Caregivers SHARE, a St. Jude Podcast, Launches Second Season
Ashley Carr, child life specialist at St. Jude, and parent caregivers ShaQuitta McGhee and Jessica Watts discuss how they supported their other children while their child was sick.
In 2023, family members and medical experts from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital teamed up to create a podcast for caregivers of seriously ill children. St. Jude staff had noticed that caregivers—especially those alone with hospitalized children late at night—needed extra emotional support but could not always get it.
The Caregivers SHARE podcast includes intimate moments; stories of diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship; moments of laughter; and vulnerable tears. SHARE stands for support, honor, advise, reflect, and encourage.
Each episode features the caregiver(s) of a child talking with a health care professional in psychology, child life, education, or social work. The podcast is not a substitute for sitting down and talking with a counselor or a friend. But Caregivers SHARE provides a moment of solace, connection, and grace for parents who may feel alone.
What to expect this season
Season 2 of Caregiver SHARE launched on September 12, 2024. New episodes will be released every other week through December. The new season covers such topics as:
- Keeping a healthy relationship with one’s partner while a child is in treatment
- Supporting a sick child’s siblings
- Parenting sick children across the stages—young children, school-age children, and teens
The season concludes with a poignant episode about how to celebrate the legacy of a child who has died and how to navigate the holidays after loss.
Listeners will hear how caregivers:
- Carved out time for themselves and their partners
- Made sure siblings were connected and included
- Navigated hard illnesses such as cancer and sickle cell disease
- Had grace for themselves and others
- Disciplined their kids through treatment
- Learned to enjoy everyday moments together
- Helped their kids learn math facts
- Advocated for their kids in the hospital
- Let their kids have fun and be themselves
- Encouraged their children to advocate for themselves
- Grieved and celebrated those whom they had lost
- Found light in a dark time
Support and making meaning
Not only does the podcast help caregivers everywhere find connection and support, but it also helps the caregivers who are able to share their stories and make meaning from them.
“The moments spent planning, recording, and releasing these podcasts were a sacred time. Through this project, we can connect with people far away who may need to hear these words.”
Follow, like, and share the Caregivers SHARE podcast on all major podcast platforms.
