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Content note: this episode includes a detailed conversation about the death of a child. Please listen when you have the capacity.
This week I sat down with a dear friend Jodie, a mother of three sons, to talk about her youngest, Jacob, who passed away in January 2026. Jacob was born with a significant brain injury, lived with cerebral palsy and was non-verbal and wheel-chair bound. Jodie shares what it took to raise him as a mother of a child with disability, a single mother, the instincts she learned to trust, and the moment she surrendered at his bedside.
Jodie shares about the sense of freedom that she felt, alongside the shame and guilt that came with it when her youngest passed away. She shares that two things can be true at once. You can grieve the life you imagined and still feel excited about the one you are now free to create.
Episode highlights:
- Trusting your gut: the instinct that something wasn’t right during her pregnancy with Jacob, and her father’s lifelong advice to trust her gut.
- Curiosity and kindness: Jodie’s advice for how to approach a child with a disability and their parents.
- Letting him go: the decision to turn off life support, and the advice that he wouldn’t die alone.
This is a tender and honest conversation for anyone navigating grief, caregiving, motherhood or a life that looks different to what you imagined.
Mentioned in this episode:
Whāngai: a Māori practice of raising a child within the wider whānau.
Wairua: spirit.
Tikanga: customary practices and protocols.
Links and Next Steps:
Watch the first episode where Jodie takes me through my Pepeha journey here: https://theartoflisteningtoyourbody.com/jodie-treanor/
Connect with Jodie here: [email protected]
You can also connect with Jin on social media:
Instagram: @theartoflisteningtoyourbody
Facebook: @drjinong (personal) or @theartoflisteningtoyourbody
Website: https://drjinong.com and https://theartoflisteningtoyourbody.com/
