“The bonus is, it’s not contagious. You wouldn’t expect the person with a really bad flu to get up and do stuff, no way! So, tell them to rest up. Lay out in their pajamas. Surround them with pillows and things that make them happy. You would never tell them to snap out of the flu!”
‘You can help someone with depression. How? Pretend they have the flu.’: Woman urges to let those battling mental illness to ‘rest and ride it out’
‘My left shoulder dislocated talking to my mom. She was mortified. ‘AHAA!,’ he said.’: Young woman recalls ‘party tricks’ as joints dislocate after Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome diagnosis
“I woke up with a sore knee. We ignored it… until the pain became unbearable and was spreading. It all happened so fast. I was too overwhelmed to be scared. However, I was confused. We all were. The tricks I used to gross my friends out ended up being a piece of the puzzle. Hyper mobility, one of the most obvious symptoms of EDS.”
‘I never got sick as a kid. Until the itching started. Then the horrible, red rash covering my 8-year-old self.’: Touching moment woman realizes her mom was the real ‘cure’ for her Scarlet Fever
“Not even my mom could deny there was actually something wrong with me. She rushed my calamine-soaked body to the doctor. My eyes got as big as sand dollars and my life flashed before my eyes. The only time I had ever heard of a Scarlet Fever diagnosis was on an episode of ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ I didn’t know what to do. So, I did the only thing I could think of in that moment. I cried. My mom slid into the bed next to me.”
‘I’m not an addict, but I was addicted to trying to fix one. If you’re lucky, they recover. If you’re really lucky, you recover, too.’: Woman learns firsthand that loving one with addiction will ‘consume you’
“You will stand in their bedroom and plead that you ‘just want them back’. If you watch the person you love disappear right in front of your eyes, you will start to dissolve too. Those not directly affected won’t understand. It is not the person who uses, but the addiction. And yet, sadly… it is not the addiction that dies, but the person.”
‘None of this would be happening if my dad didn’t die.’: Widow feels guilt that teenage daughter is ‘absolutely right,’ learns to ‘forgive herself’ for not ‘saving’ husband from terminal cancer
“I had an argument with my teenage daughter. Through her tears, she said the one thing I have been dreading. I knew it was coming, but when she said it, it still took me to my knees. I was speechless. But you know what? She’s right. She is absolutely right. It’s not the same after her father’s death.”
‘Are you sick? Should I get tested?’ My first instinct was denial. ‘I’m not sick. If you want to get tested, do it. You don’t have it!’ I was confused. How could she even say that to me?! I was shocked!’
“My dad proceeded to tell me the illness could be passed down to me as well. I wanted to get tested right away. My dad urged me to take it slow. When I got married the next year and found out we were expecting our first child, I knew in my heart I needed to know. On a crisp spring morning, I took the test. That’s when I realized it.”
‘I’ve never doubted how much you do. But I underestimated it. I was you for 48 hours and now I understand why you lock the door at night to have that shower.’
“For 5 years you’ve never left the kids to cry. You never want them to be alone. I did that wild scream you did. I know where it comes from now.”
‘At 17, two pink lines changed everything. While my friends were out partying and going to football games, I sat in a rocking chair and cried while my baby cried.’ Disabled teen mom doesn’t want others to ‘feel sorry for her’, reminds us to ‘show compassion’
“It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t just my life anymore. It was about this little baby growing. I didn’t care about myself or my future and it showed in my daily decisions. I was a mess, a completely reckless teenager. Sometime after getting put on probation, totaling my car, and losing credit from skipping school, I decided I needed a change. I was focused on giving her the life I never had.”
‘I couldn’t believe it. I opened the pregnancy test and there was my first ever positive. BIG FAT POSITIVE! Baby was the size of a pearl. ‘That’s not good.’ Dr. Hiener said. ‘Did she fall out?’
“Our doctor couldn’t do the emergency surgery. My father-in-law did. I tried to enjoy every moment I had with her. Jason and I were surrounded by love, and so was our little girl.”
‘I don’t know her name, but she was our hero on our flight home. Everyone on the plane was looking at us, annoyed by my son’s outburst.’
“He had a sudden meltdown and we couldn’t keep him calm no matter what we tried. This flight attendant asked if she could hold him. I warned her he might get aggressive and try to gouge her eyes.”
