48 hours after our last episode, we received another diagnosis about our daughter. This time, we are numb. We talk about the impact it has on her future, how doctors missed it for 5 years, and the impact it has on our marriage and family.

This episode was not planned and is raw and real. We are a real life podcast. To hurt and heal alongside you.

Follow Resurface for honest conversations about marriage, family, trauma, healing, and finding your footing again when life knocks you under the surface.

New episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast — and the community around it.

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This wasn’t the episode we planned to record.

We planned to film something completely different… and then an unexpected diagnosis changed that plan immediately.

In this episode, we share what we learned from a recent neuropsychology evaluation, what it felt like to hear words like “unlikely” and “plateau,” and how that kind of information lands in a marriage.

We talk honestly about fear.
About grief.
About advocacy.
About what it means to love your child fiercely while refusing to let a prognosis define them.

This conversation is raw, unplanned, and very real.

Everything has changed.
And somehow, so has our perspective.

Follow Resurface for honest conversations about marriage, family, trauma, healing, and finding your footing again when life knocks you under the surface.

New episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast — and the community around it.

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Rachel tells a story that makes Stephen look completely unhinged… then immediately admits the thing that actually makes her rage. What follows is laughter, disbelief, and a moment where joking turns into something more honest than expected.

This episode of Resurface is unfiltered, funny, and real — the way conversations actually sound when you stop editing yourself.

🎧 Topics in this episode:

• Everyday pet peeves (from minor annoyances to hard lines)

• Humor, hypocrisy, and moral whiplash

• Safety, rules, and why some things trigger rage

• How couples react differently to the same frustrations

• Laughing until it turns into crying

• When a light conversation unexpectedly deepens

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts, confidential help is available by calling or texting 988 (U.S.) or visiting findahelpline.com.

Follow Resurface for honest conversations about marriage, family, trauma, healing, and finding your footing again when life knocks you under the surface.

New episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast — and the community around it.

⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠ to receive emails when we upload new episodes. No spam, promise!

Find us on TikTok: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠resurfacepod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find us on Instagram: @⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠theresurfacepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.resurfacepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

In this episode of Resurface, Stephen and Rachel sit down to tell their story in their own words.

After a viral clip of our content was taken out of context and spread online, followed by harsh commentary and assumptions, we open the episode by briefly addressing the misinformation, judgment, and online backlash they experienced. Then, we intentionally move away from the noise to do something more importantly: let listeners actually get to know us.

We talk about their childhoods, how we met, the early years of our marriage, and the foundation of our relationship, long before medical trauma, caregiving, or life upheaval entered the picture. This episode is about context, humanity, and what’s lost when people are reduced to clips, comments, or assumptions.

If you’ve ever felt misunderstood online, judged by strangers, or defined by a single moment, this conversation is for you.

Resurface is a podcast about marriage, resilience, identity, and rebuilding after life disruption, including family medical crises, caregiving, trauma, and the pressure of being visible on the internet. Episodes range from deep and reflective to honest, human, and even funny, but always real.

🎧 Topics in this episode:

• Online judgment and viral misinformation

• Marriage and early relationship stories

• Childhood experiences and identity

• Being misunderstood in public spaces

• Choosing humanity over commentary

Follow Resurface for honest conversations about marriage, family, trauma, healing, and finding your footing again when life knocks you under the surface.

Follow Resurface on Apple or Spotify for future episodes. New episodes updated weekly!

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠ to receive emails when we upload new episodes. No spam, promise!

Find us on TikTok: @⁠⁠⁠⁠resurfacepod⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Email us: [email protected]

Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.resurfacepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

What did marriage advice used to sound like when it was delivered with absolute confidence and no room for disagreement?

In this episode, we read and react to real marriage advice from the mid-20th century, including excerpts from books, manuals, and magazine content that shaped expectations around marriage, behavior, and roles. Yes, all of it is real.

We sit down and respond in real time, translating the advice into plain language and reacting to the certainty with which these rules were written. Some of it is hilarious. Some of it is genuinely shocking. A few sections are so baffling they derail the conversation entirely.

