“The memories of this day with Avery will forever haunt me for a hundred reasons, but one of the biggest being I feel like I failed my children.”
‘This is a harrowing battle I’d never wish on anyone. We begin the (hopefully) last chapter.’: Grandma shares heartbreaking story of 7-week-old granddaughter’s cancer diagnosis
‘For two days, I was on the floor in tears from the pain. My body shouted so loudly I had to listen.’: Woman with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic illness shares mental health journey
“I spent my teenage years at the hospital, taking over-the-counter painkillers every day like they were sweets. I didn’t know how I would survive.”
‘An old high school friend messaged, ‘I only have a few days left to live.’ We hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years.’: Woman urges ‘tell your friends you love them’ after final days with dying friend
“I texted my partner, ‘Luke has only got days to live. Can we, by any chance, go and see him this weekend?’ We lived in completely different states. His immediate reply was, ‘ROADTRIP.’ We were going to take him anywhere he wanted to go.”
‘You’re just a dramatic teenager.’ I was brushed off and swept aside. Then I swallowed a bottle of Advil.’: Woman overcomes eating disorder and anxiety, ‘I use my suffering to grow’
“I set a goal to get ‘skinny’ for graduation. I was starving myself, but if anyone mentioned it, I’d become outraged. In my eyes, I was ‘finally taking care of myself’ and anyone who thought differently was just trying to tear me down.”
‘I became a jail wife overnight. I was judged and ridiculed for standing by a man who made a mistake.’: ‘Jail wife’ starts community to write letters to inmates, ‘I believe in second chances’
“Friends and family dropped off like dead flies. That’s when I decided I would become the jail wife who helps these inmates, not the cop-bashers wife who should hide with shame. We all make mistakes, these men or women were just caught.”
‘Food was for ‘growing boys.’ I would take an empty lunch box to school so I looked like I fit in.’: Woman overcomes lifetime of eating disorders, ‘I love me for me’
“I was a talented singer, but because of my looks, I was never picked for the lead. I wasn’t the pretty leading lady in Mary Poppins – I was a chimney sweep. One year, I was asked to sing for the lead role but stand in the wings out of sight, while another person acted.”
‘They’ve used their rest periods to help support our furry friends.’: Military steps in on their time off to help injured koalas in Australian bushfires
“You can see the koalas swaddled in blankets, many with mittens on due to their paw burns, clearly loving the attention the soldiers are able to give. This is a great morale boost for our hard working team.”
‘Owen was upset by the fires, so we wanted to provide an outlet for him to help.’: 6-year-old raises over $250,000 for australian wildfires making clay koalas
“Like so many of us, Owen was devastated when he heard of the Australian bushfires. He’s a huge animal lover and has been making clay characters for a while, so together we thought up the clay koala. We wish we could send one to everyone in the world.”
‘It’s just anxiety. It’s all in your head.’ I was on the floor, barely conscious. Something wasn’t right, and Ruby knew it.’: Woman diagnosed with POTS, genetic mutation with help from psychiatric service dog
“My dog Ruby was acting extremely odd towards me. I didn’t think anything of it. Then, paramedics arrived. By then, I was barely conscious, being rushed to the ER. I didn’t expect it: ‘The tests came back. It is life threatening and life expectancy is 38 years old.’ That hit me hard. I gave the doctor a nod and a quiet, ‘Okay.’ I was speechless. I didn’t know how to break the news to my fiancé.”
‘He looks like he’s sleeping, he looks peaceful.’ The police officer told us the divers found a boy’s body.’: Sister recalls baby brother’s tragic drowning, urges ‘you can never be prepared in this situation’
“We began frantically looking in the houseboat, in cupboards, under beds. I called out his name, begging him to stop playing games, hoping he was just playing hide ‘n’ seek. Looking over the river, it was so calm, but you couldn’t see a thing under the surface – it was just too murky. My mom came to the realization that my father needed to be called, to be told his son is missing. ‘It’s going to be okay; we are going to be okay,’ my mom repeated, trying to put on a brave face.”
