On this special episode of I Don't Know How You Do It, a powerful panel of three  parents share their stories of rare disease, debate the value of staying hopeful, and explore what it means to be resilient.

"Sometimes resilience just means getting up and doing the next thing day after day after day. It doesn't need to be big and heroic. It can just be doing the next right thing." (Nikki McIntosh)

Patti Hall is the author of the memoir Loving Large: A Mother's Rare Disease Memoir. Nikki MCintosh is the creator and founder of Rare Mamas, a resource for mothers of children with Rare Diseases, and host of the Rare Mamas Rising podcast. Daniel DeFabio is the Director of Community Engagement at Global Genes, co-founder of Disorder, the Rare Disease Film Festival, and the Disorder Channel.

In this episode, you'll learn: 
1. What oxygen tanks help people through the most challenging times
2. How we can embrace hope while also protecting ourselves from being too hopeful in difficult situations
3. What  resilience looks like in the face of a rare disease diagnosis

Books Recommendations:
1. Loving Large: A Mother's Rare Disease Memoir by Patti Hall
2. When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner
3. Hope(less) by Catherine Hammond
4. Raising a Rare Girl by Heather Lanier
5. A Sky Full of Stars by Meg Apperson
6. No Such Thing as Normal by Megan DeJarnett
7. Extraordinary: A Book for Children With Rare Diseases by Evren  & Kara Ayic
8. Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp Black
9. Bewilderment by Richard Powers
10. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

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Music credit: Limitless by Bells