When Autumn Comes: Seasons of Hope for Medical + Disability Moms

The age old battle with stuff…People seem to fall into two distinct categories, keepers and thrower away-ers. No matter which camp you fall into, clutter is something universal that every household deals with.  Today, the girls get into the ins and outs of clutter. They discuss the psychology of clutter, both how it happens and how it affects us. Katrina offers tips for managing clutter in practic...

This morning, the Suz is on fire. Everyone with a uterus can likely relate to this feeling. Tune in! Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out...

We have an announcement for you! A fun Christmas Announcement!   Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on our upcoming stories of medical a...

Raise your hand if you have memories of elementary school picture day…Did they pass out those little plastic combs? Anybody have some really terrible pictures to share? Today, Katrina and Suz talk about what happens when picture day is really more than just picture day.  When your child is facing rare disease, with a shortened life expectancy, you never know when this picture day is the last pictu...

Welcome to the real world of medical motherhood. Just as Suz and Katrina sit down to record, the Suz gets a phone call…   Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE s...

For several seasons now, we have heard Susan interviewing guests. Amazingly brave people have stepped up to the microphone to share their stories with our listeners. Today, we flip that scenario. Now, it's Suz's turn to share. Today, Katrina interview's Susan.  The ladies discuss Susan's story. Suz shares the trauma surrounding Lorelei's birth and her entry into medical motherhood. She shares abou...

4AM is back! Buckle up for Susan's wild ride of dentistry. You won't want to miss it! Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on our upcoming...

We all know the analogy about riding in an airplane. When the oxygen masks fall down, you put your mask on first before helping those around you. In medical parenthood, how do you put your own needs ahead of the significant needs of your child? We aren't talking about making sure the laundry is clean here…Self care for medical moms often looks like taking care of basic daily needs for themselves,...

4AM: Summer Vacation to Christmas 4AM is back! The girls discuss summer vacation, straight through to Halloween and Christmas. Buckle up, this one is a wild ride!   Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutum...

Mornings are getting cooler and the autumn leaves are on their way in the next few months. Today, the girls recap summer vacation just as the "carefree" days of summer fade away and we transition into fall. Summer vacation looks different under the lense of medical motherhood. Gone are the days of backpacking in Europe. Today's vacations involve packing and unpacking a van-load of supplies and ven...

Welcome back for the final episode of our summer book club with Jessica Fein. Today, we discuss writing. Jessica shares helpful advice for anyone looking to begin writing. The girls talk about the importance of sharing their stories in whichever medium is most relevant to them. They also talk about the importance of finding community in writing.   "When you say, 'I'm writing a book,' it changes ev...

In today's episode of Summer Reading with When Autumn Comes, Suz, Katrina, and Jessica discuss joy. We always discuss what gives us hope, but where is the joy in this life of medical complexity? Maybe moms of medically complex kids mope around in black and grey all day long. Maybe some do, but not these girls! The girls discuss how they create moment's of joy, finding it in the every day, and inte...

Welcome back to another episode of our summer book club. We hope you are reading along with us and joining in the conversation in the When Autumn Comes Society. This week we are discussing isolation in medical motherhood. We talk about the reasons why we feel isolated and how that impacts our families. We discuss ways in which we have found community both in person and online.   "Nobody can relate...

Thank you all for joining us for round 2 of our Summer Reading Series. We hope you are loving Jessica's book! This week, she joins us again to talk about adjusting to the new normal. What we all know now is that the "new" normal is something that is ever changing. We are always adjusting.  Adjusting to life after diagnosis, life after hospitalization. For some of us, life after they have left us....

Happy summer friends! It is July in Virginia and the rainbows at the hideaway do not disappoint. So, we celebrate summer with a Summer Reading series. Please join us in welcoming back Jessica. Jessica last joined us in April of 2023, but today she returns, a newly published author! Throughout this series, we will discuss themes that run throughout Jessica's book. In this episode, we chat about "th...

4AM: Retreats and Thunderstorms Today Christi joins us again to try to convince Katrina to come to America for a retreat in August. Stay tuned to see whether she was successful.     Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Inst...

Trigger Warning: Shaken Baby Syndrome   Some sources estimate that a parent makes 35,000 decisions per day for our child. Some of these are small, like what socks to wear. Others, more important, like who will care for them while we are away. We hope we make these decisions we make, both big and small, add up in ways that create a safe and healthy environment for our babies. But what if…What happe...

4AM: I see dead people 4AM is back! Today we are chatting about seeing things in our minds… or not.  Welcome to the conversation! Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast Make sure you hit SUB...

100 episodes. We have now officially recorded 100 episodes. When we started this podcast, we hoped to connect moms. Moms of children with complex needs, feeling alone in the day to day of raising children who depended upon them in ways typical parents may not understand. This podcast has given us the opportunity to share our stories, to create community, to share hope.   Thank you to our listeners...

This week, we chat birthday parties during heat waves, the difference between a Canadian heat wave and an American heat wave, and who punched Suz. Welcome to the conversation! Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram:...

Five…Five feels like a milestone birthday, from when a little kid turns into, well…not a big kid, but a kid kid. Five is also creeping closer and closer to the age Benji's sister, Lorelei, was when she gained her angel wings. Birthdays are bittersweet when your child has a terminal diagnosis. For Benji, for Mamma, this birthday is worthy of celebration. And celebrate we did! Stay tuned while we di...

4AM: Celebration and Rage 4AM is back! Today we are chatting about celebrations, rage, and child proofing AirBnB's. Welcome to the conversation! Links and resources: Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan Follow Katrina: @kattymac Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety   Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast Make s...

Medical motherhood can take its toll on you. The ups, the downs, the trauma, the lack of time for yourself…It is ok not to be ok. Even better, it is ok to ask for help. Today, Susan and Katrina sit down to discuss therapy. The hard, the good, their reasons for going. If you have ever been scared to ask for help, we hope this episode gives you the nudge to do it. As moms, we need to be our best to...

As we approach Father's Day, we welcome back Daniel for what has now become his annual holiday visit to the podcast. Daniel first spoke with us in 2022. Check out the link below to give the original interview a listen, I promise it's a good one. Since we last spoke, Daniel has been busy sharing his own story and helping other parent's to do the same. Today, we discuss the art and importance of sto...

Most parents can relate to the sense of losing themselves at least a little bit to parenthood. We leave behind our hobbies and dedicate ourselves to caring for these tiny humans who have taken up residence in our lives. Medical and special needs parenthood takes that to a different level. How do we maintain ourselves in the midst of this defining title of medical parent?   This week, we meet Elena...