“‘It could be something, it could be nothing.’ My blood pressure spiked dangerously high. The doctor said, ‘We need to admit you. Today.’ I was hooked to an IV in a massive, darkened birthing room in the middle of the night. When it came time for his arrival, there were 20 people in the room. All I remember saying was, ‘Oh, he’s so cute,’ and then he was gone.”
‘I said to my husband, ‘I think something is wrong with the baby.’ There was fluid in the back of his neck. ‘We need to admit you. Today.’: Mom says ‘Down syndrome is the best thing to ever happen to our family’
‘I saw panic in her eyes. ‘I can’t find your cervix.’ I thought it was just a UTI. ‘You’re not allowed to leave.’ I waited 4.5 hours while medical staff conversed about me.’: Couple pregnant with twins after 7 miscarriages, incarcerated uterus
“Within 24 hours, I was being prepped for emergency surgery. My uterus was growing up and outwards and had completely cut off my uretha and bladder. ‘This is life-threatening to you and your twins.’ We were told to brace ourselves for the loss of both babies. I woke up to a large incision from my breast to my pelvis.”
‘She was uninvited because she is ‘not pretty enough, skinny enough.’ At 9 years old, her heart has already been broken by unkindness.’: Mom urges ‘love yourself the way you want her to love herself’
“At 9, they’ve already commented on her body, her face, her clothes, her family. Those words don’t hurt me because I know they’re not true. I know she’s enough. What kills me is how she believes the naysayers of the world instead of her mama, the person who knows her best.”
‘When are you going to have kids?’ I cringe any time I hear that question.’: Woman urges ‘PLEASE think before asking’ after 2-year battle with infertility
“When people asked me that when I was first married, I thought nothing of it. I would respond, ‘Oh we are just going to enjoy married life for a while, maybe in a couple of years.’ They don’t realize the heartache. The feelings and sense of failure behind that question.”
‘She got personal. ‘Grow up! The world doesn’t revolve around you.’ That comment sparked something in me again.’: Woman advocates for social media kindness ‘I realized I’m not alone in these feelings’
“I could stop myself from reading there it was, staring back at me with sharp daggers…a mean comment. The super ‘controversial’ title of the piece they were commenting on? ‘A woman in Walmart made me cry.’ It weighed me down like heavy rocks.”
‘I tried to break up with him. 2 days later, he was curled up with my daughter watching Disney movies. He wanted to destroy me.’: Woman says ‘I’m taking my power back’ after dating narcissist
“I would tell him I was in for the night, he would call and insist I meet him out somewhere. I would say no more drinks, he would order me another one. Every bartender in town knew to pour half my drink out when he wasn’t looking. I was scared to tell him no.”
‘My son was gone a little too long on his bike, and I worried about his life. My husband walked out to protect and serve during riots, and I worried about his too.’: Police wife, mom to bi-racial family urges ‘advocate for them both’
“Two of the humans who I love more than they could ever fathom, I have to worry about them dying for no reason other than the color of their skin or the badge on their shirt. My heart is in pieces.”
‘This morning I got some horrible news: ‘Models who aren’t a size 0 are called plus size.’ My body isn’t risky or brave, it’s normal.’: Woman learns lesson on body positivity, ‘I realized it’ll take more than 30 days to do’
“Even skin conditions you have no control over will have people asking you questions about your ability to ‘keep yourself.’ I said I would make it my mission to spend 30 days working on body acceptance. When the 30 days were up, I got some horrible news. I realized, it’ll take more than 30 days to do.”
‘Foolishly we thought, ‘Maybe if we ignore it, it might go away.’ There was an eerie feeling.’: Mom celebrates daughter’s extra chromosome, ‘She’s our little world changer’
“I never had the chance to ask myself, ‘Why me?’ I knew EXACTLY why me from the moment I hung up the phone that day. I feel like I have been preparing for this my entire life.”
‘I didn’t get to say goodbye. We had 127 days together, but they just weren’t enough.’: Teacher encourages students, ‘I am still your teacher, always here to support you’
“I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know when our lives will get back to normal. I don’t know what our next school year will look like and when I will get to see you again. But what I do know is you are worth facing any challenge.”