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.
‘What am I doing wrong?’ I was left on my own to flounder. My nipples were bleeding and I was in pain.’: Mom ‘so embarrassed’ about not breastfeeding, finally urges ‘don’t ever feel the need to defend your decision’
“I was so drugged and drained physically my milk didn’t come in for days. My husband said, ‘As long as our baby is healthy and happy everything else doesn’t matter.’ But I didn’t feel the same. I was hopeless. We’d get the pre-made formula so we didn’t have to do any mixing when we left the house and no one would know. It was so stressful.”
‘You look like you’ve been mauled by a gorilla. What happened to you?’ I lied. She didn’t deserve to know.’: Woman with terminal genetic condition embraces her scars, ‘Look how hard my body works to keep me alive!’
“I was leaving the grocery store. An older woman was staring at me. I felt the familiar rush of blood heat my cheeks and anger rise in my throat. Instead of asking questions about a body that wasn’t hers, she smiled widely. ‘I think I saw you in a magazine!’ I exhaled and laughed, confirming that she had. My scarring looks like burns. This is ‘the worst disease you’ve never heard of.'”
‘At 13, I was 300 lbs. My dad told me, ‘If you want to kill yourself, I’ll help you pull the trigger.’: Woman undergoes weight loss surgery at husband’s demand, ‘My soul is healing with each bout of laughter’
“I almost died on the operating table while my husband was talking to other women. ‘He said you’re giving him a hard time about not coming to visit you. You need to be more independent and let him do his duties.’ I was physically and emotionally broken. I didn’t care if I survived.”
‘If they don’t like it, it’s their problem.’ Sophie was always a very quiet child. She never cried. We were frightened something happened.’: Dad and daughter both find out they are autistic at the same time
“My wife just thought I was weird and Sophie was a chip off the old block. More than just acting like her Daddy, she was autistic like her Daddy. My hope is she meets a partner who loves and understands her and she has 3 autistic daughters so I can have 3 autistic granddaughters!”
‘Are you serious? I’m going to be a dad!’ Then all of it was gone, just gone! I tried to stay strong, but all I could do was cry.’: Dad emotionally recalls pain of stillborn son, ‘My heart was full knowing I got to hold my little boy’
“She said, ‘Get a nurse in the room!’ I found the call button. We had waited so long to have Kane and to hold him and watch him grow. But all of it was gone, just gone!”
‘Help me!’ The color drained from my face. I awoke to cramping and blood dripping on the bathroom floor.’: LGBT couple navigate homophobia, reciprocal IVF journey, ‘our girls will be filled with lots of love’
“Our babies! Were they gone? We drove the 3 hours to the IVF clinic. The doctor informed us, ‘One baby is still there, and next to the baby is a blood clot 4 times its size.’ I remember my eyes filling with tears. I began crying on my wife’s shoulder. ‘What you two are doing isn’t right.’ No one ever tells you how hard it will be to have kids when you’re gay.”
‘Sit down. I need to tell you something.’ ‘Mom, what’s wrong?! Are you ok?’ I found her sitting ladylike in bed.’: Woman recalls hilarious Christmas moment with mom, family still jokes about it during holidays
“My imagination was running wild. I was definitely assuming she was going to tell us something bad. But no. No. No. No. ‘Do you kids know what song they are singing right now?’ ‘Yes,’ I replied (still confused). She began to lightly pat her hands on the bed, beaming with pride.”
‘Oh gosh, it’s THE VIDEO.’ The one from his first wedding. ‘Does he love me as much as her?’: Woman finally accepts being second wife, stepmom, is ‘thankful for the experiences he had because they shaped him to be who he is today’
“I had offered to help my then-boyfriend unpack boxes for his new home. Knowing I was still sensitive to items from the life he had before me, I offered to unpack the living room. I came across something which stopped me in my tracks. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. ‘Am I as pretty as she is?’ I began to feel extremely insecure.”
‘Ugh, you can have my kids. Just relax and it’ll happen.’ My journey ended with a hysterectomy.’: Woman diagnosed with Endometriosis after years of infertility, finally finds peace in a ‘beautiful, unexpectedly child-free life’
“The doctor actually laughed and told me I was ‘just dehydrated.’ One asked, ‘Have you been sexually abused?’ He thought the pain was in my head. I decided it was time to walk away from my dream of being a mother. ‘It’s okay to put yourself and your health first. It’s okay to stop.’ She lovingly placed her hands on my shoulders, looked directly into my eyes and said, ‘You’re going to be okay.'”
‘My boyfriend didn’t sign up for a sick girl. ‘I’d rather die than have a poop bag attached to me.’: Woman with ulcerative colitis learns to ‘love herself’ despite invisible illness
“How can an athletic, smart, strong young woman who has the entire world ahead of her have an incurable sickness? Even with a doctor’s note, my administration accused me of trying to get out of my contractual duties. ‘It’s ridiculous Jess keeps calling off. Does she expect us to cover her classes all of the time?’”