“I got the phone call that would change our lives forever. ‘Her mother was found deceased this morning.’ We asked, ‘How would y’all feel if A.J. stayed with us forever?’ The two girls’ bond is like I have never seen. She doesn’t see A.J as ‘different,’ she just sees her baby sister. I don’t think any of us could imagine life without her.”
‘Out of left field, the man asked, ‘Ma’am, will she ever be normal?’ Fighting back tears, my 5-year-old climbed on A.J.’s wheelchair and look him straight in the eye.’: Woman adopts child with cerebral palsy, ‘Life has never felt more complete’
‘My husband divorced me after my baby was born. At 28, I had to move back in with my parents as a single, special needs mom.’: Mom to daughter with Cerebral Palsy finds new perspective on ‘true happiness’
“Emily was only 2 pounds. She was so small my husband’s wedding band fit around her tiny wrist. She was crying, but I could not hear her. It didn’t seem real. Quickly, I was told by nurses, ‘You cannot touch her.’ I felt helpless. With each day, it became more and more evident my marriage was not going to survive this horrific ordeal.”
‘This is it! I’m not going to make it. He’s going be raising our baby alone.’ I said goodbye to husband for the very last time.’: Mom survives preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, delivers micropreemie who defies odds, ‘She is a sassy fighter’
“A nurse held my hand and whispered a prayer in my ear. That’s the last thing I remember before falling asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was alone. I tried to lift my hands and feet but couldn’t – I was tied to the bed. I began to panic. I couldn’t rest until I laid eyes on my little miracle. She was kicking, flailing her arms. I touched her finger and she grabbed my finger with all her might. It was then I knew, not only would she, but WE, would be just fine.”
‘He was so nervous. From the darkness of the hallway comes a little curly haired boy, weary of all these people.’: Couple adopts twin survivors of shaken baby syndrome, loses son just 2 years shy of being in his ‘forever home’
“We heard about twin boys with Shaken Baby Syndrome. It was a super stormy morning, we ended up having to pull off the interstate. I was dying to get to them. Everyone held back tears as long as we could. Malakai was scared. He had no idea who we were. He’d hardly look at my husband. He passed away less than 6 hours after saying goodbye to his siblings. I still would have driven to a teeny tiny town in the pouring rain to pick he and his twin up to bring them to their forever home.”
‘You are so strong, little man. We love you.’ This 2-month-old had been brutally attacked by his dad.’: Military couple adopts ‘warrior’ shaken baby survivor, ‘He is a true testament that love conquers all’
“They admitted to feeling some sort of ‘reward’ at watching him lay lifeless. None of the abusers had any explanation. We were preparing for him to pass away. But then, something happened. We’ve been by his side, loving him. Finally the day came, termination of rights for parents – we thought it would never happen. This bittersweet day, we also learned just exactly why our son was so fragile.”
‘What the hell did you do!’ He looked at me. ‘You’ll likely be planing a funeral.’: Mom describes years of ‘medical issues’ with son, but he still ‘beats all odds’
“’We did find a few things wrong.’ They rushed him into emergency surgery. ‘There’s something wrong with the baby’s heart.’ Once again, we were faced with the possibility of not bringing him home. Once again, he beat all the odds and baffled all the doctors.”
‘At 8 months old, a common cold became too much for our daughter’s heart. She stopped breathing in her daddy’s arms.’ Daughter’s harrowing journey of survival after cardiac arrest
“We listed our daughter understanding a heart may not come in time to save her. Love and hope helped us to live through those days of uncertainty. Four months later, our gift of life came.”
‘When he turned a year old, he couldn’t sit up. He didn’t play with toys. He was essentially a newborn. He kept his left hand clenched, and his entire left side was tight.’
“I’ll never forget the words he said. ‘Knowing what his brain looks like, I can’t believe he is talking like this.’ I went to my car and cried. I cried tears of joy and tears of relief. And if I’m being honest, a few tears of fear. By early May, it was confirmed.”
‘I got pregnant too early in my relationship. I went home on my lunch break, positive test in my pocket. I was terrified to hand it over to him, but knew I had to. What were we going to do?’
“I started feeling ‘off’. I burst into tears. Everyone insisted I was just anxious. All I could do was pray my blood pressure went down, and my placenta hung in there. 30 seconds into my scheduled ultrasound, my doctor told me she was taking me to the operating room.”
‘I received a random card with a note. ‘I pray for you every day.’ My job is very hard to do. People don’t understand that. Special education is a totally different ball game.’
“My students come into the classroom yelling, hitting, kicking, and screaming. Many people assume we do the work for our kids because they think they can’t do it themselves. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of classroom.”
