“I chose to birth Gigi. On induction day, my son ran in with the biggest smile on his face, jumping in our bed for cuddles. I held him tight, tears running down my face. ‘Ty, I am about to birth her.’ He looked right into my eyes. ‘Juss, I am so proud of you.’ We returned home just in time to tuck my son into bed. I shared a special story with him that night. ‘Your baby sister is safe in the stars. We are lucky to have our very own angel watching over us, forever.’”
‘You alright, mama? It’s a beautiful day!’ He was right. We were about to meet our angel baby.’: Mom welcomes rainbow baby on exact same day she birthed stillborn year prior, ‘the most special sign I’ve ever received’
‘Good thing you didn’t get attached.’ He wasn’t a puppy. Jensen was my child, my sweet baby. I’ll always be attached.’: Mother recalls rude comments she’s heard since her son was stillborn, ‘Do not compare anything to losing a child’
“‘Isn’t it time for you to be moving on?’ No. I will never move on. My child died, it’s not like I lost an earring. You don’t just pick up and move on to the next thing. ‘God wanted him more.’ This did not comfort me. My doctor said this. He didn’t call Jensen a him, he actually said, ‘God wanted it more.’ My son is not an it.”
‘She is healthy and finally in my arms, thank God.’ I’d be lying if I said I was ‘okay’ at that moment. I wasn’t.’: Mom of rainbow baby kept pregnancy a secret as long as she could, feared losing pregnancy after miscarriage, ‘I doubted everything’
“I needed to go in for surgery. This terrified me. I thought I could handle the pain – I was wrong. I was in the bathtub. Tears flood my eyes. My daughter sat next to the tub, sharing blue raspberry Jell-O. ‘Do you need to take a bath? I can eat Jell-O with you.’ She is the most caring, sweet, and loving 3-year-old. Finally, it was announced we had a girl, her cord was cut, and she was laid on my chest. I was still sure something bad was going to happen.”
‘Is he saying he’s going to hurt himself or others? Our waitlist is over a year out.’ My jaw hit the floor. One YEAR?!’: Mom fed up with lacking healthcare coverage for son dealing with grief trauma, ‘The system is so flawed’
“I eagerly dialed the number. ‘My son lost both of his parents when he was 2. He’s grieving. I need guidance, and would appreciate an evaluation.’ I want to start helping him NOW instead of LATER. ‘Okay ma’am, our waitlist is over a year out.’ I was incredibly defeated. I had no idea this would be so hard to find help for my child. No clue at all. I have this inner voice that won’t quiet down. ‘Get help, Molly!’”
‘I’d be single and a virgin forever. ‘The boys called me ‘big girl.’ I’d never be able to be naked in front of a lover.’: Woman loses 115 pounds after drug addiction, traumatic childhood, ‘I regret nothing, I finally had an opportunity to blossom’
“‘Are you using drugs again?,’ one of my professors asked me. I am a recovering drug addict, who lost 115 pounds and changed my entire life. I had a girl assume I was sick, a close friend expressed to me that I ‘took the easy way out.’ The smaller I got, the more attention I got, the more confused I was. I had sex for the first time after my dad died with a guy who blocked my number the day after he took my virginity. I wanted to stop hating myself, I wanted to be genuinely happy.”
‘This Thanksgiving, I refuse to share what I’m ‘thankful’ for. Grief and gratitude can sit at the same table.’: Mom of child loss abstains from holiday traditions, ‘I’m still grateful, but bereaved’
“I get it. The holidays bring in the time of year when I’m supposed to focus on what I have and not what I want. Well, no thank you. I’m grieving that empty space at the table. No matter how many times I write down all I’m ‘thankful’ for, someone is missing. Excuse me if I seem hesitant to participate in your sharing around the table. Please trust that I’m still a grateful person.”
‘Miya killed herself.’ The wind is knocked out of me. I call her husband. ‘What do you want to know?’ He utters coldly.’: Woman harbors ‘immense guilt’ for not ‘saving’ sister from suicide, ‘All Miya ever wanted was someone to love her back’
“We were riddled with confusion, not allowed in her home, not allowed to pack her belongings, not allowed to have her phone or computer. Where did she do it, when did she do it, who was there. ‘Chicago, something about Chicago. There was another woman.’ My sister’s husband was cheating on her with someone he met online from the Windy City, who in two days, to our shocking surprise, would introduce herself to us at her memorial service as an acquaintance.”
‘The doctor kept saying ‘your daughter’ in his last moments. Through gritted teeth I said, ‘He is a boy.’: Dad silent for 10 years after losing twin, urges ‘ask your sad friend about the sad thing you never talked about’
“10 years ago, my son died. I’ve never talked about it with anyone but my wife. It’s taken 10 years to realize I want to talk about it all the time. Public talk of grief is very, very weird. It’s all ‘sorry for your loss’ and tilted heads, cards with calligraphy and whispering. We’re on tiptoes all the time. But grief is not one thing. It’s not just sadness. It’s a galaxy of emotions put in orbit by the loss of someone you loved.”
‘I flat out asked, ‘Would I be able to take my own photos during my C-section?’ She looked puzzled.’: Woman photographs her own C-section after losing baby in same OR last year, ‘That is empowering as hell’
“Mike shouted, ‘It’s a boy!’ I was clicking away, fighting back tears, trying to see my new babe, focus my camera. This was a surreal experience. Just 371 days before, in the exact same OR, our little Clark was also pulled out at this exact same spot. But there was no crying, no excited cheers, no shouts of ‘it’s a boy!’ He was born still. We knew our Clark sent this little one from heaven to be with us. Teddy’s birth was not only empowering, it was incredibly healing, too.”
‘Would I get more male attention?’ I worried how it would look. Would I feel ashamed?’: Widow removes wedding ring after husband’s death, ‘He is with me. Nothing will ever change that.’
“I silently made the decision to remove my ring. I worried about being seen as a single mother, a single woman. ‘Would I feel judged? Would they think differently of me?’ I wasn’t ‘over it.’ But I was going out with girlfriends for girl’s night. It wasn’t that I was looking to meet someone. But as I awoke that next morning, I couldn’t help but feel paralyzed by sadness.”
