When you become a mother, there’s something so natural, so innate, so instinctual about protecting your child. All those phrases—mama bear, dragon mother—hold some truth. Mothers have an animal-like instinct to protect their children. But what happens when they can’t protect them from the grips of a disease, disability, or disorder? What then? Montel talks with Nikki McIntosh on this episode of Free Thinking. Nikki is a writer, speaker and advocate, and a rare disease mama. Her son Miles was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare, neuromuscular disease at the age of eighteen months old. She is the founder and creator of Rare Mamas, a resource and community to support rare disease mothers, and the host of the Rare Mamas Rising podcast, a platform for rare moms to share their stories and learn from one another. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

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