‘We were given the all clear and were starting to live our lives! Then one night, my husband found a lump in his neck. I felt so extremely sick. I was throwing up. That’s when my husband suggested, ‘I think you should take a pregnancy test.’ ‘There is no way,’ I told him.”
‘This child was made for YOU. You’re the only mother for her. She’s going to be your greatest pride.’ These words broke me. I didn’t know if I believed her.’: Woman shares family’s journey with Down Syndrome, cancer, tumors
‘My 7-year-old child was taught how to attempt suicide. She was constantly told to ‘go kill yourself’ by other gamers. She was shown HOW to.’
“Sunday night, she had a full-blown anxiety attack. I held her and sang to her while she got through it. Monday, she drew this in school.”
‘Katie, Katie!’ Bullets pinged. I had a death grip on my friend’s hand. No way in hell I was letting go.’: Route 91, Las Vegas Mass Shooting survivor shows ‘random acts of kindness,’ ‘we will NOT let him win’
“We always want to know where the nearest exit is. Our minds are forever thinking of an escape plan. The triggers can hit when we least expect it. But I won’t let HIM win. It took us a while before we picked ourselves up and got back to doing what we love to do: go to concerts. WE win. Love wins. Kindeness wins.”
‘There was something wrong with his face. ‘It’s not fair! I wasn’t supposed to have a baby like THIS.’ My husband kept telling me the doctor was wrong, but I knew otherwise.’: Mom a ‘blubbering mess’ after ultrasound reveals son’s cleft lip and palate
“I walked to the parking lot, then to my car. As soon as the door closed, and no one was watching, the tears started to flow. How could there be anything wrong with my baby?! I couldn’t even picture it. It didn’t make sense. I felt like I let everyone down.”
‘My daughter changed her profile picture. After 5 minutes I get a text. ‘I didn’t know she was dating a black boy, did you?’: Woman recounts unexpected racist interaction
“It took me all day to think up a response.”
‘I looked over at my beautiful baby girl, her blue eyes staring back at me. ‘I’m going to get through this.’ Fighting for my life was the only option.’: New mom survives Guillain-Barre Syndrome, ‘I’m grateful to be alive’
“I couldn’t even fathom what he was saying to me. I was 26 years old, and just gave birth to my daughter 3 weeks before. ‘I can’t stay in the hospital. I need to go home and take care of my newborn.’ ‘Call your family. Tell them they need to come here, right now,’ the doctor told me.”
‘I didn’t get a date to our senior prom. I went instead with a gay classmate of mine. There was no one to shield me from the bullies.’: Woman details journey with cerebral palsy, aggressive ovarian cancer
“Every time a breeze blew by, I could see strands of hair falling to the ground. All I could do was sleep. Every time my brother tried to carry me, I would scream in pain. He rushed me to the nearest hospital, and I begged them to operate on me. The tumor burst inside of me and spread cancer cells all over.”
‘Are you the husband?’ He replied, ‘Haley’s?’ ‘Yes. She and baby aren’t doing well. The baby needs to come NOW.’ I tried to frantically call him. He was completely unaware.’
“When I woke up, I was in a big open room full of other patients recovering. I had multiple nurses around me. One said, ‘Your son is in the NICU.’ My son?! I have a SON? This definitely wasn’t how I expected to find out!”
‘I don’t want to be a foster mom right now.’ The call came when I least expected it. EVERYTHING changed. ‘I’m not ready to lose them.’: Couple takes in 3 siblings, ‘Being a foster mom is a joy’
“‘We have a sibling set of three children.’ I interrupted, ‘THREE??’ It was then that we knew. I felt the dream of a newborn baby slipping away as we agreed to ‘a short while’ while they looked for a prepared family.”
‘Since I was 12, I wanted to be Mrs. Chris. He was my first kiss, my first love. Only there was one problem. Chris was older than me. We had to sneak around. I was obsessed with him.’
“My little sister and I were talking about our pasts. Of course, Chris came up. I made the comment that I needed to call him and see how he’s doing. A few hours later, the phone rang. I recognized the name on Caller ID right away. It was Chris! I was so excited that I jumped. However, it wasn’t Chris on the other end. It was his stepdad.”