The Only Child Diaries Podcast

The Funny Brochure On A Hospital Check In

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1967416/fan_mail/new] Day 20 hits different when the hospital stay turns into a full-on relocation. Bill is finally recovering and we even have a discharge date, but getting from hospital number two to hospital number three (acute rehab) becomes a four-hour marathon of paperwork, waiting, traffic, valet check-in, and one very humbling reality: we look like a hot mess. I’m talking bracelets still on, an IV wrap, Snoopy pajama bottoms, vascular boots, a duffel bag stuffed with clothes, and me trying to keep it together while we roll through a building that feels way too big for the amount of help you can actually find. At home, the caregiver life doesn’t pause. I’m exhausted mentally and physically, and sleep gets weird when you’re alone in the house and your pets can’t make sense of the new normal. The cat gets louder at night, wants food and attention, and seems determined to start the day before sunrise. Add in rehab rules like needing fresh clothes every day, plus a broken washer that forces laundromat runs, and you’ve got the kind of stress that doesn’t look dramatic from the outside but slowly drains you anyway. We also talk about what caregiver burnout feels like in real time, and why “I’m doing my best” has to count. Then there’s the part that stays with me: navigating long, vacant hospital corridors with locked doors, empty stations, and the kind of silence that makes you second-guess your own sense of direction. On the first night, a strange coincidence brings grief to the surface and reminds me how memory can show up in the middle of logistics. If you’ve ever had to navigate the healthcare system, manage a hospital transfer, or hold down a home life while someone you love heals, you’ll feel this one. Subscribe to Only Child Diaries, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a rating and review. What’s the most exhausting “small thing” you’ve dealt with while caring for someone? For the Only Child Diaries: Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/ [https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/] or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/ [https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/] or Threads https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries [https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries] and on Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social]

The Brochure on 3 Hospital Visits

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1967416/fan_mail/new] A 60/40 blood pressure reading at 11 pm is the kind of number that makes your whole world go quiet. I’m Tracy Wallace, and I’m sharing a very real update on why there was no episode last week: my husband landed in the hospital after a string of scary episodes that looked and sounded like a stroke. He was slurring his speech, not making sense, and completely unlike himself and I had to make calls fast while he resisted going to the ER. I walk you through how I tried to rule things out at home using what many families rely on: a blood pressure cuff, an oxygen meter, and his diabetes tech, including an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor. When glucose was normal, the mystery got bigger, and the fear got sharper. You’ll hear how we leaned on a neighbor, what nurses later taught me about using salt when blood pressure is dangerously low, and why the “do what you have to do” moments can feel both absurd and lifesaving. From there, we get into the hospital maze: admissions, tests, discharge plans that didn’t sit right with me, and the decision to move him to a higher standard of care at Cedars-Sinai for more exploratory testing and medication changes. The working diagnosis is orthostatic hypotension, and I talk honestly about what long hospital stays do to strength and mobility, why acute rehab and intensive physical therapy can be the safer bridge home, and how caregiving pressure collides with jobs, pets, and basic exhaustion. If you’ve ever had to advocate for a partner, manage low blood pressure symptoms, or push for answers when doctors are still searching, you’ll feel seen here. Subscribe to Only Child Diaries, share this with someone who’s caregiving right now, and please leave a rating and review so more people can find the show. For the Only Child Diaries: Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/ [https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/] or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/ [https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/] or Threads https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries [https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries] and on Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social]

