Episodes

Today I'm talking with Amy, who discovered her son had a brain tumor after noticing something different about his eye one morning. The brain has a lot of jobs, and it has affected his everyday life in many ways. Amy is an inc...

March is Child Life month, and I wanted to feature some amazing organizations that are doing so much to support children and families in crisis. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to interview an expert in the field of C...

March is Child Life month, and I wanted to feature some amazing organizations that are doing so much to support children and families in crisis. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to interview an expert in the field of C...

Today I am introducing you to Dr. Jin Lee, a licensed clinical psychologist with experience working in hospitals. She now has her own private practice, and she specializes with teens who have functional neurological or post-c...

Today we have another story from a heart mama. I wanted to fit them all into February, but I couldn't quite make it. So we are just creeping into March here with Dimitra and her story. Her son also had transposition of the gr...

Here we are in the last week of February, which is heart month, and I am so honored to bring you Melissa's story. We have discussed other heart defects before, such as tetralogy of fallot and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. ...

Julie May has been a child life specialist for almost 20 years. She is here today to talk with us about how to talk to and support kids who have an adult in their lives who has an illness. Julie talks about what Wonders and ...

Today's guest, Elizabeth, had never heard of PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection) when her son was diagnosed with it. PANDAS is a tough diagnosis, because some docto...

Today's 12 minute talk became a 20+ minute talk, and Cara Smith and I discussed how parents can connect with their children after a disaster. Cara is an amazing pioneer in the child life field, and she has valuable tips both ...

Today's guest is Maureen, and she found out at her 20 week ultrasound that her daughter had clubfoot. She shares what families have to endure when confronted with a child with clubfoot. You'll hear about B and B (boots and ba...

For today's 12 minute talk, I'm speaking with Kat Harrison. At the end of 2021, I shared Kat's episode (episode 99) in which she talked about what it was like being a teenager with chronic illness. During that episode, we to...

Today's guest is Betsy, from an organization called Hope for HIE (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy). HIE refers to brain injury in an infant, and Betsy will share more specifics about the condition and her family's experience ...

As we kick off the new year, my guest Christiana is sharing the story of her son's osteosarcoma. Nathaniel has passed away, but his family created Nathaniel's Childhood Cancer Foundation in his name and legacy. Christiana wal...

It's the 100th episode! Today I'm opening up a bit and letting you get to know more about me as well as more about what a child life specialist does. I will be sharing my thoughts about the holiday season, and then I will an...

My guest today, Kat, is sharing her story as a child and now as an adult with chronic illness. I think it's important for us to change our perspective a bit and hear what the patient has to say. Kat is the community manager a...

Happy December! I'm changing things up a big this week, and sharing my discussion with Meg and Jess from Friends with Fros. I first interviewed them in June 2020, so please feel free to go back and listen to their anti-raci...

My guest today, Samarrah, is sharing her story about her son being diagnosed with a brain tumor. I encourage you to be present as you listen to her story and take the wisdom she is offering. In this episode, we talk about… [1...

My guest today is Carrie Holt. Carrie is one of those people who, when you talk to her, you feel like you've known her your whole life AND it feels like you're there in the room with her. She has such a great perspective on ...

Meet the author, Priscilla Morgan. She gives us exactly what we need to know to start a gratitude journal with kids, without making it a chore. She teaches us how to find the emotional connection with gratitude to make it me...

Today I get to introduce you to Moira, the host of Surviving the Waiting Room - a podcast based on her experiences from learning how to be an advocate for her teenage children as they started to figure out their health issues...

For today's 12 minute talk, I'm interviewing Ashley McGaughy. Ashley is a pediatric occupational therapist from Chicago, and she primarily works as an independent contractor with kids in intervention programs, ages zero to t...

The Dad's Perspective: A Son with a Rare Genetic Disease So there is this rock star in the podcast world, and her name is Effie Parks. She hosts a podcast called Once Upon a Gene, inspired by her son who has a rare genetic d...

For today's 12 minute talk, I'm talking about the COVID-19 vaccine and how to discuss it with kids. I'm going to give you some ideas, with the caveat that you don't have to use the exact words I use. You know your child bes...

Today I'm introducing you to Jenny Hull, a single mom to Josie who just turned 20 years old. Jenny is also the CEO and founder of a nonprofit organization called Once Upon a Room. They are changing the game for kids in hosp...