Vanessa Schreckengast's Journey Through Hearing Loss, Microcephaly, and Finding Community

In this episode of Moms Like Me, Jordan sits down with Vanessa Schreckengast, a mom of three whose journey into the disability community began when her daughter Maddie was born with hearing loss—and deepened when her youngest son, Merritt, was diagnosed with microcephaly, cerebral palsy, cortical vision impairment, and epilepsy. Vanessa shares the heartbreak of knowing something was wrong before answers came, the grief of watching her child's path unfold differently than expected, and the daily realities of caregiving while also parenting two other children and working as a teacher. She also opens up about the power of finding other moms who truly "get it," why well-meaning phrases like "I don't know how you do it" don't always land, and what support can look like when a family is carrying the weight of medical complexity. This honest and deeply moving conversation is a reminder that special needs parenting is not about being superhuman—it's about waking up every day, loving your child, and finding community strong enough to help you keep going.