ONCEkids Honors Heroic Mothers for Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from ONCEkids! Mother's day is dedicated to all the women out there who have put in so much time and energy to fulfill the job of motherhood, without a doubt the hardest- and most rewarding- job in the world. Mother's day is the perfect day to just set aside some extra time to tell our moms how much they mean to us and how much they do for us, no matter how old we get.

Every mother is a hero and to remind us each of that on this special day, here are the stories of five inspiring women who made the ultimate sacrifices for their children. 

Get your tissues ready, because the first woman on our list of heroic mothers is part of a heart-wrenching story that is so moving, you may find yourself reduced to tears. Anyone who is a mother knows that they would trade their life for their child's, but the first woman on our list actually did when she knowingly gave up her own life to save the life of her daughter. 

Stacie Crimm had always longed to be a mother but was told she would never be able to have a child. So when, at age 41, she became pregnant she was overjoyed. Not long after this joyful news, she received the life-changing diagnosis of neck cancer. 

After hearing of this tragedy, she made the decision to refuse chemotherapy, despite the aggressive tumor growing in her brain, in order to save her unborn child. She was barely hanging on when doctors did an emergency c-section to save the 2-pound, 1 ounce baby girl, which Crimm named Dottie Mae. 

Although the end of her life was near, doctors and nurses told a desperate Crimm it would be impossible for her to see her child, who was in intensive care. It was thanks to two kind-hearted nurses that Crimm's dying wish was finally able to be fulfilled. Tiny Dottie was brought into her room and laid on Crimm's chest. The mother and daughter shared one beautiful moment that Crimm's brother, Randy, says he will never forget. She held her daughter just once before passing away. After Crimm's death, Randy kept his promise to his sister and took home the healthy 5-pound Dottie, whose father is not known, to live with his wife and four children. 

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Our next heroic mother sacrificed her own eyesight to save the eyesight of two of her daughters. Monique Zimmerman-Stein was diagnosed with the rare disorder, Stickler's Syndrome, that attacks your eyesight.

She was then given the opportunity to preserve the last of her vision through a treatment plan that included a series of costly injections. However, two of her daughters had inherited the genetic disorder, making it also possible for them to lose their vision.

Since she would not be able to afford their treatments as well as hers, she was faced with a heartbreaking decision. It was then she decided to forego her own treatment, which would result in her becoming blind, in order to be able to scrape together enough money to pay for her two daughters' treatments and preserve their eyesight. 

The touching stories continue in ONCEkids Heroic Mothers Part 2!

And we welcome you to tell us why your mother is your hero.