’re sitting in a waiting room with a 14-year-old mom, with her baby’s oxygen tank on her back.’
“I was a cheerleader, swimmer and honor roll student who attended church every week. On the outside I looked like your average kid.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I remember hearing my name. I was caught off guard because it was one the coolest boys in my grade. They came up to me and gave me a hug. The last one handed me a paper bag and said, ‘Man, you smell awful.’’
“When I looked in the paper bag my heart dropped when I saw coupons for soap and shampoo.”
By Eliza Murphy -
