“I knew I had a purpose. I knew it extended far beyond eating salads and running on the treadmill, and I just had to find it. It was the small bites of chocolate, the rest days, the drinking a fruity drink and not thinking about what was in it, and the freedom of knowing my eating disorder did not have me wrapped around its finger anymore.”
‘All I have to do is lose weight, and I’ll be happy forever.’ I had no idea what I was getting into. I wasn’t strong enough to live this way.’: Woman recovers from eating disorder, ‘It’s a battle’
‘When people asked me for gift ideas, I’d smile and say, ‘Just wine and diapers!’ How else could I unwind? It never stopped at just one glass.’: Mom shares sobriety journey, ‘I’m a better mom’
“I entered the life-changing, magical world of motherhood. I had no clue what I was doing. Breastfeeding vs. formula feeding. Crib vs. co-sleeping. It felt like there was nothing we moms could ever agree on. Well, except for one thing… wine.”
‘How could this be happening AGAIN?’ My heart couldn’t handle it.’: After near-death experience, mom welcomes daughter with spina bifida
“‘She’ll likely never walk and she may have brain damage.’ She gently offered termination. But we wanted to raise a strong, independent, and confident daughter. We had a PLAN.”
‘Just enough fat.’ He grabbed my stomach. ‘No one else will want you.’ He wanted to keep me in a box.’: Woman promotes body positivity, ‘Take control over how you see yourself’
“I tried to pull the pants up, and they wouldn’t go over my calves. She mocked me, saying I couldn’t fit in anything in the store.”
‘This is the best day of my life!’: Frozen’s Elsa and Anna deliver surprise wig to girl with Alopecia thanks to USPS worker’s kindness
“I’m not often moved to tears, but the way Caroline’s eyes lit up is something I will never forget.”
‘I convinced myself, ‘I’m not an alcoholic.’ Every time I had a drink, it led to a blackout. I was a sick person.’: Woman shares addiction recovery journey, ‘I love my life today’
“I’d binge and purge, drink, take pills, pass out. I was sure I wasn’t an alcoholic. A woman and her son gasped with disgust when they saw me, handcuffed and shackled. ‘How did I let this happen? How is this my life?’”
‘There’s a 50/50 chance of Down syndrome.’ I was floored. Those are the moments that mark you for life.’: Mom shares Down syndrome acceptance journey, ‘He was the missing piece to our family’
“Those next 7 days were full of highs and lows, holding on to slivers of hope. My husband felt robbed. After two girls, he was looking forward to a little boy. We grieved the life we’d imagined.”
‘Can you hold my hand?’ Even though I couldn’t feel him, he gave me a sense of comfort. There was an army rooting for me’: Quadriplegic thanks community for support
“I lost the brakes on the bike. I went headfirst and instantly, I was paralyzed from the chest down. There were fundraisers, such as dances and bake sales. Individuals stepped up to support my family. There were even anonymous donations to help make our home accessible.”
‘What the heck just happened?’ I looked 7 months pregnant. Our nurse said, ‘Your ovaries are the size of grapefruits!’: Endometriosis warrior candidly details infertility, IVF journey
“Our rock-solid marriage has been tested to its limits.”
‘Mom, I can’t keep being shocked into rhythm every week.’ His heart was running out of fight. It was devastating.’: Mom details son’s heart transplant journey, ‘We got our son back’
“I got a phone call. ‘Parker’s in early heart failure. The disease is attacking his heart.’ He was just days shy of his twelfth birthday. I went into the bathroom, sat on the floor, and cried my eyes out. We were losing him.”