Lights On: A NeuroMoms Collective Podcast

Erin Palmer, Amanda Ream
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Mental Health

Lights On is a podcast by NeuroMoms Collective, hosted by two mothers who know firsthand the journey of supporting a brain injury survivor. Amanda and Erin create a warm, honest space to talk about caregiving—the heavy, the hopeful, and the human. We chose the name Lights On because when a medical crisis hits, it can feel like someone has suddenly turned the lights off in your life. Joy feels distant, routines disappear, and the world becomes unfamiliar. But the light was never truly gone—we're here to help caregivers find it again and gently turn the lights back on. Guests include survivors, family members, medical professionals, and community partners who offer insight and support. This podcast is for anyone touched by brain injury who is seeking connection, grounding, and understanding. We're here to make sure no caregiver feels isolated in this experience. Come walk with us.

  1. 2d ago

    S3/ E14/ PT2: Helmets, Head Injuries, & Better Protecting Our Kids

    A fall from a bike. A collision on the field. A head injury that doesn't leave a visible mark. When do we take these moments seriously... and how can we better protect the brains we love? In part two of our conversation with Dr. Jennifer Konsker, Erin Palmer and Amanda Ream explore brain injury prevention, concussion awareness, and the challenges of getting appropriate care. Drawing on her experience as a pediatrician and mother of a brain injury survivor, Jennifer shares concerns about helmet use, sports culture, and gaps in concussion education and resources. The conversation also examines the pressure to return to school, work, or sports when an injury is invisible. With personal stories, candid reflection, and some familiar humor, we ask what it would look like to give brain recovery the understanding and support it deserves. In this episode: Helmet use and everyday opportunities to protect young brains. How "tough it out" attitudes can undermine safety. Seeking medical guidance after a child's head injury. Discussing past head injuries when new concerns arise. Questions about sleep and rest after a concussion. Barriers to concussion care and recovery support. Taking invisible symptoms seriously at school and work. Protecting brain health starts with awareness, and with adults willing to make safety a priority. This episode shares personal experiences and general discussion. For guidance about a head injury or recovery, consult a qualified healthcare professional.

    S3/ E14/ PT2: Helmets, Head Injuries, & Better Protecting Our Kids

  2. Oct 9

    S3/ E13/ PT1: TBI Recovery: Loving Your Child Through the Future They Lost

    Physical recovery is only part of the story after a brain injury. What happens when therapies end, friends move forward, and a survivor is still trying to figure out what comes next? In part one of this two-part conversation, Erin Palmer and Amanda Ream welcome back Dr. Jennifer Konsker, a pediatrician and mother of brain injury survivor Henry. Jennifer shares an update on Henry's recovery, his growing independence, and the grief and anger surfacing two years after his injury. Together, these three mothers talk honestly about watching their children navigate changed abilities, lost opportunities, and uncertain futures. They explore the instinct to fix everything, the challenge of giving someone space to feel difficult emotions, and the meaningful victories that come with returning to something they love. From Henry finding joy on his mountain bike to Dallas baking cookies from scratch, this conversation makes room for both loss and possibility. In this episode: The emotional struggles that can remain after physical recovery. Feeling left behind as friends graduate, start careers, and get married. Supporting grief and anger without rushing to make everything better. Encouraging independence while managing a parent's own fears. Rediscovering familiar activities with different abilities and support. Making space for caregivers' own rest, connection, and joy. Join us next week for part two, when the conversation shifts to medicine with Dr. Konsker.

    S3/ E13/ PT1: TBI Recovery: Loving Your Child Through the Future They Lost

  3. Oct 2

    S3/ E12/ PT3: Neuro ICU Nursing: In the Darkness, Keep Talking

    Content note: This episode includes candid conversations about suicide and suicidal ideation. In the final installment of our conversation with Neuro ICU nurse Erin Moreland Lambesis, we discuss suicidal ideation after brain injury and how caregivers can support someone experiencing profound despair. Nurse Erin's first advice is simple but powerful: keep them talking, listen without judgment, and resist the urge to immediately fix everything. Erin and Amanda share deeply personal experiences of hearing their children question whether they could continue living with the physical, emotional, social, and financial consequences of brain injury. The conversation also explores why caregivers need support from people who truly understand and how setting boundaries can mean saying yes to yourself, not no to someone you love. This episode is an honest conversation about listening, courage, sustainable caregiving, and reminding survivors that they do not have to walk through the darkness alone.

    S3/ E12/ PT3: Neuro ICU Nursing: In the Darkness, Keep Talking

  4. Sep 25

    S3/ E11/ PT2: Neuro ICU Nursing: Managing the Family

    In Part 2 of our conversation with Neuro ICU nurse Erin Moreland Lambesis, Host Erin and Nurse Erin revisit the long walk to Dallas's operating room... and the unforgettable final instruction his mother gave the neurosurgeon. Hours later, Nurse Erin was among the first to learn that the surgical team had successfully resected Dallas's AVM, leading to a tearful celebration between nurse and mother. The conversation then turns to the relationship between ICU nurses and caregivers, including the fear, guilt, and exhaustion families carry at the bedside. Nurse Erin reminds caregivers that brain-injury recovery is a marathon and that eating, sleeping, or briefly stepping away does not mean abandoning the person they love. Sometimes the most important thing a nurse can give a family is guidance, grace, and permission to rest.

