“I wanted another maternity leave. One without sore nipples, leaking breasts, crying babies, or daily trips to the NICU. I wanted ‘a pause’ on life. But then something changed. I took a breath and I began to see things through a new lens.”
‘I have no desire to be a SAHM, no disrespect. I want to let my children sleep in, relax on the couch. I just wanted a moment to regroup.’: Working mom says ‘my children need me, but I need them more’
‘This may come as a surprise…but we aren’t on a routine. My house is not a school. My children do work when they feel like it.’: Mom gives herself ‘grace’ during quarantine, ‘I don’t feel bad about it’
“I’m not homeschooling. The younger two have their packets and are completing them when they feel like it. We aren’t getting up super early, and we’ve watched more TV then we probably should. Because the truth is, this situation is the pits. Pretty much anything goes about now.”
‘I remembered there’s the most delicious donut shop. I got an idea. That night, I ordered 60 tacos.’: Nurse says ‘show a health care worker you appreciate they are out there risking their life’
“Going to work feels a little like going to war. Knowing the hardship restaurants are experiencing, I got an idea. That night, I shared my ‘economic stimulus donuts’ with my coworkers.”
‘You could have an abortion. At least save yourself.’ I was pregnant with my first baby, and planning his funeral.’: Woman encouraged to terminate baby with down syndrome, ‘We can’t control what our lives will bring us’
“A week later, I got a phone call from the abortion clinic to schedule an appointment. It turns out my doctor and his wife aborted their child with down syndrome because they thought he or she would become a burden. He thought I should do the same.”
‘I went from, ‘This is so blown out of proportion. What is wrong with people?’ to ‘What if someone I love gets this? What I get this?’: Woman says ‘it’s okay to not be okay right now, go easy on yourself and others’
“Why do I strangely feel like I am a character in a Stephen King novel? One minute, I think it will be over. I make jokes. The next minute, I’m having full-blown anxiety. It’s okay to not be okay right now.”
‘It can’t be bad, you’re young. You look fine.’ I questioned whether my symptoms were in my head.’: Single mom diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, ‘I don’t know what tomorrow has in store, but I’m ready to fight’
“I went from busy full days of work to barely handling the commute. I struggled to keep up with other moms my age. Misconceptions such as, ‘Young people can’t get it,’ and ‘You look totally healthy,’ infuriated me. It’s not just a disease for the elderly. I wasn’t fighting only for myself, but also my son.”
‘3 weeks after our trip to Disney, I stared at a black and white image with a mass that took up a third of my son’s brain.’: Dad urges ‘never take a day of normalcy for granted’ during quarantine after losing son to brain tumor
“We were isolated for 28 days in the hospital room. He was immunocompromised. Our world consisted of hand sanitizer, hospital masks, and surgical gloves to avoid contamination. As we watch the news, we hear the increasing mortality rates for coronavirus, some 3%. I would’ve given anything to hear those numbers for my son. Normalcy was ripped from our hands.”
‘My family and I live check to check. ‘The lady in front of you wanted you to have this.’ I start bawling my eyes out in line.’: Woman thanks stranger for act of kindness, ‘There are still great people in this world’
“I was standing in line with my cart. I only had $40 left to my name for 2 weeks and was about to spend $37 of it on this little bit of food. I tell my son, unfortunately, today I can’t afford it. He was upset. I went to pay for our things and the cashier handed me a card. I start bawling my eyes.”
‘If you want to go, we will let you. If you want to fight, we’ll fight forever.’ She didn’t want us to suffer.’: Mom loses baby to Pulmonary Atresia, Intact Ventricular Septum, ‘She made heaven so much bigger’
”I asked my Gramma once, ‘Why do day-lilies only last for one day?’ She just smiled at me and said, ‘Well sweetie, when you are that beautiful, I guess one day is enough.’ We woke up and headed to our baby’s room. We were greeted in the hallway by one of her doctors. ‘I don’t think she’s going to make it through the day.’ We promised to do whatever she wanted.”
‘I cried with you as you checked in, full of tears because your family could not join you. It’s the hardest thing to be doing this alone.’: Labor and delivery nurse says ‘we will be your cheerleaders in these uncertain times’
“Right now, labor and delivery units are on strict isolation, only allowing one or NO guests (not even the baby’s other parent) to visit during labor, delivery, and postpartum time. We want your cheering section to be standing at the window when we open it to show off your new baby. But what we want more than anything, is a healthy mom and baby. We are hurting almost as much as you.”