“They told me, ‘She’ll grow out of these issues.’ If they didn’t see the potential in our daughter we weren’t having it. She fought like CRAZY to be here, and we weren’t giving up because of a piece of paper.”
‘What does this mean for her?’ I asked. ‘You can Google it.’ I was HYSTERICAL. But we didn’t give up.’: Woman becomes advocate after daughter born with Trisomy 18, ‘She makes this world a better place’
‘She said, ‘I am a girl in my heart and brain.’ She had to be physically restrained for haircuts. I felt guilty.’: Mom advocates for transgender daughter, ‘She blossomed before our eyes’
“‘YOU made her this way!’ Dempsey had a strong interest in princesses and sparkly trinkets. She’d put fashion pajama pants on her head to simulate long hair.”
‘Well, my daughter got constipated. For three days. And let me tell you, I did as much as Google could provide me to stimulate her bowels.’: New mom says the ‘excitement was SILLY’ when daughter finally poops
“We started to get anxious. I was ready for my own bed, I was worried about my cat, and I just in general do not enjoy the hospital. Tension was high and we finally made a choice to go to the store for formula.”
‘It’s not time!’ I thought I gave my baby a death sentence. But our little boy became a MIRACLE.’: Mom of 7 births baby with CDH and BPS, ‘His determination kept me going’
“The nurse told us, ‘We can help the heart patients, not the lung patients.’ The air was knocked out of me. I had to put my emotions aside. Nothing could stop him.”
‘I noticed a slender Black man standing on the corner. It was BEAUTIFUL. He said it was $15.’: Woman shares roadside encounter with kind stranger, ‘The world NEEDS art
“I had less than $5 on me. I told him I didn’t have any cash, but I was going to get some and come back. I’m sure people say it all the time when they ask the price and either can’t or don’t want to pay what he says. But I couldn’t—something inside me needed to and was telling me to go back.”
‘I have a problem! This is serious and I can’t stop.’ My organs felt like heavy rocks in my body. I knew my time was coming.’: Woman shares sobriety journey, ‘I’m hopeful for a new way of life’
“I was on my way to a swollen liver. I had to stop drinking or I would die. I weaned myself into sobriety with boxed red wine. I was just starting to scratch the surface.”
‘They told me, ‘It’s nothing to worry about. Every baby does this.’ She was turning BLUE. I knew this wasn’t normal.’: New mom births baby with congenital heart defect, ‘She makes me proud every day’
“I broke down crying, ‘Promise me she’s going to be okay.’ I didn’t think I’d be coming home with my daughter. I couldn’t understand how my 2-year-old was on life support. How I could breathe and she couldn’t?”
‘THIS is my wake up call. I took charge of my health once and for all. NO MORE dismissive doctors being the drivers of my journey.’: Chronic illness warrior advocates for herself, ‘I can only control my attitude’
“I never thought the ‘pesky problems’ would become an illness. I felt like I was going CRAZY. No one believed me! I can’t control my circumstances, but I CAN control how I handle them.”
‘I don’t want to be a man. And I don’t want to be a woman.’ I wanted to be free of the binary. Everything CLICKED’: Non-binary person shares self-discovery journey, ‘I’m finally at home in my body’
“Some nights, I’d cry and stare at the ceiling. I didn’t like looking at my chest in the mirror. I hated leaving the house. I felt forced to wear a mask every day. I wanted a world that reflected me, a rainbow world with limitless colors.”
‘You’re extremely complicated.’ My doctor apologized profusely. After a decade of being told it was in my head, my pain was real.’: Woman battles chronic illnesses, ‘I’m still here and still fighting’
“I was constantly told I was a hypochondriac. ’Just drink more water.’ But the pain didn’t go away. I looked in the mirror and realized just how sick I was. I barely recognized myself.”
