“The floodgates opened and all I could do was cry. I had gone over this conversation in my head a thousand times, but I couldn’t get a single word out. I had so many questions. Up until this point, I kept it a secret from my dad. I was afraid of him getting hurt.”
‘I got a call from a strange number. I immediately trembled. Inside I was screaming, ‘Answer the phone! It’s her!’ Then came a voice I’ve waited my whole life to hear. ‘Hello, is this Heather?’
‘I choked back tears when Travon told me, ‘You’re my big sister now!’ My earth shattered. These 3 brothers were home. It was all in front of me.’
“We got a call for three boys – ages 1, 3, and 4. They were brothers, and had been separated. ‘I’m glad you are not mean and never get mad. I was scared of foster parents, but not you. You never scream or cuss,’ the oldest said as my mom tucked him in. In their eyes, they were already a part of our family.”
‘Let’s go get our kids!’ We didn’t have a plan. One by one, they entered the room.’: Woman survives Route 91, Las Vegas Mass Shooting, adopts nieces, nephews in wake of siblings’ deaths
“‘It’s just fireworks.’ Reloading, shooting, reloading, shooting. I kept saying, ‘I shouldn’t be here, I have kids.’ A week later, the survivors planned a moment of silence at 10:04 p.m. I went outside, looked up at the stars. Suddenly, ash the took the sky. Our town was on fire. I’d just survived the worst mass shooting in American history, and we were now stuck in California’s deadliest wildfire.”
‘I vividly remember the crazy looks I got with my huge pregnant belly and a newborn baby draped across my chest. I would stare too. It’s an odd sight, and honestly something I never imagined for myself.’
“But, there I was, about to have 2 babies 3 months apart.”
‘The hospital had never seen anyone like him. They said he wouldn’t walk, he may even have fetal alcohol syndrome, but he needed a home, TODAY.’
“Child waiting in hospital for 2.5 months, can’t find placement. Has no femur bones and is medically fragile. We made our decision, but what would our friends and family think of us?”
‘How could I buy a house with a shared driveway next to a sister I didn’t even know I had?!’
“Oh my God, it’s her, Lance! Stella and I are jumping around and screaming, ‘It’s her! It’s her!’”
‘I snuggled my baby one last time and kissed him goodbye before placing him in the arms of his Mother, Kara.’ Woman documents selfless teen pregnancy journey
“I had to ensure my baby would have the best life I could give him.”
‘Our foster son came home with Family Tree homework. Seems innocent enough—until you have a kid whose tree has gone through a hurricane’
“Who are we? Are we family?”
She lifted her head and looked at me: ‘I hate foster care.’
“We packed her up, kissed her forehead, and watched as she left our home and lives forever. My eight year daughter lay in my arms, sobbing. ‘We’re never going to see her again.'”
