“Growing up, I had a very typical, easy going childhood. I had great friends, a loving family, I enjoyed school, was active and involved in sports and activities, and overall was just a happy, content kid. This all drastically changed in February 2004. When I was 8 years old, I woke up in the middle …
‘You are on the highest legal dose, but let’s increase anyway.’ I was trapped.’: Health coach overcomes OCD, anxiety, ‘It taught me how to treat my body properly’
‘I’ll be back in two hours. Wait for me.’ I squeeze you one last time, kiss your cheek, tell you I love you, and leave. I hate myself for going. I was supposed to BE THERE.’: Woman shares heartbreaking last days of mother with terminal illness
“This can’t be happening.’ You were supposed to wait for me. I jump out of the still-moving car and start running to the front door. I jump on the bed and cradle your head in my arms and sob something terrible. ‘Please come back! I love you.’ I cry and scream into my pillow after they take you away in that horrible, black body bag.”
‘We tested positive for coronavirus. We let our guard down. I failed.’: Family gets COVID-19, ‘Stay safe and vigilant’
“We put the kids in daycare for two days a week so they could play with their friends, learn from their teachers, and participate in the holiday school activities. Two weeks after they started daycare, our whole family is sick.”
‘TELL ME WHAT THIS MEANS!’ I sent a screenshot to my nurse friend on the frontlines. ‘You have COVID, Maggie. It means your positive.’: Woman candidly recounts journey with COVID-19
“My son looked at me with heavy, sad eyes. ‘Mommy, can you PLEASE call the doctor and ask if I can go play yet?!’ My heart sank. Co-workers bombarded me with, ‘Oh, great. Just what I need. Now I’m supposed to get tested TOO?’ I felt I let everyone down for simply being exposed. I cried the whole way home.”
‘Your baby doesn’t go home with a quick fix prescription. You know every inch of the hospital. Life can’t resume as normal.’: Mom pens appreciation letter for ‘mamas of very sick kids’
“I took my otherwise healthy daughter to the ER for lethargy and a high fever. As I watched her rest, I heard beeping and babies crying for hours straight. I saw mamas pacing every open space. Thing is, we don’t always acknowledge the mamas who do this every day.”
‘Masks were worn here before the pandemic. It’s not political. It’s a matter of, ‘Maybe it’s just allergies, but I don’t know for sure.’: Woman urges ‘community is a beautiful thing’
“Not once has any individual in Japan told me, ‘This is Japan. We speak Japanese here. Go back to where you came from.’ Not one time. I love my country dearly, hear that. But in so many ways, I KNOW we can do better.”
‘My daughters rushed across the hall. ‘Mommy, Bates is spitting up blood. You need to come.’ One of his arteries had opened in his throat.’: Mom urges ‘don’t take your children for granted’
“My son, Bates, was only 7 years old. He started coughing up blood uncontrollably – over and over. It wouldn’t stop. I remember the horrific scene of him leaning over the sink. Earlier that day, I’d been frustrated with him for not remembering to put something away. In this moment, I realized how trivial it seemed.”
‘We received our test results: positive. I’d done so much to avoid being infected. But there I was, staring at the inevitable rear its ugly head.’: Family recovering from COVID-19 urges ‘love hard, tomorrow is not promised’
“What we experienced is considered ‘mild.’ But believe me, by no means necessary, did it feel anything near mild. I prayed my kids would not get sick. One by one, they each started to have a low-grade fever.”
‘You will want to remember how it felt to wake up and ask, ‘What did I do yesterday? Did I shower? Did it rain?’: Woman says ‘remember these strange days when the horror wears off’
“I want you to remember this, because years from now, a lifetime from now, when we’re leaving somewhere, saying goodbye, when I’m hugging you tight and tighter still, and we both laugh, and yet I don’t let go—you will know why.”
‘How did this happen?’ I was compliant. I self quarantined early out of precaution. I thought I followed the rules.’: Woman tests positive for coronavirus, ‘I don’t wish this illness onto anyone’
“You might think you’re being safe, but I thought that too. Someone I came in contact with wasn’t. That’s why I’m sick. Someone didn’t wash their hands or cover their mouth. They didn’t avoid public places. They carried on like normal.”
