How Do I Live with Ongoing Grief and Still Choose Hope? with Kayce Smith

How do you live with grief that doesn’t end, but evolves? In this episode, I sit down with Kayce Smith to talk about discovering at 38 weeks pregnant that her son, Hayes, would be born with a limb difference. We explore what it means to carry “living grief” — the kind that shifts as your child grows, reaches milestones, and faces new challenges. Kayce shares how resilience is built in real time, how expectations are reshaped, and how she and Hayes have turned their journey into advocacy and two children’s books that encourage other families. We also discuss the vital role Shriners Hospitals has played in Hayes’ care and how community support makes an ongoing difference. If you are parenting through the unexpected, navigating evolving grief, or learning how to hold heartbreak and hope at the same time, this conversation will steady you.