“The nurse I was assigned to made fun of my face painting and I got incredibly sick. I stood next to our car, afraid I would fall over while I screamed, ‘NOT ME!’ over and over again in broad daylight. I asked him one question, ‘Am I going to die?’ He didn’t answer.”
‘The bullying from doctors was scarring. I felt a lump and started to shake. My self-esteem was rocked.’: Woman battles aggressive breast cancer after serious arm injury, ‘The harder it got, the more people showed up’
‘Who’s going to be my mommy?’ That’s the question I was asked from a 4-year-old little boy.’: Foster parent recalls difficult moment with foster child, ‘You never know when you say ‘yes’ what the outcome will be’
“I can remember several times telling my husband I didn’t know if I could keep doing it with this child. This particular boy proved to be the child who would rock our family. He had only been living with us for a month when he asked that pivotal question.”
‘I kept saying, ‘she’s beautiful,’ over and over. I knew I was giving birth to death.’: Mom and siblings honor baby born sleeping, ‘Thinking she’s been forgotten is excruciating’
“A sickening feeling took over and my chest tightened when the attending physician walked in. I could see bad news written on everyone’s faces, but I still didn’t believe it. We were left with ashes in a cardboard box.”
‘My little sister and brother were taken to a foster home. They were only 5 and 3 years-old. They were so scared.’: Woman recounts journey to becoming a foster parent ‘we needed to take one step at a time’
“My eleven-year-old self ran to my bedroom, fighting back tears. Fast forward 20 years. I didn’t think my husband, Jeff would go for it. I didn’t remember seeing an advertisement on tv for foster parents but there it was. I still didn’t say anything. But he did.”
‘What’s happening to our baby?’ His eyes pinning, we watched in horror as he became unresponsive.’: Twin diagnosed with Sturge-Weber, ‘Our life is a beautiful mess just like everyone else’s’
“His seizures came ROARING back with a vengeance. We unwillingly checked back into hell. We sat by our baby boy’s bedside in a state of utter despair, as he was intubated and unconscious.”
‘I cooked three meals a day. The house was clean. My husband came in the door knowing he was getting a home-cooked meal.’: Widow urges ‘nothing is promised’ after husband’s battle with colorectal cancer
“We knew it was coming. He was tired. His body had fought so hard. I craved the routine. In the end, all we had was love. There was no schedule, no bill due, no job that was more important than that. Nothing I could’ve done was going to change the outcome.”
‘If you are having to fight for a place at the table, if you are having to beg for an invitation, those are not your people.’: Woman urges ‘you deserve to belong’
“The table that is meant for you, will have an open chair.”
‘While I sit at home, worried about the children under my roof, you sit at home worried about the children under many roofs.’: Mom urges to teachers ‘give yourself some grace’
“This was not one of the classes that you sat through to get your degree. No matter what you do, you will never be enough for some. But please remember, for some, you are everything.”
‘Ma’am I don’t know if they informed you, but we’re sending detectives now.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Michael did not make it.’: Woman loses partner to active shooter
“I saw them put the shirt over his face. I remember his body just being so cold but somehow, he still had that smirk on his face I fell in love with. I was taken to a cop car where I was held waiting for a homicide investigator. Later that morning, a very tall, dark-headed man walked towards me in a long trench coat. Everything was a blur.”
‘I was called an ‘ugly spotted dog.’ Some of the players refused to touch my hands.’: Woman embraces Bathing Trunk Nevus, ‘I was born to stand out’
“At least 80 percent of my body is covered in birthmarks. My mother told people they were ‘angel kisses.’ Sometimes I’d think, ‘What if I looked normal?’ But what is normal? I was born to stand out.”