The Lighthouse Podcast

Chris & Christy had an opportunity to talk with John & Tricia Simmons today on the Lighthouse Podcast. Together they have three children - Kade (age 8), Cooper (age 5), and Judah (age 4). Judah started with symptoms of lethargy, bloated belly, and easily bruised in late summer of 2019. He was also running high fevers. Thankfully the pediatrician agreed to run labs and the results came back...

Manny & Natalie Salinas joined Chris & Christy on the Lighthouse podcast today. Together they have five children - Jonah (9), Abel (7), Ezra (5), Esther (3), and Felix (1). Jonah was diagnosed with Mature B-cell Lymphoma in 2020.  Through their journey, they met some incredible people and an impact was made on their hearts from how they were prayed for and cared for. They also discove...

Charlie and Kati Bayne joyfully joined Chris and Christy on the Lighthouse Podcast today. Together they have four kids - Maci (8), Anna (6), Chase (4), and Hallie (5 months). During the year 2020, they moved to a new home, found out they were pregnant, had a miscarriage, Chase's health didn't seem normal, and Covid entered the picture. Then, Charlie was officially diagnosed with Pre-B Acute Lympho...

Chris & Christy had the opportunity to talk with the Hair family on the Lighthouse Podcast today. Bryan & Jayme have two kids - Bella, who is 7 years old, and Josiah, who is 10 years old. Bella was diagnosed with Juvenile Polycyclic Astrocytoma and had surgery. After surgery, she developed Posterior Fossa Syndrome. On the episode today, they share about Bella's diagnosis, treatment, surger...

Justin & Chasity joyfully joined Chris and Christy on the Lighthouse Podcast today. The Ladd's have two kids - Asher, age 5, and Ezra, age 2. Asher was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2018 and then relapsed in 2020 with a lemon-size tumor on his brain. On this episode, Justin & Chasity walk us through diagnosis, treatment, relapse, and bell ringing. Justin shares how God covered h...

Chris and Christy talked with Jamie Teoli on the Lighthouse Podcast today. Jamie is married to Tommy and together they have three kids - Leo (6), Luca (3), and Liviana (10 months). Luca was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor in his kidney in 2020. He has endured surgery to remove his kidney and chemotherapy.  Jamie reflects on those days during diagnosis and treatment. She speaks about how the preg...

Chad & Meredith Tucker joined Chris & Christy on the Lighthouse Podcast today. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this year. They live in North Carolina and together have three kids all with double names - Carson Perry (8), Pearl Monroe (6), and Franklin Reeves (2). Their daughter, Pearl Monroe, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in November 2019. Those early days we...

We honor the life and memories of McKay, whose light will forever shine in our hearts. He truly lived every day to the fullest! Chris & Christy hosted Nate and Shae Hansen on the Lighthouse Podcast today. Nate and Shae have six kids between the ages of 5 to 17 years old. That's right - they are a family of eight and they live in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their son, McKay, was first diagnosed i...

Today on The Lighthouse Podcast, Chris & Christy talk with Mental Health Counselor and avid Lighthouse fan/volunteer, Erika Coy. Erika first found out about Lighthouse at a McDonald's truck stop in Kentucky at 1:00 a.m. from a friend while they were doing college homework. Over the past few years, she has been on 4 retreats in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Erika's educational...

We are in the last week of sharing bereavement stories and bringing awareness to the impact of Childhood Cancer. Today on the Lighthouse Podcast, Chris & Christy are talking with Courtney Mount. Courtney has been married to David for 32 years and together they have 9 kids and 6 grandkids! Their youngest daughter battled cancer for a year and was fully healed when she entered Heaven in 2020. On...

We are in the third week of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Today Chris & Christy are spending time with Amber Vess on the Lighthouse Podcast. Amber's daughter, Megan, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and Glioblastoma on August 12, 2016, and fought a good fight. She was fully healed as she entered Heaven on May 16, 2020. Amber and her husband, Randall, have six children from age...

On the second week of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we had Emily Settle join Chris & Christy in person on the Lighthouse Podcast. Emily has been married to Jonathan for 14 years this month. Together they have 5th-grade twins, Abby & Hannah, 3rd grader, Hope, and Lucy who was promoted to Heaven at age 4. Emily and Jonathan joined us last year to discuss Lucy's full journey. We encourage...

