‘I wouldn’t have taken you out if I knew how big you were.’ I wanted to hide, from myself and everyone else’: Young woman undergoes weight loss transformation, ‘I’ve finally found myself’

“If I didn’t make a major change, I was going to kill myself — one bite of food at a time. I’d tried everything short of having an eating disorder and had no hope. ‘How was your surgery? Oh, you lost weight, how did you do it? You took the EASY way out.’ That last comment is one that hurts me. It hurt me then and it hurts me now.”

‘I wanted that ‘shriveled up old prune’ to understand the pain her nasty looks conveyed.’: Mom confesses her ‘raging explosion’ trumped her 3-year-old autistic son’s meltdown, ‘Not my finest moment’

“We tried to enjoy a weekend getaway. We could barely go out in public with our son, but we still proceeded with a dolphin show for our daughter’s sake. An elderly lady passing by was so startled, we thought she might need her smelling salts. The look of disgust and judgement was evident on her face. The rage inside me boiled over. I immediately went into full-blown ‘fight or flight’ mama bear mode.”

‘I’m sorry. There’s no brain activity.’ My baby was turning orange. ‘Turn off the machines.’: Baby ‘brain dead’ after contracting Common Cold Sore, ‘hold your babies a little tighter tonight’

“We were told, ‘Her numbers look good on paper, but she won’t survive.’ The cold sore virus spread. She’d never leave the hospital alive. Before they turned off all the love-sustaining machines, I said goodbye to my first and only child. I watched as she struggled to breathe and turned blue in my arms. All I could do was hold her tightly, and cry. I watched her last breath. I died with her.”

‘My teenage boys helped me shop for their little sister’s first bras today…because breasts happen, y’all.’: Mom challenges ‘stigma’ of female puberty, ‘My boys know picking out a bra is no big deal’

“Lucy came downstairs one night to ask if her ‘nipples should be sore.’ I instantly realized puberty was around the corner. She told her dad, who was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME, that she needed bras. I, the one with breasts, was right there! Fast forward to Target. I explained to my boys Lucy needed some plain bras. They were shocked. ‘What are bras for? She doesn’t look different. Why does she need them? Is she starting puberty?’ By taking them, the stigma was already GONE.”

‘I didn’t even hurt you that bad.’ I believed it when he said, ‘You pushed me to this point.’: Young woman finds courage to leave abusive boyfriend, urges ‘love isn’t abuse in ANY form’

“I finally found the courage to dial those three numbers. I had my phone taken from me, which created a fight in itself. I was lucky enough to be wearing my Apple Watch which allowed me to call. The EMT looked me in the eyes. ‘Any man that puts his hands on you doesn’t love you.’ His words helped me more than he will ever know.”

‘I hope that’s not his stroller! Is it?!’ Of course it is! There’s no reason my son can’t play with a baby doll.’: Mom ‘proud’ of son for caring for his baby dolls like a real-life daddy

“I was caught off guard. ‘Why don’t you give him a sibling or a dog to play with instead of a doll?’ There’s no reason my son can’t play with babies or dolls or anything deemed ‘too girly.’ Why? Because one day, my son may choose to become a father. You’re not going to tell your adult son he’s too ‘manly’ to change his newborn child’s diaper, are you?! Doubt it.”

‘Momma, I ‘dopted now!’ My son was bitten, strangled, and starved. He had 15 broken bones.’: Couple adopt Shaken Baby Syndrome survivor, ‘He was always ours, now we have the papers to say so’

“He was born just like any other baby. Until his biological mother or father had ‘shaken’ him. We were told he may never walk, talk, eat, see, or hear, and would have to be spoon fed for the rest of his life. People often ask why his skin is so dark. We get so many dirty looks. But we don’t care. We’re just so happy to give him a safe and loving home.”

‘Puppa Marvin?’ This man stopped me in my tracks. You’ve been in Heaven 2 years. But it was you.’: Woman shocked by ‘unexpected visit’ from dead grandpa in grocery store, ‘It was you, I felt you’

“I was walking towards the store with a messy shirt, annoyed. My attitude was crappy. I was stone faced walking in. But that’s when I saw you. It’s been so long since I’ve physically seen you, but you showed up in the grocery store today. I undeniably felt you there. I loaded the baby inside, and this man turned towards me. His eyes lit up. It was your eyes. ‘Hi Puppa Marvin.’”

‘Ma’am, I’m sorry but your husband is deceased.’ The officer found drug paraphernalia. My world crashed.’: Husband leaves wife, toddler behind after fatal overdose

“When I met Danny, I had this crazy premonition one night. I said to myself, ‘This is going to be a tragedy at some point.’ Fast forward 3 years later and he was dead. The last time I saw my husband was that Saturday morning. He gave me a hug and said, ‘I love you babe.’ He left and never came back. He was found in his vehicle.”

