Emily Richey is a graduate of Pace University NYC. She has written and edited for multiple online platforms, including Love What Matters. She spends her free time petting stray cats.
‘The first thing the doctor said was, ‘I see we’re having some anxiety lately?’ I was in denial.’: Mom battling postpartum depression says ‘it’s NOTHING to be ashamed of’
“I’d stay in the same clothes for days and shower once a week. My hair was never brushed. ‘I’ll never let it get this bad again.’ I was disgusted with myself.”
‘I looked him in the eyes and said, ‘I will die a slow painful death.’ He nodded.’: Widow diagnosed with ALS 5 years after loss of husband, ‘My legacy will not be fear’
“I was under the impression I’d met my quota and wouldn’t have to endure something that painful ever again. One morning, my left foot started dragging behind me. I was petrified.”
‘I opened Google and typed ‘pink discharge pregnant.’ Everything indicated it could be normal.’: Mom spreads miscarriage awareness, ‘Women are suffering in silence’
“Suddenly pain started. I felt a clot and a little relief. The bed, my jacket, and my underwear were all soiled.”
‘After 10-hour surgery, we walked into a room of alarming bells. Nurses rushed in. ‘She’s a fighter!’: Mom inspired by daughter battling spinal cord tumor
“At 16 months old, I watched her vomit all over herself from chemo and go back to smiling. Maybe it’s a metaphor for how messy life is: clean it up and get back to what makes you happy.”
‘Something was terribly wrong. She wasn’t crying. ‘Your girl is very sick.’: Mom loses 19-day-old baby to Trisomy 13, ‘God will turn these ashes into beauty’
“I went for car drives and SCREAMED. I felt so much bitterness and anger. No one could tell us how long she’d live. Maybe just a few more hours, maybe months… we had no idea.”
‘I was tired of staring at negative pregnancy tests and empty bedrooms.’: Foster mom battling infertility says ‘no matter how I’m called to mother, I’m a whole person’
“I mourned the potential loss of a forever family. My heart was double aching for the loving home I knew we could provide a child in need.”
‘You should put her up for adoption.’ They thought my ‘deformities’ would ‘severely handicap’ me.’: Woman born with amniotic band syndrome is ‘not limited in ANY way’
“‘We just don’t know what to do.’ They thought I’d never be able to walk, run, or have normal brain function. I HAD to believe in myself.”
‘Amber, what if we’re supposed to max out our home?’ We both froze.’: Couple adopts 7 kids from foster care, ‘We’re incredibly blessed’
“It hit us like a ton of bricks. For every biological child we had, there’d be one less child we’d be able to pull out of the system. It pushed us forward to finish the race.”
‘I gently lathered shampoo and rinsed. I felt a fullness in my fists, countless strands in tangled clumps among the suds.’: Woman with alopecia urges ‘losing hair doesn’t equal losing value’
“Over the following weeks, fishing clumps of hair from the drain became part of my routine. People commented, ‘What a waste of a body.’ This disease isn’t cruel, the stigma is.”
‘I licked her skin to see if it was salty. I cried, thinking my tiny baby was going to die before 20.’: First-time mom to daughter with cystic fibrosis says ‘she’s THRIVING’
“The bad seemed to outweigh the good. Hospital stays, lung transplants, endless medications, isolation. The first thing her team said was, ‘Don’t believe anything you read online.'”