“Does this make me feel guilty? Of course, it does. As a mom you are meant to know these things, you are meant to protect your child. Parents have pulled their kids away from him. They leave him out of play dates. People ignore him, because he cannot talk. This is heartbreaking, but they simply don’t understand.”
‘How did you know?’ My little baby went completely silent, no words, no babble, nothing. There were warning signs, we just didn’t know.’: Mom’s journey with autistic son
‘My heart skipped a beat. A single outfit stopped me in my tracks. It was a familiar print, from my son’s final outfit.’: Mom caught off guard by emotional memory when she least expected it, ‘I fought back tears’
“Tiny little elephants danced across the pink fleece in front of me. It was a familiar print. I’d entered that very store years ago, searching for a final outfit for my gravely ill son. Shoppers were oblivious to me. As I got my daughter dressed, she smiled back at me. I teared up.”
‘The second that child enters this world, he’ll steal a part of your heart you didn’t know you had left to give.’: Woman claims a mother’s love transcends all circumstance, ‘No matter the chaos she brings, she’s worth it’
“You may regret it when you’re 34 weeks pregnant, and it takes so much effort to do the littlest things. You may regret it when you’re in labor with excruciating pain so intense it takes your breath away, as sweat forms in places you didn’t know produced sweat. No matter how much you can’t afford her, no matter how much time you don’t have, the second that child is placed on your chest, something changes.”
‘Her temperature is 103.7.’ She was placed on oxygen and IV’s immediately. I had to be strong for my sweet girl.’: Girl battles life-threatening flu, ‘Taking my McKenna home made me weep’
“I thought she’d sleep it off but the next morning, her breathing was off. It hurt her so much to cough that she’d scream out in pain each time. I was offering all her favorites, but she was declining food. She was placed on IV fluids and oxygen immediately. I wish I would have listened to my gut.”
‘They used to line up to watch me leave. ‘Don’t forget to beep and wave!’ they’d yell, 5 little faces pressed up against the glass.’: Mom realizes she’s now alone as it’s her children who are leaving
“Even if I was just running to the store for 10 minutes… 5 little faces would be pressed up against the glass. And if God forbid we would forget to beep and wave… so many tears. But today, I stood at that window alone.”
‘I’m 30 years old, I’ve never had a child, and the first thing they say is, ‘We need to remove something from your body.’ It was completely crazy.’: Woman diagnosed with PCOS, endometriosis determined to conceive through IVF, ‘He gave us back the hope we had lost’
“We started noticing I was in a lot of pain during intercourse. One night, I was in so much pain I couldn’t bear it. I was taken to the ER. They told me I had an ovarian cyst rupture. I had no idea what that meant. They gave me some pain pills and told me to ‘rest.’ I went on like nothing was wrong. My periods were not coming on time. I’d miss an entire month or two. I was dealing with all these emotions while trying to maintain hope. Time was flying by, and I still didn’t have a baby.”
‘My brother came to me in a dream last night and told me he was in heaven. He isn’t in pain anymore.’: Mom of 2 children with rare skin condition loses youngest unexpectedly, ‘Nothing could be done, my baby was gone forever’
“’They’re here!’ I saw my husband staring with a scary look on his face. Everything went out of focus. I walked to his bed, and I sank to the floor. He was gone. I screamed, doctors came running in. They performed CPR but because of his disease, it tore all the skin from his chin to his chest. They told me his heart stopped due to complications. I later found out he was given fentanyl during the flight.”
‘Why doesn’t she leave?’ She thinks if she just tries harder, if she’s a better wife and mom, he wouldn’t get so angry.’: Domestic abuse survivor pens PSA, ‘we need your love, not judgement’
“He has threatened to tell the judge she is a bad mom and will take away her kids. He has taken away her money and convinced her she cannot make it on her own. He has told her if she tries, he will kill her or her family. He has brainwashed her to think it’s all her fault.”
‘I knew something was wrong just by looking at him. ‘It’s not a blood clot. You have a 5-inch mass in between your heart and your lungs.’: Woman diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma fights to live for her daughter, ‘I’m too young to die. I have a 3-year-old daughter who needs her mom.’
“My first symptom hit like a ton of bricks. I felt heaviness in my chest I couldn’t explain. We had to run to catch our connecting flight. This is the exact moment I knew. I could not run. I WANTED to, but my body wouldn’t let me. I ate well and exercised often, so I knew something was very, very wrong. My friends said it sounded like I was having an anxiety attack. ‘I’m only 32 years old. How can this happen?’ Our lives changed forever.”
‘Is there something wrong with her head?’ Matt insisted on an answer. He bowed his head in prayer. I held his hand tight.’: Mom loses daughter to anencephaly, ‘Rachel made me a better person’
“‘She’s going to live, right?’ The doctor looked at me and said words I will never forget… ‘These babies don’t live.’ She handed me a box of rough, thin tissues and left the room. I completely lost all composure and thrashed around that room like I myself was being killed. ‘Not my girl… not my girl…’ I asked Matt, ‘What are we going to do?’ Without a pause, my brave husband said, ‘We’re going to give her a name.’”