From Caregiver Burnout to Hope: Jess Ronne's Powerful Story of Grief, Disability & Healing

What happens when life asks more of you than you ever thought you could carry? In this powerful episode of The Moms Like Me Podcast, Jess Ronne shares her extraordinary journey through special needs parenting, widowhood, caregiving burnout, trauma, and healing. From learning her son Lucas had suffered a stroke in utero, to losing her first husband to brain cancer, to raising eight children and eventually creating a better long-term future for her son, Jess offers a raw, honest, and deeply hopeful look at what life can really feel like behind the scenes for caregiving families. This conversation dives into the realities many families live every day but few people truly understand: profound disability, aggression, exhaustion, grief that layers over decades, the lack of practical support for caregivers, and the courage it takes to rethink what loving your child well can look like. Jess also shares how The Lucas Project was born, why she helped create new resources when none existed, and what healing has looked like for her in this new season of life. If you're a parent, caregiver, medical mom, or someone who wants to better understand the hidden weight families carry, this episode is full of truth, compassion, and hard-won wisdom.