Month: November 2025

LPH41: Sarah Boes, A Heart Mom’s Journey of Courage and Calling

LPH41: Sarah Boes, A Heart Mom’s Journey of Courage and Calling

In this episode of Let’s Plant Houses we talk about congenital heart defects, medical parenting, and family resilience as Sarah Boes shares the moment that changed everything. Sarah Boes is a nurse practitioner, entrepreneur, author, and “heart mom”. Late in her pregnancy, a routine scan revealed that her unborn daughter had several complex heart defects. That single appointment pulled her family into a world of specialists, emergency planning, and love stretched to its very edges. Sarah opens up about the shock, the fear, and the quiet moments in the hospital that reshaped her understanding of what it means to hope.

As Sarah tells her story, you will hear how she and her husband learned to navigate surgeries, uncertainty, and the emotional weight of becoming parents inside a medical crisis. She speaks with honesty about grief, grit, and the unexpected ways community rises around you when life falls apart. This conversation holds moments that will make you hold your breath and others that will lift your spirit. It is a story about the heart in every sense of the word.

LPH40: Judi Uttal Talks About Autism, Advocacy, and Jobs in Entertainment

LPH40: Judi Uttal Talks About Autism, Advocacy, and Jobs in Entertainment

What happens when the services your child needs don’t exist yet?

Judi Uttal faced that challenge when her son Josh was diagnosed with autism at age four. She reflects on the early challenges, including the lack of autism awareness and resources in the 1990s, and how her early advocacy, community support—including a pilot program in Irvine and later the Orange County Asperger Support Group—and determination helped Josh thrive in film production.

Judi now runs the Orange County Asperger Support Group, helping teens and adults with level one autism improve their quality of life. She also founded the Autism in Entertainment (AIE) Workgroup, a California-based initiative that increases employment opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum in animation, film, and gaming. Through conferences, creator community meetings, and career resources, AIE connects autistic individuals with opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Listen to her fascinating story!