“I grieved my diagnosis, the loss of my breasts. I cried when I shaved my head. I worried as I read the statistics. I thought I’d already had my share of adventure in life.”
‘When I figured I’d get cancer at some point, I meant after age 50. I worried the best years of my life had passed.’: Breast cancer warrior urges other survivors ‘life is still a beautiful adventure’
‘I was 19, pregnant. ‘Your baby is missing arms and legs. I’m only seeing 2 toes and a partial foot.’ I thought it was some cruel joke.’: Teen mom births baby with phocomelia, ‘He beat all the odds’
“Evan was whisked away immediately after birth. My stepmother grabbed my mother and left the room. Both were visibly shaken. I overheard them in the hall: ‘You’ve got to get it together. They need us now more than ever!’ The doctor entered. ‘Ms. Sanchez, there is a problem. Your son’s spine is severely twisted and growing out of the side of his back. If this continues, it will pull his ribcage into his heart and kill him.’ I was devastated.”
‘Daniel may have trouble fathering children. He had a botched surgery when he was very young. As 18-year-olds, we didn’t grasp the seriousness of his male infertility. Then I realized something was wrong with me, too.’
“My husband’s counts had dropped to almost nothing. Six live sperm were found. Six! No six thousand. Just six. We got a letter in the mail. The yearly fee to keep his sperm frozen was due. It was hundreds of dollars. We had to make a decision about our future– right now. At 26 years old, I VOLUNTARILY had a hysterectomy. Then, we got the call.”
‘I couldn’t believe it. I opened the pregnancy test and there was my first ever positive. BIG FAT POSITIVE! Baby was the size of a pearl. ‘That’s not good.’ Dr. Hiener said. ‘Did she fall out?’
“Our doctor couldn’t do the emergency surgery. My father-in-law did. I tried to enjoy every moment I had with her. Jason and I were surrounded by love, and so was our little girl.”
‘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.’: Single teen mom of special needs child details journey
“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.”
‘Every time I looked in the mirror I saw the girl with Endometriosis. The girl whose brother died. The girl who had given up. I was done being that girl. I wanted to feel beautiful again. ‘
“I grieved the loss of my baby I will never feel growing inside me. I was angry at God for taking my brother so soon. I was done being that girl. I wanted to feel beautiful again.”
