Kisha, Terrin, and Josselyn are back with producer Danny for an episode that blends humor with some very real conversations about hospital stays with children. This one comes with an early heads-up from Josselyn, as everyone is already a few drinks in before the microphones are even fully warmed up.
Opening Banter and Catching Up
Terrin talks about unexpected snow days after her area was hit with nearly a foot of snow. Kisha celebrates Xane’s upcoming eighth birthday, sharing details about his jump-his-life-away party at Urban Air. Josselyn reflects on a winter program at her daughters’ school, sharing how meaningful it was to see them both on the same stage despite their four and a half year age gap.
Danny shares exciting progress from his band, Mid Air Decision, explaining that they’ve received the first round of album mixes. That conversation naturally opens the door to the episode’s main topic: navigating hospital stays with children.
Preparing for Hospital Stays
Kisha starts by talking about Xane’s tonsil surgery. She admits she was not emotionally prepared for how hard it would feel, especially watching him get wheeled away after being given versed, what she calls the happy juice. Hospital staff tried to make the experience easier by spoiling the kids with comfort items, including a dinosaur pillow and a Barbie themed surgery kit.
Terrin opens up about Scarlett’s frequent and often unplanned hospitalizations due to her rare metabolic disorder. She speaks in detail about advocating not only for Scarlett, but for herself as a blind woman, communicating her access needs clearly with hospital staff, asking that items in the room not be moved, and requesting verbal introductions from anyone entering the space. She relies heavily on MyChart to track medications and verify information.
Anesthesia, Communication, and Medical Trauma
The conversation moves into preparing kids for anesthesia. Kisha shares how she involved her children in conversations with surgeons and anesthesiologists, helping them feel less afraid, and stresses the importance of parents staying calm in front of their kids.
Terrin shares the added complexity of Scarlett’s care, explaining that due to her metabolic disorder, Scarlett cannot safely fast and must be admitted the night before procedures to receive IV fluids. She recounts a terrifying hospitalization where Scarlett contracted a respiratory virus in the PICU, leading to respiratory failure and a heart infection, and talks openly about Scarlett’s reaction to sedatives, the use of restraints, and the lasting PTSD that followed.
The moms also discuss fentanyl and how Scarlett developed a chemical dependency during a long ventilator stay, requiring a methadone weaning protocol — an experience that deeply changed Terrin’s understanding of addiction.
Recovery, Medications, and Managing at Home
Recovery looks different for every family. Kisha focused on comfort, offering cuddles, popsicles, and soft foods, sharing that managing medication schedules was the hardest part, especially waking kids overnight for doses, and the importance of watching closely for bleeding as a blind parent.
Terrin talks about Scarlett’s recovery from multiple abdominal and orthopedic surgeries, planning weeks in advance and clearly dividing responsibilities between herself and her husband. Medication management closes out the practical discussion: Terrin shares how hospital staff pre-measured and labeled Scarlett’s doses, and how she uses a kitchen scale to measure medications accurately for Scarlett’s feeding tube. Kisha describes scratching tactile lines into syringes so she can feel correct dosages, and both stress the importance of asking for weight based dosing instead of age based dosing.
Closing Reflections
The episode wraps with gratitude for the openness shared throughout the conversation. It’s an honest look at hospital stays through the lens of blind parenting, highlighting fear, advocacy, exhaustion, and resilience.
Listen to the Episode
Leave a Reply