At just 25 weeks pregnant, Courtney was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and was hospitalized. Just 5 days later and after a terrifying emergent c-section, she would meet her daughter, McKenzie. In this episode Courtney talks about her entire experience from her own hospitalization and her daughter's 5-month stay in the NICU, and eventually going home. She talks about the balance of being a single, working mom and the struggles that come along with having a child with medical needs. Courtney will leave you feeling inspired and in utter awe of how she loves and supports her daughter. 

Courtney recommends Preemies - Second Edition: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature BabiesHelping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion, and Feeding . If you'd like to connect with Courtney you can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or on her blog.

Thank you to Laura Morsman Photography for the beautiful pictures of Courtney and McKenzie. 

Follow along with this podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

At just 25 weeks pregnant, Courtney was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and was hospitalized. Just 5 days later and after a terrifying emergent c-section, she would meet her daughter, McKenzie. In this episode Courtney talks about her entire experience from her own hospitalization and her daughter's 5-month stay in the NICU, and eventually going home. She talks about the balance of being a single, working mom and the struggles that come along with having a child with medical needs. Courtney will leave you feeling inspired and in utter awe of how she loves and supports her daughter. 

Courtney recommends Preemies - Second Edition: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature BabiesHelping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion, and Feeding . If you'd like to connect with Courtney you can find her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or on her blog.

Thank you to Laura Morsman Photography for the beautiful pictures of Courtney and McKenzie. 

Follow along with this podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Meredith, a nurse and mother of two, describes her experience as a new mom and what happened when her five-week-old had a fever. After several tests in the ER, she and her family learned that their new son had meningitis. Meredith talks about what their ER and hospital was like with a newborn.

Two years later and after suffering from several sinus infections and sleep apnea, her son underwent a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Meredith talks about how they came to the decision to move forward with surgery and how she helped Joshua through his experience.

Meredith, a nurse and mother of two, describes her experience as a new mom and what happened when her five-week-old had a fever. After several tests in the ER, she and her family learned that their new son had meningitis. Meredith talks about what their ER and hospital was like with a newborn.

Two years later and after suffering from several sinus infections and sleep apnea, her son underwent a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Meredith talks about how they came to the decision to move forward with surgery and how she helped Joshua through his experience.

Torie is a young adult with gastroperesis. Torie's journey has been a long one which includes a car accident, receiving total nutrition through an IV, NOT EATING FOOD FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, and being told her illness was related to anxiety. These things, however, don't even touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Torie has been through. Eventually with the help of the device and taking control of her invisible illness through being diligent and sticking to a "Torie-Friendly Diet," Torie has been able to eat food and live her life in a way that brings her joy. 

Torie is currently a child life intern living in New York, pursuing her dream of becoming a child life specialist. Torie attributes her positive coping to keeping a grateful attitude, the help of her family and friends, and the people she's met along the way that she refers to as "spoonies." Torie recommends G-PACT, the Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation, The Spoon Theory, and social media to helping connect her with others going through similar experiences. You can connect with her on Instagram.

Torie's optimistic and positive perspective on life is infectious, and we are honored to have the opportunity to hear her story. To follow along with this podcast, follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

Torie is a young adult with gastroperesis. Torie's journey has been a long one which includes a car accident, receiving total nutrition through an IV, NOT EATING FOOD FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, and being told her illness was related to anxiety. These things, however, don't even touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what Torie has been through. Eventually with the help of the device and taking control of her invisible illness through being diligent and sticking to a "Torie-Friendly Diet," Torie has been able to eat food and live her life in a way that brings her joy. 

Torie is currently a child life intern living in New York, pursuing her dream of becoming a child life specialist. Torie attributes her positive coping to keeping a grateful attitude, the help of her family and friends, and the people she's met along the way that she refers to as "spoonies." Torie recommends G-PACT, the Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation, The Spoon Theory, and social media to helping connect her with others going through similar experiences. You can connect with her on Instagram.

