For this episode I am joined by Virginia Sole-Smith, a journalist and mother to a daughter with a rare type of Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Usually CHD is diagnosed prenatally or at birth, but in the case of Virginia’s daughter, Violet, it wasn’t detected until she was 4 weeks old. Violet is now 9 years old and doing well.
In this episode, Virginia tells the story of Violet and their family’s experience with CHD. You’ll hear Virginia talk about:
- The struggles their family faced during Violet’s first 4 weeks of life before she was diagnosed
- How she and her husband coped with stress and how it’s affected their relationship
- How Virginia has dealt with feelings of grief and guilt
- Violet’s experience with early intervention and therapy
- How having a child with CHD impacted Virginia’s second pregnancy
- How Virginia and her husband talk to their daughters about Violet’s condition
If you’d like to hear more about Virginia’s experience, you can subscribe to her newsletter Burnt Toast on Substack or check out her books, The Eating Instinct, out now, and her upcoming release, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, a “fearless and game-changing addition to the conversation about kids, food, and weight,” which comes out in April 2023! Virginia can also be found on Instagram @v_sole-smith
