You guys won't want to miss this episode!

Our guest, Holly Jo is a wife, and a mother of 4. Holly tells us her story of her son Easten getting diagnosed with Biliary Atresia and eventually needing a transplant. She talks about what life was like while Easten was sick, and the emotional rollercoaster of being on a transplant list. Holly then talks about life after transplant.

There are so many ups and downs to her story. I am so grateful for Holly and the bravery that she shows as she raises awareness for organ donation, & talking about how it deeply impacted her family. She did an amazing job, and we hope you enjoy this episode. ❤️

Haley and McKinsey are our guests for this week's episode. They both have stories about postpartum depression, and want to share how different their situations were, between the two of them.

Haley & McKinsey's goals for sharing their stories was to show how different perinatal health looks for different people, & to get rid of the shame surrounding mental health. They also shared their perspectives on some ways that we can help someone who might be going through some difficult times. These ladies also talk about what helped them to heal, and their lives now while they continue to work on themselves and their mental health.

Make sure to check out the resources they shared, below. We hope you enjoy this episode.

Our guest today is someone so near and dear to our hearts. Jessica is the mom of 3 beautiful children. Her oldest son, Dylan, is the little boy who received Tayzli's heart. She tells us her story today, about being given Dylan's diagnosis of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, while she was pregnant with him. Not knowing what the future would look like with her little baby, Jessica and her husband JP held onto the hope of having their little baby for as long as possible. She told us about the surgeries and procedures they endured, being put on the transplant list, and all the unknowns of waiting for a heart while watching their little boy get sicker and sicker. Jessica also talked about learning about Tayzli and being able to meet her family and the feelings and emotions that happen with organ donation. It was such an honor to talk with Jessica and to hear her side, hear about the struggles Dylan had, and how they are doing now. Thank you Jess for being so vulnerable and sharing your story with us all. We love you!!

XOXO

Whit + Kels

Heather Ford is our guest on this weeks episode. Heather is a widow and a mother of 2. She spoke with us about the sudden & unexpected passing of her husband in 2017 due to a genetic cirrhosis of the liver. Heather tells us her timeline of losing her husband, and learning to navigate her grief, along with their 2 daughters.

Heather is a grief coach who is doing wonderful things for the grief community. She teaches the tools that will help you navigate any type of loss. Death, divorce, friendship, etc.

You can find Heather on Facebook where she teaches an 8 week course called the Grief Recovery Method.

She also does one on one coaching. You can email her at heatherfordgriefcoach@gmail.com

You can also find her on Instagram @fordgriefcoach

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.

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

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

Abuse + Divorce + Narcissism

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.

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.

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.

Angela! She is our guest today on the podcast and let me tell you a little about this amazing woman! She lost her son, Cole at age 15 to brain cancer. While Kels and I can relate to losing a child, what came next we cannot. She then lost her husband right before the pandemic. To go through grief, lose your spouse and then become isolated when the world shut down. Was a whole other level for Angela. The way she climbed out of that grief is inspiring. She also started a foundation in Cole's honor. It's called The Cole Project. They focus on peer to peer music based support services for grief and healing. "Where words fail, music speaks". Angela has done incredible things for teens and young adults in her community. You can find out more about The Cole Project here:

www.thecoleproject.org

And on Instagram @the_cole_project

Our guest today is Kelsey's cousin, Jordan. Jordan tells us her story of battling miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy. Then eventually giving birth to her two beautiful boys.

Listening to Jordan tell her story was inspiring. Her story is one of hope, and we hope that it finds the person who needs to hear it, because 1 in every 3 women experience a miscarriage. I think this episode is such an important one because if you haven't gone through a miscarriage, statistically you know someone who has.

In 2018, Jordan was very brave by being vulnerable and sharing about her miscarriages when they happened. She shared at a time when miscarriage was a taboo subject to talk about. You can find her blog posts that she has written @

https://theblondeandblues.weebly.com/blog

On her website there is a section called "You Are Not Alone". There you can find other stories of women who have suffered miscarriages.

A quote that we love and often say is, "we are all just walking each other home" - Ram Dass. We truly believe that, and that is the reason for this podcast. We hope that you enjoy this episode.

XOXO - Whit + Kels

Christa is our guest for this weeks episode. She share's her story of losing one of her older brother's to suicide, and going through such a traumatic event when she was only 15. Christa describes to us what life looked like for her and what mental changes she had to make for herself after her brother passed away. Losing a family member is so traumatic. Losing your big brother with whom you were very close with, when you are a sophomore in high school, adds another layer of trauma. She share's with us some advice about how she felt as the sibling in grief, versus what parent's can be going through. We loved learning from her and the perspective that she has. We hope you love this weeks episode.

XOXO - Whit + Kels

You can find Christa on Instagram @toolsforstruggle

Christa has written a few books on grief and healthy coping skills. She also wrote a fictional novel that is based on her experience of losing her brother, which we highly recommend. You can find those books on Amazon @

https://www.amazon.com/Christa-Jaussi/e/B07WHHXHLN?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1646693183&sr=1-1