“It’s in striving to understand and love those who see the world differently, and believe different things than we do. It’s in inviting those who are standing alone into our conversation, even if it makes you feel sweaty and awkward. It’s in standing up for what is good and noble and true.”
‘It’s not where the work happens. It’s just our rest stop and place to refuel.’: Woman encourages others to realize church is not where Christians really need to be
‘I rushed to the hospital. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’ the surgeon said. Our pregnancy checkup had gone well. There was never a reason to believe something was wrong. Our excitement turned to disbelief.’
“Her skin was pulled so tightly that her eyelids had flipped inside out. We were informed her limbs could suddenly detach on their own. Every day, we faced a new challenge.”
‘An airline employee quietly asked about ‘my rash,’ and if I had a letter from a doctor stating it was ‘OK for me to fly.’ I explained to him it was a genetic skin condition.’
“He walked up to talk to the crew. He also Googled it during that time. He came back and said he apologized, but we ‘wouldn’t be able to fly,’ and we ‘had to get off the plane.’”
‘It’s a bambino!’ I was like, ‘what??’ All I saw was all the HAIR she had! Then 5 seconds later, she was whisked way to the NICU.’
“When I first looked at her, I knew something was different. I asked my husband, ‘What did you think when you went to see her?’ He replied, ‘She’s just so perfect and beautiful.’ I couldn’t shake what was in the back of my mind.”
‘His teacher suddenly jumped on the desk. He started walking across each one, to make sure every single eye was on him.’
“I’ll never forget when he had them throw their history books on the ground and tell them how they got it all wrong that day, and made choices that would come back to haunt them.”
‘Mom, that boy said Judah looked weird.’ I knew. I saw. I could feel the little boy boring holes into my 4-year-old, who has Down syndrome.’
“I watched him turn away and mention my son to his dad. That’s the first mistake we both made. We both chose to turn away.”
‘Mom! You are white and I am brown, and that means Martin made it so you could adopt me!’ He grabbed his little brother’s hand. ‘Look! Martin’s dream came true.’
“He was 4 the first time kids told him he couldn’t play with them on the playground because he was black. I wasn’t prepared for any of it.”
‘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.”
‘Will she survive? Will she breathe?’ This was it. There was no turning back. I heard her loud cries.’: Mom births baby with Lymphatic Malformation, condition makes her ‘love her little girl so much more’
“I’d carried her 9 months and soon doctors would be taking her away from me to save her life. ‘When can I see my baby?’ I asked the nurse. ‘Not yet.’ I was finally able to gaze at her through a plastic incubator. There were wires all over her new skin and into her tiny little nose, tape securing them down. But nothing could ever steal away what she was. Beautiful.”
‘You will definitely be able to tell something is wrong with the baby when it’s born.’ Parents hope for normal life for child born with dwarfism
“‘I am certain this is skeletal dysplasia (dwarfism) and 99% certain the result will be fatal for the baby.’ There it was. A bomb. He dropped it and then watched me completely break down. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk, I didn’t understand at all. Parks did his best to console me, while trying to process the news, too.”
