“Christopher is 7 years old and cannot sit on his own without falling over. He can’t walk and uses a wheelchair. He hasn’t had food orally for over 5 years, and is fed with a GJ tube. He has never told me he loves me, or said a single word. And I have learned that even without words, his story is going to be a beautiful one.”
‘The neurologist called. ‘I’m 90% sure your son has Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation. Do not google it.’: Special needs mom urges, ‘Life can be beautiful, even when it doesn’t go as planned’
‘I was alone in a dark delivery room. My husband called out, ‘Jill?’ His tone told me to brace myself.’: Mom births baby with Down syndrome, ‘She’s absolutely perfect’
“I had every negative thought you can think of. ‘Will she be okay? Will our lives revolve around hospital visits now?’ The little girl I envisioned was fading away.”
‘We hid under the guise of ‘best friends.’ Suspicious, my roommates logged onto my Facebook. They exposed our romantic messages to mutual friends and strangers.’: LGBTQ+ woman details brave ‘coming out’ journey
“That night, while on our big red couch in our cozy den, my mom turned to me and asked, ‘Kaila, are you gay?’ I spilled my heart out. She didn’t interrupt. She didn’t insert her feelings or her worries. She simply listened, and assured me how much she loves me.”
‘They held her eyes open with metal prongs. ‘Your little girl is blind.’ I had to protect her.’: Mom gives birth to 2 albino babies, ‘They were meant to do this together’
“Everywhere we went, people pointed. ’Ew, what’s wrong with her eyes?’ I’d come home angry at the world. ‘I’ll just bubblewrap her and keep her by my side forever.’ She made her own path.”
‘If I lose 10 more pounds, I’ll be happy.’ I had a postpartum body to ‘fix.’ I was terrified of getting fat.’: Mom overcomes postpartum depression and eating disorder, ‘Change is possible’
“I blamed myself for not being like other moms who had it all together. I would halt a workout and walk out of the gym if I spotted a fitter girl. It drove me into a pit of despair.”
‘There’s something I want to tell you. My partner is female.’ When I finally pressed send, I felt the world stop.’: Woman in same-sex marriage urges ‘be true to yourself’
“As I posted photos of us together, more questions came my way. I didn’t have anything to hide. On National Coming Out Day, I texted my dad. ‘In a perfect world, you could be happy for me.’ I was freed.”
‘I remember the bomb going off and the leg shrapnel. 17 years later, more doctors. ’PLEASE, I don’t want to worry anymore.’: Vet survives war injury, melanoma
“I was talking to a doctor once again. This time it was different. I worried about my kids and the orphans. ‘We want to send you a check.’ The joy those words brought was indescribable.”
‘Does it REALLY matter if she wears the d*mn earmuffs to school? NO, obviously not.’: Mom urges acceptance of quirks in kids, ‘One day I’ll miss these moments’
“Leopard earmuffs, too big. Take them away and distract with a princess poppy doll. That’s when I see it. A kid walking into school with a mask on.”
‘How are you supposed to bring this baby into the world without his dad? We’ve never experienced something like this before.’: Pandemic mom shares plea for patience
“Please do not complain about having to wear a mask around my baby. YOU DO NOT KNOW unless you’ve had a pandemic baby.”
‘No human needs to walk around trying their absolute best all the time. Sometimes trying your best is just too tall of an order.’: Mom urges compassion for everyone
“We take in a million messages putting us into good old-fashioned fight or flight. It’s legitimately exhausting. I do not have a drop of ‘trying my best’ left in me.”
