“I waited until I heard my dad come home to sleep. I took off his shoes after he passed out on the couch and put my finger under his nose to check his breathing. I learned to love his scent—grass, sweat, and booze.”
‘I’m so sorry. I can’t do this anymore, Chelsea.’ I didn’t know it would be his last Father’s Day.’: Woman mourning father declares ‘to grieve is to have felt love’
‘Goodnight, Mom. I love you.’: Woman recounts heartbreaking loss of mother, ‘We celebrated her life’
“’Goodnight. LOVE YOU.’ A faint ‘love you’ left my mom’s lips back to me.”
‘Please hug me one last time.’ There was no light in his eyes.’: Woman shares childhood trauma, urges ‘forgiveness goes a long way’
“I was 8 years old when my mom called me inside from playing. ‘Your dad was using drugs, and it killed him.'”
‘Dear Snowflake, I hope you can come this year. I haven’t seen you in two years. Love, Quinn.’ I BROKE. This was HIS thing—he had a childlike enthusiasm for Christmas. How can I do it without him?’: Widowed mom shares hope for ‘a little Christmas magic’
“I swear I packed Snowflake and all of her accessories Matt bought over the years to make her laugh. When I unpacked, she was nowhere to be found. I thought maybe she would forget. She did not.”
‘Something’s dying inside of you.’ I was bleeding all over myself, uncontrollably. I didn’t want to live like this.’: Woman shares cancer journey, ‘I have the strength to fight ANY battle’
“I was afraid I was dying, but I was scared to talk to anyone about it. ‘I’m bleeding and in a lot of pain.’ No one believed me. My doctor said, ‘Stay off the internet.’ I couldn’t keep away. I froze from fear.”
‘I heard her voice and knew our lives would change forever. ‘Nic, you need someone to drive you to the hospital.’ I looked at my daughter and saw her eyes well with fear. ‘Momma, what happened to Daddy?’: Mom recounts near-loss of husband, stresses importance of ‘telling kids the truth’
“He said, ‘Ma’am, we have an unidentified man with head trauma coming in, I’m sure it is your husband.’ At that moment, I was escorted by a solemn social worker to a small, littered room. A room meant to allow family members to react to what they would tell me in private. I went downstairs to hold our daughter when she woke up. I told her in an age-appropriate manner what had happened to Daddy, and what our next step would be. She held me and calmly said, ‘I know Daddy will be okay.’ Your kids DESERVE the TRUTH.”
‘You need to get away. You need a BREAK.’ So what did I do? YUP, I called my sister. Who else would do this for me?’: Woman writes story praising ‘superstar’ late sister, ‘She was my rock’
“She called from the hospital to let me know she would try to be well enough to make that trip down here. She had COVID. She helped in every way possible for me to navigate widowhood. She was on the ventilator eight days. The one I leaned on my whole life.”
‘OMG! It’s not working. Give him one more dose. ANOTHER.’ Everything went downhill, and FAST.’: Woman recounts heartbreaking and unexpected loss of father, ‘I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone’
“All day I kept having a weird feeling—like maybe I should call and ask him, ‘How are you?’ I just put it off as something else. The hospital assured us he was fine. I just shut down. I can’t explain it, but this switch in me just turned off. I don’t remember much after.”
‘One day you’ll find the gift in all this.’ She had the audacity to put a positive spin on my crisis. I’d been suffering for months.’: Woman shares how she ‘finds the gifts’ in life
“The system isn’t perfect. Gifts aren’t always easy or life-changing or neatly packaged. Little things like spending more time outdoors with my kids during the pandemic can be a gift within a tragedy. I’ve also had hardships that didn’t seem to yield any gifts.”
‘Is he saying he’s going to hurt himself or others? Our waitlist is over a year out.’ My jaw hit the floor. One YEAR?!’: Mom fed up with lacking healthcare coverage for son dealing with grief trauma, ‘The system is so flawed’
“I eagerly dialed the number. ‘My son lost both of his parents when he was 2. He’s grieving. I need guidance, and would appreciate an evaluation.’ I want to start helping him NOW instead of LATER. ‘Okay ma’am, our waitlist is over a year out.’ I was incredibly defeated. I had no idea this would be so hard to find help for my child. No clue at all. I have this inner voice that won’t quiet down. ‘Get help, Molly!’”
