‘We ran away and married in secret. I fell in love before I knew her name. Right then, I confessed, ‘I’d marry you in a heartbeat.’: Veteran recounts whirlwind romance, ‘We were meant to be’

“It was love at first sight. Every time she entered the room, it felt like the world stopped turning. Life had different plans for us, and it wasn’t quite our time. I was deployed and we lost touch. After returning from Iraq alive, I had a fresh perspective on life. There was an instant bond between us.”

‘There I was, 17 and 34 weeks pregnant, learning my daughter had a huge tumor in her brain and was going to die.’: Teen pregnant with daughter receives terminal brain cancer diagnosis days before delivery

“I had no time to digest this news, no time to research, no time to prepare. I went into early labor and delivered my daughter days later. More doctors, more scans, more blood work, all to be told my week-old daughter had stage III brain cancer. Terminal. ‘You can expect her to die soon.’ What was supposed to be the happiest few days of my life were the most painful and traumatic moments I’ll ever experience.”

Dear Society: Please Stop Judging How Women Use Social Media

“If she uses a Snapchat filter every time she takes a picture because it makes her feel pretty, let her do it. If she takes gym selfies to track her progress every day, let her do it. If she poses the same way in every picture because she likes that angle of her body the best, let her do it.”

‘He woke with a small cough. Within hours, he had trouble breathing. A few hours after that, he took his last breath.’: Woman’s husband who ‘never got sick’ passes suddenly from Bone Marrow Failure months before birth of son

“My husband, Jonas, began to look pale. We both chalked it up to jet lag and went on with the week. We had two small children and I was 14 weeks pregnant with our third, so being tired wasn’t out of the norm. Later that week, even picking up the kids’ toys would make him dizzy. Another week went by, all the while he continued to ride his bicycle over 20 miles a day. He came home that night after riding and had almost passed out while riding. ‘Enough is enough.’ I figured it couldn’t hurt to go to the doctor.”