Rebecca Balfe is a former editor for Love What Matters. She resides in NYC, owning and rescuing adorable cats. She is an avid Lupus fighter and advocate.
‘Her heart’s on the wrong side.’ She held the tip of my finger. We thought we beat the odds.’: NICU survivor diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, ‘One day she WILL walk’
“We were having a baby 6 weeks early. ‘I need to hear her cry!’ I entered the world of the unknown.”
My Ex-Husband And I Weren’t Meant To Be Lovers, But We Were Destined To Be Co-Parents
“The greatest lesson we’ve both learned through this entire journey is if we put our child first, everything else will fall into place.”
‘Something’s happened to Drew. We were on our way to the park.’ I thought, ‘He’ll be OK.’ I had to keep my promise to him.’: Woman with CHD becomes advocate after losing nephew to disease
“The doctor said, ‘Time to pray.’ She’d never seen so many tubes in such a little body. They filled with blood. ‘We’re having a problem.’”
‘Of course you’re OK!’ He’s 36, the prime of his life! ‘We don’t need sirens.’ Halfway there, the sirens turned on.’: Widow shares grief journey, ‘This won’t define our family’
‘I heard a guttural scream and wondered where it was coming from. It was coming from me.”
‘He’s only 11! He’s too young for college.’ She set out to prove I wasn’t smart. I got grouped with disruptive kids.’: 13-year-old attends college, ‘I found a place that challenges me’
“In 1st grade they took my reading score. ‘We’re looking for anything over 50. Over 200 and they’re ready for 2nd grade. Rohan scored 530.’”
‘He’ll be bulletproof!’ I handed him to the nurse and we locked eyes. Chaos ensued.’: Baby born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, ‘I love to be reminded of how he lived’
‘At 6 days old, Lawson had his first open-heart surgery. My baby had been through SO much. I was ready to give him the gift of time and life. He’s perfect.”
‘You look like you’ve got a cancer patient. Who is going to pick YOU?’: Mom adopts daughter with alopecia and baby boy, ‘I’m in awe of my family’
“They melted and said, ‘Look at the joy in her face. If they love her, we know they’ll love our baby.’ They saw a family with differences and still chose us.”
‘I remember the bomb going off and the leg shrapnel. 17 years later, more doctors. ’PLEASE, I don’t want to worry anymore.’: Vet survives war injury, melanoma
“I was talking to a doctor once again. This time it was different. I worried about my kids and the orphans. ‘We want to send you a check.’ The joy those words brought was indescribable.”
‘I simply gave my husband a thumbs up. ‘This has to be a dream!’ We prayed for YEARS. There were no words.’: Couple conceives through IVF, ‘We never take a moment for granted’
“I was paranoid something would go wrong. It didn’t seem real! We both sat and looked at each other in shock.”
‘If we don’t get approved, it’s my fault.’ He had to discuss his ‘colorful’ past. We worried being gay would make it harder.’: Dads foster to adopt, ‘We can’t wait to show him to the world’
“We were a mess and tissues were passed around by the bucket load. We knew he HAD to become our son.”