Making Lemonade with Whit + Kels

**Warning - Explicit Content**

Hannah grew up in a very prominent religious culture, which didn't stop horrible things from happening to her.  She was molested as a child, dealt with different addictions, and was recently diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.   I think sometimes we think that having religious values will keep us and our families exempt from terrible things happening to us, which is not the case at all.  

Hannah was so brave in telling her story and bringing awareness to bipolar disorder.   Our hope is to have her story reach the ones who need to hear it.  

Thank you for listening to our episodes.  Make sure to like and subscribe, and also leave a kind comment for our guests, letting them know how brave they are for coming on and sharing their stories.  

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Char is such an incredible loss mom that shares her story with us today. She lost her sweet baby Owen, and tells us about the experience and how it happened. Owen passed away from a brain hemorrhage at 3 days old, and it was completely unexpected and of course, so sad. She is so inspiring to us with her attitude and outlook with her experience. She reminded us to always be an advocate for yourself. If something doesn't feel right, speak up! Let someone know and fight for yourself and what you think might be best. It's ok to ask for a second opinion, and it's ok to question the systems and protocols we so frequently trust and believe in. We also loved hearing her outlook on grief and life since the loss of Owen, and we know you guys will too! 

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Our guest today, Erica, is not a stranger to grief. After losing her brother in 2020, she then lost her 10 month old son, Grady, a few months later. Grady's death was so fast and sudden. Something completely unexpected. A mother's worse nightmare. Erica told us their experience, how losing Grady stopped their world from turning, and how they have been able to put one foot in front of the other ever since. She is a woman that shows so much faith and courage, when it's all she had left to give.
After Grady's death, Erica and her family started a foundation in Grady's honor, called "Gifts from Grady". They help raise awareness for organ donation, grief and loss, and are always serving others.  You can find them on social media, or check out their website here:

https://giftsfromgrady.com

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Michelle is a wife, a mother of 2 children, and most recently a Certified Holistic Life Coach who spends a lot of time working with women through their grief process.  Life has definitely handed Michelle some lemons.  She learned when she was younger that she wouldn't be able to give birth to her children.  So when the time came Michelle and her husband went through the adoption process.  First came their daughter, and a few short years later, their son.  When their son, James was 12 weeks old he passed away from SIDS.  Michelle's story is heartbreaking, but like the other guests on this podcast, Michelle has made her own lemonade.  She works hard at using the proper tools to help her process her grief, and we are so honored that we get to share her story with all of you. 

You can find out more about Michelle and her coaching at:
  https://lightoflovecoaching.com/
 
She also has a  Facebook group called Transforming Your Grief, where she does weekly trainings to help women get out of survival mode. 
https://lightoflovecoaching.com/group
 

Leave a comment and tell us what you think about this week's episode. 💛💛

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Stephanie is our guest on this weeks episode.  She tells us her story of losing her child due to an incompetent cervix. Stephanie teaches us all about her diagnosis, and what she has been through since losing her son and the multiple miscarriages after.   She is doing a wonderful job at raising awareness and educating others all about having an incompetent cervix.  We know her episode will find who needs to hear her story.   We are honored that she chose to share it on Making Lemonade, and hope that you enjoy this episode.

Resources: 

https://instagram.com/icawarecampaign?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Abbyloopers for Trans Abdominal Cerclage on Facebook

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Rob is our guest on this week's podcast.  This is an episode you won't want to miss.  Rob is a father to 3 sons.  His first son passed away in 2009.  He and his late wife Sarah, had 2 more children.  Tragedy struck again when Sarah was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2019, and later passed away in 2021.  

As we sat and listened to Rob tell his story, we were in awe of who he is today, and the little nuggets of inspiration that he brought to his episode.  Rob is wise beyond his years.  We know that not only is he bringing awareness to stomach cancer, he is showing up for men and talking about men's mental health, all while teaching us and the listeners about moving forward with life.  

We hope you guys enjoy this episode as much as we did.  Leave a comment below, and tell us what you thought! 

XOXO ~ Whit + Kels 

Resources: 
 Podcast - Widow We Do Now 

Robs YouTube channel - Widower Winging It

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Jessica is a very brave mother of 2 who came on the podcast to share her story of abuse.  She tells us how she met and fell in love with her former husband.  She talks about their life together, how the cycles of abuse crept in, and how she never saw it coming.  Jessica teaches us about narcissism, and how she never knew what she was dealing with while she was in those cycles of abuse.  She tells us how she was able to leave and move back to her family.  My heart broke as she spoke.  She is a young mother who has been through so much at such a young age.  She knew what she needed to do to keep her kids safe and she was able to leave her horrible situation.  If you ever need to talk with someone who has been in this type of a situation, reach out to us and we can give you Jessica's info.  
 Thank you Jessica for sharing your story.  ❤️❤️

Book Resources:
Divorcing a narcissist: advice from the battlefield by Tina Swithin
Divorcing a narcissist: one moms battle by Tina Swithin

Podcast Resources:
Narcissist apocalypse with Brandon Chadwick
The narcissistic trauma recovery podcast with Caroline Strawson (there is also a FB group under the same name)

Caroline Strawson also offers a program that is helpful.  There is a paid group, and a free group.

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 Jackie is our guest on this week's episode.  She tells us the story of her son who was going to his first Homecoming dance.  He had just taken his date home from their day activity, and was driving back to his house to get ready for the evening.  On his way home he lost control of his car and it went into oncoming traffic, struck another vehicle in which the driver of that vehicle tragically passed away.   A big part of Jackie's story is that her son was only 15 at the time, and only had a drivers permit.   Jackie and her husband have felt the weight of their decision that day to let their son drive.  They tell his story to raise awareness for underage driving.  They also learned that their car had a recall, which played a huge role in why their son had lost control of the vehicle.

 It was such an honor and very humbling to have Jackie come sit with us and share a little bit about what they've gone through since that horrific day.      We hope this story finds the people who need to hear it, and we hope that you enjoy listening and learning from Jackie. 


Jackie and her husband did a video with Zero Fatalities.   Here is the link.
https://youtu.be/TQe9Aujs_sA

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Michele Benyo is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist®, a parent coach, and the founder of Good Grief Parenting. After her 6-year-old son died of cancer, her 3-year-old daughter said, “Mommy, half of me is gone.” This heartbreaking statement focused Michele’s career as an early childhood parenting specialist on the impact of grief on young children, particularly after child loss. Michele equips parents and other caring adults to recognize young children’s grief and to provide the support children need to cope well with any loss. The desire of Michele’s heart is to see families live forward after loss toward a future bright with possibilities and even joy.

http://www.goodgriefparenting.com
https://www.instagram.com/goodgriefparenting/
https://www.facebook.com/goodgriefparenting/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentsraisingyoungsiblings

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Cache is a husband, and a father of 3.  His family received devastating news last year, when his oldest daughter Lia fell off of a trampoline, and through a series of events, it was discovered that she has a genetic disorder called MLD.  Cache tells us the story of how the trampoline ended up saving her life and her younger sister, Hazel.  He talks about the treatment they are having to do with their 2 daughter's.  Lia get's treated in the US, while Hazel is in Italy with her mom, receiving a new gene therapy treatment.  

This family is amazing.  To sit and listen to Cache while he told us his story and then continued to educate us on modern medicine and genetics was so interesting.  We loved this interview and hope to have Cache (& Mandi) come on again for an update in the future.  

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