“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.”
‘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’
‘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.”
‘Her oxygen levels dropped. She had blisters and dark swirls all over her body. Ever seen a movie where someone gets devastating news and collapses down a wall? That was me.’
“After about 8 hours of not being able to get our 5-day old daughter to eat, we took her to the emergency room. ‘She’s fine,’ they told me again. I kissed my 2-year-old. ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m just going to go make sure your sister is okay.’”
‘Oh, she’s so cute!’ HIS hair was so silky and beautiful that I let it be. ‘That’s so irresponsible,’ the parent responded.’: Boy grows hair to donate to kids in need, mom says his ‘heart, not hair’ is what matters most
“He loved his hair, so I let it grow. What mattered to me was his heart, not looks. ‘What are you doing in the boy’s bathroom?’ ‘What would you like, sweetheart?’ For every uncomfortable comment, Morgan stood up for himself. ‘I’m a boy growing my hair to donate to children with medical issues.’ He just wanted to help other families.”
‘You don’t understand, they will never help your family.’ I was blown away. He was getting worse by the day. ‘I’ve never had an experience like this before,’ the crisis worker apologized.’
“On my way home I received the phone call. It was totally incoherent from all the screaming. I desperately tried to find out what was happening. It was my daughter. ‘It’s Josh,’ I finally heard through the screams.”
