“I’d never taken the time to learn about myself. I had the mindset of ‘I’ll be happy when…’ But I wasn’t. I felt like my soul was dying. Everything came crashing down around me.”
‘Something feels off.’ I was deeply unhappy and didn’t understand why. I was sick of not feeling good in my skin.’: Woman shares mental health journey, ‘I’m choosing happiness’
‘My cheek was swollen. The doctor said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before. Your life expectancy is 6 years old.’: Woman gets Facial Infiltrating Lipomatosis diagnosis after 22-year battle
“We were told, ‘The swelling must be from the position she slept in. It’s nothing. It will go away soon.’ Weeks went by, but nothing changed. When puberty hit, my face was growing faster than I was. I had unexplainable headaches and nosebleeds. I was sleeping all day long. Everywhere I went, I got stares, whispers, and pointing fingers.”
‘I don’t know where you guys live, but where I am, there’s structure and a schedule. It’s flexible and resilient.’: Woman reminds others to ‘find happiness in what’s in front of us’
“I don’t have to set my alarm. My husband and I stay up late watching our favorite show. We’ll be staying at home until the summer.”
‘Donald, will you wash my hair?’ I sunk into the tub, defeated. He heard my desperate plea through the bathroom door.’: Woman urges ‘ask your spouses for help’ after husband’s act of kindness
“You know those kinds of days where everything that can go wrong does? Yesterday was that day. I’d gotten no sleep before the littles began stirring. The rest of the day was a blur of school lessons, cleaning, runs to multiple stores for ONE thing. Supper was a complete FAIL. I needed to wash my hair because, let’s face it, one can only use dry shampoo for so long, but I hadn’t any energy to muster for that daunting task. Then a thought silently crept across my mind: ‘Ask Donald.’ I had to lay my pride aside.”
‘You’re a murderer.’ ‘You obviously didn’t try hard enough.’ These are just a few of the hateful words that have been spoken about me.
“Being vulnerable shouldn’t be an opportunity to be shamed, ridiculed, or embarrassed.”
‘There is only one person who can convince me I’m a good mom.’
“You don’t know that sometimes I want to run away from my own family and just be alone for one single second.”
