“I let down my guard, slammed with the sudden realization he is gone. My daughters stood on the edge of the balcony and watched as the world ended, watched as their parents begged to trade places with their little brother. He slipped away from us, down a spiral staircase, and fell into the pool.”
‘I only bought 2 backpacks instead of 3. I naively thought I was ready. But grief proved me wrong.’: Mom feels ‘paralyzed’ while back-to-school shopping after losing son to drowning accident
‘It was just a cold,’ I was told.’: Mother realizes ‘the world isn’t out to get us’ after suddenly losing baby daughter to bronchiolitis
“She was still groggy and her chest sounded raspy. It was agreed it was almost certainly bronchiolitis. This was completely routine and very common. The hospital consultant came in. But before he’d even had done much checking at all, Carrie became distressed. And then she arrested. And then she died. Just like that. And our lives broke.”
‘3 months after our son’s death, I was unexpectedly pregnant again. We couldn’t believe it. We couldn’t fathom having another child.’: Mom says she was ‘destroyed’ after SIDS loss, but newborn daughter ‘saved me’
“We stood in a field having our gender reveal photos taken. I was 17 weeks pregnant. We shared our announcement photos. A year later to the day, he was gone. We said that was it, we were done. But, 11 months after he left this earth, his sister was due to arrive.”
‘Our son’s entire 18 hours and 16 minutes of life, he was never alone. He was fiercely loved, deeply cherished, and widely celebrated.’: Mom turns loss of son’s ‘fleeting life’ to Trisomy 18 into ‘something of value’
“We were going to travel, tackle, and triumph over every inch of this world. I asked myself one very important question, ‘How can I transform my son’s fleeting life and too-soon death into something of value?’ I thought I lost the chance to have a great adventure with Cole when I lost him, but I think our great adventure together is really just beginning.”
‘Babe, are you serious?’ My wife’s body was shaking. She nodded, in tears. ‘You’re pregnant? Oh my Gosh!’: Father brought to tears after learning wife is pregnant 3 years after loss of twins
“‘Babe, babe,’ my wife whispered. She was holding a pregnancy test. ‘Is this a prank?,’ I thought. She placed her palm across her mouth. She nodded as my jaw dropped. ‘Yes, I’m really—,’ Before she could finish her sentence, I picked her up, spun her in circles while showering her with kisses. ‘Oh my Gosh,’ I repeated, at least 10 times.”
‘Mommy, is this baby going to die?’ It caught me off guard, as if the wind was knocked out of me.’: Mom eases daughter’s mind about this ‘healthy’ baby after losing her brother, sister in NICU as micropreemies
“I gently hugged my daughter. To be honest, it’s a question I’ve thought about daily for months. That’s the fear that comes with pregnancy after loss. I looked at her and smiled through tears. ‘She’s very healthy,’ I told my brave little girl. ‘That’s because Parker and Abby sent her to us,’ I said.”
‘I held his tiny hand. I knew what was coming. We made the heartbreaking decision and waited for the chaplain arrive.’: Parents ‘devastated’ over loss of son born with Down syndrome, congenital heart defects
“He waited for his dad and I to be able to hold him before he went. I held him as the nurses took the ventilator, with his daddy by his side. I was Saxon’s favorite place to be. I was his safe space. I believe with all my heart, he waited for me.”
‘Her 17-minute life was filled with nothing but love. Dads, you are allowed to cry, too.’: Couple shares ‘life-shattering’ moments their preemie daughter is born, dies in their arms
“He was on his knees at his wife’s bedside. Like a ton of bricks, it all caught up with him. He deflected his own grief to make sure everybody else was okay. But we all knew that deep down, this was tearing him up.”
‘You kids will be ok. I’ll be watching over you always.’ She promised to love our angel babies in heaven.’: After child loss, losing loved ones to cancer, woman gets rainbow baby only to be rushed into ‘emergency surgery’
“I felt so complete once my baby was in my arms, but unexpected tragedy struck again. This time, to me. After birth I was experiencing extreme back and chest pain. I thought it was just from breastfeeding and kept dismissing it. My gallbladder went haywire postpartum. My mom had to raise our miracle baby while I was fighting for my life. I couldn’t believe this was happening.”
‘I’m so sorry. He fell into the swimming pool.’ He was found with a blanket he would put over his head, and his little bicycle.’: Mom’s heartbreaking plea to use pool nets because ‘freak accidents happen’
“My car keys had been stolen, and while waiting for assistance, my mom was watching my 2-year-old son at our home. As we loaded our luggage into our car, my phone rang. It was my mom, weeping. My heart sank – I immediately knew Kaeden was harmed.”
