This Soul-Crushing Ad Shows Just How Strong Moms of Sick Kids Are

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Most parents will never know what it's like to care for a sick child — not the ones with snotty noses and low-grade fevers, but the ones with real, chronic, sometimes-fatal illnesses — and that's a good thing. It's a pain no mom should have to bear, but many do, and a soul-crushing ad is shedding light on just a glimpse of what that struggle is like.

In honor of Mother's Day, SickKids Foundation, a children's health nonprofit, released the 90-second commercial. In it, there's a mom praying in a church pew, a mom screaming and bashing her fists against the steering wheel in a vacant parking lot, and a mom breaking down in tears as a nurse explains how she'll have to care for her sick infant. Those watching can almost feel the anguish. Almost.

Then, each of these moms literally wipes away the tears, picks herself up, and gets to work. It's remarkable.

The organization's message? "For every kid in hospital who's missing childhood, there's a mom staying strong."

Unlike most ads you watch, take action after you see this one. As SickKids implores, stand with these moms to "help their kids get back to just being kids." And may you never have to know this kind of strength.