“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.”
‘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.’
‘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.’”
‘What are you doing in the boy’s bathroom? You look like a girl!’ The longer it got, the more judgemental others got.’: Boy grows hair to donate to kids in need, ‘Heart, not hair is what matters’
“‘That is such irresponsible parenting.’ He knew his own story. He knew the battles I’d faced when he was just a tiny little thing, and he wanted to help other families who were not as lucky as us. He had this big grin on his face when he touched the back of his head and felt his neck.”
‘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.”
‘I remember thinking, ‘Why is this happening, why me?’ I remember just lying on the couch after and bawling my eyes out. There were still so many unknown questions.’
“I said to the nurse, trying to get the words out, ‘Is she going to make it?’ The nurse told me, ‘Never give up hope and faith.’ All I could do was pray and say to myself, ‘I need to hear her cry. I need to hear her cry!'”
‘She was born with her umbilical chord around her neck, her face blue from lack of oxygen. She came into the world feet first. She always goes about things her own way, birth was no exception.’
“I had no idea what was happening, but I knew my mom was behind a cold, closed door that I wasn’t allowed to go through. I wish I could’ve held her hand – she needed it.”
‘She’s going to be amazing.’ Her birth mom asked for nothing, even though I would have given her ANYTHING. As much as Finley was a perfect fit for our family, so was Lex.’
“It felt unnatural. Sitting across from her, passing her the pen, I was scared to make eye-contact for fear I’d feel too much guilt. The tears streamed down our faces. She was willingly giving us the precious life she created, and we were promising her to cherish it.”
‘I didn’t get a date to our senior prom. I went instead with a gay classmate of mine. There was no one to shield me from the bullies.’: Woman details journey with cerebral palsy, aggressive ovarian cancer
“Every time a breeze blew by, I could see strands of hair falling to the ground. All I could do was sleep. Every time my brother tried to carry me, I would scream in pain. He rushed me to the nearest hospital, and I begged them to operate on me. The tumor burst inside of me and spread cancer cells all over.”
‘He went pale, stuttered and said, ‘Ma’am, one of your baby’s is in your birth canal, feet first.’ People started flying in. I begged him to give them more time.’: Mom’s son diagnosed with cerebral palsy is her ‘fighter’
“By the time the helicopter arrived, conditions were too dangerous. I assumed we would be rushed, lights blazing and sirens blasting to the next hospital. I kept asking when a doctor would get around to me. A resident finally came in. His face immediately gave him away.”
‘It was twins! In the back of my head though, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and our happy world to come tumbling down. It did, but not until later.’
“They were out of all other options. Phoenix was bleeding into his lungs, and they couldn’t figure out a way to stop it. The nurse was calling other hospitals to figure out an accurate dose of medical cocaine to administer. What?? This can’t be happening!”
