Love From Maria

About three and a half years ago I became a mother, my son was a few weeks old and I was having the hardest time I've ever had. I felt overwhelmed, anxious, I couldn't sleep and I felt indifferent about my son. I felt afraid to be alone with him, afraid he would start crying and never stop, afraid my life would never be the same and that I would never feel like myself again. Without a doubt I was experiencing Postpartum Depression (PPD) and Anxiety - and I had no idea. I read an article tonight that brought me to tears - a mother, Allison, in Virginia took her life as a result of PPD. She had no outward signs or symptoms. No one close to her had any idea, she didn't even know. My heart is breaking for her family and for her. How do we reduce these deaths? How do we reduce PPD? I'm not really sure what the answers are but much like Allison I had no idea what I was experiencing, nor did the people around me. I felt like something was wrong with me or with my son

Last week at midnight, a first responder knocked on a woman's door. A neighbour wasn't doing well and their partner was out of town. The first responder explained that they would need to take the neighbour to the hospital, leaving two young children without care. The first responder asked if the woman would care for the children. There was no one else to ask - no family or friends to ask - just this woman. The neighbour and the woman had met briefly a few times. The woman knew the name of the eldest child but as far as specifics go, the name was all she knew. Without hesitation the woman said yes. She woke the young children and explained to the eldest that her mommy had gone to the doctor. She took them to her home, across the street, where she tucked them lovingly into cozy beds and stayed in the room with them all night. In the morning she made them breakfast, her and her husband played with the children as if they were their own grandchildren and when their mother was feel