“John was up all night vomiting. ‘Babe, I need you to come back. This is very serious.’ He thought it was something he ate, but I knew it was more. He grabbed my hands. ‘I don’t want to die.’ His face was unrecognizeable. My husband had been cleared to work by doctors, and now he was fighting for his life. My mind went into overdrive.”
‘Just marry me already.’ His body was falling apart. Sadly, that day would never come.’: Veteran dies of ‘hospital malpractice,’ 5 aneurysms, ‘no veteran should experience this’
‘I had a stroke at 28 years old. Everyone assumed I was dehydrated or passed out. Soon enough, I was signing for my husband to take me off life support. Then reality hit.’
“We had a beautifully healed daughter. Our marriage was stronger than ever. That’s when everything changed, again. Words cannot describe how scared we were. We were again trying to hide our struggles behind fake smiles. That’s when they heard it.”
‘I blacked out and collapsed. ‘We’re taking your baby,’ I heard someone say. I woke up not knowing where I was. I tried to tell them I was in pain, but couldn’t talk.’
“I saw nurses running back and forth. My parents waited for the helicopter to land. ‘They have to do surgery right now or she’ll die.’ My husband pulled over, went behind a building, and cried. ‘How am I going to raise 4 kids alone?!’ My oldest son was too scared to touch me. ‘I’m scared I’m going to hurt you, mama.’”
‘We arrived at the hospital, mom had slipped into a coma. My phone rang, I was relieved to hear my husband’s voice: ‘It’s stage IV pancreatic cancer. I’ve got 6 months. I’m a dead man walking.’
“My knees hit the ground. I crawled toward my mother who had always been my source of strength. From beneath her hospital bed, I screamed, ‘Mom, I need your help! Wake up!”