This episode unfolds like a time capsule: a modern couple in 2026 reacting to what marriage and “good behavior” were supposed to look like not that long ago. Expect commentary, raised eyebrows, and plenty of humor as we work through advice that once passed for common sense.

If you enjoy funny reactions, cultural throwbacks, and conversations that are equal parts entertaining and absurd, this episode is an easy listen.

Follow Resurface on Apple or Spotify for future episodes.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

⁠Click here⁠ to receive emails when we upload new episodes. No spam, promise!

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Sources:

1) Sara, Dorothy. The Bride’s Encyclopedia. New York: Greenberg, Publisher, 1951.Excerpt: “Be a Pretty Wife,” pp. 282–283, pp. 290

2) Walker, Mary Alice. Venture of Faith: A Guide to Marriage and the Home. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959.Excerpt: “Venture of Faith: A Guide to Marriage and the Home,” pp. 128, pp. 27

3) Lord, Daniel A. Planning Your Happy Marriage. The Queen’s Work, 1949.Excerpt: “Planning Your Happy Marriage,” pp. 5

4) Duvall, Evelyn Ruth Millis. When You Marry. New York: Association Press, 1953.Excerpt: “When You Marry,” pp.13, pp. 225

All sources can be found at ⁠www.archive.org⁠

** Disclaimer: This episode includes verbatim excerpts from historical marriage manuals, advertisements, and studies for commentary and discussion. The views expressed in the quoted material do not reflect our own and are presented for historical and educational context. **

In this episode of Resurface, we switch things up and play Agree or Disagree, a fast-moving conversation where we react in real time to opinions couples argue about more than they admit.

The topics range from marriage dynamics and parenting choices to everyday habits, pet peeves, and small disagreements that somehow matter a lot.

Some of the questions are purely funny, some are unexpectedly hilarious, and one turns into a real, unscripted disagreement we didn’t plan for. You’ll hear where we align, where we absolutely don’t, and how quickly a simple opinion can turn into a deeper conversation about communication, expectations, and perspective.

This episode isn’t about solving anything or proving a point. It’s about letting people hear what real conversations between spouses actually sound like when there’s no script, no coaching, and no attempt to smooth things over for the sake of appearances. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t, and sometimes we end up laughing at how differently two people can experience the same situation.

If you enjoy honest, funny marriage conversations, couples who are willing to disagree out loud, or episodes that are easy to listen to but still revealing, this one will probably spark a few opinions of your own.

Follow Resurface on Apple or Spotify for future episodes.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

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In this episode, we shift the tone and sit down for a lighter conversation built around questions we have never asked each other before. After sharing some heavy experiences in recent episodes, this one is intentionally different, offering space for curiosity, humor, and connection without revisiting crisis or trauma.

We take turns answering a mix of thoughtful, playful, and unexpected questions about marriage, family, childhood memories, and the small things that shape how we see each other. Some questions lead to meaningful conversation, others catch us off guard, and a few take the conversation in completely unexpected directions.

This episode is about remembering how to talk to each other outside of emergency mode, enjoying moments of levity, and reconnecting in ways that aren’t centered on survival. It reflects what everyday marriage looks like in between hard seasons, where laughter, randomness, and honesty still matter.

Resurface explores marriage, caregiving, recovery, and life after medical trauma, and this episode marks a shift from crisis storytelling into connection and decompression. It’s a reminder that not every conversation has to be heavy to be meaningful.

Follow Resurface on Apple or Spotify for future episodes.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

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Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠www.resurfacepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

Surviving the seizure wasn’t the end.

In this episode, we pick up inside the hospital after our four-year-old was rushed in following a prolonged, life-threatening seizure. This episode covers what came next, including the hours of waiting, the uncertainty inside the ER, and Stephen’s drive across state lines from Georgia to Alabama to reach our daughter after learning how serious the emergency had become.

We talk about the first moments of being reunited, the shock of moving from crisis to discharge, and what it meant to bring our child home without any medical monitoring equipment. This conversation explores the reality families face after severe pediatric seizures, including the absence of FDA-approved seizure monitoring devices for children under six, and the fear that doesn’t end once you leave the hospital.

