Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode we are exploring the vital yet (especially in our community) illusive act of taking a break.  Our storyteller is Krysten Leighty whose daughter Lana, was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, and found early on that the “go go go” mentality of the medical world was counterintuitive to her instincts, as a mother, to just stop and be present with her child. Krysten Leighty is an artist of many talents, an ambivert, empath, a work in progress human, a...

Hello Brave Friends! This is another Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing how we handle it when family, friends (or people in the grocery store) say judgmental or insensitive things about our non-typical kids or how we’re raising them? Do we take the time to educate them? Is that our job?  Whether you have questions as a parent to a child with complex medical or mental health needs or you’re...

Hello Brave Friends! One thing I wish I could free all moms from is MOM GUILT. I know you've heard me talk about this before, and it is just in the way of us thriving for sure. It's like a boulder that we carry around and I wish I could just take the boulder off of everybody's shoulders. Well, I think our guest today is going to help us with this.  Joanne Crone is a parenting educator and a life coach who helps moms feel confident in raising empowered kids while pursuing their own goals....

Hello Brave Friends! On this story episode we’re talking about being a neurodiverse mama and dealing with blameless guilt. What is blameless guilt? It’s guilt we feel when the unthinkable happens and we have no one to blame for it; like passing down genetics to our children. This guilt is tricky. It hangs around us, invisible, easily dismissed by our nearest and dearest but always finding its way back to us. How do we deal with it? Are we stuck with it? Our storyteller, this episode, is Becky...

Hello Brave Friends! This is another Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing the topic of raising a child who is aggressive or has bouts of violence towards others. We speak from experience about how it can feel, what it brings up for us as caregivers and how we deal with it. Most of all, this episode is a compassion fest. If you are out there feeling the isolation, fear and shame that can come...

Hello Brave Friends! Having girlfriends that get you is sacred and mandatory around here and our guest today, Laura Tremaine, could not agree more! She is an author and podcaster who shares how making, keeping and even releasing friendships can be easier than we think.  Laura has so much to share in this interview including her own personal experience with loneliness. She offers a fresh perspective on friendship and tools that aim to help you break out of lonesome seasons and add richness to...

Hello Brave Friends! On this episode we are exploring what pregnancy and early motherhood can look like when there is rare disease and a limb difference involved. Our storyteller is Hannah Parsons who, herself, was born on the bathroom floor of a trailer. She always knew she wanted to experience pregnancy and whatever adventurous birth came along with that but was not prepared for the bumpy path her pregnancy set her on when an ultrasound revealed her son wasn’t developing...

Hello Brave Friends! This is another Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing the question, is it okay to take a vacation with the typical members of the family while leaving my child with complex needs behind and if so, how do I deal with the guilt I feel about planning that trip and how do I tell my child that I’m leaving them behind? Whether you have questions as a parent to a child with...

Hello Brave Friends!  Welcome to our practical episode with Katie Taylor, who not only has wonderful professional credentials, she is also our Connection Circle Leader for Austin, Texas, and we are so grateful for her leadership and her enthusiasm to serve and support caregiving moms. Katie Taylor is very impressive. She is the co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, a digital platform revolutionizing pediatric health care by putting parents at the center of the medical journey. With over...

Hello Brave Friends! On this episode we’re exploring what being an amazing advocate looks like. As we all know, advocacy can take on a lot of forms, helping with communication, getting all the right medications and in some cases… calling out the professionals who’ve maybe forgotten that their patients are much more than their disabilities.  Our storyteller, this episode, is Lori Rivera, a sister caregiver, whose brother Shawn has severe cerebral palsy. She has been caring for him for over 11...

Hello Brave Friends! This is our inaugural Ask Us Anything episode in which YOU, the listener, get to write or call in and, you guessed it, ASK US ANYTHING!  Today we’re discussing the question, “Is it strange to feel frustrated when I see friends and family support and volunteer with programs that support people with disabilities and yet, do not volunteer to help my child or other children outside of those events?” Whether you have questions as a parent to a child with complex medical or...

Hello Brave Friends! Welcome to Season 5 of Brave Together Podcast! This season we are rolling out a brand new episode format called Ask Us Anything. In these episodes my wonderful co-hosts, Life Coach and Soul Care Coach, Suzanna Peace Lovell and Marriage and Family Therapist Kimberly Kooy and I will do our darndest to honor and answer YOUR questions about anything and everything.  Whether you have questions as a parent to a child with complex medical or mental health needs or you’re someone...

Hello Brave Friends, you know we encourage sisterhood on this podcast but we don’t always talk about the unexpected community that can form around our children with unique needs, when we’re open to it. And sometimes that means having a broader idea about who that community may include. It might NOT be other mom’s, even care-giving mom’s with kids the same age because hey, they're BUSY! Instead, it might be a retired neighbor looking for some way to be of service, a single friend who has the...

