“The ‘love of my life’ went to prison. ‘Why?! Finally, I can get away from him! And now I’m carrying his child!?’ I was so scared. Once I had my daughter, I didn’t say a word. Until one night, she was 3 months old, he randomly shows up at my door at 9:00 p.m. When I opened it, my heart felt like it was in my throat. He just stood there and stared at her as I held her in my arms. She was his twin.”
‘He accused me of the baby not being his. Didn’t want anything to do with us. I’d be dead if I hadn’t gotten pregnant.’: Single mom says daughter saved her life from heroin addiction, ‘I thank God every single day for her’
‘MOMMA?’ Wait WHAT?! I’d never been called that. ‘Sweetheart, he’s calling YOU.’ I turned around.’: Couple adopt son from foster care after grueling, 4-year infertility battle
“My phone rang. I could hear excitement in the social worker’s voice. I waited anxiously. ‘Sydney, we have a match. 18 months. Biracial. He’s perfect!’ He walked in. Little snowsuit on. Shy, but curious. He didn’t make a peep, but he took my hand. I cried the whole way home. 4 years. Thousands of tears. Millions of prayers. One phone call later. This was it.”
‘I remember his name, I remember his face, but most of all, I remember his scream.’: Nurse says healthcare professionals have a ‘different kind of resilience, ‘They are superheroes, in every sense of the word’
“As I stepped into the room, I experienced something I never could have prepared myself for. The look of absolute misery on his face, the way the tears streamed down his cheeks, the way his eyes pleaded with us to stop. I helped hold him down. It was necessary, yet so horrible. I had tears in my eyes. I went home that day wondering how I was going to come back tomorrow.”
‘In a Waffle House bathroom, I wiped. Bright red blood. Stunned, ‘Oh my God, this can’t be happening again.’: Couple suffers 5 miscarriages to finally welcome surprise rainbow baby, ‘All 9 of my children are and were a gift from God’
“I called the doctor. ‘It should be ok, sometimes people spot. Just come in when you’re back.’ The bright red spotting didn’t stop our entire beach trip. We get to the doctors, in the same ultrasound room as our last baby. I stare at the same ugly ceiling, look at the same vagina poster. I yearn for baby to be ok like the babies pictured in the hideous Sears-looking newborn photos on the wall. It was not ok. The words came once again. ‘I’m sorry.’ Silence. Again. 5 times.”
‘I typed his case number into the box. ‘Refused.’ It had to be a mistake, a processing error. A goof.’: Couple finally adopts son after 2-year wait to bring him home
“We should’ve been on our way to pick him weeks ago. But morning after morning when I clicked on the tab in my web browser, I was greeted with the same disappointing message: ‘Pending.’ Until one morning, it changed. ‘I hate to tell you this news. He tested positive for Primary Koch Infection.’ ‘Primary what? What’s that?’ ‘CJ has $%*&-ing tuberculosis,’ I whisper-yelled to my husband.”
‘Why wouldn’t you just turn on the lamp first?’, I’ve thought silently a thousand times. ‘Wait, why are you like this?’: Husband unexpectedly ‘triggers’ wife by reminding her of mother’s abuse
“Sometimes, my husband goes to bed before me. He turns off the big lights, and then turns on a lamp for me. It should be literally no big deal, right? Just a nice thing for him to do on his way to bed, in all reality. It has always annoyed me to my absolute core.”
‘Light as a feather, stiff as a board,’ we quietly chanted. We started lifting. Our hearts pounding.’: Mom of teenager recalls spooky slumber party game she convinced them to play, ‘Part of me was terrified’
“We gathered the willing victims. Each of us could hear our hearts pounding. Each of us felt our pulse with the seconds that ticked by. Each of us gasped a little as she rose up from the ground. Inch by inch by inch, her body rose up and floated, barely being supported by our fingers. My friend and I looked at each other, wide-eyed and surprised, mouthing the words, ‘it-works.’”
‘Has she been active? When did she last move?’ They laid her in my arms. Her little body already changed.’: Couple loses daughter in tragic ‘freak accident’ still birth, ‘I will not get over it’over it’
“She was perfectly formed. She had long, narrow toes like her Mama, full beautiful lips like her Daddy. It took my breath away. I was in love. But our sweet baby wasn’t there. We held and kissed her 1,000 times. ‘We will miss you every moment of our lives,’ we told her. I could almost hear her coo. We said goodbye to her little body. They carried her away.”
‘Can I sleep with you tonight mommy?’ I still get chills thinking about it. I cried my eyes out.’: Mom swears her child is ‘the reason I am alive,’ after traumatic relationship leaves her contemplating suicide
“I met this guy who was a little older than me. He had a daughter the same age as mine, it was too good to be true. ‘This is it, this is the guy who’s going to fix what was broken.’ But I learned very quickly how someone could live two totally separate lives. It was a nightmare. In that moment, I swear I heard it loud and clear. ‘I gave you the person who needed you the most.’ My daughter walked into my bedroom.”
‘He took a deep breath. ‘Cady, I have feelings for you.’ My heart started beating. ‘I had to be honest.’: 24-year-old widow marries ‘dear friend’ of late husband after tragically watching him ‘suffocate to death’
“I was 24 years old when I watched my husband suffocate to death. I destroyed the hospital room. I threw things. I screamed. I tried to resuscitate him. And then I lay helplessly on his cold chest and sobbed. But I was not alone that day. Jon was a dear friend of Jordan’s. In our wedding, Jon was one of our ushers. He paused to let me take in what he was saying. ‘I just want what is best for you. If you want me to wait for you, I will.’”