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.
‘Mom, I can’t get the video out of my head.’ My sweet boys who still snuggle, could be viewed as a threat.’: Mom encourages sons to protest, ‘My boys got to participate in something so impactful’
“’Why is that officer on that man’s neck?’ It dawned on me, although we explained racism and expressed there are people who will hate them because of their skin color, we failed to put emphasis on how some of those people may very well be the same ones intended to protect you.”
‘I’m lying on the ground crying. ‘I can’t bear this.’ His life will be over before it really begins.’: Mom advocates for son’s terminal illness, Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, ‘Strength is more than muscle’
“How can I watch him learn how to feed himself, knowing all too soon he won’t be able to move his arms? I tried to imagine what life was going to look like with this diagnosis. ‘I just can’t do this.’”
‘Will she have brain issues?’ The doctor held my hand and said, ‘I don’t know.’ I’ve never been so scared.’: Woman births baby with Spina bifida, Hydrocephalus, ‘We’ve been through so much’
“We were given options to terminate. ‘Am I being punished?’ I didn’t know if either of us would make it. All I could do was hide in my closet and cry.”
‘I was embarrassed to announce my pregnancy. ‘I have a 3-month-old. What will they think?’: Mom of 11 ‘thankful for each healthy baby’
“Who wants to watch 10 kids? The babies were coming closer and closer and when our third child was only 3 months old, I found out that number 4 was on the way.”
‘I have proof I’m not lazy. The doctor said, ‘You’ll have challenges.’ Sometimes I can’t form a sentence.’: Woman diagnosed with narcolepsy, ‘I refuse to let it control my life’
“I sat motionless in my car, trying to process what it all meant. The world felt so quiet and so loud at the same time, as if it wasn’t the world’s noise I was hearing but the ringing in your ears you hear when you’re about to get sick.”
‘I could’ve said no. I whispered, ‘I love you,’ as I thought about the significance of this appointment.’: Woman unsure of motherhood becomes special needs mom of 4, ‘Our hearts are full’
“In my ignorance and privilege, I could have opted for a simpler way. I could have said ‘yes’ to the stereotypical American family. But here I am, fully aware of the glorious ways motherhood has wrecked me.”
‘You’re having TRIPLETS.’ He recommended a reduction. I would NEVER want to tell anyone.’: Couple goes on grueling fertility journey, has 3 children, ‘I realized how incredibly strong I am’
“I bled a LOT the day before my ultrasound. How on earth could we make this decision? I couldn’t sleep that night.”
‘Let him be a kid. Stop trying to force medicine down his throat.’ I felt like I failed him.’: Woman has son with ADHD, daughter with Down syndrome, ‘Special needs do not have to be scary’
“’They won’t give you a diagnosis. You’re wasting your time.’ My heart sank. Two children with special needs? I barely made it to my car before I burst into tears.”
‘My stomach was ‘without signs of life.’ I was uncontrollably weeping. The thing I was meant to do, I couldn’t.’: Woman recalls infertility and adoption journey, ‘Our world changed forever’
“I had pain no one could identify with no hope of healing. A crawling on my hands and knees kind of pain. I felt forgotten.”
‘Oh no!’ I cried. I thought this only happened in movies. The doctor said, ‘I’m so sorry.’: Mom describes having a baby with Down syndrome, ‘I would choose him again and again’
“I felt like I was holding my breath for the remaining 27 weeks. Was I going to be able to love him as much as I love Lucas? I thought the Down syndrome label would consume this little being, that he would be more Down syndrome’s son than mine.”