“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.”
‘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’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 got a body part amputated. I wasn’t allowed a night stay at the hospital. I wish it was an April Fool’s joke.’: Woman survives recurring breast cancer, ‘I live my life intentionally now’
“Everything was going so well. Until it wasn’t. The skin near my clavicle started to char and open to what would become a gruesome burn. My husband and I both cried. I was so worried about my young kids.”
‘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.’”
‘He never complained; he just chugged along. It wasn’t easy. It almost felt like I was running.’: Wheelchair user with terminal illness thanks friend for his act of kindness
“There are many things I struggle with in regards to living with a terminal illness. Even if I did just a 5k one day, I could knock it off my list and enjoy the experience. Well, I sat on that goal for too long, and it never came to be. Fast forward to today: I came the closest I will to meeting that goal.”
‘Watching my husband die in front of me was a defining moment in my life, but it is not the moment that defines the rest of my life.’: Young widow says loss has taught her to ‘love harder than ever before’
“Six months ago, my whole world came crashing down around me. My husband suffered right in front of me. Losing him at a young age broke my heart, but it didn’t break my spirit.”
‘My brother came to me in a dream last night and told me he was in heaven. He isn’t in pain anymore.’: Mom of 2 children with rare skin condition loses youngest unexpectedly, ‘Nothing could be done. My baby was gone forever.’
“’They’re here!’ I saw my husband staring with a scary look on his face. Everything went out of focus. I walked to his bed, and I sank to the floor. He was gone. I screamed, doctors came running in. They performed CPR but because of his disease, it tore all the skin from his chin to his chest. They told me his heart stopped due to complications. I later found out he was given fentanyl during the flight.”
