“In the hours after my son’s death, my breasts began to ache. Elias was gone, but my body didn’t know any different. I thought of all the bottles of milk I had stored in the freezer.”
‘How do I make it stop?’ For weeks, I’d been dedicatedly pumping milk. Now, I was presented with an opportunity.’: Grieving mom donates 600 ounces of breastmilk in son’s honor
‘I want to do more!’ I begged my mom to let me make them all a Love Blanket.’: 11-year-old makes blankets for kids who ‘need a little bit of extra love’
“The very first blanket we made went to a little girl who was autistic and had been bullied in school. I can’t fix the problems they are dealing with, but I can make them a Love Blanket and let them know they’re loved.”
‘It’s all for you, bud! It’s all for you!’ He wiped tears from his eyes.’: Woman surprises ‘joyful’ Wendy’s employee with 40,000 dollars, ‘The world needed him’
“I had to come up with some kind of lie to meet up with him. ‘This is crazy! Oh my gosh!’ I had no idea how powerful his spirit truly was.”
‘We think you had a heart attack.’ I knew what was coming, the URGENT TRANSPLANT LIST.’: At 28, woman suffers heart failure and sepsis, ‘It’s HER heart that keeps me alive’
“My heart was failing. I couldn’t even get out of bed. I threw up instantly and then fainted. ‘I can’t be sick forever. I can’t live like this.’ The coordinator came in to tell me there may be a heart for me — her heart. I wasn’t scared. I was ready.”
‘If you want to say goodbye, you’d better come now.’ She’d only had a bad cold. She died before she hit the floor.’: Mom dies suddenly of congenital cardiac arrhythmia, leaves behind 3 toddlers
“She was just lying there with medications keeping her heart going and a ventilator breathing for her. All I could do was hold her hand and talk to her, tell her how much I loved her, how much those three babies need her, and beg her to come back to us. “
‘What do we do with the remaining embryos?’ We signed away the parental rights. I was in for one more shock: TWINS!’: Couple donates extra embryos to family battling infertility, ‘They were put in our path for a reason!’
“We decided we were done having children, but still had 6 embryos frozen. I created a Facebook profile in hopes of finding a deserving family. I didn’t expect much. Within hours, we had EIGHT families interested. Kate and Seth were put in our path for a reason.”
‘When will we get our baby brother?’ We needed $4,000 and had no idea how to come up with that money.’: Couple embark on adoption ‘roller coaster,’ community unites to raise money
“We have his room all set up for him. We have clothes, toys, a family waiting for him. All the while, others share their highlight reel of adoption and make it look like a breeze. I want to teach him words, love on him, watch him run around the house and yard with his brother and sister. My heart is aching for him to be with us.”
‘Mom she’s gone, I just know.’ I sat on my stairs with my front door open, in shock.’: How this ‘broken’ mother helps other parents of child loss heal after her own tragedy
“Seeing my sweet baby girl laying in a huge bed, much too big for her, made me fall to my knees. A nurse said to me, ‘Get off the floor, it’s so dirty.’ I was angry at her, I was angry at the hospital chaplain placing his eerie hand on my shoulder with no real comfort. No parent should have to write their child’s eulogy, or decide between a casket or an urn. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.”
‘I was so scared of my daddy dying. I hated watching him throw up and not feel well. I knew in my heart I could help him. I just knew it!’ 10-year-old girl starts ‘secret’ plan to save father’s life
“The weekend before New Year’s, we got the shock of our life. The phone rang. Skeptical, my mom IGNORED it until I convinced her to answer. ‘Could you use a kidney tonight?’ Watching my daddy sit in the dialysis chair 4 days a week and get 2 big needles in his arm made me sad, but I never gave up! I was determined to help him.”
‘I hopped on a plane by myself. 1,500 miles from home, I sat on a stretcher, determined to help a stranger become a mom. I was REALLY doing this.’: Woman donates uterus to help family battling fertility
“I waited, patiently, for someone that needed me. I honestly never really expected to hear back. Then, it came. Before she was even able to tell me all of the risks associated with the surgery, I knew I was all in. This was my purpose.”
