“They didn’t know as he stood there smiling, his organs were being attacked by tumors. They didn’t know his lungs, kidneys, stomach, spine, shoulders, thighs, intestines, abdomen – all of it was covered in cancer. And, they didn’t know he would die in just 58 days.”
‘They didn’t know he was dying when they took this picture, but he did.’: Widow shares powerful reminder to ‘keep showing up’
‘My cell phone vibrated. ‘Children’s genetics ANSWER.’ This was the moment I’d been waiting for.’: New mom shares journey parenting child with Prader-Willi Syndrome
“12 years into this gig, I can confidently say parenting a child with a disability isn’t for the faint of heart.”
‘You’re better off with someone younger,’ I joked, certain he’d wake up one day, realize how old I am, and run as fast as he can.’: Divorcee shares powerful love story, ‘Time is just a number’
“‘Forties is IT! Who wants an old woman like me?’ Then I met a younger man. A man who didn’t care about my age at all.”
‘I got pregnant on a one-night stand with a guy I barely knew. I had zero respect for my body or myself.’: Woman shares celibacy journey, ‘I’m taking my body back’
“If I wanted to sleep with a man who wasn’t my boyfriend, I did just that. Sex became another drug for me. I drank to oblivion to erase the shame.”
‘I looked at myself and saw an old, washed-up woman with nothing to offer. I wanted to go to bed and not wake up.’: Woman shares self-discovery journey, ‘Life is a story we get to write’
“I had a divorce battle on my hands and two children to raise. It turned out no one was going to get me out of this mess. It was down to me to sort it out.”
‘I heard my mom sobbing in the background. ‘She has 12 months left to live.’ I fell to my knees, sobbing. I thought my parents were bulletproof.’: Woman shares grief journey after losing mom to brain tumor
“Although I had a husband and three children to care for, I was lost in darkness. I poured a bottle of lorazepam down my throat. I had eyes only for my mom and seeing her again.”
‘I’d been on my phone. I might have judged another mom, had I seen her doing the same thing.’: Mom reminds others not to judge
“I couldn’t process what I’d heard. I still haven’t.”
10 Ways To Love Yourself Through Caregiver Burnout
“Within the first year of parenting, we were in the trenches.”
‘I was bursting with joy. Every cell in my body had been waiting for this moment. I was on top of the world!’: Woman with cerebral palsy celebrates high school graduation, ‘I am more than my disability’
“One of my teachers said, ‘How can we be sure it’s Astrid who does her homework?’ It felt like I’d been stabbed in the stomach. Of course I had done my homework myself. I was living in a society filled with prejudices.”
‘I kept wondering, ‘Why hasn’t it happened yet?’ Our story is painful, but I know I’m not alone.’: Waiting mom ‘crafts hope’ for others struggling with infertility, ‘I’m waiting for my rainbow’
“Each month, my period showed up right on schedule. After ‘only’ 6 months, I was so sad. My stomach was bulging to one side. I could tell something was wrong. ‘It’s likely kidney cancer.’ Our world was totally rocked.”
