“How could this be happening? How could we possibly be expecting TWO more babies just 4 MONTHS after the birth of our son? But it was. It was a punch in a gut. The kind of news that took your breath away.”
‘She turned the screen towards us. ‘Here is baby number 1, here is baby number 2…’ ‘PLEASE STOP COUNTING!,’ is all I could manage to say. The room fell quiet.’
‘None of them had seen a case like Dominic’s. The amount of birthmarks was shocking.’: Mom gives birth to son with rare skin condition
“I willed my legs awake from the spinal tap, like Uma Thurman in ‘Kill Bill,’ and then I physically dragged myself from my bed to a wheelchair to see him. I demanded a nurse take me to him. He was blue, his skin covered with deep purple spots. He wasn’t crying. The whole room was especially quiet. They had no clue what was going on with his skin.”
‘Maybe she hasn’t discovered her left arm yet?’ My baby was only using her right hand. Something was ‘wrong’ with my perfect, healthy girl.’: Daughter’s Hemorrhagic Stroke misdiagnosed for months, mom ‘beyond proud’ of her despite disabilities
“At her 6-month checkup, the pediatrician casually asked, ‘Does she switch toys back and forth between both hands?’ When I answered no, she said, ‘Oh no. This really isn’t normal.’ In the center of her brain was a burst vessel. This was both shocking and devastating. We were done waiting for her to ‘discover’ her arm. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This was not in my plans, at all.”
‘YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS.’ I decided enough was enough. Now, I was really scared. Here I am, 19 years old, with a kid – a special needs kid at that – and totally alone.’
“I go to check on Jason before bed. I find him – twitching and unresponsive. I run downstairs, yelling at my dad to call 911. Little did we know, he wouldn’t make it back for his last week of school.”
‘Flashing lights would induce a seizure causing them to fall and possibly suffer life altering damage to themselves.’ Mom creates Sensory Sensitive Trick-or-Treating after growing up in foster care watching kids ‘struggle’
“While I understand Halloween is about fear, and scaring, the night itself is very exclusive to a certain demographic of children.”
‘At 13, I arrived at the hospital to be drug tested. ‘Is there any chance you could be pregnant?’ I SOBBED.’: Young girl discovers pregnancy after ‘downward spiral’
“Attending 8th grade with terrible morning sickness was especially challenging. The rumors started. I began receiving notes. ‘I heard you’re pregnant. Is it true?!’ I was advised to have an abortion by everyone, except my mom. Even after sneaking out, stealing her car, skipping school, alcohol and drugs, she NEVER gave up on me. I was 14 when I gave birth. It’s not every day you’re sitting in a waiting room with a 14-year-old mom, with her baby’s oxygen tank on her back.”
‘You can tell me to screw off BUT it’s pouring, my daughter was supposed to have senior pictures outside. She’s in a wheelchair; can we come inside and take some pics?’: Family blown away by Starbucks employee’s act of kindness
“After getting inside we were greeted with hot chocolates (made with soy milk because they were unsure of allergies… who thinks that far into it?”
‘People don’t understand how important it is to NOT park on the blue/yellow lines’: Mother of child with special needs urges others to respect handicap parking rules
“We run into the issue of someone parking in the blue lines or placing their shopping cart on the lines and blocking our ramp about 1-2 times per week.”
‘She kept saying: Come on Ms. Helma! You can do it!’ Teacher CARRIES student with cerebral palsy on her back during class hike on camping trip
“She was encouraging me! Giving me little neck massages when she saw I was struggling. She made up songs for us to sing. She sang a song when I was really sweating.”
‘I was 95% sure I was making a mistake that would forever affect my family’: Adoptive mom’s heartfelt admission of taking in a ‘high needs child’
“He was given the prognosis of ‘probably never being able to walk, talk, or become a productive member of society.’ What does that even mean? I can’t think of a fate worse than those cold words.”