    S3/ E11/ PT2: Neuro ICU Nursing: Managing the Family

  5. Sep 18

    S3/ E10/ PT1: Neuro ICU Nursing: Where Science, Instinct, and Care Meet

    In Part 1 of this three-part conversation, Erin and Amanda welcome Neuro ICU nurse Erin Moreland Lambesis, whose 26-year nursing career began in neurological intensive care. Nurse Erin explains why caring for brain-injury patients requires far more than watching monitors, it demands close observation, intuition, and a willingness to listen to the families who know their loved ones best. Erin recalls arriving at Barrow Neurological Institute with Dallas after a terrifying medical flight, where Nurse Erin immediately brought order to a room filled with fear, urgency, and four anxious parents. Together, they explore the profound relief of finally reaching a highly specialized neurological team and the remarkable coordination required to prepare for an extraordinarily complex brain surgery. Part 1 ends with the beginning of a trip to the surgical wing that Nurse Erin still considers one of the highlights of her career.

    S3/ E10/ PT1: Neuro ICU Nursing: Where Science, Instinct, and Care Meet

  6. Sep 12

    S3/ E9: Opposites, Glimmers, and One Wild Year

    One year ago, Erin and Amanda were paired as a team during a virtual caregiver retreat, and neither could have imagined what would come next...  In this anniversary episode, they look back on an unlikely friendship between two very different moms whose shared love for brain injury survivors became the foundation of NeuroMoms Collective. In just one year, they launched a nonprofit, recorded 34 podcast episodes, reached nearly 2,500 listeners and viewers, held six speaking events, and delivered 66 Comfort Kits to families in four hospitals, with more already on the way. But behind those numbers is something even more meaningful: a friendship that has challenged them, carried them through difficult days, and reminded them to keep searching for joy. This episode celebrates the glimmers they have found, the glimmers they have created, and the extraordinary things that can happen when someone becomes the person you never knew you needed.

    S3/ E9: Opposites, Glimmers, and One Wild Year

  7. Sep 6

    S3/ E8: A Future Worth Fighting For: TBI and Suicide Prevention

    September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Erin and Amanda are opening an honest, compassionate conversation about suicide risk within the brain injury community. They discuss how depression, chronic pain, isolation, loss of independence, communication challenges, and changes in identity can leave survivors feeling overwhelmed, and why suicidal thoughts should always be met with care, never shame or judgment. Drawing from research and their experiences as mothers and caregivers, Erin and Amanda share practical ways to support someone in crisis, including asking directly about suicide, reducing access to lethal means, creating a safety plan, and helping the person connect with professional care. They also acknowledge how difficult it can be for families to access timely, brain-injury-informed mental health services. Most importantly, this episode is a reminder that asking for help is brave, every person deserves joy; and a life that looks different from the one once imagined can still hold love, purpose, connection, and joy. If you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Veterans and service members can call 988 and press 1, or text 838255, to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.

    S3/ E8: A Future Worth Fighting For: TBI and Suicide Prevention

  8. Aug 22

    S3/ E7: Breaking From the Inside Out: A Mother's Grief, Rage & Fear Before Her Child's Ninth Brain Surgery

    BONUS EPISODE:OUT NOW. This episode wasn't planned. It's coming out now because it's happening now. For 10 weeks, Erin's family lived with the possibility that Dallas's ninth brain surgery could change everything... or take everything. They made memories, gathered the people he loved, and tried to create joy while privately carrying a fear too heavy to name. Behind that fear was rage: hours spent on the phone, weeks of delays, and the unbearable experience of begging a medical system to help her child while metal protruded through his scalp. This is the caregiver experience without the polished ending: anticipatory grief, medical PTSD, helplessness, gratitude, fury; and what it takes to keep functioning and upholding your values when all of those emotions make it hard to breathe. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. #LightsOnPodcast #NeuroMomsCollective #CaregiverStories #BrainInjury #TBI #CaregiverSupport #MedicalPTSD #BrainSurgery #AnticipatoryGrief

    S3/ E7: Breaking From the Inside Out: A Mother's Grief, Rage & Fear Before Her Child's Ninth Brain Surgery
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Lights On is a podcast by NeuroMoms Collective, hosted by two mothers who know firsthand the journey of supporting a brain injury survivor. Amanda and Erin create a warm, honest space to talk about caregiving—the heavy, the hopeful, and the human. We chose the name Lights On because when a medical crisis hits, it can feel like someone has suddenly turned the lights off in your life. Joy feels distant, routines disappear, and the world becomes unfamiliar. But the light was never truly gone—we're here to help caregivers find it again and gently turn the lights back on. Guests include survivors, family members, medical professionals, and community partners who offer insight and support. This podcast is for anyone touched by brain injury who is seeking connection, grounding, and understanding. We're here to make sure no caregiver feels isolated in this experience. Come walk with us.

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