Choosing Joy: Navigating the Holidays with a Chronically Ill Child with April Robson
Influential Motherhood
In July 2018, April Robson and her husband received the news their middle daughter, Charlotte, had a genetic terminal illness. At the time, they had an 8 week old son and a toddler (Charlotte's big sis). With grace and strength, April has poured into her family for the last 18 months, creating special memories for her family and encouraging them - and those of us watching their story unfold - to choose joy. Today April is sharing her family's story and how they navigate the holiday season with a chronically ill child and make memories for the whole family, including their two other...
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Lyme Disease, YouTube, & Working With Your Spouse with YouTuber Whitney Meade
Influential Motherhood
Whitney Meade is a mom of two (her girls have royal names, btw!) and is based in Charleston, South Carolina. With her husband, Whitney manages a Christian pop rock FM radio station, a DAILY YouTube channel, a speaking ministry, and so much more. This week, I'm chatting with Whitney about her journey through Lyme Disease and other autoimmune disorders, how she manages daily videos on her Daily Devo YouTube channel, and what she loves about working with her husband full-time. Check out Whitney's YouTube channel and follow her on Instagram at . You can find Whitney's free 21-day devotional...
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Embracing Career Shifts + Motherhood in Hollywood with Heather Brooker
Influential Motherhood
Heather Brooker is the entertainment reporter at NBC-LA, and is an Emmy award winning journalist who has also had scenes in shows like The Office, The Mindy Project, Grey's Anatomy, and The Middle. Heather is taking us through the major career shifts she's experienced and her thoughts on risk-taking, having a backup plan, the good and bad parts of being a journalist, and how her husband has been her encourager through her career. She's taken some major risks but has blossomed every step of the way. You can listen to Heather's podcast at Motherhood in Hollywood, and follow her on...
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Pediatric Cancer, Having Twins, and Raising Four Kids with Lauren Palmer
Influential Motherhood
My long-time friend Lauren Palmer is on the show today to share her family's incredible story. In 2017, she announced her twin pregnancy with her husband Joel. Big sister Caroline and big brother Jennings were thrilled to be welcoming two Christmas blessings to their busy household. But everything came to a screeching halt when 2.5 year old Jennings was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) when Lauren was 36 weeks pregnant with the twins. Lauren is sharing the story of a twin pregnancy, Jennings' diagnosis and fight against cancer, how big sister Caroline saved Jennings' life, and...
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A Conversation with My Husband about Fatherhood, Parenting, & Working Moms
Influential Motherhood
My husband Damon is joining us this week to share his perspective as a dad and as my husband on all things fatherhood, husbandhood, and working motherhood. He thinks the Melissa Duncan experience is just as great as the Joe Rogan experience, and is giving us insight on the dad's perspective - and turning the tables on me to ask me some questions, too. You'll learn why going to Costco will remain in our children's fondest memories and what he thinks about this whole podcasting thing. He's also sharing his biggest challenges and surprises about fatherhood and what he loves most about being a...
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Marriage & Family Therapy with Lindsey Paoli, MFTI
Influential Motherhood
Lindsey Paoli is a Marriage & Family Therapist Intern and recently opened her own practice where she meets with individuals, couples, and families to talk through some of life's biggest challenges. In this episode, I'm asking her what we've always wanted to know about therapy - who should go, when they should go, and what happens when you go to therapy! In addition to her work, Lindsey is a mom of two little ones (18 months and 6 months) - and she had both kiddos while she was in graduate school. She's also talking about her own experiences with therapy, her amazingly supportive husband,...
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Healthy Screen Habits with Hillary Wilkinson, M.Ed.
Influential Motherhood
Hillary Wilkinson is a mom and former teacher who realized we have a problem with screen time. She joined forces with moms in her community to educate families on the importance of healthy screen habits. Together they created the nonprofit organization , and are on a mission to educate and empower families to get control over screen time and use our devices in a healthy way. In this episode, Hillary is sharing tips and resources to manage our devices in the home, in the car, and at school. We're talking about the benefits of screen time and the scary dangers that happen when we have too much...
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Skincare Tips for Moms with Alyssa Daniel, M.D.
Influential Motherhood
Alyssa Daniel, M.D. is a mom of two, wife, and a dermatologist in Charlotte, NC. She's sharing her story of deciding to go to medical school, why she's passionate about helping women with skin and hair issues, and what it was like to have a baby while she was Chief Resident. She's also sharing her goals, her favorite mom hack, and how mentors made a difference for her as a working mom in the medical field. Plus, she's breaking down "skincare over 30" for busy moms and giving us what we need to know about wrinkles (from creams to Botox!), sun prevention, whether vitamins can help our skin, and...
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Olympic Champion Shannon Miller
Influential Motherhood
We remember Shannon Miller as a teenager on the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team (you know, the Magnificent Seven?) - but these days, she's a wife, mom of two, lawyer, women's health advocate... and cancer survivor. In the time that has passed since those moments when we all held our breaths as we watched our televisions with anticipation, Shannon Miller has had some defining moments in her life. Her company, Shannon Miller Worldwide, advocates for women to prioritize their health - and to not feel selfish for doing so. But you'll be surprised to hear the story of her cancer diagnosis and how she...
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Great Family Photos with Photographer Laura Foote
Influential Motherhood
Photographer Laura Foote is married to high school sweetheart and lives in Tampa FL with her husband, an actor, and cute daughter Mac. She's sharing her story of working at Disney World, working in the non-profit and higher ed worlds, and then unexpectedly becoming an entrepreneur and full-time photographer. Laura was working in nonprofits when she started using a point-and-shoot camera to take pictures. Eventually, she had clients and bought an SLR camera. As she moved around the country for jobs and education, business kept ballooning as she moved. She thought it was fun to do as a side gig,...
info_outlineWhen her kindergartener died of the flu in October 2009, former environmental scientist Serese Marotta knew she had to do something about it. Eventually she connected with the nonprofit organization Families Fighting Flu and now serves as the COO, directing the organization's efforts to spread information and awareness about the severity of influenza.
According to Serese, around 50% of kids who lose their lives to flu are otherwise healthy. She says there is no replacement for the flu vaccine, and it provides both individual and community immunity.
Her son, Joseph, had received the vaccine but the pandemic (H1N1) was not in the vaccine that year, so he had no protection against the pandemic strain. At the time of his illness, the monovalent (1 strain) vaccine became available to help prevent the h1n1 strain but was not available where the Marotta family lived until two weeks after Joseph had died.
In this episode, Serese address common misconceptions about the flu and the flu vaccine, including whether you can get the flu from the vaccine.
The vaccine isn't perfect - but if you get it you probably won't get hospitalized or die. But the flu virus knows no calendar, and the only thing we can predict about flu is that it will be unpredictable.
According to Serese, everyone 6 months or older should be vaccinated against the flu annually.
Flu is the deadliest vaccine-preventable disease: 650,000 people globally every year lose their lives to flu. Serese also says the flu costs the US economy 87 billion every year.
80% of the children who lose their lives to flu are not vaccinated.
"Sometimes i feel like i have the weight of the world on my shoulders because if I stop, people are going to die." - Serese Marotta, COO of Families Fighting Flu
To learn more about Families Fighting Flu and the statistics and information for preventing the flu, visit www.familiesfightingflu.org.
For more inspiring stories of moms making a difference, visit www.influentialmotherhood.com.