A Father's Journey Through Loss, Healing, and the Birth of a Rainbow Baby: Jeff's Story
Release Date: 12/10/2025
Win Bars for LSU Tiger Football and Aplastic Anemia Pediatric Patients
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
During this week’s episode, Katie sits down with Ryan Solieau, an LSU Alum, and dad to a Henry who was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Aplastic Anemia is a rare blood disorder where bone marrow stops making new red blood cells, which appeared in Henry as a heart rate of 250. Ryan takes us through the experience of learning a new reality during all phases of Henry’s diagnoses, from learning how to navigate Henry’s initial hospital stay, all the way to supporting Henry emotionally during his monthly transfusions. In the episode, we also learn from Ryan how crucial it is to take care...
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Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
Pediatric nurse and mom Brigid shares how her family navigated her son’s neuroblastoma diagnosis—with practical guidance on preparing kids for care, accepting support, and finding hope. Key Topics: The symptoms that led to Brigid’s son’s neuroblastoma diagnosis Going from pediatric nurse to parent receiving life-changing medical news Using medical play to prepare young children for procedures Giving children choices and control during repeated medical care Why slowing down can sometimes make procedures easier Supporting siblings through a cancer diagnosis Caring for...
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My Daughter Had a Brain AVM: Advocacy, Medical Trauma, and Hope
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
As we begin to close out NICU Awareness Month, Katie sits down with Matilda “Tilly” Aldridge, a content marketer and mom. During a normal morning, Adelaide, her oldest child, was rushed to the hospital after Tilly and her husband heard Adelaide screaming from her room. She was given a CT scan, and a large tumor was found in her brain. Tilly recounts her experience not only dealing with the sudden occurrence of Adelaide’s medical emergency, but also how Adelaide herself was able to overcome the trauma she suffered. Together, Tilly and Katie dig into what advocating for answers can...
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The Long-term Effects of Short-term Medical Decisions: A parent's story of NEC, the NICU and Short Bowel Syndrome
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
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Best Children's Hospitals (US News): What Parents Need to Know
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
How U.S. News Ranks Children’s Hospitals—and What Parents Should Know Every year, U.S. News & World Report releases its Best Children’s Hospitals rankings—but what do those rankings actually tell families? In this episode, Katie Taylor, CCLS, speaks with Jennifer Winston, senior health data scientist at U.S. News & World Report, about how the rankings are built, what the scores measure and how parents can use them without over-reading small differences between hospitals. Jennifer explains the role of clinical outcomes, hospital resources and care practices in the rankings,...
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The NICU Waiting Game: NICU Awareness Month
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
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GalTheBabyDoc: Humor + Humanity in the NICU
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
September is NICU Awareness Month, and in this week’s episode, Katie sits down with Dr. Gal, @galthebabydoc, a Neonatologist and Pediatrician, and a dad with experience as a parent in the NICU. He shares his knowledge and experience on social media in digestible ways to help parents and others feel comfortable during difficult times. Throughout the episode, they delve into the experiences and emotions of what parents might be facing when their baby is in the NICU, and how parents can get the most out of communicating with the hospital’s healthcare providers. Dr.Gal, having experience on...
info_outline![How to Talk to Kids About the Things We Wish They Didn’t Have to Face [Palliative Care] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/205427365?height=50&width=50)
How to Talk to Kids About the Things We Wish They Didn’t Have to Face [Palliative Care]
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
How do families navigate a serious childhood diagnosis while still focusing on hope, quality of life, and the everyday moments that matter most? In this episode of Inside the Children's Hospital Podcast, Katie Taylor sits down with Dr. Korie Leigh, PhD, CCLS, a child life specialist, psychologist, thanatologist, author, educator, and pediatric palliative care advocate. Drawing on more than two decades of supporting children and families, Dr. Leigh shares what pediatric palliative care really is—and why it is so much more than many families believe. Together, they explore how pediatric...
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Helping Kids Cope With Needles: The Science Behind Buzzy
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
In this episode of Inside the Children's Hospital Podcast, Katie Taylor sits down with Dr. Amy Baxter, pediatric emergency physician, researcher, inventor of , and founder of , to explore how childhood experiences with needles can shape a lifetime of healthcare interactions—and what parents and healthcare professionals can do to help. After watching her own son develop a fear of needles despite her expertise in pediatric pain management, Dr. Baxter began researching why children experience pain differently and how simple, evidence-based strategies can reduce pain during vaccines, blood...
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When You Become Your Child’s Advocate Overnight
Inside the Children's Hospital | Parent Stories, Pediatric Healthcare & What Families Want You to Know
What happens when the child you've dreamed of suddenly receives a diagnosis you've never even heard of? For Deborah, it was Angelman syndrome. In this episode of Inside the Children's Hospital Podcast, Katie Taylor sits down with Deborah Trejo, Art Therapist, to share the powerful story of her daughter Maya's journey to an Angelman syndrome diagnosis. After months of feeding difficulties, developmental delays, seizures, and countless unanswered questions, Deborah and her family finally received a diagnosis just one day after Maya's first birthday. Deborah opens up about the emotional realities...
info_outlineIn this profoundly moving and honest conversation, we sit down with Jeff Loving, a NICU dad, husband, and now an author, who shares the intimate and often unspoken grief experienced by fathers after pregnancy loss. Jeff walks us through the heartbreaking loss of his two sons, Davian and Jadon, the struggle to find empathy and appropriate medical care, and how these experiences ultimately led him and his wife, Cassie, to become fierce advocates for their future family. This episode is a raw look at marriage under immense stress, the importance of empathetic medical staff, and the redemptive joy of welcoming their "double rainbow" daughter, Isla Grace. Jeff also discusses his mission to help other men through their grief by writing his book, Holding Onto the Light.
