From Pharmacist to Mom: Navigating Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease
About this episode
Katie Taylor interviews Melissa Apa about navigating her son's celiac disease and type 1 diabetes as a healthcare professional turned parent.
What happens when the healthcare professional becomes the parent sitting on the other side of the diagnosis? In this episode, Katie Taylor sits down with Melissa Apa—a clinical pharmacist, diabetes educator, and mom—to share her family's journey navigating both celiac disease and type 1 diabetes with her young son. Melissa opens up about the emotional overwhelm of receiving life-changing diagnoses, even with years of medical expertise behind her, and how her family learned to adapt, advocate, and find stability in the chaos. From replacing every pot and pan in her kitchen overnight to teaching her six-year-old how to manage his insulin pump, Melissa shares the realities of parenting a child with chronic illness while balancing work, marriage, caregiving, and the emotional toll of always being "on." Together, Katie and Melissa explore the invisible mental load medical parents carry, the importance of empowering kids to advocate for themselves, and why support systems matter just as much as medical education. This conversation is honest, practical, and deeply hopeful for any parent navigating a chronic diagnosis with their child. What You'll Hear in This Episode: The unexpected…
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