“I lost over 30 pounds. I also lost my hair. I threw up constantly, even throwing up blood. Something inside me told me to keep fighting. When my son came out, he wasn’t crying. I knew that moment something was wrong with him. Nobody was listening to me.”
‘Something is not right!’ One eye was smaller than the other, but doctors kept telling me he was okay. I knew I was going to have to fight.’: Woman gives birth to son with rare genetic disorder, ‘I have found my purpose’
‘I think something’s wrong.’ He’s been here 7 years and I feel like we’ve just met. I struggle to get out of bed.’: Special needs mom advocates for mental health, ‘It’s okay to not be okay’
“There were 12 of us under one roof and not enough to go around. I remember braiding one of my classmate’s hair, in order to make some extra cash. I sat and wondered what her life was like.”
‘One line. Please, one line.’ I was 17, peeing on a stick in a McDonald’s bathroom. 3 minutes later, two pink lines showed my fate. Pregnant.’: Single teen mom becomes twin mom, birth mom, adoptive mom, and stepmom, now mom of 8
“The ultrasound tech made a funny face. ‘I’ll be right back.’ Moments later, she entered with another technician. ‘See this?’ she said. ‘This is baby A, and this is baby B.’ TWINS? From a one-night stand? I was 6 months pregnant when I came home from school to my dad wanting to talk. ‘Mom and I think you should give this child away.’ I was angry, heartbroken, and completely beside myself. 13 days later, I found myself in a courtroom.”
‘300 plus families passed on a baby boy.’ What would happen to my son? ‘Are you interested in special needs adoption?’: Moms discuss open adoption journeys, ‘We really are a family’
“MOM is in there nursing the baby.’ What? I WAS the mom! I just wanted to know how my son was. I was so angry at her ex-husband for leaving. My trust had been rocked. When Noah’s first birthday was coming up, we decided to meet.”
‘A woman on the bus kept pointing at Meriton and touching me on the back. ‘Is he sick?’ She was loud and kept repeating herself.’: Woman urges ‘there is no cure for human being’
“The whole time I was trying to show Meriton we are equal, something was missing. I got a tattoo of a chromosome and said, ‘This will make us equally different, forever.’ The only sickness in life is the bad attitude towards people with special needs, and I’m not going to stop working to show society different.”
‘She started with, ‘So the good news is…’ My heart sunk. When they took her away we were a mess.’: Baby with Down syndrome diagnosed with congenital heart failure, ‘She is a miracle’
“I sat in my car crying in the parking lot. ‘She’s going to need surgery.’ I mourned the loss of the child I thought I was carrying.”
‘I feel it deep in my bones. I don’t know who I’ll be on the other side. I hope she’s someone I can live with.’: Woman feels change in times of protests and Covid-19, ‘It’s scary but full of hope’
“These hands know when it’s time to write a new page. I am learning to listen to my body. I am me, but I’m not me.”
‘It’s a girl, but they saw something.’ I was told, ‘You only have a week to decide.’ I saw her and my heart dropped.’: Mom to daughter with Down syndrome adopts baby with special needs, ‘Our girls make our family better’
“I saw her and my heart stopped. I tried to scroll past, but I couldn’t. We took a HUGE leap of faith.”
‘My child sleeps in my bed instead of hers. We decided co-sleeping is best for our family. You weren’t there.’: Mom of autistic daughter urges family and friends not to judge
“You judged the accuracy of my child’s diagnosis, it hurts. Dear family, there is something you should know. You aren’t there; but I am.”
‘The doctor had tears in her eyes. ‘We can’t say if he’ll make it or not.’ Fractures started appearing in the scans, in every limb.’: Woman births baby with Brittle Bone Disease, ‘My job is to love him well’
“At our 20-week ultrasound, we received the news our son’s femurs looked short, in addition to smaller arms. The kicker was he wasn’t fitting any specific mold. ‘We can’t say definitively if he’ll make it or not.’ I leaned on my faith more than ever.”
