Love What Matters

‘I got implants after having a baby. I truly thought, ‘No big deal.’ I started having pain, EVERYWHERE. ‘SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ME.’: Woman recounts horrible experience with breast implants

“Then one day I met someone. I started reading the posts and asking questions. I found woman after woman with stories that mirrored mine. They were ME! I was THEM! Some were so sick they were on the verge of death, LITERALLY. This is when everything changed. Suddenly, I knew I needed to get them out of me ASAP.”

‘The tree crushed the roof of the car. My head compressed. My spine burst. I don’t remember it. I woke up thinking it was a nightmare. ‘There’s no way I could still be alive,’ I told myself.’

“Life has changed. The depth of loss I face daily. But everyday I am faced with a choice. Will I choose to survive today or will I choose to thrive? No matter the lemons or curveballs, the choice is mine.”

‘WHAT?! It is not possible. There is no way for a naturally conceived triplet to conceive triplets naturally! The odds are one in 6 million. No way it was possible.’

“It was time. The doctor showed us one baby, and then another, and then he got very silent. ‘Is it not only two babies?,’ he asked. The answer came: ‘No, we are looking at THREE babies here.’ Glenn pulled over. ‘Are you sure?,’ he asked me. Of course, none of us were sure.”

‘They had 3 people call out. Immediately, I help them unload the truck and was on the floor putting up merchandise. The interview candidate said, ‘Are you having fun stocking those shelves?’

“All of a sudden, my first interview candidate walks in and asked for me. She heard me talking and started laughing. She said, ‘Yeah, you would NEVER SEE ME ON THE FLOOR doing that!”

‘Your job at this company is over.’ I was fired for providing nutrition to my newborn baby.’: Woman births ‘miracle baby,’ gets fired 7 weeks later for making ‘natural choice’ to breastfeed in private at work

“My bosses were ecstatic and couldn’t wait for my baby to arrive. They even gifted me a car seat. ‘Hey, by the way, I have a hands-free device I’ll need to bring to work. I’m choosing to breastfeed.’ My desk was in a private room away from patients. I wasn’t asking for permission. I was just giving a heads up. 10 minutes later, I got a message. ‘I have an issue with you pumping at work.’ I was heartbroken and confused.”

‘I remember thinking, ‘What the hell is conversion therapy?’ She introduced me to ‘Pastor Jake.’ He was going to ‘take good care of me.’: Bisexual man becomes advocate against bullying, ‘I fought to get to where I am today’

“He told me how he is an ‘ex-gay.’ After he placed the ‘electrodes’ on my body, he turned on the projector. He showed me ‘homoerotica’ images, and if I became ‘excited,’ it would send a shock throughout my entire body. He did it repeatedly until I passed out. He told me he ‘didn’t need permission from parents.'”

mother holds her newborn baby daughter close, smiling softly

Husband Sends Risky Photo To Boss In Hilarious Birth Announcement Fail

“Hubby: ‘I sent these pictures to work to show them the baby. They’re good, right?’ Me: ‘OH MY GOD! I am NOT covered up down there!'”

‘I grew up obsessed with Little House on the Prairie. I wanted to give my children a simplified childhood. One with very few electronics. I really took a step back on how I’m raising my kids.’

“I want them to be KIDS and not someone I am trying to keep entertained. I want them to spend their summers the way their dad and I did. I want them to learn how to play Red Rover, Capture the flag, and Marco Polo. I want them to have tire swings, chalk, climbing trees, and mud pies. I want their finger nails to be dark brown from playing in the dirt.”

‘The doctor said, ‘The parents need to understand there is no chance of their daughter having a meaningful life.’ I thought, ‘My daughter has meant more to me in the last 2 days than you will EVER mean to me.’

“What would our daughter have to do to be meaningful? Would she have to talk? Would she have to be able to solve math problems or perform in the school play? Graduating? Getting a job? Getting married? At what point would the doctor say, ‘Ok, you are meaningful now.”

‘I was not enough. I called that hotel room and heard HER voice in the background. I was a fool.’: Woman works to overcome husband’s affair

“When I saw the credit card charges to a hotel in a town 1,000 miles from where he was supposed to be, that was when I felt the knife in my gut – but somehow I still thought, maybe it was a mistake. Did someone open a card under his name?”

‘We were young. He didn’t want to continue the pregnancy. Later that day, my baby’s father died of suicide.’: Mother overcomes ex’s suicide to care for blind daughter

“I knew I had to see this pregnancy through. The father was furious with me. I had always hoped he would eventually come around. I had not only lost my friend forever, but my baby had lost her father. I didn’t have much time to grieve.”

