“‘We witnessed a little girl in a purple wheelchair being shaken and yelled at.’ That little girl was Melissa. Sometimes life leads you in the right direction at the right time.”
‘The doctor said, ‘If you buy a toaster and it’s smashed, you know it won’t work.’ We were SPEECHLESS. We had to find a new ‘normal.’: Daughter born with Microcephaly, ‘She’s made AMAZING progress’
‘I’m FINE!’ I heard my son call out. Something very wrong was happening. It was an out-of-body experience.’: Mom of 2 battles PPD, becomes advocate, ‘Motherhood shouldn’t be so hard’
“’I have 2 children under the age of 2. It’s not going to be easy.’ Up with the sun came an abrupt halt and the idyllic mom vanished.”
‘I collapsed in debilitating pain. My sister found me. The doctor said, ‘You’re fine!’ I cried in my mother’s arms.’: Woman battles Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, ‘I found the courage to ask for help’
“I had horrendous pain in my legs, stomach, back, and neck. I started seeing black spots. ‘My body hates me!’ It was a relief to discover who I really am.”
‘Mama, I don’t want you to be sick.’ It stabbed me in the heart. ‘It’s going to be fixed.’ It was blow after blow.’: Woman battles breast cancer, ‘Tomorrow isn’t promised’
“I get emotional watching mothers with their kids on their wedding days, wondering if I’ll ever get the chance.”
We Need To Love ALL Addicts The Same Way We Love Famous Ones
“Substance abuse isn’t just a celebrity problem.”
‘She was too scared to sleep for fear she wouldn’t wake up. She swore she was going to die at the hospital.’ : Parents share reality of 9-year-old’s battle with brain cancer, ‘Her faith is high’
“We didn’t know what real heartbreak was until we were forced to watch our baby battle childhood cancer. Even though we walk around the house with a smile, being brave for each other, our hearts are smashed into tiny pieces. When you try to picture the future, it takes your breath away, because you can’t picture life without them.”
‘It’s nobody’s business!’ I’d tell myself. I was in survival mode. I dropped to 75 pounds. I thought I’d never wake up.’: Woman shares recovery journey from eating disorder, ‘I chose a life of fullness’
“I had to navigate the chaos alone. When I finally got to see my fiancé, he was hurt and confused. I was 75 pounds.”
‘I threw plates across the kitchen, and threatened to hurt my sister. ‘Accept that you’re never going to get better.’: Anorexia survivor says, ‘recovery can only come from within’
‘At my weekly doctor’s appointment, I could no longer hold the manipulation and I peed all over the scale. It was the most extreme weight manipulation my doctor said she had ever seen, and again, I was forced into treatment.”
‘I was 11, hooked up to morphine. ‘If I get rid of my leg, I never have to go through this again?’ I had to make a decision.’: 11-year-old with Osteogenic Sarcoma voluntarily amputates leg
“I was told it was just ‘growing pains.’ I felt the pain with every bend of my knee. Hours later, I heard people crying around me about a ‘missing leg.’ I tried to open my eyes. The pain is still so vivid.”
‘This surgery is unlike the other 35. Do you understand we don’t know the effects?’ With a shaky hand, I signed my name on the black line.’: Woman with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome undergoes life-altering surgery
“‘I’m ‘chickening out. I can’t do it.’ My dad was holding the door open when I took ONE step and froze. Something shifted in my back like it never had. I had some ‘colorful language’ and said, ‘Let’s go.’ Tears in my eyes, I signed my name on the black line. 8 hours later, I woke up screaming. ‘I can’t do this! Ow! The pain! Ow! PUT ME IN A COMA! I CAN’T DO THIS!’ The meds weren’t working. My mom was rushed in.”
