“She was still groggy and her chest sounded raspy. It was agreed it was almost certainly bronchiolitis. This was completely routine and very common. The hospital consultant came in. But before he’d even had done much checking at all, Carrie became distressed. And then she arrested. And then she died. Just like that. And our lives broke.”
‘It was just a cold,’ I was told.’: Mother realizes ‘the world isn’t out to get us’ after suddenly losing baby daughter to bronchiolitis
‘I didn’t think twice about giving my 3-year-old popcorn. She was happily sitting when she began to cough and choke. Soon, she was wheezing. I knew this wasn’t normal. I should’ve trusted my gut.’
“I should’ve called an ambulance. I didn’t realize the seriousness of it. A few days went on and she had a terrible wheeze and was struggling to breathe. She couldn’t run, swim, or play. The doctor was frustrated with me and assured me if it was the popcorn, it wouldn’t be dangerous. Ignored my instincts.”
‘I removed my breast implants. Within minutes, I was attacked by a man. ‘You look like a little boy. Where did your breasts go?’ It felt like a punch in my gut.’
“He proceeded to tell me that smaller chests were meant for middle school and that real women had ‘grown up’ bodies. Ouch.”
‘My husband told me breast implants would help ‘spice things up’. I was 22 and wanted to feel feminine. I constantly found him viewing pornography, which made me feel undesirable.’
“My joints were swollen and I couldn’t wear my wedding ring anymore. My hair started falling out in chunks that would clog the drain. I figured it was just part of being a new mom and shook it off. No doctor could figure out what was wrong.”
‘My dad told us, ‘Make someone’s day better.’ I watched him take his last breath. ‘Just because he couldn’t receive my kidney, doesn’t mean somebody else shouldn’t.’ This is for you, dad.’
“I was nervous and excited the morning of the surgery. This was finally happening! We could feel my dad’s presence in the room. We each donated to a stranger, for him.”
‘My daughter started bawling and wouldn’t let go of me. ‘All you do is sleep!’ My friends would say, ‘You’re a single mom. It’s normal to be tired.’ I knew something was wrong.’
‘It was happening at home, at work, at the grocery store. When I got home, I would give my daughter a snack and immediately go to sleep. Every time I got up to use the restroom, my heart rate would shoot up. I started teaching my 8-year-old how to call 911 if I couldn’t make it to the phone.”
‘We were watching a movie and eating popcorn. He had small choking episode but was fine. We didn’t see anything come out, so we assumed he swallowed it.’
“The next day he still had a weird sounding cough. I assumed he was catching the crud we had all been going through. As the evening came, he felt warm and was super fussy. He had a fever. I called my pediatrician and said Nash needs to be seen ASAP. Thank goodness I trusted my instincts.”
