“Over the course of 9 months, it never once occurred to us there could be something wrong. The day before we left the hospital, a nurse casually mentioned, ‘Cooper hasn’t passed his mandatory newborn screening.’ I did a little research. By the time we got the diagnosis, I already knew.”
“My nephew was born 48 hours ago at 34 weeks. After Liam was born, they were able to hold him briefly, until he had to be taken to the NICU due to difficulty breathing. Today was the first time that she was able to have her baby on her, skin to skin. My sister is far from alone in this.”
“I have been praying more for others. I have been more understanding of my spouse. It’s not a silver lining because I refuse to call it that. The coronavirus SUCKS.”
“We are a fit and healthy family. We eat well. We exercise. The fevers didn’t come down even after meds. Then the dry cough started. I kept hearing, ‘Kids don’t get sick.’ The doctor came out in full protective gear and said, ‘They’re positive.’ Our kids had been symptom free and up to the minute they got so unwell.”
“Tonight is the last night that I’ll hug my kids goodnight or kiss my husband until god knows when.”
“My husband asked me when I had my last period. ‘I don’t know, what does it matter?’ I hated that question. ‘I’ll take another test, but you already know the answer.’ I was angry, I had taken so many and every negative broke me a little more, didn’t he see that?”
“My teens have seen my breasts in their full, uncovered glory. Just like they see hands wiping noses, lips giving kisses to little injuries, and arms embracing small ones. They get it. They can understand. They can handle it.”
“Our RSVP count was 250 people. We looked forward to having everyone we love in one room. Due to the pandemic, we had to make the difficult decision to cancel. We were heartbroken. ‘Wait. We can postpone the wedding, but why postpone our marriage?’ This wasn’t what we planned, but now we wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
“He died, suddenly. Unfortunately, after his death, his side of my family turned very sour. We lost communication. The only thing I had in terms of clues of where I was from, was the $89 DNA saliva test I took just four months before, and a memoir my Greek Grandfather, Papou, wrote before he died.”
“You want to talk crazy? She requested the judge order him to refer to her as his ‘wife’ and sleep in the same bed as her. It felt like I was in the twilight zone. She even refused to work or support her children financially. She didn’t let him see his children for over a year. It eventually tore my husband and me apart.”
