“Honestly, I liked it. I liked that I was 4 months pregnant and you couldn’t even tell. I tried to breastfeed my daughter but my body was weak and malnourished.”
‘You look so thin!’ The first trimester, I threw up anything I dared put in my mouth. I lost 25 pounds.’: Woman recounts ‘emotional’ journey to body positivity
‘You sure you want to eat that? You’d be so pretty if you lost weight.’ I watched girls develop cute figures while I hid behind baggy clothes.’: Binge eating disorder warrior details emotional 140-pound weight loss journey
“I wanted so badly to fit in that when a boy I liked asked me out I was so excited I didn’t even think about it and said yes! But my excitement was short lived, only to find out he was dared to do it and said he’d never go out with a ‘lard a–‘ like me. In 2019, I was tired of not enjoying my life. I wanted to get healthy, for ME.”
My Son Likes To Wear Dresses, And I Am So Proud Of His Bravery
“In my house, we accept people as they are and support them to be who they want to be. Because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
‘She just happened to be available after a match fell through. It was meant to be.’: Same-sex couple welcome twins via surrogate
“Due to COVID, we were only allowed to join through a Zoom call. We sat in the parking lot and watched the doctor take two small dots and implant them into the surrogate. That faint blue line instantly changed everything.”
‘The doctor said, ‘We don’t know why it happened but it’ll never happen again.’ He made a very big mistake.’: Amputee fights unknown illness
“My leg tore open and blood vessels were bursting. A washbasin was held under my leg because it poured out like a tap. A student nurse gagged while I tried to hold it together.”
‘A police officer was on the other end of the phone. ‘He didn’t have enough time to stop.’ They told me to take him off the ventilator.’: Woman becomes caretaker to husband after accident
“His body lay lifeless in the small bed. Monitors beeping, tubes coming out of every direction, ventilator helping him breathe. My husband of 7 years was in a critical condition, fighting for his life right before my eyes.”
‘I woke up with a tube down my throat. I couldn’t talk. On a piece of paper, I wrote, ‘I want my mom.’: Chronic illness warrior says ‘faith can do wonders’
“Halfway through my 12-hour shift, I began to feel very sick. ‘You need to sit down.’ I had a fever and my oxygen level was low. The next few weeks were a blur.”
‘I felt incredibly optimistic, CERTAIN my old life would return. Boy, was I WRONG.’: Young woman battles Lyme Disease, turns to alternative medicine
“I was losing my vision, and could barely breathe. I spilled onto the platform packed with HUNDREDS of commuting New Yorkers.”
‘Am I going to throw up? Surprise! It’s s—t. There’s diarrhea all over. My husband is helping me with my hospital gown while simultaneously WIPING MY ASS.’: Mom hilariously recounts precipitous labor experience
“Doctor finally comes. ‘I NEED DRUGS! WHERE IS THE EPIDURAL MAN? TELL HIM I NEED HIM.’ I am screaming, begging, pleading. The doctor smiles at me while the nurses put an IV in my arm. They tell me they need to check to make sure my water broke. I spread my legs and they can already see my baby’s head. 7 centimeters dilated. F–k…me.”
‘The kid our school labeled ‘severely intellectually disabled’ just got an A in every class.’: Teen with nonverbal autism thrives after leaving exclusive public school
“17 years ago, I had no idea how much the world would overlook and underestimate my son. When I realized just how much harm public school was causing him, I pulled him out.”
‘I looked and felt like Wonder Woman. Then, I had two children.’: Former Olympian recounts journey with postpartum depression, body positivity
“Where did it all go WRONG?’ My body wasn’t my own and I was apathetic towards my amazing life.”
‘He built the American Dream with nothing but his own blood, sweat, and tears.’: Daughter pays it forward after selfless father passes away
“I can’t think of a better way to honor and remember a man whose entire life was dedicated to making life better for anyone he could.”
