“I woke up that morning and I just felt this bad feeling. I felt a searing pain. I remember dropping to my knees, the cat taking off, and my bag going flying. As darkness was taking over, I felt my body being flipped around. The last thing I saw before everything went black were C’s eyes looking down at me. It was my own personal horror story.”
‘Something hard cracked over the back of my head. I could feel his fingers on my neck, checking for a pulse to see if he’d just committed murder.’: After surviving domestic abuse woman says ‘don’t stand by in silence’
‘He forgets appointments. He never knows the party dates and doesn’t feed him as I would. But our son lights up because daddy is ALWAYS there.’: Divorced couple learns to co-parent ‘to the level our son DESERVES’
“We were oil and vinegar 75% of the day, every single day, for the vast majority of our 14 years together. Many would say, ‘None of that is your problem. You shouldn’t have to work around that.’ He still often needs to be handled with grace, even if I don’t feel like he deserves it.”
‘My ex sat me down on the couch and said, ‘I will never be able to love you for the way you look.’ He stood up and left, forever.’: Woman describes her journey to ‘love myself fully again’
“That day broke me. Not because my boyfriend left, not because of the things he said. But because in one moment, I lost the dearest, most precious thing any of us have – I lost myself. I moved cities, countries, and even continents. It’s been 3 months and 3 years since he took my love away.”
‘I cried in my car for an hour today. I think, ‘I have NO idea why I became a nurse.’ I am dispensable…just a number on payroll EASILY replaced.’: Nurse says ‘remember no one’s out here taking care of me’
“I’ve been up since 3 in the morning. I was tired, and then got yelled at first thing. No matter how hard you work…how many hours you put in…it never seems to be enough. And it hurts. Today, I really can’t tell you why I’m a nurse.”
‘I went from trying to plan a visit to our son’s birth mom in prison, to reassuring her, ‘Everything will be okay.’ She is still a mom. And she’s hurting.’: Foster mom reminds us not to forget about those in prison, ‘A hard life just got harder’
“‘Is it really that bad out there?’ t’s not a population we think of to feel ‘sorry’ for. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have worried about our incarcerated population during this time. In fact, I would’ve assumed it was for the best. Everything changed when I took the time to reach out and get to know someone different than me.”
‘Ms. Kinsley, we’re gonna get you cleaned up now.’ It was time to turn off her machine. My husband leaned in to hug them, tears streaming down his face.’ Woman thanks nurses and doctors for their ‘selflessness’ during daughter’s final moments
“There were three nurses for my daughter 24 hours a day. When the time came for us to turn off the machine, the nurses braided her hair and put a blue bow in it. Never once did they act like we were bothering them. They watched us come in, crying over her, knowing these would be the last moments we would have with our baby girl.”
‘Why bother with contraception? You’ll never have children anyway.’ I wanted to give up.’: Young woman overcomes depression from PCOS, acne, ‘I keep blooming every day’
“I remember the distress I felt. ‘Why is my hard work not paying off?’ I just wanted to give up and hide from the world. I thought I wasn’t worthy of love. I mean, who could possibly love such an ugly face? At my lowest point, I met a boy. He made me realize I was so much more.”
‘We won’t get to take fireball shots together when she turns 21. She’ll never get to drive the red jeep with no doors that she wanted. We were robbed.’: After losing daughter to flu, mom is reminded that ‘love is permanent’
“Disney released Frozen 2 early due to the quarantine. This was the first and last movie we saw in the movie theater with her. I can remember the girls playing that movie on repeat. I always thought she was just like Anna. I will have this pain in my heart for the rest of my life.”
‘I was 18 and so woven into the mind games I thought was ‘love.’ I couldn’t let go, no matter what I was put through.’: Woman emphasizes importance of self-love after abuse, ‘Learn to give yourself space to grow’
“I entered into the real world of adulthood without the slightest clue of what a healthy relationship looked or felt like. I was searching for that love I could create a life and family with, to make up for the experience I never had as a child. The first bite, that first taste. I all but derailed my entire life in my naivety.”
‘He didn’t pass his mandatory newborn screening.’ I was angry we hadn’t gotten the child we’d planned for. Woman gives birth to son with Waardenburg syndrome, ‘he teaches you more than you ever imagined’
“We were told, ‘Bring him back in a few weeks to re-test.’ When Cooper was diagnosed as deaf, I was pissed. I refused to even say the word for a few weeks. I hated it, as if hating a word have any effect on what we were going through. Now I don’t see it when I look at him. I see my perfect, perfect baby.”
