“At 22 weeks, I started getting swollen. I gained 16 pounds in a week. ‘I advise you not to carry another pregnancy.’ We felt lost and alone until a glimmer of hope entered our lives.”
‘He was too small to be saved. Have $120,000 cash ready if you want to move forward.’ Our jaws hit the floor.’: Sister becomes surrogate after unexplained infertility, still birth
‘Miranda, you can’t be in that much pain. You’re being a killjoy. Knock it off.’ I was popping Advil. I lost all feeling in my leg.’: Teen battles Ewing’s Sarcoma after being written off, ‘I am a survivor, not a statistic’
“I was 15 and no one took me seriously. One day, the neurologist came back in and said, ‘Miranda, there’s no easy way to say this. We found something in your spine.’ Panic. Blackness. I nearly passed out. I was treated without any consent, which still haunts me to this day. I was hallucinating for 36 hours straight.”
‘TWO flickering heartbeats. I should have been crying tears of joy, but instead I was still crying tears over the loss of our first baby, our fur baby.’: Couple struggles on the long road to twins, one with Down Syndrome
“My husband and I have been married for 6 years, and everything we have gone through from the moment we met just feels like such a tangled web of fate and destiny. I was born and raised in southwest Florida, and my husband, Josh, is from Ontario, Canada. Growing up, we made countless trips to …
‘My child sleeps in my bed instead of hers. We decided co-sleeping is best for our family. You weren’t there.’: Mom of autistic daughter urges family and friends not to judge
“You judged the accuracy of my child’s diagnosis, it hurts. Dear family, there is something you should know. You aren’t there; but I am.”
‘If you’re gonna hit me, just get it over with.’ She threatened to flush my head down the toilet’: Bullying victim urges understanding, ‘This is why they become bullies’
“I did absolutely nothing to her. I feared for my life. Years later, her sister and I bumped into each other, and we hung out. She told me about Elsa. She had been through hell.”
‘My heart dropped. WHAT? ‘You have to tell me now!’ I will never look at this photo and not remember.’ Mom receives fetal Down syndrome diagnosis,’I’m so blessed to be on this ‘wheel of life’
“Ten minutes after taking this picture, we’d receive the most memorable phone call of our lives. ‘Have you thought about what you’re going to do?’ Trisomy 21. He was cold and very matter-of-fact.”
‘Aly, you need to drive home.’ He never asked me to drive. He was supposed to walk me down the aisle.’: Daughter remembers father in beautiful way, ‘he’s my guiding star’
“He hunched over as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He saw how worried I was. ‘Aly, you need to drive the rest of the way home.’ I knew something was incredibly wrong. I am forever grateful for the 3 months I had with him.”
‘I woke up screaming. My husband was next to me sleeping. I kept saying to myself, ‘Just do the next thing.’: Mom comes to terms with mental health struggles, ‘This is anxiety’
“The doctor prescribed a liver cleanse. They weren’t listening. I was devastated. I told myself I was lazy. I called another doctor. Together we made a plan.”
‘Are YOU okay, ma’am?’ The officer was staring at my passenger, my 15-year-old son. Her hand shot right back on her gun.’: Mom speaks out about racism against son, ‘My skin protected him’
“I was pulled over for driving over the speed limit. I BROKE THE LAW! Each officer got out, slowly approached my car with their hands on their guns. That had never happened to me before, so I thought it strange. One cautiously approached my window and asked, ‘Are YOU okay, Ma’am?’ She stared at my son with a look I had never seen in an officer before.”
‘Who is going to pay for them?’ The years brought 7 more kids. ‘Are you crazy?’ Maybe.’: Mom chooses to have large family, ‘We had less money, but more love’
“The amount of rude comments were astounding. ‘Don’t you know how that happens? How do you afford them? We couldn’t figure out why everyone saw having a big family as a negative.”