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
35. Cole Wieland on Life with HLHS and Creating Half Heart Mission
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35. Cole Wieland on Life with HLHS and Creating Half Heart Mission
Two podcasters. Two heart journeys. One community.
In this episode, Katelyn sits down with Cole Wieland, founder of Half Heart Mission and a 20-year-old living with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Cole and Katelyn have both built platforms inside the CHD community — his from the patient side, hers from the parent side — and this conversation is the collision of those two worlds.
They trace Cole's path from a scary moment on a pickleball court to building a following of thousands sharing his story. They talk about Goldie's own HLHS diagnosis, the in-utero intervention that changed her trajectory, and how her case became Shone's complex instead. They get honest about the vulnerability and burnout that come with sharing a medical journey online, and why neither of them are chasing followers — just the right person, at the right time, who needs to hear it. And they close with their shared experience at the National CHD Advocacy Summit in DC, including Cole's interview with Senator Dick Durbin, and the piece of advice they'd both give a brand-new heart parent.
If you've ever wondered what it looks like to turn a hard diagnosis into a platform for hope, this one's for you.
Cole is a 20-year-old living with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and the founder of Half Heart Mission, a platform where he shares his journey with CHD to give patients and parents hope for the future. He's had three open-heart surgeries (Norwood, Glenn, Fontaine) and grew up playing competitive basketball and golf before starting his platform on TikTok, which has since grown into a large, engaged CHD community.
Resources & Links
- Half Heart Mission: Instagram/TikTok @halfheartmission
Sponsors & Show Support:
- Stronger Hearts Foundation: strongerheartsfoundation.com
- Instagram: @strongerheartsfoundation
- Support Tiny Little Hearts — 10% of listener proceeds go to Stronger Hearts Foundation
- Register for the Co-Op with HeartWorks
Let’s Connect!
- Follow me on Instagram @tinylittleheartspodcast
- Follow me on Substack at Tiny Little Hearts Substack
- This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
Keywords: congenital heart disease, chd, podcaster, content creators, hlhs, hypoplastic left heart syndrome,