Vacationing with your kids doesn’t always feel like a vacation, more like a relocation, am I right?! And when any of your children have special needs, it can feel even harder to relax in a new location, no matter HOW sandy the beaches are. But what if you had a qualified nanny along for the ride? On this episode, host, Jessica Patay, interviews CEO and founder of Break Relief Sitters and Nannies LLC, Nichelle Harvey. Nichelle is a mother of 2 boys. Her oldest son is Autistic and like most...

In extreme parenting, mastering flexibility is key! We never know what is around the corner and our kid’s unique needs keep us permanently on our toes. But we are also the ones providing routine for our kids, especially those who struggle with anxiety. So we have to stay nimble, dancing between providing the necessary structure and going with the flow enough to avoid a mental break!  In today’s story we hear form Amanda Griffith-Atkins who shares about a family vacation she went on with her...

Transitions are hard for everybody, but especially for our neurodiverse teens and their parents. Just when you’ve gotten used to middle school and all that is expected in that environment, your teen is ushered into the wilderness of high school and a fresh batch of unknowns. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a guide? Well, you’re in luck! On this practical episode, host Jessica Patay interviews Natalie Borrell, a Certified Academic Life Coach, Licensed School Psychologist and the founder of Life...

Happy Mother’s Day! Though the holiday this year has passed, we are here to remind you to do something special FOR YOU today! You deserve it! We want you to feel appreciated for ALL that you do, even if it’s just in a deep breath as you read this paragraph. We see you, we honor you and we are rooting for you! For this episode we hear a letter from an inspiring mother, Suzanne Eisenbrand, who raised 4 boys, two of which are twins on the autism spectrum. She shares her experience with host...

Our lives as caregivers require WAY more help than we are willing to ask for, so what stops us? The intention for this episode is encouragement and maybe a nudge toward self-reflection as to WHY ON EARTH we of all people wouldn’t be able to ask for the help that we so badly need.  On this episode, host Jessica Patay, talks to Cheryl Ryan Chan, who does workshops on The Lost Skill of Asking for Help, among other caregiver focused topics. They discuss why asking for help can feel so difficult...

You have to PRUNE to create room for real GROWTH, this is a sentiment gardeners understand but often busy parent caregivers forget. Are you making space in your life to experience peace? To exhale? To hear your own thoughts? In our busy world and even busier caregiving lives, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and out of touch with what we really require to thrive as human beings.  On this episode, host Jessica Patay, speaks with our story teller, Jess Ronne, about getting in touch with ourselves,...

Does your child have sensory issues? Picky eating, general dysregulation or motor skill delays? Have you been to a bunch of different therapists but they all seem like they’re on their own planets and aren’t communicating with each other? Now, can you imagine taking your child into ONE therapeutic clinic and having them look for the ROOT CAUSE of your child’s issues?  On this practical episode, host Jessica Patay interviews Dr. Marielly Mitchell from TheraPlay LA where their goal is to help...

One of the invisible burdens many parents of children with degenerative or recurring disease carry is the knowledge that someday the other shoe may drop. They don’t know when or at which doctor’s appointment, but that knowledge, that things could take a turn for the worse, bears weight on their souls. Our story teller on this episode, is a father, Ryan Barbera, whose son was diagnosed with the rare degenerative disease, Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy. He shares today with host Jessica Patay,...

Hello Brave Friends! This episode is something that has been on Jessica’s mind and heart since the launch of We Are Brave Together. We are an organization that preaches SISTERHOOD and COMMUNITY but what if you’ve been burned by friends in the past or you’ve just never been close to other women or maybe you’re an introvert and a WABT retreat feels overwhelming to you. Well, this episode is here to explore those feelings and gives you tools to overcome them.  Our guest is host Jessica Patay’s...

This episode is about the unexpected twists and turns that make this journey extra hard. When you get into a groove, with any kind of lifestyle, even our especially complex kind, it can feel manageable. Then, SURPRISE, you’re dealt another difficult hand of medical cards. How do we keep going when our child’s health and our life’s trajectory experience another brutal setback? On this episode, host Jessica Patay interviews our story teller, Kara Ryska, whose son had a cancer resurgence after...

Remember that game we played as kids, Truth or Dare? Well, for our world as caregivers, the truth is hard to say but ultimately freeing and the dare is accepting the consequences of holding it all in. This episode was born out of a conversation on Facebook about the difference between truth telling and playing the victim. Who said that being honest about our journey was the same as acting like a victim anyway? Is that even true? On this practical episode, your host Jessica Patay and life...

Welcome Brave Friends! So many of us grow up learning that keeping it all inside is what we have to do to be accepted. We think that by holding in our true feelings it will help us be the person others need us to be. And so our emotions, our needs and our truth get buried deep inside us. But today we explore what it looks like to release that need to please, embrace our desires and SCREAM our truth! On today’s episode, host Jessica Patay speaks with Laura Lee who is a fellow brave mother...