‘I had to wear adult diapers. ‘Do you realize how stupid you look?’ He was mimicking my tics in front of the class.’: Young woman with Tourette’s Syndrome finally finds help, ‘I got my quality of life back’

“I felt stupid because no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop. I would spend an hour straightening my shoes, trying to get them ‘just right.’ My dad had to sleep on the floor next to my bed and I had to wear adult diapers. I was left with my self-esteem in shatters. I believed I was a naughty kid.”

’I am home fighting a battle. I am considered non-essential and furloughed from my job. The fear is real.’: Mom out of work during Coronavirus quarantine, ‘‘right now, I need to focus on things I am grateful for’

“I have been given the gift of time amidst all this and I need to appreciate it, embrace it and be thankful, even when I’m scared. I wondered what it would be like to give 100% of myself to just my family. An opportunity that seemed so unrealistic… until suddenly, it wasn’t.”

‘Bring me breakfast in the morning if we’re still here,’ joked the doctor. The treatments were painful, I tried to be brave.’: Woman describes her journey with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, ‘I never had a childhood, but hope I can have a good adulthood’

“I was always fragile. When I wasn’t sick, I was injuring myself. My skin would turn purple and red with spots, and everything burned to the touch. I was probed with questions and faced with students’ and faculty’s disbelief. ‘You don’t look sick.’ Using the school’s only elevator resulted in harassment.”

‘I lost 3 patients within the first 8 hours of my shift!’ A new person would come in, sicker then the one before.’: ER nurse begs people to follow quarantine rules, ‘don’t think of yourselves being ‘STUCK’ at home, but being SAFE at home’

“One patient had thrown his shoe at the closed glass door to get our attention. I picked up the call light, reassessed their vitals, and they were comfortable. I’m having a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that patient was TALKING to me and LESS THAN 30 minutes later this patient was DEAD!”

‘I slid onto the floor as I heard the doctor speak. ‘Why do I have to have cancer again, Mama?’ Time seemed to freeze.’: Girl battles neuroblastoma, ‘Izzy continued to fight and the rest of the world just kept going’

“The call came just like it does in the movies. I sat in a rocking chair in her room and slid onto the floor as I heard the doctor speak. I stared at this little play clock. I can still see it so vividly — its tiny yellow hands stood still on its pink face. Time seemed to freeze in those moments. I would remember it as the day our life stopped.”

‘He’s taking my phone away. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.’ I barely hit send before it was ripped away and sent through the wall.’: Domestic abuse survivor says ‘I am taking my power back’

“I hid in the corner in a fetal position, trying to protect myself. I texted my best friend in a panic. ‘I just need someone to know I’m not dead.’ I barely hit send before my phone was sent through the wall. After I escaped barely alive, my dad gave my abuser a place to live on his property.”

‘You need to decide which baby you want to save.’ Inside, I was starting to unravel. The pregnancy was unplanned, let alone two babies!’: After difficult twin pregnancy mom says ‘God is always here for us’

“We’d worked so hard to get here to just go into labor now. It didn’t seem fair. I kept looking over at Ry for reassurance. Inside, I was freaking out. In my blind ignorance, I was telling myself this is something that shouldn’t be happening to us. ‘If they make it, it is because their trial has made them stronger.'”

‘My husband texted me a photo of her, sitting in the doctor’s office getting her pink cast on with her Mom. My heart hurt, but I couldn’t express it.’: Stepmom says the key is to ‘step up, step back, and step over’

“I burst into the tears during that scene and immediately excused myself to get more popcorn. I would give my two cents on Joe’s response to a text or an e-mail. Joe and I would end up fighting about a conflict that wasn’t between us to begin with! In the words of my dear friend Elsa… ‘Let it GO!’”

‘I kept asking, ‘Is my baby okay? Why has no one updated me yet?’ I don’t want to touch him. I don’t want to even look at him.’: Baby born with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, ‘They avoid us like the plague’

“‘Termination should be strongly considered,’ was rubbed into my face. For 2 weeks after his birth, no one but myself and my husband were allowed to see Preston due to isolation. Our 2-year-old daughter wasn’t allowed to meet her new little brother. I didn’t ever go a day without having hope.”