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Jill Duggar Says Dad Pitted Siblings Against One Another, Used Kids to Manipulate and Intimidate Her

I am currently reading Jill Duggar Dillard's memoir Counting the Cost about her life growing up in the 19 Kids and Counting Duggar family, and it is both riveting and heartbreaking.

She Was Secretly Filmed While Breastfeeding, Then She Saw It on Facebook

First-time mom Izabele Lomax was scrolling a breastfeeding support group on Facebook when she saw an angry post from a fellow nursing mom. Upon further investigation she realized the post featured HER.

‘We Have No Visible Finish Line’—The Case for Why Moms Are so Burnt Out

This is why moms are always so quick to snap. This is why we are so sensitive. Because we are desensitized. We are numb. We are so beyond burnt out.

“How Does One Survive Losing Their Husband & Sister a Day Apart?”: Mom Reveals How God Carried Her Through Grief

My world turned upside down with one phone call. Because of it, I am constantly battling to not hate the life I have. My healthy, 39-year-old husband called me from work. He was performing a root canal when he felt ‘off.’ He asked me to drive him to the hospital because he thought he was having a heart attack. I woke my baby from his nap and raced with my toddler in tow to my neighbor’s house to see if she could watch them while I went to the hospital. No one answered so I buckled them in the car and brought them with me. Once we realized that Gare was going to be in the ER for a while, I had a friend come and get the kids. I didn’t want them to have to be there and witness all the chaos.

Angela Mencl

After hours in the ER, the doctor met me in the hall with tears in her eyes. I pointed my finger at her and told her to tell me right now what is wrong with my husband. The words she uttered took my breath away. ‘He has a tear in his aorta. It is catastrophic.’

Angela Mencl

My husband was conscious, I had to deliver the news to him. His job now was to remain calm and keep his heart rate from elevating. The more it pumped, the more he bled out. He couldn’t freak out but that didn’t stop me from falling to the floor and crying as hospital personnel walked around me. It was determined he would need to be life-flighted to a hospital in Portland, more equipped for the severity of his surgery. Sam, the life-flight nurse grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. He told me that his job was to keep Gar[e] alive. He told me he was great at his job and he had confidence in delivering my husband safely to skilled surgeons that would fix him. He took my number and promised to update me from the flight. I thought to take a video of Gare for the kids, we started the video but he couldn’t finish. The thought that he would have to say goodbye was upsetting him too much. They wheeled Gar[e] out. Little did I know that that was the last time I would see my husband conscious.

Angela Mencl

The 4-hour drive to the hospital is a blur. Sam texted me updates and once they arrived at the hospital, he let Gar[e] call me from his phone. I told Gar[e] he was my most favorite person ever and that I loved him so much. That was the last time I would ever hear my husband’s voice tell me how much he loved me.

When I got to the hospital waiting room two nurses came out, crying. ‘Is he DEAD’ I screamed. They quickly reassured me he was still alive, on bypass and in surgery. They told me the longer he was in surgery the better and they drew me a diagram of where the dissection was. I asked them if he was going to be okay. They couldn’t answer me. The minutes went by in slow motion. I couldn’t eat or sleep. At this point, my two beautiful friends showed up to be with me as my mom and brother wouldn’t be able to arrive until the following morning.

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[Eight] hours into surgery I pressed the nurses’ button and they came out to tell me that the surgery was successful and that they would be bringing him up to the ICU. I jumped up and down and cried tears of joy. He is okay! He is going to live!

The surgeon came out minutes later and stripped away all the joy and hope that filled the room. He informed me that Gar[e] was conscious entering the OR but as soon as they got him under anesthesia his aorta tore completely and he coded. They performed CPR as they were opening him but he was without oxygen for five minutes. He told me it was a miracle he even got him this far and that if he did wake up, he would have severe cognitive and physical disabilities.

Jill Duggar Says Dad Pitted Siblings Against One Another, Used Kids to Manipulate and Intimidate Her

I am currently reading Jill Duggar Dillard's memoir Counting the Cost about her life growing up in the 19 Kids and Counting Duggar family, and it is both riveting and heartbreaking.

She Was Secretly Filmed While Breastfeeding, Then She Saw It on Facebook

First-time mom Izabele Lomax was scrolling a breastfeeding support group on Facebook when she saw an angry post from a fellow nursing mom. Upon further investigation she realized the post featured HER.

‘We Have No Visible Finish Line’—The Case for Why Moms Are so Burnt Out

This is why moms are always so quick to snap. This is why we are so sensitive. Because we are desensitized. We are numb. We are so beyond burnt out.