Tiny Little Hearts Podcast: CHD and Heart Mom Life
Tiny Little Hearts Podcast is your honest, unfiltered space for the CHD (congenital heart disease / congenital heart defect) community. Whether you're a heart parent, a CHD warrior, or someone newly navigating a complex congenital heart diagnosis — this podcast was made for you.
Hosted by Katelyn McMahan, a mom of three girls whose world changed the moment she learned her youngest daughter had complex cardiac abnormalities. She searched for real stories — kids with complex CHD, single ventricle hearts, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and other congenital heart defects— not the polished highlight reels, but the honest, raw truth of what this life actually looks like. She wanted to prepare her heart for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Each episode features conversations with heart parents, CHD adults, providers, and others navigating the deeply real world of congenital heart disease, open heart surgery, and medical complexity. You'll hear practical advice, emotional honesty, and stories that remind you that you are not alone in this journey. Because this life is hard — and you deserve a place to feel seen.
Topics covered include: CHD diagnosis, heart surgery recovery, parenting a medically complex child, grief and resilience, NICU and PCICU experiences, fontan circulation, cardiac catheterization, and life after a congenital heart defect diagnosis.
Support this show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2464576/support
Tiny Little Hearts Podcast: CHD and Heart Mom Life
Latest Episodes
33. One Year of Tiny Little Hearts Podcast: CHD and Heart Mom Life
If you're a heart parent navigating congenital heart disease, you know that the journey is rarely a straight line — and neither is building a community around it. In this special solo episode, Katelyn closes out Season 1 of Tiny L...
32. Caregiver Burnout in Medical Parents: How To Recognize It Before You Crash with Certified Child Life Specialist Katie Taylor
Summary: In this episode, Katelyn sits down with Katie Taylor — certified child life specialist, co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, author, speaker, and host of Inside the Children's Hospital podcast — for a d...
31. My Top 5 Takeaways From Advocating for CHD on Capitol Hill
31. My Top 5 Takeaways From Advocating For CHD on Capitol HillSummary: In this episode, Katelyn McMahan shares her top five takeaways from attending the National CHD Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. — her ...
30. Congenital Heart Disease & A Broken System: The Innovation That's Changing Everything
In this episode, Katelyn sits down with Tim Nelson, MD, PhD and CEO of HeartWorks — a nonprofit at the forefront of congenital heart disease (CHD) innovation. What unfolds is a candid, unflinching look at why the healthcare system is failing CH...