‘Unlock the door!’ I begged you. We had a big fight. You wrote your goodbye letter.’: Woman loses veteran husband to suicide, ‘I see you everywhere I look’

“I heard our bedroom door shut. I thought you were just going to shower. Your body hit the floor. You were struggling. I tried to kick it in. ‘How the hell do people do this?!’ I ran downstairs and knocked on the neighbors’ doors. They didn’t answer. I was terrified. Before I could even react, EMTs were rushing upstairs. They put the flag over you.”

‘Blake’s not breathing!’ The daycare called. He was laid on his back, and found face down in the pack n’ play.’: Mom sees ‘signs from heaven’ after losing son to SIDS, delivering 2 rainbow babies

“I didn’t get any more details than that. I hung up, flew out the door. ‘Who are you here to see?’ the ER receptionist said to me. The girl beside her hit her on the arm. ‘She is THAT baby’s mom!’ She then asked for my insurance card. ‘Please, I need to see my baby!’ Before I walked through the door, I thought I heard a baby cry. I thought I had more time.”

‘I can be awkward. I was never a part of that elusive inner circle I so desperately wanted to fit in.’: Woman admits she was never part of the ‘popular crowd,’ ‘I can’t be everyone’s cup of tea’

“I felt this innate need to be liked. When people didn’t like me? Guys, it would haunt me. I’d tweak my personality to become what I thought would be more appealing. I’d get bullied. I spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about it. Was it because my family wasn’t rich? That I wore the wrong clothes? Thank God I don’t make the cut.”

‘At 18, it was my turn to hospitalize my mother. Was my fate sealed? My dad assured me I was different.’: Daughter struggles with mom’s bipolar disorder, how a ‘pivotal moment’ helped her heal

“Purple has always been Mom’s favorite color. She was a devoted, loving mother to 3 children. But at age 13, purple and I became enemies on an unforgettable day. My normally reserved Mother sat on her purple chair beside the purple table babbling nonsensically about her purple 10-dollar bill. That night was the first of many times Mom was hospitalized.”

‘It’s not how you look, it’s how you FEEL!’: 8-year-old rocks red ball gown in school pictures, mom can’t argue with her confidence

“‘Click, click, swoosh, swoosh’ was all I heard as my 8-year-old daughter emerged from her bedroom. It was just after 7:30 a.m. – she was wearing silver high heels and a floor-length, red, jeweled, ball gown. My initial thought was, ‘She must think it’s Saturday.’ It was indeed a school-day. Not only that, it was the all-important, everlasting PICTURE DAY! Oh, she knew.”

‘No one can take this pain away, so I must take it away myself. Lay me next to my daughter.’: Mom speaks candidly of ‘suicidal thoughts’ in wake of stillbirth, ‘I wouldn’t wish this on anyone’

“There are no visible wounds, but the pain courses through my entire being. I breathe in through my nose, blow out of my mouth. I’m alive, but being alive without my daughter hurts. I can’t wipe the tears away. It’s too much effort. I can’t move, even if I wanted to. I don’t want to pee. Eat. Shower. Brush my teeth. I see my dad’s face, and he wants me here. To hold on. To live.”

After Years Of Abuse, I Was Finally Adopted Into My ‘Forever Family’ At 22

“The last time a police officer came to my house, he asked, ‘Do you want to go get a cookie?’ I was only 5, so that was a big deal. I didn’t understand why my biological mom was crying as we drove away. We picked up my sister at school, then waited at DHS to drive us to a foster home. All we had were the clothes on our backs, and even those were dirty. ‘I need a place to stay until I figure out where to go,’ I said.”

‘Please, don’t let them forget me.’ Time stood still. ‘Do you want to come off the ventilator?’ He nodded yes.’: Woman loses husband to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, leaves behind death letter ‘asking everyone to donate blood’

“In weeks, my husband went from being able to drive to and from work, to having to be driven to work, to working from home. One day, got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. He was so unsteady that I held my breath while I listened for him to return to bed. He made a stop in our children’s rooms to give them each a kiss. I had this terrible thought it would be the last time he’d do so.”

‘He opened his beautiful, dark grey eyes, wise beyond his years. We made him comfortable, and waited.’: Mom vows ‘as long as I live, Daniel’s memory will too’ after losing son to congenital heart defect

“At the end of this long, exhausting appointment, Charity says, ‘Oh, and congratulations on your baby.’ Congratulations on our baby? You mean the one you told me is going to die? I ran out of that room so fast. Despite it all, his broken heart kept beating. I recall a single tear escaping my eye and falling on his face.”