‘As if starting high school isn’t stressful enough, I had a condition which could KILL me.’: Woman details journey with Long QT syndrome, anxiety, depression
“Here I was with a life many people only DREAM of, yet I was feeling hopeless and numb.”
‘How is your house so clean with two kids?!’ They don’t realize the literal pain I feel inside when it’s not.’: Woman details navigating motherhood with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
“I’ve always needed things to be kept clean, in order, and put in just the ‘right’ place. I used to joke for years about having OCD. Then I got diagnosed a few months ago, and it wasn’t so funny anymore. It was a slap in the face.”
‘After six long months grieving the end of my 8-year relationship, I walked into a hotel bar. ‘Can I sit with you while I wait for a friend?’: Woman shares ‘whirlwind’ love story
“I walked in, independent and confident, scanning the tables, wondering who would be interesting to talk with. As my rational mind kicked in, I said to myself, ‘What are you doing here? Who goes to a bar alone?’ About to walk out, I noticed a table with three people. One small choice would change the course of my existence.”
‘You CHOSE to have him!’ It was as if he was a patient and not my own baby.’: Mom battling postpartum depression urges ‘you are worthy of help’
“’This is supposed to be the HAPPIEST time in your life!’ I can’t do this AGAIN. I felt forgotten.”
‘I loved you before them. But with them between us now, I love you even more. As a dad, your light shines even brighter.’: Mom shares ode to father of her children
“You have seen me at my worst, my weakest, my most challenging of moments and tiredness of years. Of pregnancies, of births, of postpartum. Yet you hold my hand even tighter.”
‘It felt like razor blades in my uterus. ‘I NEED pain medication!’ I thought I was going to throw up.’: Nonverbal woman with cerebral palsy shares journey with endometriosis
“‘This is not normal period pain.’ I stopped working, stopped going out, and stopped talking to anyone.”
Sweet Child, May We Forever Be Each Other’s Constant
“‘Mama, can you rest with me?’ She points to her chest and has me lay my head down. Oh, the sweet sound of her breath. Her soft hands gently stroking my hair as we lay in silence. Her hands comforting and soothing this restless heart of mine. One night, the air will be silent, only filled with a hug and a kiss goodnight.”
‘He popped my hip out with a simple tap of his finger. I believed I’d always live in pain.’: Chronic illness warrior ‘thankful’ for journey
“The doctor came in. ‘How many broken bones do you think you have?’ Then he laughed and said, ‘You’re completely fine.’ I doubted my own body, thinking my pain was all in my head.”
‘At 6 years old, I cried alone in a dressing room. ‘Why don’t they have bigger sizes?’: Woman recounts her journey to self-love
“I was the fat girl who hated herself. I’d wear hoodies with my sleeves pulled up in the scorching summers. I thought it was better to pass out from the heat than have someone see my ‘repulsive’ body.”
We Need Your Support, Even After The Newborn Phase Ends
“I’m still in postpartum clothes, stained and stretched. I’m still wearing my hair whichever way is easiest, messy and practical. I’m still anchored at home, under him and on top of nothing.”
‘I silently mouthed to my husband, ‘We have a little girl.’ At that moment, we became parents.’: Adoptive mom of 4 shares journey
“She asked us to be Elijah’s parents over a meal. I was scared but determined as I wrote my cell number down on a scrap piece of paper and pushed it across the wooden table.”
‘The doctor ruled it ‘a terrible, chance accident.’ We were alone as a little trio, together in this grief.’: Surrogate for LGBTQ couple experiences loss, ‘I want their dreams to come true’
“A week before their flight, the worst happened. ‘How am I going to tell them?’ I didn’t feel him moving.”
‘3 days postpartum, I looked at my husband. ‘I want to throw our son.’: Mom says ‘even through the fog of depression, I am worthy’
“I had a massive panic attack while feeding him. His latch pierced me with pain. I had nightly terrors one or both of us were left dead on the hospital table. My doctor asked, ‘How are you doing?’ I just cried.”