“My life was ‘picture perfect,’ you could say. Now, I look at myself and I don’t know who that woman is. I have no idea who I am without her. A part of me died when she died.”
‘I used to get in pictures with my kids and husband to take selfies, but everything feels and looks different now.’: After losing daughter to flu mom says ‘I will always and forever be beautifully broken’
‘Someone commented, ‘I didn’t know her, but this girl captivated me!’ I can’t help but miss her more. I’m her mom. I know how awesome she is.’: After losing daughter to flu mom says ‘8 years wasn’t nearly long enough’
“I would post our family pictures online as a record of our wonderful life. I can’t help but think she was only with us on borrowed time. If I’d known this, I would have had her sooner so I could have loved her and experienced Kinsley longer. 8 years wasn’t nearly long enough.”
‘I wish I could hold her one more time. I’d give anything in the world to just be quarantined with her.’: Widow urges not to take quarantine for granted, ‘This is a season to take time for the ones we love’
“Don’t take this time for granted. There probably won’t be another season in our lives with so much time to be with the ones we love. We don’t know how this will end. We don’t know when this will end. But we do know that eventually, it will end. I’d give anything for Rachel to be here annoying the heck out of me. I’d give anything for her to be here loving me.”
‘She constantly pissed us off. Lord, did she stir up drama. Now, I’m pissed there will always be an empty seat. The family dynamic has been rocked.’: Mom continues to make memories after daughter’s passing, ‘We are going to find something to smile about’
“A couple of weeks ago, we were a family of seven. The girls were always fighting, and the common factor was always her. The family dynamic has certainly been rocked and honestly, I am not sure I will ever be okay with this void.”
‘She called me in hysterics. ‘Mom, we have to do something. We can’t let it suffer.’: After witnessing wounded deer, mom and daughter realize ‘how truly fragile and beautiful life is’
“There we were, crumpled on the side of the highway, weeping over a dying deer. She wanted so desperately to help ease the animal’s suffering as it struggled to breathe. ‘Oh, Mom,’ my daughter whispered. We prayed her suffering would not linger for long.”
‘I watched him bury his head in his hands and sob. ‘I’m not going anywhere, I need you. The kids need us.’ He grabbed my face. ‘We are going to make it.’: After losing daughter to flu woman says ‘I only thought I loved him before’
“I have heard that tragic events like this can break up a marriage. I was terrified that not only was I going to have to continue living this life without my daughter, but I was going to lose my best friend and the only person who could comfort me. He grabbed my face and whispered in my ear, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ I only thought I loved him before.”
‘It bothers people that I’m confident. When I started casually dating after he passed away, people were not okay with that.’: Confident widow encourages others to ‘throw out expectations of self-pity’
“Recently, my daughter has experienced bullying at school. The people who have been unkind to her likely have no idea what we’ve been through the last 2 years. They just see a target and go after her relentlessly. This body has carried me through hell and back.”
‘Watching my husband die in front of me was a defining moment in my life, but it is not the moment that defines the rest of my life.’: Young widow says loss has taught her to ‘love harder than ever before’
“Six months ago, my whole world came crashing down around me. My husband suffered right in front of me. Losing him at a young age broke my heart, but it didn’t break my spirit.”
‘He was more than a friend. He was her protector. The one at school to rescue her from a tough day. I will never forget him.’: After daughter loses close friend, dad remembers his legacy, ‘He will live on in us’
“They were neighbors, classmates since kindergarten. As a father, you cross your fingers teenage boys and men in her life will respect and protect her. She didn’t know it, but 6,000 miles away, tragedy would strike and change her life forever.”
‘I was crying uncontrollably. There was no heartbeat. I tried to pray, but all I could say was ‘Hail Mary,’ over and over. It felt like a sick joke.’: Mom loses son to pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, ‘He would have turned 7 this year’
“They tried to run an IV through my swollen, bruised hands. I nearly passed out. I remember someone slapping my cheek a little. I was completely naked on the table, shaking uncontrollably. We heard the doctor say, ‘Baby.’ There was no crying, no sound at all. The first time we got to hold him was also the last.”
