When Christin was 32 weeks pregnant, she was planning to head to the airport with her toddler, 2 dogs, and 20 bags that were packed - she had been living in Japan for three years for her husband's military service and she was preparing to return to the US to get settled in before her second baby arrived. Suddenly, her plans changed and next thing she knew, she was being transferred to a different city in Japan where doctors and nurses did not speak her language, trying to understand the medical emergency that was happening as her infant daughter inside her was losing blood. Christin shares what it was like to be in a medical emergency in a different county being unable to understand the information while doctors had to work together to decide what to do to save her baby's life....and Christin's, too. In addition to being terrified about the rare medical condition, several cultural differences affected her delivery and recovery as well. This birth story is a wild ride, but hang in there until the very end to find out how it all turns out!

I had been looking for a mama to a child with Tourette Sydrome for a while, and I was so excited to find Katie Reall who is a mom to four kids, TWO of whom have TS. She shares about her journey with her oldest son, Sam, who is now a young adult, and then her second journey with her daughter, Annie, who has some similarities to Sam in her Tourette journey, but who also presents very differently. Katie and her family first educated themselves, then others locally such as teachers and classmates, and they now advocate for individuals with TS throughout their state and even the nation, working at camps and educating others. I learned so much from this interview not just about Tourette Syndrome, but also about how this family bonded together to fill their lives with support, laughter, and purpose.

Find out more about the camps Katie mentions here:

https://www.camptwitchandshout.org/

https://www.tourettecampusa.com/

Resources:

Tourette Association: https://tourette.org/https://www.instagram.com/touretteassociation/

Find Katie on IG https://www.instagram.com/gigispetals/

Donate here:https://secure.everyaction.com/_UenJReuik-CA5GrR0zqIg2

It was such a pleasure chatting with Abbey Benjamin today. Abby is mama to two children and her daughter, Avery, has a rare genetic disease that led to their family life being different than anticipated. Notice I said different, though, and not one bit less because Abbey makes sure that Avery has the opportunity to go out and live an amazing life filled with trips, adventures, and very importantly, dance class. Abbey shares about how she learned about the importance of inclusion from adults with disabilities and how this changed how she advocated for her daughter. So many good lessons in this one and you just can't help but feel happy when you see Avery's big smile on social media. It was such an honor to learn about this amazing family!

Follow Abbey and Avery on IG: @abbeybenj

Abbey's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=abbey+luckett+benjamin&crid=3LI6ZVXVCXDA3&sprefix=abbey+benjami%2Caps%2C150&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_13