“Just like that, everything changed. I knew I didn’t want to terminate my pregnancy. My only choice was to pray I stayed pregnant. I looked at the clock at midnight. It was officially July 3rd, my birthday. She was so small. Less than a pound. I held Rose in my arms. Tears ran down my face. I knew at any moment God was going to take her heaven.”
‘I was sitting on the couch watching cartoons. I felt two POPS inside my stomach. I was completely freaking out.’: Bereaved mom says ‘grieving mommas are the strongest women I’ve ever met’
‘My boyfriend sprayed cologne in the air. I froze and stopped in my tracks. I went into an immediate panic attack and cried uncontrollably.’: Young woman shares tribute to late father, ‘Grief comes in waves’
“My day was too perfect, too good. I remember turning to my boyfriend and literally saying, ‘This day feels too good to be true, nothing has gone wrong.’ Boy, was I in for a wild ride. Overnight, I became a second mother to my siblings.”
‘You can choose comfort care or surgery.’ I wanted to scream. I didn’t know what quality of life he’d have.’: Mom loses baby with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, ‘He only knew love’
“’This defect is so rare, you’ll probably never see it in your lifetime.’ I felt like I was in a dream. I pinched myself a few times. What snapped me back to reality was the doctor saying, ‘I can do these surgeries, but his chance of survival is slim.’ I wanted the nightmare to end.”
‘I got a call from my babysitter saying, ‘Your son fell and hit his head.’ I believed it.’: Mom shares powerful PSA after losing son to abusive babysitter, ‘Know who is watching your kids’
“Less than 30 minutes later, I got a second call about my other son, Ivan. When he got to the hospital, he had a big handprint on the side of his face and a 118-degree fever. He was fighting so hard, but we both knew it was time to let go. I was a single mom of 4 and I needed a babysitter. I trusted him with my kids.”
‘We received a call. ‘Do you want to adopt all 5 siblings?’ It was an instant, ‘YES!’ We told our babies they were finally safe, that we would never harm them.’: Mom of 4 adopts 5 siblings from foster care after miscarriage, twin loss, ‘They have healed my heart’
“We were pregnant with twins! The nurse said, ‘Slowly, his organs will stop working.’ His heart was last. He was so swollen, he couldn’t open his beautiful eyes. ‘I’m so proud of you, Eli. You’ve been such a fighter. You can let go.’ I looked around at all the nurses crying. ‘Oh God, it hurts so bad!’ His tiny foot jerked. I couldn’t see through my tears.”
‘I think this will break me.’ I lost 2 liters of blood. My reality is other women’s worst nightmare.’: Woman experiences multiple miscarriages, ‘I will survive anything’
“I am the woman other women say, ‘I’m so sorry’ and ‘I can’t imagine’ to. I fainted at home and the ambulance had to be called. I don’t think I understood how strong I could be.”
‘It’s just first-time mom anxiety.’ I was insistent something was wrong. The hours were unnecessarily traumatic.’: Mom mourns loss of baby born sleeping, ‘He came to heal parts of my soul’
“The nurse lectured me about being active and eating healthy, even though I could clearly see the box of Twinkies on her desk. I made three separate trips to the ER for bleeding. The doctor said, ‘There is nothing to be done now.’”
‘Baine woke up crying about stomach pain. He was making whining noises, his eyes not tracking me. I hurried as fast as I could to the car.’: Mom raises awareness about OTC Deficiency in honor of late son, ‘He was the answer to other prayers’
“I made him toast and got him a coke. He seemed better. We talked for a minute and he fell back asleep. His eyes were no longer tracking me. I hurried as fast as I could to the car, carrying Baine in my arms. Within 5 minutes, he was losing consciousness. He was making horrible noises in his seat. He was scared, but he couldn’t communicate. His brain was being slowly poisoned.”
‘Ethan screamed, ‘NO! How am I supposed to live without her?’ He hit the wall and ran out of the room. She’d gone too long without oxygen.’: Girl loses life to influenza, ‘We miss and love her so much’
“The doctor reassured, ‘Today is the sickest she’ll be. Once the anti-virals kick in, she’ll be on the mend.’ Around 3:00 a.m. I awoke and thought, ‘Finally! The medicine is working.’ I lay there a moment longer and got a sick gut feeling. I said her name and heard nothing. In the police car, there were no sirens. There was no rush to the hospital. ‘This is where I give you the if-this-was-my daughter speech. It’s time to let go.'”
‘I didn’t know that about you,’ said a patient at work. I was embarrassed to be placed in the same category.’: Widow shares why she carries late fiancé’s Narcotics Anonymous key chains
“My first reaction was to be defensive; my second was the opposite. The second reaction came when I realized why I carry these key chains. Jamie was 5 years sober when he bought a pill he didn’t know was fentanyl, and he died. Jamie was 29 years old. He was a dad to five kids.”