Torie's optimistic and positive perspective on life is infectious, and we are honored to have the opportunity to hear her story. To follow along with this podcast, follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

Lyndsey's daughter failed her newborn hearing screening soon after birth, but it didn't alarm Lyndsey since her son had also failed his first test after he was born. After a second failed test, Lyndsey was asked to return soon after for another exam from an audiologist. They would soon learn that her daughter had severe hearing loss. 

Lyndsey talks about her experience and feelings with the process of learning this news and then deciding to go through with getting cochlear implants. She talks about how they came to that decision, the five-hour surgery, what it was like when her daughter heard her voice for the first time and then how they've moved forward with auditory verbal therapy. Lyndsey talks about how thankful she was for the resources and support from Texas Hands and Voices. 

If you’d like to get in touch with Lyndsey and have any questions for her about her experience or the resources she mentioned, get in touch with me at [email protected] and I will connect you with her. Thank you so much to Lyndsey for sharing your story with our listeners today. 

A big thank you goes out to Laura Morsman Photography for the amazing photos of Lyndsey and her family. If you live in Austin, you need to book Laura Morsman Photography to capture beautiful moments of you and your family. 

Connect with this podcast and learn more on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

Lyndsey's daughter failed her newborn hearing screening soon after birth, but it didn't alarm Lyndsey since her son had also failed his first test after he was born. After a second failed test, Lyndsey was asked to return soon after for another exam from an audiologist. They would soon learn that her daughter had severe hearing loss. 

Lyndsey talks about her experience and feelings with the process of learning this news and then deciding to go through with getting cochlear implants. She talks about how they came to that decision, the five-hour surgery, what it was like when her daughter heard her voice for the first time and then how they've moved forward with auditory verbal therapy. Lyndsey talks about how thankful she was for the resources and support from Texas Hands and Voices. 

If you’d like to get in touch with Lyndsey and have any questions for her about her experience or the resources she mentioned, get in touch with me at [email protected] and I will connect you with her. Thank you so much to Lyndsey for sharing your story with our listeners today. 

A big thank you goes out to Laura Morsman Photography for the amazing photos of Lyndsey and her family. If you live in Austin, you need to book Laura Morsman Photography to capture beautiful moments of you and your family. 

Connect with this podcast and learn more on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

Today's episode features two women. First, we will hear from Alexis whose son went through a fairly common surgery, ear tubes, and she will talk about what their experience was like. However, as child life specialists and parents we know thate despite how “common” or “routine” a surgery may be, those words don’t begin to cover all the emotions and experiences that come along with these "common" surgeries. You can follow Alexis through her business or her blog.

As a part of celebrating child life month, after Alexis’ story we will hear from Liz Anderson, a certified child life specialist who has spent a bulk of her career working in with children and families going through surgery. If you are a parent you will definitely want to stay tuned so you can hear great advice and suggestions for parents whose children have upcoming surgeries. If you are listening to this as an aspiring child life specialist or as a current CCLS, Liz shares a lot of useful information about her experiences and also how she created a program to help children with autism going through surgery. 

Today's episode features two women. First, we will hear from Alexis whose son went through a fairly common surgery, ear tubes, and she will talk about what their experience was like. However, as child life specialists and parents we know thate despite how “common” or “routine” a surgery may be, those words don’t begin to cover all the emotions and experiences that come along with these "common" surgeries. You can follow Alexis through her business or her blog.

As a part of celebrating child life month, after Alexis’ story we will hear from Liz Anderson, a certified child life specialist who has spent a bulk of her career working in with children and families going through surgery. If you are a parent you will definitely want to stay tuned so you can hear great advice and suggestions for parents whose children have upcoming surgeries. If you are listening to this as an aspiring child life specialist or as a current CCLS, Liz shares a lot of useful information about her experiences and also how she created a program to help children with autism going through surgery.