“If you kissed Alexis on the forehead and licked your lips, it would taste like the ocean. All the blood drained from my face.“
‘They asked, ‘Does she taste salty?’ Panic began to sink in.’: Mom says daughter’s cystic fibrosis is ‘a mama’s worst nightmare’
‘An old high school friend messaged, ‘I only have a few days left to live.’ We hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years.’: Woman urges ‘tell your friends you love them’ after final days with dying friend
“I texted my partner, ‘Luke has only got days to live. Can we, by any chance, go and see him this weekend?’ We lived in completely different states. His immediate reply was, ‘ROADTRIP.’ We were going to take him anywhere he wanted to go.”
‘WHY of all people, was the nicest made to suffer? I was angry at the world.’: Sister honors brother battling Glioblastoma, thanks community for acts of kindness
“The staff member told me, ‘If it’s Franco’s he wants, its’ Franco’s he’s having!’ I’ll never forget the kindness strangers have shown us.”
‘I got a BODY PART amputated, and didn’t get a night stay at the hospital.’: Woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer living life ‘more intentionally’
“I was 36 years old. My focus became doing things that make me happy. There’s so much beauty around us if we open our eyes to see it.”
‘Well, it looks like you have a Duchenne boy.’ My stomach dropped. The more I read, the more I started to become numb.’: Mom shares journey of son with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, ‘You are in charge of your outlook on life’
“I was so angry. I was angry at the doctor who said, ‘You have a Duchenne boy but here’s a great camp we offer. It’s free!’ I was angry at the physical therapists who had worked with my son for years and hadn’t caught on. I was angry I had to wait over a month to be told my seemingly healthy son is terminal.”
‘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.”
‘They found a tumor in my eye.’ We were both 24 and just starting out our lives. So, I married him. Our wedding was the last time he saw me from both eyes.’: Young mom loses husband to Uveal Melanoma, ‘We survived by living in the moment’
“‘Ian is dying. There is cancer everywhere! Did no one tell you this?!’ We made it to Hawaii. In the back of my mind, I knew he wouldn’t be coming back. I had not only lost my husband, my soulmate, and the father of my two children, but I also lost our beautiful future together.”
‘You have 5 years to live.’ It was the first time I ever saw my husband cry.’: Mother diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer advocates for research, encourages ‘camaraderie and healing’
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34. I was upset, but I wasn’t surprised. I thought it was completely normal, as I had never been to a breast health clinic before.”
‘Her doctor burst in. ‘Where is she?’ He looked nervous. I wished for a second parent to defer to. But I didn’t have one.’: Daughter supports mom through terminal illness, ‘I hug her a little longer each day’
“For as long as I can remember, it has been the two of us. She kept up with all of her motherly duties despite being sick, fighting twice as hard because she knew she was all I had. I can never repay her.”
‘I’m lying on the ground crying. ‘I can’t bear this.’ His life will be over before it really begins.’: Mom advocates for son’s terminal illness, Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, ‘Strength is more than muscle’
“How can I watch him learn how to feed himself, knowing all too soon he won’t be able to move his arms? I tried to imagine what life was going to look like with this diagnosis. ‘I just can’t do this.’”