It's an honor to host Michael Lage on the Lighthouse Podcast today for our first Childhood Cancer Awareness Month podcast as he shares about his experience losing his brother to cancer.  A little bit about Michael - he has been married to Monica for 10 years and lives in Atlanta. Together, they have 3 kids with another one on the way soon. Michael shares how he was impacted by childhood cance...

Lisa Allison happily joined Chris & Christy on The Lighthouse Podcast to share the lessons she's learned along her journey. Lisa has been married for over 25 years to James and together they have three kids, two off at college and a senior in high school. Kaeli, 18 years old, is an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia survivor. She was diagnosed when she was two years old. Kaeli is doing great now as...

We are back with part two of Tim & Bridget Hilbert's story. If you haven't listened to part one, we encourage you to go back and check it out. On today's special episode, you will hear from Tim on the three guidelines they followed as a family once Lulu was diagnosed. They weren't perfect every day by any means. But these guidelines helped their marriage and family stay strong. Bridget shares...

Tim & Bridget Hilbert joined The Lighthouse Podcast on the second episode of season five to share their experience when their daughter Louisa was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). The Hilbert's story had so much great content that we broke it into two parts. On today's episode, part one, you will get to hear the story of 4-year-old Louisa, whom the...

Leslie Schlapfer, an Outpatient Registered Dietician at Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta,  joins Chris and Christy on The Lighthouse Podcast. She has been joyfully working at CHOA since 2009 primarily helping children and teens with eating disorders, and recently made the move to the AFLAC Blood and Cancer Center. In this first podcast episode of season five, Leslie helps clear up some common...

Phenicia Koicuba joined The Lighthouse Podcast for the season 4 finale to share her experience when her daughter Livvie was diagnosed with ALL. She starts by going back to 2014 when she was pregnant with her youngest daughter and found out Livvie had Down syndrome. She shares the struggles of the early years of managing a child with special needs in addition to two other young children and a...

Kristen and Nate joined Chris and Christy for a very special episode to share about their son Ethan, who passed away in 2020. They share the story of Ethan's diagnosis with a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma (brain tumor) when he was 10 years old. They describe his treatment, which included surgery and radiation. They share how they were open with Ethan throughout his diagnosis and two reoccurrences,...

Tyler Wells, professional baseball pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles, joined Chris and Christy to share his personal story that led him to becoming an advocate for the childhood cancer community. He reflects on how baseball really helped him as a child after losing his mom to cancer at four years old, and shares his journey to becoming a major league player. He recalls the observation that b...

In the second of this two-part series, Lighthouse staffer Jackie Jones rejoins the podcast to talk about two of our newest Retreat Family experiences: the one-day and weekend retreats. Jackie shares about the difference in the one-day retreat compared to the weeklong seaside retreats when it comes to relationships—how families attend these events in their community, along with other families and v...

In this special replay for Mother's Day, licensed professional counselor Rachel Menzoian joins The Lighthouse Podcast to talk about self-care as a single parent when your child is going through childhood cancer. Rachel defines self-care and discusses the challenges to prioritize self-care as a single parent—especially a single parent who has a child with cancer. Rachel shares practical, easy steps...

In this week's episode, Chris and Christy sit down with Lighthouse staff member Jackie Jones, who is the Retreat Family Coordinator. In addition to talking about her obsession with Dolly Parton, the three talk in-depth about what it's like to attend a retreat as a Retreat Family—from how families learn about Lighthouse, through the application process, and then the retreat experience. Jackie share...

Pediatric Registered Dietitian Ashley Stepro joins The Lighthouse Podcast to explain some of the misconceptions of nutrition when it comes to childhood cancer, and how dietitians can partner with families to help their child thrive while on treatment. She shares some of the reasons she might get referrals to work with patients—or requests directly from the parents—as well as some of the biggest ba...

Karen Stubbs is the founder of Birds on a Wire, a ministry whose mission is to equip and encourage moms of all stages in motherhood. She joins Chris and Christy to share some advice on parenting and self-care. She reflects on the early years of her own parenting journey as a young wife of a fighter pilot who was traveling for work most of the time—and how that led to her starting the BOA...