‘I was 4 years old. I had on my plaid dress. He interrupted my nap and locked the bedroom door. When I told my dad, he said, ‘WHY did you need to share this? Can’t you see how upset your mother is?’: Woman finally admits to childhood abuse, encourages others to do the same

“I remember the pillow soaking with tears as he shushed me. I never meant to tell anyone. It was a secret I had decided to carry to the grave.”

‘He was cute, and I was curious. When I read the message, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. ‘NO REAL MAN IS GOING TO WANT TO BE WITH A WOMAN WHO DOES THIS.’

“I started believing the lies. I had no business online dating – it was for people who have more freedom as a single person. I mean, I have a minivan! A minivan doesn’t exactly scream, ‘I’m dating material here,’ you know? What guy would want me?”

‘Who the heck was Wyatt left alone with?!’ They told me his injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.’: Woman realizes her son has been the victim of child abuse

“I was then notified by the police that my ex-husband’s girlfriend did indeed have a criminal history. My immediate thought was, ‘How come people who sexually abuse children have to register, but people who physically abuse children don’t? It made me sick to my stomach. I knew in that moment, I had to make a change in this world.”

‘Were you in the military?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Afghanistan 2010?’ Surprised I slowly said, ‘Yessss.’ He recognized me, my injuries, and my face. He never knew if I survived or not.’: Veterans re-unite in airport

“The pilot was there as I got out of my wheelchair to board my flight. He followed me and the flight attendant who volunteered to carry my bag. I fling myself into my seat. It was him. Honestly, I’m still shocked.”

‘I blacked out. ‘I’ve died, haven’t I?’ I couldn’t see anything but bright white light. I lifted my head. My airbag had deployed. You weren’t beside me anymore.’

“I lost control of my car. You stopped to help me. I felt safer as you stood by my driver’s side window. That changed. In a split second, I saw your smile turn to concern as a semi came over the hill.”

‘Can you come to the hospital right now to meet your daughter?’ It was relatively late on a Friday night, but we immediately recognized the number. We fought hard for Grace.’

“Less than 45 minutes after that call, directly from the hospital, she came home for the first time. It felt a bit chaotic and strange at the same time.”

‘We were literally one in a million. This happens once out of every million pregnancies! We had been chosen for this task.’: Mom births Identical twins with Down syndrome

“The ultrasound technician laughed. ‘What is it?,’ we said. She looked at us. ‘There are two in there!’ I immediately cracked up laughing. Rayni looked like she had seen a ghost! ‘Are you serious?’”

‘I opened the gate to drive my mower out, and there he was. Spinning donuts on my lawn.’: Army wife thankful for friendship with neighbor, ‘Ari reminds me there are still good people in this world’

“This is my neighbor, Ari. He knows my situation, with Matt being deployed and everything that’s on my plate. He’s the one that calls when it looks like things aren’t going well over here; the one that wheels my trash to the curb if I forget; the one that mows my lawn when he has time.”

‘I turned to the nurse, ‘If you won’t take me to see her, I will crawl if I have to.’ My best friend looked at the nurse and said ‘You might want to read her chart, she’s not kidding.’

“When everyone around me was telling me to give up, I took a chance. I did what every 21st century parent does, and what every doctor tells you not to do and I googled it. I found cannabis.”

‘I cornered her. How was it possible someone so inexperienced could walk into a hospital and leave with another person’s baby? The little booklet read, ‘Your New Baby: An Instruction Manual.’

“He’d made so much progress that school year, and I knew being forced to leave his school would make things even more difficult for him if he was removed from his home.”

‘Our daughter was referred to as a number, I still remember that number to this day. I dropped to my knees and cried and begged and pleaded.’

“I felt so guilty, why couldn’t my body handle being pregnant?”

‘I kept hearing questions, ‘Should we keep resuscitating the baby? Mom, can we wheel you closer?’ I resisted coming closer; it meant goodbye.’: Woman pregnant with twins after infertility loses son after early labor

“Nurses and doctors flooded the bedside of a tiny precious human. My little boy. Alex stood off to the side letting the team work.”

‘I married a wealthy man at the age of 19. He was already divorced and 15 years older. I ran away and broke all ties with my parents. I was vulnerable.’

“I remember someone from another relationship telling me, ‘You should be happy, at least I am taking off one major thing in your to-do list by marrying you!’ I made the decision that my son and I will never meet him again. People often remind me I am a single mother. I tell them, ‘I was a single mother even when I was married.’”