“My tears soak the sleeve of her sweatshirt. A sharp, strong pain runs through my chest. For the past 19 years, I have watched him swallow hundreds of thousands of pills. ‘What if Matthew gets sicker? How much time does he have?’ I finally decided I was tired of watching. Life gave me the greatest gift of all: a brother. I will stand hand-in-hand beside him in this fight.”
‘What if Matthew doesn’t come home this time?’ I watch him struggle to breathe. I gasp for air, screaming as my mother holds my shaking body.’: Sister advocates for brother battling Cystic Fibrosis, ‘I will stand beside him in this fight, forever’
‘Telling her ‘he is gone’ was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. She has no siblings anymore. Just a big pile of heartache.’: Mom has to tell daughter her brother is dead due to opioid crisis
“John absolutely adored his sister. He was fine with people thinking that this beautiful blonde, this older woman, was his date – he would go out of his way to ham it up for whoever was commenting. ‘Come to me darling,’ I can hear him say. His eyes twinkling with glee. He would protect her. He just loved being with her.”
‘Oh thank God, one surgery and he’ll be back to normal.’ My dad was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. He was going to survive, no doubt in my mind.’: Daughter reflects on holidays without your dad
”A feeling came over me that my dad would not pass away if I was there. I was his little girl and he was my hero. 15 minutes later, he was gone. The first Christmas without my dad, I remember thinking, ‘Just smile.’ I also carried a water bottle with me everywhere, because my dad had once told me as a child, ‘if you drink water, you will calm down and not cry.”
‘Your meal’s already been covered.’ I don’t have the right words. I teared up.’: Stranger’s act of kindness for mom-of-3 at Cracker Barrel came when she needed it most, ‘my brother was killed on his way home for Thanksgiving’
“At the end of our meal, our server brought us a to-go box and said 5 words with a smile that hit me hard: ‘Your meal’s already been covered.’ Here’s what no one could have possibly seen: Today, 4 years ago, my little brother lived his last day in this world. Today was a ‘Just make it through’ kind of day. Until this moment.”
‘Honey what’s wrong?!’ He started crying. ‘Nick passed away.’ I could see his pain.’: Brother-in-law’s sudden passing brings family together closer than ever, ‘I’m here, bud’
“It was time for Nick’s body to be taken away. Ryan and I hadn’t yet told the kids. In a choked up voice, he broke the news. I held Fayth and Noah. We sat there and cried in silence. His dad put his hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m here, bud.’”
‘If anyone knows how to get in touch with Tom’s family, call the police. Tom passed away at a party.’: Sister discovers brother died of heroin overdose in random social media post, ‘There it was’
“After putting the pizza in the oven, I checked my phone to see if the babysitter had texted me. No text, so I decided to scroll Facebook for a minute or two. There it was. A simple post. It couldn’t be true. My heart started beating. Immediately I called my dad, but no answer.”
‘What do you mean we’re siblings?!’ We’d been dating for months, loved each other. We had NO IDEA.’: DNA test reveals couple adopted by separate famlies are related, now navigating ‘unique trauma’ together
“Me. Him. Same parents? That makes us…what? No. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Imagine having to break the news to your boyfriend that hey, I might be your sister. Actually, I am your sister. 100%. You know those awful bio parents of ours that totally kicked us to the curb? Yeah. They’re actually the same ones! We went from strangers, to lovers, to siblings, to strangers.”
‘My son sat on the sidelines, on hospital floors, watching his sister deteriorate. HE suffered, silently.’: Mom praises son for being ‘unsung hero’ during little sister’s battle with Ewing’s Sacroma
“At 10, Gabriel was thrust into a world of hospitals, procedures, and more pain fathomable. He watched his sister get all the affection, attention, and gifts. He lay on hospital floors next to her, hardly able to sleep, then awoke for school in the early mornings. He watched her deteriorate, not being able to help his sissy, not expressing his feelings…keeping it all inside.”
‘I should’ve aborted you when I had the chance.’ Her last words to me. Just like that, a weight had been lifted.’: Woman thanks narcissistic mother, ‘I wouldn’t be this strong without the pain she made me feel’
“I entered a self-portrait competition at school at age 8. I was so excited, I dug out my best coloring pens. ‘I don’t know why you’re bothering, it looks nothing like you. You’re never going to win,’ my mother said. These words hit hard, but I entered it anyway. Deep down, I wanted to prove her wrong. When I won, she shrugged her shoulders. ‘They probably just felt sorry for you.’”
‘I lost my baby brother to an overdose. My best friend, my 6-foot, green eyed, blonde haired brother.’: Sister describes agony of losing her ‘best friend’ brother after he was sober for a year, ‘I’d give anything to have him back’
“My brother knew he had a problem. He hated it. He hated it so much he stopped it all and moved back home right beside my mom. He told her he wanted to be closer to his family. That he felt so lost without us. He had such a big, kind heart. SO forgiving. Too forgiving. A month before he overdosed, he was baptized. He died with his Bible open right next to him.”