The Brochure on Sports

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1967416/fan_mail/new] Sports are everywhere, and somehow we’re all expected to have strong opinions, favorite teams, and the stamina to watch a three-hour game on a weeknight. We’re not doing that. We’re getting honest about what it’s like to be a casual sports fan, why some games feel impossible to sit through, and how you can still enjoy the culture without forcing yourself into someone else’s version of fandom. We talk football from the perspective of someone who loves a big moment but struggles with the slow buildup, then shift to baseball and why it’s more fun once you understand the strategy behind every pitch. From there, we share the surprise sport that finally hooked us: ice hockey. Watching the Vegas Golden Knights during a Stanley Cup playoff run made everything click, even without knowing all the terms. It’s fast, dramatic, and it rewards attention in a way that feels refreshing. We also get real about the live game experience: parking, walking, food lines, bathroom lines, sun, cost, and the legendary challenge of getting out of Dodger Stadium. We touch on the World Cup energy in the Los Angeles area, the jerseys and merchandise everywhere, and how sports operate as a massive industry that can still do real good through community outreach. If you’ve ever felt “not sporty enough” to join the conversation, you’ll feel seen here. Subscribe to Only Child Diaries, share this with a friend, and if you like what you hear, leave a rating and review so more listeners can find us. For the Only Child Diaries: Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/ [https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/] or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/ [https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/] or Threads https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries [https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries] and on Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social]

The Brochure on Catching Up with Things

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1967416/fan_mail/new] The part nobody warns you about after a big fundraising event is the second job you inherit the next morning: follow-up. I’m coming off a major work push and trying to climb out of the backlog with unpaid silent auction items, pledge drive confusion, and the urgent need to get revenue in before the fiscal year closes. If you’ve ever stared at your to-do list and thought, “How is this still my problem ten days later,” you’ll feel seen.  I break down the real mechanics of nonprofit event planning and fundraising operations, including coordinating auction item pickup and delivery, tracking winners who haven’t paid, and managing pledges from a paddle raise. I also share what a dessert dash looks like on the ground, why it can confuse a room, and how those small live-moment choices still add up in dollars raised. When support disappears and you’re suddenly doing the legwork alone, “catching up” becomes a strategy problem, not a motivation problem.  Then I zoom out to home life, because work overload doesn’t pause your dishes, laundry, or the yard. I talk about taking three days off, trying to recover, and using a “zones” approach to chip away at chaos without needing a perfect plan. That includes the very real saga of Christmas inflatables and extension cords that sat outside long enough to get muddy and attract snails, plus the oddly satisfying win of cleaning, boxing, and storing them before summer heat hits.  If you’re navigating adulting, burnout, time management, and work-life balance, come listen and take what you need. Follow the Only Child Diaries Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a friend who’s also trying to catch up. For the Only Child Diaries: Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/ [https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/] or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/ [https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/] or Threads https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries [https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries] and on Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social]

The Brochure on Working Too Hard

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1967416/fan_mail/new] If you’ve ever hit the finish line of a huge work project and immediately felt your body power down, you’ll recognize this one. I’m fresh off a major nonprofit fundraising event I led at my agency, and I’m talking candidly about what it means to work hard, work too hard, and then deal with the adrenaline crash that comes after the applause fades. When you’re a perfectionist with high standards, it’s easy to believe you’re supposed to carry every outcome on your shoulders, even the parts you couldn’t control. I walk through the real behind-the-scenes pressure of fundraising event planning and nonprofit event management, from learning new auction software and managing sponsor details to building seating charts and coordinating vendors. I also share what went wrong, including a caterer showing up an hour late, and why I still felt responsible even when it technically wasn’t my fault. That tension, pride in your work mixed with relentless self-criticism, is one of the fastest paths to burnout. We also talk about something that rarely gets scheduled but always arrives: recovery. After weeks of 55 to 60 hour workweeks, long commutes, and late nights, rest isn’t a reward, it’s basic stress recovery and self-care. And because life keeps happening, I’m also staring down the backlog of car maintenance, chores, and the simple need to step outside. Plus, there’s a funny twist at the end involving a beautiful thank-you gift that disappears and a mysterious shortage of 30 rental plates. If this helped you feel less alone, subscribe to Only Child Diaries, share the episode with a friend, and leave a rating and review so more people can find us. For the Only Child Diaries: Check us out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/ [https://www.facebook.com/onlychilddiariespodcast/] or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/ [https://www.instagram.com/onlychilddiaries/] or Threads https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries [https://www.threads.net/@onlychilddiaries] and on Bluesky  https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/onlychilddiaries.bsky.social]