We also share how life changed overnight, how sleep became fragmented and hyper-vigilant, and what it feels like to parent in constant alert mode when reassurance and safety nets don’t exist. This episode focuses on the aftermath, the unanswered questions, and the quiet, relentless fear that follows families home after a medical emergency involving a child and a permanent, life changing diagnosis.

This is not a resolution or a recovery story. It is an honest look at what comes after survival, when the danger feels ongoing and the responsibility to protect never lets up.

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If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

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Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals. The experiences, observations, and information shared in this episode reflect our personal journey and our understanding at the time, based on what we lived through and learned along the way. This content is not intended as medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for guidance from qualified healthcare professionals.

At 4:45 a.m., everything changed.

In this episode, we begin telling the story of the morning our four-year-old daughter experienced her first seizure, one that quickly escalated into status epilepticus, a prolonged, life-threatening medical emergency. What unfolded in the early morning hours was chaotic, terrifying, and far from brief.

We share how the seizure continued for an extended period of time, what it looked like as her breathing became abnormal and her color began to change, and what it meant to wait while emergency medical services were still en route. This episode includes the moment our teenager woke up, recognized that something was wrong, and woke Rachel, setting off a race against time inside our own home.

We talk about what it feels like to watch a child seize without knowing when or if it will stop, the panic of counting minutes, and the fear that settles in when help feels impossibly far away. This conversation explores the reality of prolonged seizures, the trauma of witnessing a medical emergency involving a child, and the way those moments imprint on parents and siblings long after the immediate danger has passed.

This is not a medical explanation or a retrospective analysis. It is a raw account of the morning that introduced epilepsy into our lives, and the events that followed before answers, treatment, or clarity existed.

Follow Resurface on Apple or Spotify for future episodes.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

⁠Click here⁠ to receive emails when we upload new episodes. No spam, promise!

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Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals. The experiences, observations, and information shared in this episode reflect our personal journey and our understanding at the time, based on what we lived through and learned along the way. This content is not intended as medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for guidance from qualified healthcare professionals.

Thirty days after Stephen suffered a stroke and underwent carotid surgery, our family was still in survival mode. Before there was time to recover, everything shifted again. Rachel experienced a spinal fluid leak that left me bedridden for months, unable to sit upright, function independently, or move through daily life without severe pain.

We discuss the collision of roles and the extreme reality of what it is like when the caretaker becomes disabled and the disabled becomes the caretaker.

In this episode, we talk about what it’s like when back-to-back medical emergencies collide inside a marriage and a family with children. We share how a spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak can affect the body and mind, what prolonged bed rest actually feels like, and how relapses, medical uncertainty, and invisible illness compound trauma instead of resolving it.

We also acknowledge the workplace trauma that occurred alongside a prolonged medical crisis, and the emotional, mental, and physical toll of existing under that strain while physically incapacitated.

This conversation explores marriage under extreme pressure, parenting while incapacitated, depression, isolation, and the quiet moments no one prepares you for after the hospital doors close and life is expected to continue.

This episode is not a recovery story or a linear path toward healing. It is an honest account of what happens when crises overlap, support systems are stretched, and endurance is tested beyond what feels manageable.

Follow Resurface on Apple or Spotify for future episodes.

If you listen on Apple Podcasts, leaving a review helps more families navigating trauma, special needs parenting, or hard seasons find this podcast—and, with it, a community rooted in honesty, resilience, hope, and humor.

⁠Click here⁠ to receive emails when we upload new episodes. No spam, promise!

Find us on TikTok: @⁠resurfacepod⁠

Find us on Instagram: @⁠theresurfacepodcast⁠

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Email us: [email protected]

Visit our website: ⁠www.resurfacepodcast.com⁠

Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals. The experiences, observations, and information shared in this episode reflect our personal journey and our understanding at the time, based on what we lived through and learned along the way. This content is not intended as medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for guidance from qualified healthcare professionals.