From Hidden Brain Media, I'm Shankarvedantham. This is my unsung hero,

stories where one person reached out to help another in a time of need.

My unsung hero story is from a doctor I heard over 30 years ago.

He's a unsung hero because he rarely got any recognition for his huge heart and his unselfish actions.

You mean the world to me and I can't thank you enough.

Today's story. and I can't thank you enough.

Today's story comes from Mary Amato. It was 1995 and I was having an identity crisis.

My husband, a science writer, had just won an award for his writing from a chemistry association,

and we were flown from D.C. to California for the big award banquet.

It was really exciting and I was thrilled for him and proud of him, but I was also a mess. A few months earlier I had managed to get through my second pregnancy which was so tough and my second

section which was scary and our new baby

new baby had esophageal reflux which meant near constant crying.

On top of all that, our two and a half year old was not happy.

And there I was borrowing a dress because I didn't have a decent one that fit

attending my first professional event since becoming a mom.

I had quit my job when our first child was born to become a full-time mom because I felt that raising kids was important work and I wanted to do that work.

But people would say, you stopped working as if stay-at-home moms were not working women.

I had been working for the past two and a half years. I had

been working harder than I had ever worked and not getting a single paycheck and

not getting Social Security or recognition from my social network.

And the host took the mic and introduced my husband listing all of his accomplishments.

And then after this long list, the host

...