Key Discussion Points & Timestamps
| Time | Topic | Key Takeaway |
| 00:06 | Meet Jeff Loving: Husband, NICU Dad, and Author | Jeff introduces his family, including his dog, Sage, his wife, Cassie, and their NICU "double rainbow" baby girl, Isla Grace, reflecting on five years of marriage and three pregnancies. |
| 01:08 | The Loss of Davian (First Pregnancy) | Jeff describes the initial shock and excitement of their first pregnancy, the sudden onset of symptoms at 19 weeks, and the devastating choice they faced in the hospital due to an infection: lose the baby, or risk losing both the baby and his wife. |
| 04:55 | The Cruel Disconnect of Grief | Jeff recounts the soul-crushing moment of holding his son, Davian, as his heartbeat stopped. He shares the struggle of navigating intense grief while the world—and Thanksgiving—kept moving around them. |
| 07:58 | Finding Support: The Power of Presence | The discussion turns to how his family supported them by simply being present, rather than offering platitudes like "it's God's plan." The importance of showing up for grieving parents is highlighted. |
| 11:21 | Empathetic vs. Detached Care | Jeff praises the nurses who were a "calming presence in the chaos" and later attended Davian's service. Conversely, he shares a painful anecdote about a male doctor's detached and jovial demeanor, asking if he wanted to cut the cord after the loss. |
| 15:51 | What Compassion Looks Like in Care | Jeff shares what he wished the doctor had said: "I know this is very hard... just know that my heart breaks for you, and I'm so sorry that you guys are going through this." This is a vital lesson for medical professionals. |
| 16:55 | Marriage Under Stress | After moving to North Carolina for a fresh start, Jeff discusses how the loss put their marriage under extreme stress—it would either break them or bond them deeper. They emerged stronger. |
| 23:13 | The Loss of Jadon (The Second Pregnancy) | The traumatic situation repeats almost day-for-day with their second son, Jadon. Jeff details the medical system's failure to provide a cerclage procedure, despite repeated requests, and the resulting emergency. |
| 26:45 | The Audacity of Poor Communication | Jeff recounts being livid when the doctor who denied them the preventive cerclage entered the room without him present to tell his wife they were losing their baby, and then left without speaking to Jeff. |
| 34:20 | The Blessing of Angel the Bereavement Coordinator | Jeff shares the incredible support they received from their bereavement coordinator, Angel, who handled every detail from handprints to selecting clothes, even providing a moment of much-needed humor when she accidentally gave Jadon a hilarious nickname. |
| 36:02 | Remembrance Toys: Dino Dave and Jucletus | The significance of tangible remembrance items, like a weighted dinosaur (Dino Dave) and a heartbeat bear (Jucletus), that allow Isla to connect with her "big brothers." |
| 39:18 | "This is Our Double Rainbow Child" | Jeff discusses the difficulty of answering "Is this your first?" as a parent of loss, and how he now confidently speaks of Isla as their "double rainbow child." |
| 42:03 | A Resource for Fathers of Loss | Jeff explains his motivation for writing his book, Holding Onto the Light: A Father’s Journey Through Loss and Healing. He notes the lack of resources for grieving men and how he encapsulated real stories into a fictional narrative to help them feel seen and heard. |
| 46:05 | The Defining Moment | The most powerful feedback: a man who hadn't read a book in a decade finally read Jeff's book after losing his son. |
| 48:52 | Where to Find the Book and Connect | Jeff shares his book title, where to buy it, and the dedicated email address to build a community of grieving fathers. |
Action Items & Connect with Jeff
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Title: Holding Onto the Light: A Father’s Journey Through Loss and Healing
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Author: J. S. Loving
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Available: On Amazon (print and Kindle Unlimited).
Connect & Share Your Story:
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Fathers of Loss Email: holdingontothelightbook@gmail.com (Jeff's goal is to connect with other fathers and collect stories for a future project).
Instagram: @L-O-V-I-J-E-F (L-O-V-I-J-E-F)
When parents feel empowered, everyone wins – kids thrive and the care team excels!
Learn more here.
Meet the host:
Katie Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, a digital platform designed to provide parents, kids, and the care team with access to child life services tools and resources. She is a certified child life specialist with over 13 years of experience working in various pediatric healthcare settings. Katie is the author of the children's book, and has presented on the topics of child life and entrepreneurship, psychosocial care in the hospital, and supporting caregivers in the NICU setting both nationally and internationally. She is also the host of the Child Life On Call Podcast which features interviews with parents discussing their experiences throughout their child's medical journey. The podcast emphasizes the crucial role of child life services in enabling caregivers both at and beyond the bedside.
The Child Life On Call Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. The content shared in each episode, including stories, discussions, and interviews, is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The views and opinions expressed by guests on the Child Life On Call Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Child Life On Call. Child Life On Call does not endorse any specific medical treatments, procedures, or opinions shared in the podcast. If you or your child are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or seek immediate medical attention. By listening to this podcast, you acknowledge that Child Life On Call and its affiliates are not responsible for any decisions made based on the information provided.