“Next thing I know, I’m in the doctor’s office with a positive pregnancy test and a little 10-weeks fetus flickering on the screen. I went to the gynecologist to find my IUD dangling from my cervix. In my heart, I knew this was something special.”
‘You can’t be pregnant…can you?’ I was an 18-year-old with an IUD in cancer remission. My chances after chemo were next to zero. ‘Of course not mom,’ I laughed.’: Teen mom births 1-pound miracle preemie after cancer, preeclampsia battle
‘Anthony was the ‘throw away child,’ in and out of foster care since 4 years old. I felt God calling on me: ‘He is yours.’: Family adopt teen stuck in foster care, ‘He’ll forever live in my heart’
“At 6 years old, his brother died of child abuse. He was separated from his sisters, adopted without him. People could not see the child he was going to become. They only saw the broken child. ‘Is he available for adoption?’ I was ready to be his mama.”
‘THEY CALLED A CODE BLUE!’ He started screaming and grabbing the sides of his head. ‘It hurts!’: 8-year-old survives AVM brain rupture, ‘He’s still a fighter’
“A text came through that said, ‘Get to the hospital now.’ I thought it was a typo. His dad carried his limp and lifeless body into the hospital. I was shaking and screaming. ‘No! Not my baby, not my Ricky.”
‘She’s been gone too long.’ It was a freak event during birth. She stopped breathing twice, turning grey.’: 2-day-old baby diagnosed with brain bleed, ‘She’s our big adventure’
“I knew something was wrong. A nurse came in and said Ellis had stopped breathing in the nursery twice. ‘She’s at high risk for significant developmental disabilities.’ He encouraged my husband and I to have a conversation about what to do if our baby didn’t wake up.”
‘You can do it. You’re Norah’s mom after all.’ Our future changed. The weight of the day was so heavy.’: Mom honors late daughter with nonprofit, ‘Where there’s grief, there’s hope’
“At night, the hospital halls became so quiet. We made beds out of chairs, cots, and window ledges. Hospital living and doctor offices became our new normal. But every moment was filled with love.”
‘Just unhook our boy, and let us hold him.’ The feeling is indescribable. Things became a blur.’: Woman has baby at 23 weeks, shares grief journey, ‘He’s our little superhero’
‘I woke up feeling off. When I wiped, there was blood. He arrived so tiny, so transparent. We were terrified. I couldn’t cope with being away from him.”
‘I stopped feeling the girls move. ‘We can’t find 3 of the heartbeats.’ I had to stay strong for my survivor.’: Teen mom births ‘warrior’ preemie quadruplet against all odds
“The doctor sat down and said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ Nurses flooded into the room. I was only 19. ‘I can’t lose my babies.'”
‘Why weren’t we told this sooner? Obviously they suspected brain bleeds. Why didn’t we know?’: Newborn suffers brain bleeds in-utero, defies all odds to survive, ‘he’s leaving a trail of middle fingers behind him for the naysayers’
“My husband arrived just seconds before the doctor said, ‘He is out!’ I was certain he had died. I couldn’t stop shaking while they stitched me up. But he was perfect, with a surprising amount of thick, dark hair. ‘There’s a high likelihood he’ll never walk or talk.’ They asked if we wanted to stop life-saving measures. We stood our ground. He’d be our ‘wayfinder.’ We trusted he’d tell us in his own way if things became too much, and it was time to stop fighting.”
‘Momma, I ‘dopted now!’ My son was bitten, strangled, and starved. He had 15 broken bones.’: Couple adopt Shaken Baby Syndrome survivor, ‘he was always ours, now we have the papers to say so’
“He was born just like any other baby. Until his biological mother or father had ‘shaken’ him. We were told he may never walk, talk, eat, see, or hear, and would have to be spoon fed for the rest of his life. People often ask why his skin is so dark. We get so many dirty looks. But we don’t care. We’re just so happy to give him a safe and loving home.”
‘Is it cancer?’ I had to tell my son, ‘I don’t know.’ There’s no treatment. We were told go home and live life.’: Twin brother suffers 2 brainstem strokes caused by a cavernous angioma, mom says it’s made her children ‘kinder, better’
“I had 3 happy, healthy, perfect kids. Until I didn’t. Zach called home from the school nurse with a headache. I followed our standard rule, ‘You aren’t throwing up, you don’t have a fever. Go back to class.’ For 2 days, he told me his eyes and ears felt weird. I told a friend, a nurse, that my son was holding his head funny. Within a minute she said, ‘You need to get him checked.’ I said, ‘Oh ok.’ Then she said, ‘I mean now.’”
