“My parents frantically came down the stairs. The entire left side of my mom’s body was numb. My dad was taking her to the hospital. Contrary to my wishful thinking, my mom was not going to be the ‘miracle.’ There I was. 19 years old, trying to figure out how I would go on in a world without my mom in it.”
‘She’s going to have emergency brain surgery.’ I screamed. What the hell would I do without a mom?’: 19-year-old daughter suddenly loses mother to stage 4 cancer, finds healing through ‘roller coaster’ of grief
‘I can’t breathe!’ The medics tried to calm me down. ‘I don’t want to die!’: Woman overcomes severe anxiety, loses 90 pounds after struggle with PCOS, infertility
“One year ago, I had one of the scariest nights of my life. It changed everything. I waited too long to get help, again. My brain was convinced I was having a heart attack, but the medics reassured me I was just having a panic attack. My chest was on fire and my heart felt like it was going to explode.”
‘I couldn’t focus on anything but this infant lying still in the bed. Stressed? Not the word.’: Nurse-in-training ‘overwhelmed’ by responsibilities, realizes keeping ‘peace’ is most important for the family
“Don’t let the baby lie in a wet diaper. Does she have a pulse? How many times does he breathe in a minute? Throw in 2 anxious parents trying to survive the scariest time of their lives, and 1 older sibling who needs Paw Patrol stickers ASAP, and you have a very long 12-hour shift. What else would I be responsible for? How about peace.”
‘You’re supposed to be glowing, showing off your pregnant belly. Instead, the bones in your chest are popping through as your body wastes away.’ After struggling with IVF, Mom now battles Hyperemesis Gravidarum in surprise pregnancy
“I realized trying to conceal the severity of my symptoms for the sake of ‘keeping my chin up’ was incredibly dangerous. I needed help. My precious baby needed help. My body is forced to keep my baby alive by slowly killing me in the process.”
‘Who could I call? To say I was sick? I was dismissed at 1 a.m., my husband and kids asleep. I thought about that in my lonely Uber drive home from the hospital.’ Mother’s realization about ‘isolating, lonely’ life
“I was off to the hospital in an ambulance. Even though I was sick, I was a little bit happy. I was living the hospital fantasy that mothers dream about. Time alone! I was asked how I was doing constantly; I was doted on. ME! But eventually, sadness crept in. This hospital room felt like the four walls were closing in.”
‘I just want to stand by dad,’ I told her. This feeling came over me. For a second, I thought it was a joke’: Daughter’s eerie intuition about dad’s untimely death
“We got settled into our seats. I was on one end, my dad on the other. I felt this feeling come over me. I got up, went and stood by my dad. My mom asked me what I was doing. Minutes later, I see his cell phone drop from his hand. His head goes back, and his body is shaking.”
‘She starts to gag. She is extremely pale with blue lips. Her pupils got really big.’ Little girl collapses while sister curls her hair due to bizarre Hair-Grooming Syncope
“Brushing, curling, braiding, or drying can cause nerve stimulation on the scalp and cause some children to have seizure like symptoms. Apparently very rare but so scary to see it happen!”
‘We left with a box. Not a baby. Not our child. But with a box.’
“I resented that box. I wanted nothing to do with that box. It felt all wrong in my hands, but still I couldn’t put it down.”
‘A woman had just given birth and wanted my husband and I to raise him. She didn’t even give the baby a name before she left. This tiny little boy had absolutely no one.’
“I knew right away this baby was destined to be ours. Mike and I had settled into a routine of pinching pennies, sharing domestic duties, and bonding with our little guy, when my world was shattered once again. For reasons of which I’m still not entirely sure, my loving husband, Brenden’s father, took his own life.”
‘I excused the thought something was actually wrong. I blamed my husband’s ignorance. What do dad’s know anyway? I just held her earlier.’
“I’ll never forget. It was a breezy April afternoon. I can’t erase it from my memory– the phone call or the panicked voice on the other end. ‘There is something wrong with Avery… You need to get home.’ I had left to run a couple errands. It had been only minutes since I had last seen her.”
