“Substance abuse isn’t just a celebrity problem.”
We Need To Love ALL Addicts The Same Way We Love Famous Ones
‘If I had a do-over, I would have reminded him, ‘I love you,’ just in case he didn’t know. I pray I will see him again.’: Mom urges ‘addiction is a disease, not a disgrace’ after losing son to 10-year battle
“A year ago yesterday, this box was an empty Amazon delivery box waiting to be recycled. You were loved by all that knew you, but somehow didn’t love yourself. I pray I will see you again.”
‘I see blood on me, but from where?! It’s 2:15 a.m. now, and I’m crying in the bathroom. I don’t like hurting out loud. What was this doing to us?’: Woman struggles with ‘mental hurricane’ during undiagnosed illness
“I’m scared.’ I shook and started crying from the sharp pains. My hand cramped up; I couldn’t open it anymore. ‘I’m here, and I got this, and I got you.'”
‘She tapped a stranger’s shoulder, ‘Um, excuse me, sir.’ Without any pauses she said, ‘We need to make a game plan for you guys.’: Woman experiences unexpected kindness on flight, ‘We can do these things for other people’
“I see a flight attendant lock eyes and head our way, I freeze a bit. Since it feels like exactly zero people are ready to fly, I feel like this is a safe space to finally unpack this. It was the last flight of a very long travel day.”
‘She said, ‘It’s your dad. There’s something wrong. The cops said they found him on the ground.’ We still had so many questions.’: Woman details life with drug-addicted father, ‘I’m not mad at you’
“‘You need to stop what you’re doing or you’ll end up dead.’ I’d see him drive by with another woman. When my mom decided to divorce him, he didn’t show up. We stood at the court house and looked out the window from the top floor. The doctor approached my brother and I. ‘You have to make a decision to let him off the machines.’ We still had so many questions.”
‘I slid onto the floor as I heard the doctor speak. ‘Why do I have to have cancer again, Mama?’ Time seemed to freeze.’: Girl battles neuroblastoma, ‘Izzy continued to fight and the rest of the world just kept going’
“The call came just like it does in the movies. I sat in a rocking chair in her room and slid onto the floor as I heard the doctor speak. I stared at this little play clock. I can still see it so vividly — its tiny yellow hands stood still on its pink face. Time seemed to freeze in those moments. I would remember it as the day our life stopped.”
‘Who are you? I don’t know you and I’m really scared,’ she said, shaking. She was crying now. I was her baby, her best friend.’: Woman shares painful Alzheimer’s journey, ‘Nothing prepares your heart for the day your mom doesn’t know you’
“That morning, I picked up my mom for a routine dental cleaning. As usual, she was happy to see me. Nothing stood out as odd. She joked with the receptionist about me and walked out the door with a smile. As soon as the sunlight hit her face, she turned to me. ‘You never told me.’ ‘Told you what?’ I asked. ‘Who you were.’ All in a couple of seconds, I realized this was very real. She was terrified and begged, ‘Take me home.’ I soon realized ‘home’ was her childhood house. My mind was racing.”
‘Not today, honey, Mommy doesn’t feel good.’ I was lying, manipulating, hiding how much I was drinking. I had terrible anxiety.’: Woman relapses due to brother’s ‘tragedy’ cancer diagnosis, insists ‘relapse is not a death sentence. You can come back stronger than ever!’
“I blacked out, refusing to leave the shop. My husband had to carry me out. I woke up to use the bathroom the next day, but I didn’t make it. I fainted. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced. I panicked. ‘I can’t see!’ My temperature was dropping. He called an ambulance. My parents had just brought our kids home and here I was, being taken out on a stretcher. I could not make my children witness such a horror. I HAD TO STOP.”
‘Are you scared?’ she asked. Breathless, I whispered to my mom, ‘No. It’s time to rally.’ I was so close to death.’: Woman with cystic fibrosis ‘in awe’ after gifted new lungs on verge of death, ‘the kindness of a stranger saved my life!’
“The meds had stopped working – time was running out. The call came at just the right time. I remember doubling over, nauseous with the news I’d just received: ‘They have a match for lungs.’ I needed to be transported to Boston IMMEDIATELY. I crouched down by my hospital bed, struck with the magnitude of the situation. As prepared as I was, nothing could get me ready for this moment. I couldn’t catch my breath.”
‘Someone’s sitting here.’ I froze. ’Mom, it’s ME. Lauren.’ Her cheeks became red with embarrassment.’: Young woman’s emotional journey with mom’s Alzheimer’s, ‘It’s like mourning someone who is still alive’
“I said, ‘I love you,’ and she didn’t say it back. You lose so much of the person along the way that by the end, you are practically begging for them to die. But at the same time, you dread the thought of it. I say, ‘See ya later,’ and she says, ‘Alligator.’ You can’t tell me she’s not still in there.”
