“Friends would talk about how cute he was going to be. It was painful to hear family talk about his height or what sports he’d play. I knew there was a possibility we weren’t going to experience it.”
‘His arms and legs, are they there?’ I couldn’t look at his picture.’: Mom says son with limb differences is ‘exactly who he is supposed to be’
‘He said, ‘Mommy sad.’ We wouldn’t see our son again. The truth was, he was never ours.’: Child abuse survivor advocates for foster son ‘no matter the cost’
“I sat on my knees in front of our worker, begging her to allow my kids to say goodbye. She finally said yes. I watched them walk him to the car and as soon as I closed the door, I fell to the floor.”
‘Numbness consumed my whole left side. ‘You’re tying your boots too tight.’ The next thing I knew, I collapsed.’: Navy Ordinanceman battles MS during leave, ‘Be the person you need to be’
“I couldn’t move nor feel the entire left side of my face. I chewed a hole on the inside of my cheek due to no feeling. Looking at my mom and sisters’ faces filled with tears, I knew it wasn’t good.”
‘As I was thinking about how wonderful life was, my head slammed into the steering wheel. My final summer was gone.’: Teen suffers brain injury, graduates college, ‘Always have hope’
“I was the girl in the neck brace. ‘Just give it time,’ they repeated. My memory betrayed me, forgetting class times, notes, names. Every day, I woke up with a headache. Doctors warned me graduating was unlikely.”
‘Brain swelling? 3 days ago, he had a COLD!’ He was pale and slightly blue. HOW did we get HERE?’: Woman learns how to ‘advocate like a mother’ through son’s rare epilepsy diagnosis
“We woke to what we thought was Matty snoring. Something didn’t sound right. The next few hours would consist of teams of doctors coming in and out of our room with solemn faces and stumped expressions. I ugly sobbed.”
‘We have no excuse.’ We took in a 4-day-old baby who’d been exposed to drugs. I had NO idea of her needs.’: Couple celebrates foster daughter’s reunification, ‘It doesn’t mean goodbye’
“We don’t have kids and we have extra bedrooms.’ She arrived tiny and precious. We had no idea what her needs might look like. It was beautiful and hard at the same time. ”
‘I worked 9-5 trying to hide the pain. My job still let me go. I realized just how sick I was.’: Woman gets masters degree despite mystery chronic illness
“I was experiencing odd symptoms, such as chest pain, sweating, and tingling in my limbs. Yet, I had no diagnosis.”
‘My doctor was disinterested in my health. ‘It’s a circus people disease. You don’t have it.’ I felt defeated.’: Woman diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos, ‘I’m thankful for those who’ve stood by me’’
“Overnight, I woke up ill. I was met with disbelief and put-downs. ‘Girls your age struggle with anxiety.’ I struggled to walk up stairs. I would wake up from a full night’s sleep and need to go back to bed an hour later.”
‘Some curves don’t need to be flattened.’: Woman urges ‘you are not a before, you are not an after, you are a right now’
“Countless nights I prayed. Countless nights I spoke to the air hoping someone was listening, and I would wake up and not be me. I wanted so badly to fit the mold.”
‘Why isn’t he growing right? I’d never seen a baby so small. They painted a bleak and miserable life for my son.’: Woman births baby with Prader Willi Syndrome, ‘I refuse to let it define him’
“He had tubes all over his body and when they put him on my chest, I barely felt the weight of him. I was faced with a baby labeled ‘Failure to Thrive.’ He looked strange to me. He was unlike any other baby I had ever seen.”
