New podcast episode: When the pilot is mom

Steering through crisis and care with Brandi Williamson, Parent Network Specialist.

New podcast episode: When the pilot is mom

In the new episode of the Adjusting the Sails podcast, Brandi Williamson, a Parent Network Specialist (PNS) with the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities and mother of four, shares her powerful journey after learning at 23-weeks pregnant that her daughter had spina bifida. What began as a routine ultrasound quickly turned into a life-altering diagnosis, an emergency delivery at 25 weeks, and a crash course in neonatal intensive care. In this episode, Brandi opens up about the emotional and medical turbulence she and her daughter faced, and how she stepped into the role of pilot – navigating uncertainty and advocating fiercely for her daughter’s care. Now a professional who supports other families, Brandi reflects on how this journey shaped both her life and her purpose.

Adjusting the Sails is a podcast about the lives and specific challenges children with special healthcare needs and other disabilities face along with their families, caregivers and service providers, and how to manage those challenges. The podcast is a platform for all disability-related topics to be discussed and serves as a mediator between families and caregivers, allowing them to share their stories and experiences. Adjusting the Sails features guest speakers, panelists and a variety of program representatives and service providers to offer education and training to the listener.

This podcast is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Maternal, Child, and Family Health/Children with Special Health Care Needs Program and the West Virginia Family 2 Family Health Information Center and produced by the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities.

Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the official views of the hosts, the Department of Human Services Office of Maternal Child and Family Health/Children with Special Health Care Needs Program, the West Virginia Family 2 Family Health Information Center, nor the West Virginia Center for Excellence in Disabilities.

Listen to the episode.

View the transcription.