“They told me, ‘She’ll grow out of these issues.’ If they didn’t see the potential in our daughter we weren’t having it. She fought like CRAZY to be here, and we weren’t giving up because of a piece of paper.”
‘What does this mean for her?’ I asked. ‘You can Google it.’ I was HYSTERICAL. But we didn’t give up.’: Woman becomes advocate after daughter born with Trisomy 18, ‘She makes this world a better place’
‘She said, ‘I am a girl in my heart and brain.’ She had to be physically restrained for haircuts. I felt guilty.’: Mom advocates for transgender daughter, ‘She blossomed before our eyes’
“‘YOU made her this way!’ Dempsey had a strong interest in princesses and sparkly trinkets. She’d put fashion pajama pants on her head to simulate long hair.”
‘He’ll have severe disabilities.’ Each smile is priceless. We have an even greater appreciation for the ‘little things.’: Mom advocates for son with undiagnosed condition, ‘He’s one of a kind’
“Our 6-week-old son lay in a hospital bed next to us, all hooked up. The prognosis was grim. Watching your child have seizure after seizure, knowing there’s nothing you can do, is gut-wrenching. He might not understand what’s happening, but he’s so strong.”
‘Please don’t die,’ I said to myself. The doctors were PUZZLED. I felt trapped in my body, scared of what each day would bring.’: Chronic illness warrior fights for answers, ‘I will overcome’
“My symptoms weren’t just asthma. It was something more. ‘You’re too young to be sick. You just have anxiety.’ I felt stuck at a standstill with my health. I am determined to get answers.”
‘If you don’t like me because of my hands, your loss.’ Our differences make us unique. We’re enough just the way we are.’: Best friends advocate for limb differences, ‘You’re perfectly made’
“Never seeing anyone else like you can feel isolating. Most of my life, I’d carry a jacket over my arm, even in hot summer months. I didn’t want to acknowledge I was different. Now, I’m proud.”
‘This isn’t living. It’s merely surviving.’ I was totally bed-bound. I was a shadow of the person I used to be.’: Woman with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome says ‘I appreciate every single second’
“The apartment above mine had a leak. My bedroom was full of black mold. They ‘cleaned’ it by painting over it. I gave up. 2 months later, I couldn’t get out of bed. I desperately searched for answers.”
‘Everything looked normal to the surgeon.’ I felt helpless. My fight to find what was wrong was nowhere near over.’: Woman finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, ‘Be your own advocate’
“I woke up in the recovery room. ‘Did they find anything?’ My heart broke when the tests came back clear. I’d been relying on this surgery to give me answers. My body was struggling.”
‘Hey look, it’s Two-Face!’ I’d come to school with purple burn dots. I felt like I was going through the pain for others.’: Woman with Sturge Weber Syndrome becomes advocate, ‘We aren’t scary monsters or villains’
“I was held down, screaming for them to stop. With each snap, a dot was burned onto the skin to break up the blood vessels of the birthmark. It was then I walked away from the world of wanting to look like everyone else.”
‘She patted my tummy. ‘Thanksgiving wasn’t good for you… too much turkey.’ I was confused. What was wrong with my body?’: Dancer becomes body positive advocate, ‘I want to be the change’
“I’d eat lunch and sneak off to be sick. I was ashamed even with all the dance and exercise, it didn’t help. I was fat. ‘Your body is wrong for dance.’ I didn’t fight back.”
‘You need to wait it out.’ I thought accepting my illness meant I was giving up. It wasn’t really living. I was simply existing.’: Chronic illness warrior says ‘romanticizing my life set me free’
“I’d leave in the middle of class to throw up in the bathroom. I’d lay on the floor during lectures just so I wouldn’t pass out. I woke up choking on my own saliva. It was the hardest time of my life.”
