“She’s had 100 brain surgeries. I’ve sat alone in a waiting room in the middle of the night after signing consent forms for emergency surgery, not knowing how she was going to be when she made it out. If she made it out. But it’s obvious she’s not giving up.”
‘There was no sugar-coating it. Her brain was bleeding. We we warned, ‘She may end up blind, deaf, or mute.’: Daughter born with hydrocephalus, ‘I find joy in every single second’
‘An older gentleman stopped us and asked, ‘Do you know how to make a cheese sandwich?’ He was veteran, and he didn’t know how to cook.’: Woman urges ‘don’t forget the Marks in the world who need you to say hello’
“I offered him the one roll of toilet paper I had in my car. At some point, it dawned on me. He had enough toilet paper, but on this day, he stopped us because he didn’t have enough love.”
‘It can’t be him. My life can’t go on without him.’ It was 10 days before his return from deployment.’: Marine wife mourns fallen hero fiancé on what would’ve been their wedding day, ‘I will stay strong for you, carry on your legacy’
“I remember every text I sent him that day, with no reply. I’ll never forget the terrible gut feeling I had when I found out 3 American soldiers had been killed. It was windy and the trees were blowing, as if Ben was giving me a sign. ‘It can’t be him, it’s finally our turn.’ I remember trying to go to sleep that night, but was tossing and turning. And then came the pounding on the door at 1 a.m.”
‘The whole night he didn’t leave my side.’: Woman thanks Marine stranger for ‘tackling me, covering me from the fire’ during Las Vegas mass shooting to ensure her safety
“He looked at me and said, ‘We have to get out of here. We can’t stay here. It’s not safe.’ We just started to run.”
‘You accused me of infidelity. I did not recognize this man screaming at me.’: Woman tries to heal family after husband’s suicide
“You were sending me strange text messages. I returned home to you acting even stranger. The paranoia set in. I fell to the front porch screaming. Why would you do that?! Why would you leave me?! Our sons!!! My neighbors heard my screams and came rushing to my side.”
‘I told her, ‘I’m looking for a ‘suit.’ He’s an ex-felon, an addict, covered in ink, going through a divorce, currently unemployed. Yeah, No!’ We married just 3 months later.’
“I clicked into his profile. ‘Hi.’ His response was, ‘Who is this?’ He would disappear for long periods of time – sometimes years – and no one knew if he was alive or dead. Just 6 days after meeting him, I was on pins and needles. I finally called. When he answered, I could hear the difference in his voice. I’m telling you, he was magic.”
‘Our son spotted an older man wearing a hat. ‘Retired US Air Force’ was in bold. ‘May I thank him for his service, mama?’ I cried when we sat down. I was exhausted and overwhelmed.’
“‘Of course, honey.’ I smiled to him, stuffing down my feelings of wanting to explode. He smiled and thanked the man, who shook his hand and smiled back. Then, as we asked our waiter to take our bill, he said it was taken care of. Paid for. In full.”
‘He didn’t show up to work.’ My stomach dropped. I hadn’t spoken to my husband in 48 hours.’: Marine spouse’s husband dies ‘in his sleep,’ urges us to ‘never take a second for granted’
“As my teaching day ended, I heard my phone ding. I read a message offering condolences to my family, referring to my husband in past tense. I burst into tears. ‘What does this mean? He is just missing. He isn’t gone.’ I realized I needed to get home. I needed to be with my daughter. Two men in uniform showed up at my door. I looked at my mom and I said, ‘They’re coming. The Marines are coming.'”
‘Her best friend lost her husband in Afghanistan. His friends would all get black coffee. He always got a big pink smoothie with whipped cream on it. Then, something beautiful happened.’
“One of our favorite regulars walked in to order her usual. I noticed it was taking her a little longer to order, so I glanced over and saw she was crying. The employee on the register was choked up as well, and handed me this post card.”
‘I woke with a softball size lump on my neck. I couldn’t breathe. They looked at me like I had 3 heads. Without saying a word, the doctor packs the wound and sends me on my way.’
“I fell asleep. The blood from the gauze had dried to the pillow. When I rolled over, it pulled the gauze out of the fresh wound. I panicked. I went into the bathroom. This was the most insane moment of my existence.”
