“We started to get anxious. I was ready for my own bed, I was worried about my cat, and I just in general do not enjoy the hospital. Tension was high and we finally made a choice to go to the store for formula.”
‘Well, my daughter got constipated. For three days. And let me tell you, I did as much as Google could provide me to stimulate her bowels.’: New mom says the ‘excitement was SILLY’ when daughter finally poops
‘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.”
‘Some say ‘good morning’ to loved ones having no idea they won’t say ‘good night.’ His life was stolen from us.’: Dad has baby boy on brother’s due date, ‘If I could just see him once more, I’d cherish every second’
“Why did he have to take a drug so powerful to feel good? I would cry my eyes out after I woke up, wishing it wasn’t a dream. Dreams of my brother don’t come too often, but when they do, they are as real as I could have ever hoped.”
‘3 weeks after our trip to Disney, I stared at a black and white image with a mass that took up a third of my son’s brain.’: Dad urges ‘never take a day of normalcy for granted’ during quarantine after losing son to brain tumor
“We were isolated for 28 days in the hospital room. He was immunocompromised. Our world consisted of hand sanitizer, hospital masks, and surgical gloves to avoid contamination. As we watch the news, we hear the increasing mortality rates for coronavirus, some 3%. I would’ve given anything to hear those numbers for my son. Normalcy was ripped from our hands.”
‘They kept tapping his feet saying, ‘Wake up, little baby, wake up.’ I left the room. I knew he wouldn’t come back. We’d missed him by minutes.’: Mom describes losing son to ‘what was believed to be a virus’
“His only symptom was a fever that lasted no more than an hour or two. I gave him some Tylenol he spat out. He went to sleep soundly. He was perfectly fine. His fever was completely gone, he was in great spirits, and his coloring was healthy. This was not a sick kid.”
‘I could’ve killed myself, or my precious son. I’m riddled with guilt. I’m so ashamed of things I’ve done in front of my child.’: Mother in the throes of addiction, ‘I don’t want to do it anymore. I want my son to have a sober mom’
“I have a toddler at home who I will not be able to take to get his picture with Santa. I will not be able to take him to see all the pretty Christmas lights. I sat in the shower and let the water run down my body as I cried. Then demons creep in. ‘It was boring getting high at home, taking care of a toddler all day. It would be fun to stay at a motel and just get high. I just want to do it ONE MORE TIME.’ I’m riddled with guilt. I’m so ashamed.”
‘Mommy, I want to get a picture with my brother and sister.’ My 6-year-old stopped me in my tracks.’: Mom who lost triplets caught off guard by daughter’s moving gesture for late siblings
“Those two names caught me off guard. Her brother and sister passed away within 2 months of birth. Tears instantly formed in my eyes. There is no handbook for how to survive the death of a child.”
