Heart To Heart With Michael

Nancy Jensen joins Michael again as the first Guest of Season 2! This year Nancy will talk about ways she continues to celebrate Jessica. She'll talk about the importance of Silly Socks and how you can also use Silly Socks to celebrate your loved ones. Finally, Nancy will share how working with Hearts Unite the Globe: A Nonprofit Organization for the Congenital Heart Defect Community keeps Jessica ever present in her life.

Pastor James Driskell has a vast amount of experience in caring for those going through loss in hazardous situations. Pastor Driskell served in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve for 29 years with over 2,000 hours of operational time on Coast Guard boats. He was involved in a variety of situations to comfort the dying, injured and survivors. As a Police Chaplain he has been called on scene to comfort victims, families of suicide, homicide, and drug overdose victims. He earned a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education as a chaplain in a very large senior housing and medical center. Join us as he shares tips with Michael for dealing with grief during the holidays.

This month, Michael sits down with Kristine Brite McCormick, mom to Cora, who died at only five days old of an undiagnosed CHD. Krisitne talks about her ebooklet, "When Your Friend's Baby Dies" as well as ways to find happiness during the holiday season. Kristine has also advocated for "Cora's Law" which mandates hospitals to conduct heart defect screening in newborn children.

Mia Moreno is the "Heart to Heart with Michael" Guest this week. She talks about her gratitude for her life, despite suffering from chronic illness.Mia and Michael investigate how her chronic illness has affected other relationships in her life. Tune in to hear her expound on how her faith has helped her and why she believes it's so important for people living with chronic illness to talk about it with their loved ones.

This month "Heart to Heart with Michael" features Dawn Fuller. She is best known as Canada’s Laugh Lady, is a Registered Clinical Counselor with 37 years counseling experience in a variety of areas, author of the book The Heart of Joshua, and the mother of a child born with serious medical problems. While learning to traverse the bureaucracy of the medical world, she advocated for her child’s health care, and even his life. Tune in as Michael talks with Dawn about the importance of laughter in dealing with grief and much, much more.

C Jay Anderson-McKay is the mother of four; two in heaven, two here on earth. C Jay has founded two non-profits. The first, “Grief Bridge” is a non-profit organization with the mission to close the gap between the bereaved and the world by way of education and grief work centered around God's Word. The second non-profit is called “JAWS,” which stands for John-Benjamin Action 2 Walk Safely. JAWS’ mission is teaching children to work safely and defensively. C Jay talks with Michael about how losing two children affected her life, what it's meant to her to start to non-profits and how others can move forward after the devastation that is inevitable when a mother loses a child.

This episode of "Heart to Heart with Michael" features returning Guests Jackie Renfrow and her mother Wilodene Gist. Featured in July, this mother-daughter duo talked to Michael about losing loved ones to a misdiagnosis. In today's episode this dynamic duo talk to Michael about what it means to suffer loss after loss generation after generation. They talk about what helps them to continue even after their loved ones are gone and they also talk about what survival means to them.

Today's show features Jackie Renfrow and her mother, Wilodene Gist. These women have suffered losses to Long QT Syndrome including both of Jackie’s children. Tune in to hear how the cause of their deaths was finally diagnosed correctly and why they are such staunch advocates willing to talk with our Host, Michael Liben, about how this tragedy has affected their lives.

Today's program features Emily Perl Kingsley, the mother of a child born with Down Syndrome. Because of this experience, she wrote an essay, "Welcome to Holland" which has been made famous thanks to how beautifully it helps people understand a parent's journey when raising a child with special needs. Emily, a personal family friend of our Host, Michael Liben, shares her experiences with Michael about having a child with Down Syndrome, what path she chose to take to save her son and how she has helped him deal with loss. As Emily ages, and has lost two spouses, she has become aware of the need to prepare her son Jason for life without her. Today she tells Michael about the extraordinary efforts she has taken to help her son life when she is gone.

Grief, and the loss of a loved one, knows no geography, no race, creed or color. Grief happens to everyone everywhere at one point or another. Today's show deals with how grief is handled in the Jewish religion. Today's Guest is Rabbi Daniel Liben. He discusses with Michael (his brother!) what it means to lose someone, how there are different rituals depending on who the loved one is who is lost, and how people who are not Jewish can appropriately help their Jewish friends when they experience loss. Enjoy this sneak peak into Michael's personal world as he talks with his brother about their own losses and what their experiences were.

We all know that the loss of a child can traumatize the immediate family but we don't always think of the wider circles. In this program we'll be talking to a grandmother about the loss of her grandchild after only 12 hours and the effect on her and the extended family.

How do people cope with death and dying? What should people say or do if someone they care about has lost someone dear? What is the best thing a person can do? What should people be certain to never do? Daniel Miles is a professional chaplain who has over a decade of experience providing emotional and spiritual support to patients, families, and staff in a hospital setting. In this episode Daniel shares some personal stories about dealing with death and dying as a means to help others deal with this difficult topic.

Today's episode of Heart to Heart with Michael deals with the subject of "Rainbow Babies" which is a term used for a baby who is born after a parent loses a baby. Today's Guest is Sheri Turner, a bereaved mother who went on to have 3 heart healthy children after losing her son, Thomas 19 years ago. Tune in to hear how Sheri felt about getting pregnant after losing a child, what it means to her to have her rainbow babies and how she is still giving back to the congenital heart defect community almost 2 decades later.

"The Last Days" is the special debut program for the bereavement community where Host Michael Liben interviews bereaved mother, Nancy Jensen, about what it was like to raise a child with a chronic, terminal illness. Nancy talks with Michael about what it's like to live with hospice and how her family dealt with raising and then losing their precious daughter. Michael talks with Nancy about her faith and the role it plays in her life. Nancy's answers will offer insight and inspire you on your own bereavement journey.

"The Last Days" is the special debut program for the bereavement community where Host Michael Liben interviews bereaved mother, Nancy Jensen, about what it was like to raise a child with a chronic, terminal illness. Nancy talks with Michael about what it's like to live with hospice and how her family dealt with raising and then losing their precious daughter. Michael talks with Nancy about her faith and the role it plays in her life. Nancy's answers will offer insight and inspire you on your own bereavement journey.

"The Last Days" is the special debut program for the bereavement community where Host Michael Liben interviews bereaved mother, Nancy Jensen, about what it was like to raise a child with a chronic, terminal illness. Nancy talks with Michael about what it's like to live with hospice and how her family dealt with raising and then losing their precious daughter. Michael talks with Nancy about her faith and the role it plays in her life. Nancy's answers will offer insight and inspire you on your own bereavement journey.

"The Last Days" is the special debut program for the bereavement community where Host Michael Liben interviews bereaved mother, Nancy Jensen, about what it was like to raise a child with a chronic, terminal illness. Nancy talks with Michael about what it's like to live with hospice and how her family dealt with raising and then losing their precious daughter. Michael talks with Nancy about her faith and the role it plays in her life. Nancy's answers will offer insight and inspire you on your own bereavement journey.