“Mrs. Chase, I don’t think you need to worry about how many sick days Leah has, or if she is held back because of it because she will not live past 10-years-old.”
‘I was worried about falling asleep the night before I turned 10. The doctor said I wouldn’t live past 10. I always carried ‘expiration dates’ with me. It wasn’t the last time I was told I had this amount of time to live.’
‘We have been sick since January. It feels like the cold and flu got together, and were like, ‘hold my wine.’ Our youngest covered our van in projectile vomit. HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN!?’
“Getting childcare coverage for these two wild hobos is like trying to trade someone the shaggy dog van in Dumb and Dumber – next to impossible. Our small town urgent care needs to adopt a punch card system because we would’ve qualified for a free co-pay or something by now.”
‘Are you ok?,’ I asked. ‘It’s complicated.’ Panicked, I said, ‘We aren’t okay?’ He replied, ‘I don’t want to talk anymore.’ And the conversation ended.’: Woman overcomes divorce after husband cheated, ‘I know I am beautiful, smart, kind’
“I heard him tell the kids, ‘I don’t know how much I will be seeing you guys for the next little while.’ I threw on some clothes and asked the children to leave the room. He told me he simply did not love me anymore. ‘Having sex with you is hard since you’ve started all these diets but never stick to any of them.’ My heart fell to the floor.”
‘Then the rocking started. It began as a gentle sway and turned into him throwing himself so hard into the couch he was putting holes in the wall. We knew something was not right.’
“The doctor stopped what she was doing, scooted back from her desk and looked me dead in the eye. ‘I am confident I know why your son is having so many issues. I also believe he is having a seizure right now.'”
‘We were in the garage when she pulled this from her jacket. My plan was to drive a few, then go to another lot if nothing caught my eye. But not my wife.’
“Let me explain. This list represents HOURS at our dinner table, long after the kids were in bed. I know, gushing over my wife’s car list might seem silly, but the fact is, stuff like this gets overlooked.”
‘When I reached down to pull up my tights, I realized my arms and hands were paralyzed. Scared, I said, ‘Mom, I can’t move my arms.’: Young woman describes life with a rare autoimmune disorder
“I experienced a sudden, excruciating headache in the middle of ballet class. Only 24 hours ago I’d been learning at school like any normal day. How could this have happened?”
‘I can’t go back there; I can’t lose my wife again,’ he told me. ‘I’m not sure I’d survive that.’ We were terrified. Terrified of who I was pregnant.’
“My doctor very clearly advised me I would need to be off my antidepressants if I wanted to get pregnant, so I came off them. The next several months were some of my darkest. My husband was taking care of a wife who, in his words, ‘had disappeared.'”
‘A couple sat in the courtroom, anxious if there was any update to the case of a baby they loved dearly. This crying woman wasn’t just a stranger, she was my soon-to-be-daughter’s foster mother.’
“This baby they loved so much, they’d met in a high school gym. People are often surprised when I talk about my girl’s foster parents, especially that they’re still involved in our lives. I honestly don’t see HOW it could be any other way.”
‘I made eye contact with the nurse, recognition and worry spread across her face. Through shaky tears I said: ‘I think my water broke.’ Dr. stupid then said: ‘Oh no, she just peed her pants.’
“About half way to his work my nose began to tickle and I felt a sneeze coming on. After a couple of large huffy inhale’s of air, it exploded. Absolute horror washed over me. I can’t do this. This…. is…. too…. much.”
‘Her grip on the bed rails quickly moved over to him. Her nails sliced through his shirt, like butter. They were in this fight not just to win, but to grow together.’
“He never stopped watching her face. In the middle of it all, he knew where his priorities were. The scratches, the teeth marks on his shoulder, all became battle scars.”