“Things came to a boiling point. I ran all the way back to my house, flew up the stairs, locked the door, and melted into tears, gasps. The police didn’t help. ‘He hasn’t hurt her yet. We can’t do anything.’ He hadn’t hurt me YET. Imagine my 10-year-old brain trying to process this. How could I feel safe? All of my innocence, comfort went out the window. Every morning, he gazed at me from my bus stop.”
‘I have to get out of here!’ At 10, I looked back to see an old man chasing me. I felt chills up my spine.’: Woman begins healing journey after confronting stalking trauma, ‘I have finally stopped blaming myself’
‘Two months before college graduation, my symptoms returned. The bloat, the blood, stomach pain, and fatigue.’: Young woman diagnosed with severe Ulcerative Colitis, ‘I felt I would never get my life back, now I embrace it all’
“‘Natalie. He died.’ I can still remember it like yesterday. Being woken up in my freshman year dorm from a call. All I remember next is screaming, ‘No, no, no, no, no!’ Dead. Died. Gone. As time went on, I started feeling sick. Very sick.”
‘I was scared she’d die. They said it’s ‘new mom jitters.’ I didn’t want to be the ‘depressed, baby-less mom’: Mother experiences postpartum depression, PTSD after first son born still, ‘I was hiding it well’
“I was losing clumps of hair. I assumed it was stress because we just moved for my husband’s job. My doctor asked about my children. She was the first doctor who actually had a conversation with me. Then she dropped a bomb. ‘I’m prescribing you an anti depressant.’ I left the appointment bawling. ‘Who does she think she is!? She didn’t know everything I’ve been through!'”
‘Where is my fridge?’ I asked, annoyed. I tapped my foot, waiting. ‘What?’ My jugular started pounding.’: Mom hilariously recalls really ‘bad day’ with teenage daughter when she lost her temper
“I came home from work, tired and weary. I crawled out of my car and shuffled past it. The open space where the mini fridge USED to be. ‘Did I get burglarized?’ Then, steam poured from my ears. ‘Teenagers!!!,’ I exclaimed. I balled my fists, losing my ever-loving mind. Oh, they know. Momma is ticked.”
‘Could someone like me?’ Today, my son asked his first question EVER. I was in tears.’: Mom ‘amazed’ by outpouring of love, friendship offers after non-verbal, autistic son speaks for first time
“David is autistic, has no communication skills, and is completely homebound due to medical conditions. He has never had a birthday party with children his own age. His outings outside the home are severely limited. Recently, his grandmother, who is one of his best friends, passed away. I knew he was lonely. How could he not be? Then, for the first time, he spoke. I was floored.”
‘If you date a girl, you’re going to hell.’ I broke her heart the instant the words escaped my lips.’: 14-year-old takes in cousin’s daughter as her own, helps her through homosexuality, self-harm, ‘We were always meant to be a family’
“She caught me by surprise. ‘What would you do if I dated a girl?’ I immediately told her, ‘If you date a girl, you’re going to hell.’ The instant the words escaped my lips, something else hit me harder than the fear of my child in hell. I broke her heart. I never thought my child would be gay. I began noticing small cuts on her arms. I was losing her. I would have risked anything for her to find herself and be happy.”
‘I’m young. Doesn’t everyone drink?’ I chose to be homeless. On the streets, no one could hold me back.’ : Young woman gains back ‘self respect, dignity’ after overcoming alcoholism
“I traded a life of steady income and comfort for a life on the streets in order to support my addiction. I slept in homeless camps, under bridges, along railroad tracks, and in strangers’ houses. My sign, ‘Support my whiskey right for a frisky night,’ made more money than any other sign asking for help. I was living on the street, so no one cared. It came with the territory.”
‘I am only 31. They recommended a radical hysterectomy. They wanted to remove everything.’: Through ‘last chance’ IVF procedure mom discovers uterine cancer, attributes fertility surgery to saving her life
“This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t breathe, and to top it off my husband was out of town on business. I tried calling him and he didn’t answer. ‘This can’t be how my story ends.’”
‘Someday, I hope we meet again.’ She didn’t forget me. They regretted the adoption. ‘We can take care of you.’: Mom re-adopts baby she gave up at birth 18 years later, learns to ’embrace the journey’
“I shared my story as a birth mom. ‘Will you adopt my baby boy?’ I broke into a smile and said, ‘Yes!’ Later the child I gave up previously was instructed to choose between us and her adoptive family. I am a birth mom of one adult daughter. I am a biological mom of three boys. I am an adoptive mom of one eleven-year-old boy. I didn’t realize dreams could be rebuilt, and emerge as something brand new and, one day, beautiful.”
‘Gunner and his friend took a percocet to get ‘high.’ They went to sleep, and never woke up.’: Teen poisonined by Fentanyl-laced percocet pill, ‘I’d do anything for one more hug’
“Gunner was never been a ‘problem child.’ He had a whole life ahead of him. Goals, aspirations. He wanted to be a dad. He wanted to continue playing football in college. Gunner wasn’t done. One bad choice, one stupid minor mistake, was all it took. Gunner, I would do just about anything to bring you back. For one more hug. For one more smile. For one more, ‘Hey, Aunt Brandi.’ The pill had enough poison to kill 10 adult males.”
