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.
‘She’ll never walk or talk. Her future is unknown.’: Mother details journey with daughter’s rare chromosomal disorders
“The thing I hate hearing the most is, ‘You just need to wait and see.’ She’s so rare the doctors don’t know the answers to our questions.”
‘Her 9-pound body flopped back lifelessly. She died in my arms at 2 weeks old.’: Mom shares daughter’s journey with rare genetic disorder
“My husband grabbed her from my hands, tossed her over his knees, and started CPR. ‘Please hurry,’ I begged dispatch. I will NEVER forget that night.”
‘There’s a 1-week-old in the hospital.’ I instantly felt he was the baby we’d been waiting for all these years.’: Couple battling infertility adopt son from foster care
“We received a phone call. ‘There’s a family member trying to take placement of him.’ From the first moment we saw his little face, we were in complete and total love.”
‘I called her, sobbing. Her response? ‘I’m driving you. Do you prefer me beside you or in the waiting room? What can I bring over in the meantime?’: Mom shares true meaning behind ‘it takes a village’
“Without hesitating or thinking, she washes bottles. Folds a blanket. Holds James so I can use the bathroom. Her love is instinctual.”
‘I just want to be normal.’ In a moment of weakness, he used a drug he never had before.’: Woman widowed by addiction urges ‘end the stigma’
“All he wanted was to be the best father, husband, and provider he could be. I refuse to let addiction be his legacy.”
‘It’s the most rewarding thing we’ve ever done.’: 3 sisters open their homes to 47 foster kids
“She came barefooted, with only the clothes on her back. This little girl refused food and water for days and lay curled up on a sofa, wrapped in a blanket. We loved her dearly as our own.”
‘What if she has it?’ My husband answered swiftly, ‘She’s our girl. She’ll be awesome regardless.’: Mom in ‘awe’ of daughter with Down syndrome
“I had a thousand questions, but all I could muster was, ‘How does this increase my chances?’ She replied, ‘From about 1 in 320 to 1 in 6.’ The wind was knocked out of me.”
‘I’m unfit to be a mother.’ I wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for the rest of my life.’: Stay-at-home mom shares mental health journey
“I felt resentment toward everyone who was finding joy in this time at home. Wiping butts and being screamed at to watch Blippi isn’t my idea of joyful and fulfilling days. I felt so alone.”
‘I expected to be tucking kids in, singing lullabies. Instead, I was dancing on speakers in an underground nightclub.’: Mom of 3 shares sobriety journey
“I stumbled around the bathroom, my bra shoved down around my waist, covered in vomit. ‘Get in the bath.’ I sat as my husband sprayed me down, fully clothed, like a zookeeper washing a muddy elephant.”
‘NO ONE would babysit him. ‘I’m not able to care for a child like that.’: Mom to son with cerebral palsy urges special needs parents ‘your sacrifice doesn’t go unnoticed’
“We were told they can’t accommodate us or our situations. I cried and cried a lot. We’re trying to make a living like everyone else.”