“In my 20-something years of teaching, this has been the hardest time of my career. We’re cleaning every surface of our classroom, desks, pencils, markers, light switches, and sinks 5 times a day. We’re learning new technology at a moment’s notice as our schools shut down and then turning around and teaching it to our students and their parents. We’re on the front lines.”
‘We’re reminding children 57 times a day to wash their hands. We’re gathering lesson plans for a month. We’re on the front lines.’: Teacher reminds us ‘give the teachers in your life a little extra love’ during coronavirus outbreak
‘Today I cried. Not because I’m stressed out or scared. I cried because of a 92-year-old man.’: Woman says ‘forget about the 75 rolls of toilet paper you think you need and think about the 92-year-old man’
“He didn’t have a cart, but a cane. As I approached him, I noticed he was confused. ‘Are you looking for something sir?’ He looked at me, tear in his eye. ‘I just need some toilet paper. I’m down to my last roll at home and I need about 4 or 6 to last me the month. This is my 3rd store today.’”
‘Something is wrong with her brain…’ I was wailing, screaming. ‘What does that mean?!’: Mom births rainbow baby with Spina Bifida after 3 pregnancy losses, ‘She is a twice-born miracle!’
“24 weeks pregnant, we got devastating results, yet again. But this time was different. We found out our miracle child had a rare diagnosis. We were given the option of terminating her, just after I finished telling the doctor how beautiful she was. After 5 long, painful, and agonizing years, I cried. Nothing was going to stop us from having the family we dreamt of.”
‘I take him to the doctor. ‘It’s an emergency!’ I remembered someone put sliced potatoes in their child’s sock, and it helped them feel better. No runny nose, he was cured. So, I did it!’
“I’ll tell you what it DID do. It made my husband think I had lost my mind when the baby is screaming and instead of being with him, I’m in the kitchen stomping around, gathering potatoes like a farmer and trying to slice them like I’m prepping to scalloped potatoes, like a mad woman, chanting, ‘Potatoes! He needs potatoes!’”
‘I took a call of a baby not breathing. It’s the dreaded call. I heard the baby crying. It was short lived. I hung my head and tried to clear the lump from my throat.’
“What I didn’t expect was a visit from the fire crew that was on scene and who, like true heroes, tried to save that baby’s life. They came in together, stood before me and asked if we could all share a hug.”
‘Girl with the dog, girl with the dog!’ I was homeless, suicidal. I walked into hell and found an angel. Her name is Sharon.’: Woman battling mental illness thanks strangers for saving her life
“I take the pills in my hand and go to swallow them, but something stops me. Cindy, my dog. I can’t leave her yet. For thirteen days, Cindy and I are homeless. ‘SOMEONE HELP US!’ I am coming undone. A woman steps forward, waving a flier wildly in my face. I suddenly feel HOPE.”
‘The billing department doesn’t care if your baby died. The medical companies don’t care if you’re on unpaid leave because your child is a long-term patient. You still have to pay.’
“It keeps me lying awake at night, tears and stress making my heart race. I’m drowning in medical debt. And I know I’m not alone.”
‘Is she going to die? Is she going to be ok?,’ I wailed hysterically. She paused. ‘I hope so.’ I started to see spots. ‘I feel lightheaded.’: Mom almost loses daughter to rapid decline from pneumonia
“It started like any other cold. Runny nose, sniffles, a light headache. ‘I don’t feel good, mom,’ she complained that morning, 5 days before. ‘Me neither,’ I groaned. I was suffering as well, and I assumed we both had the same thing.”
‘Wake up, Stanley. Booboo, wake up!’ I heard a terrible crash. The TV was upside down across the room.’: Mom raises awareness about tip-over accidents after son’s harrowing experience
“You walk into his bedroom. Your son will look like he is sleeping. Daddy will shake him, until his sister notices he is turning blue. You will drop to your knees as Daddy starts CPR. This is the last moment you think he is ‘stable.’ The rug is about to be ripped from under you. Stay strong, mama…your journey as a special needs parent is about to begin.”
‘I am the person who listens to you cry as you’re begging your mother to take another breath.’
“To my kids, please understand when I’m strict and paranoid wanting to track your every movement, it’s because I know a child didn’t make it home to their family that day.”
