“Yes, I had always been one of the bigger boys, but I was never ‘fat.’ I was a football player. A wrestler. A soccer player. I was big, but athletic.”
‘I was staring at the scale in disbelief. The needle stopped at 320 pounds. I knew I wasn’t skinny by any means, but was I really 320 pounds?!’
‘I had never been aware of the world of anti-depressants. How can you be THAT sad? I didn’t get it. Then my 2-year-old was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma.’
“It was then that I understood depression. I was completely overwhelmed. I was getting frustrated with my daughter who couldn’t help or control anything she was doing or what was happening to her. I felt crazy.”
‘We knew she was HIV+ which wasn’t a big deal. We wanted to adopt a child with this ‘special need.’ She was so beautiful.’
“She was 2 years old and only weighed about 15 pounds. She could hardly stand on her own, let alone walk.”
‘They couldn’t seem to find a cause for her fatal sickness. No one could explain how this happened to our family – again.’
“We found out this was a spontaneous condition. Just 4 months in, our world came crashing down all over again.”
‘It’s the size of my thigh. I’m out of breath. I’ve ripped it!’ Mom’s HYSTERICAL attempt trying on too-tiny SPANX
“Oh that’s not funny. That’s freaking stuck. Oh my gosh, WHY WOULD I DO THIS?”
‘For every woman unhappy with her postpartum marks, there is one wishing she had them.’ I once was her, the ‘one.’
“Some mama’s go home with only scars and no baby in their arms. For the ‘one’ wishing, hoping, praying for her miracle, this is for you.”
‘Would one make it? Would any make it? Or would all make it? He gave us the news and I started crying.’
“I could not believe it. I was sobbing and couldn’t believe this was real life.”
‘The doctor said, ‘We’ve tried everything, but we couldn’t restart her heart.’ I had to make the choice. Continue or ‘let her go.’: Mom loses daughter to sepsis, honor daughter’s ‘light’ with kindness
“I said the hardest word I’ve ever had to say: okay. As they stopped compressions and the beeping slowed to a stop, I sang, ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.’ I knew I had to do something. I refused to let her light stop shining.”
‘Hey Dad, I haven’t been feeling too well. Could you take me to the doctor? I think I might have a sinus infection.’: Daughter teaches dad important lesson on the importance of ‘being brave’
“‘Sure baby, I’ll pick you up after school.’ My daughter’s sinus infection was anything but.”
I Photographed This Newborn With Microcephaly A Day Before He Died, And The Experience Will Forever Stick With Me
“I do what I do because every life deserves to be captured. Your story matters, and it deserves to be remembered.”