“I fainted after getting home from karate class, a searing pain in my gut. My mom tried to revive me on the chilly tiles of our bathroom floor. Doctors offered me a second-rate heart, believing I wouldn’t survive otherwise.”
‘He won’t live to see his 7th birthday.’ My eyes were completely sunken into my skeleton-like body.’: Heart and kidney transplant warrior urges ’we’re stronger than we realize’
‘I looked at the doctor, ‘What’s wrong with her exactly?’ She started listing things.’: Mom gives birth to rainbow baby with birth defects, ‘She’s a miracle’
“We couldn’t believe this was happening to our newborn. The surgeons said, ‘We don’t know what we’ll find until we open her up.’ Through social media, people all around the world were praying for our little girl, praying for a miracle.”
‘Dad, I want a job.’ I got to researching. The answer was staring me right in the face.’: Family launches sock business for son with Down syndrome
“Thomas has always played with socks. He’d put one sock into the other and swing them around his fingers for hours. Some children get comfort from a teddy bear or a doll. With Thomas, it was always the socks.”
‘I made a sign saying, ‘This little cubbie needs a kidney.’ I ended up WINNING that night.’: Woman finds kidney donor at Chicago Cubs game, ‘He’s a superhero’
“He saw me and we both waved to each other. It’s a moment I’ll NEVER forget.”
‘He was sent to the principal’s office the first day of kindergarten. He was branded the troublemaker. The attention seeker. The bad child.’: Dad to bullying survivor with autism urges ‘teach your kids compassion’
“No one sat with him at lunch time. Kids laughed when he stimmed or made mistakes. He was kept in during recess to ‘think about his behavior.’ My wife and I couldn’t reconcile this with the child we knew. At home, he was calm and followed directions; at school, he became disruptive.”
‘You need to be the MAN of the house.’ I realized my life was no longer my own.’: Transgender woman finds self love, ‘I’m at peace with who I’ve become’
“‘You’ll NEVER look like a girl or have a feminine voice.’ She didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have on me.”
‘She just doesn’t want to go to school.’ At 18, I became a single mom living with undiagnosed pain.’: Chronic illness warrior becomes advocate with son’s help, ‘I couldn’t live without him’
“I had 9 months symptom-free. ‘I wish I didn’t have to give you this diagnosis.’ I felt like my life was ending.”
I Thought I’d Be Married Forever, But People Change
“If I could go back to that girl walking down the aisle, crying as she looked at the love of her life, thinking this was forever, I wouldn’t whisper in her ear to not do it.”
‘Let your daughter see you take time for yourself—because once she sees you’re worth it, she’ll grow up knowing she’s worth it, too.’: Mom shares tips for raising a strong daughter
“Let your daughter hear you stick up for yourself, never accept disrespect. Let your daughter see you reach out your hand to another woman, pulling her up until she’s steady enough to stand on her own.”
‘Miss Savannah, I’m gay.’ I was told I was never really a Christian.’: Non-binary queer person urges ‘you still belong’
“I stood standing in the church parking lot, tears pouring from my eyes. ‘I don’t think you’ll let me come back to church.’ I was correct.”