“‘Say something before it’s too late!’ I couldn’t speak up. I could not say the words my mind was telling me to say. I was trapped, and I couldn’t escape. It was because I had this immense fear holding me back.”
‘I saw fear in my son’s eyes. My voice was imprisoned in my body. I couldn’t do it on my own.’: Woman and son diagnosed with selective mutism, ‘Help is out there’
‘The doctor came in, and instantly, the room felt off. ‘I’m surprised your baby made it this far.’ I felt like I blacked out.’: After multiple miscarriages, mom gives birth to baby with Trisomy 13, ‘To us, he was perfect’
“We saw a heartbeat. This was actually happening. But I couldn’t shake the fear. I kept saying to people, ‘IF we bring this baby home.’ That’s when the words came: ‘There are multiple things wrong with your baby.’ We got to the parking lot, and I just screamed.”
‘I was already a month along. My boyfriend had passed away a week before. I was completely in shock.’: Mom grieves during pregnancy with late boyfriend’s daughter, ‘He is still around in spirit’
“We were two young college kids who had moved for a fresh start. All we had was each other to lean on. I was with the man of my dreams, going to a school I loved, and working a job that made me happy every day. It felt like my whole world ended. How would I be a single, first-time mom?”
‘My son was taken away from me and placed with his grandparents while his father sat in jail. I would come face to face with the devil himself’: Mom recounts struggles with alcoholism, ‘It’s not an easy road’
“I began partying with a different crowd, mixing Xanax and vodka to help me cope. It was during this time I met the father. I was introduced to the reality of just how mean people can be.”
‘Something is not right!’ One eye was smaller than the other, but doctors kept telling me he was okay. I knew I was going to have to fight.’: Woman gives birth to son with rare genetic disorder, ‘I have found my purpose’
“I lost over 30 pounds. I also lost my hair. I threw up constantly, even throwing up blood. Something inside me told me to keep fighting. When my son came out, he wasn’t crying. I knew that moment something was wrong with him. Nobody was listening to me.”
‘If something happens, I’ll never be the same. I can’t lose another baby.’ He coughed, and blood came out of his mouth. I started to scream.’: Woman loses rainbow baby to Alloimmune Liver Disease, ‘He made me a better mother’
“I finally got to hold him skin to skin. It took everything in me not to cry the entire time. He was perfect. He was everything. When I woke up, people were running everywhere; our doctor was giving orders. ‘His blood pressure is dropping.’ I wasn’t going to lose him, I couldn’t.”
‘We are past time for you to call family. Your dad is not going to make it.’ ‘He was fine yesterday. What do you mean he is not going to make it?’: Woman who lost parents to bile duct cancer writes tribute to father, ‘He was my best bud’
“He was moaning and groaning. I asked everyone in the room what had happened and what was going on. The head nurse shared that my Dad awoke around 3 a.m. in excruciating pain. That one instance led to my dad’s demise. And it was all my fault. That is what the enemy wanted me to believe.”
‘I was dreaming of our baby’s future one day, then that future disappeared within seconds. I am a real woman who experienced a real loss.’: After miscarriage, woman declares, ‘I am not a taboo’
“I poked out my belly as far as I could and wanted to believe so badly there was still a life growing inside. This was supposed to be the first picture to document my first pregnancy. At the time, I did not know.”
‘Why don’t you get us some lottery tickets?’ I couldn’t imagine what he could be thinking. Tears streamed down my face.’: Woman details parents’ drug addiction and desire to break the cycle
“I was 19 years old when I watched my parents shoot up heroin at our kitchen table. This is a picture of what I have left of my dad. I held my father’s hand as they told him there was nothing they could do.”
‘I’m trying mommy, I’m trying. I love you.’ When I looked down, I saw blood. Why am I being punished?’: After miscarriage, woman has miracle baby, ‘I would do it over and over again for her.’
“Why did we have to wait until 12 weeks? That was a stupid rule. After the wedding, we ended up telling pretty much everyone. Family, friends.Then I woke up to use the bathroom. When I looked down, I saw blood.”