This is a conversation that has continued to stay with me long after we said goodbye.
This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Michelle Valiukenas — founder of the The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation and mother to Sweet Pea, Colette, and Elliott.
Michelle’s story begins with what she believed would be a typical pregnancy. Instead, at just 21 weeks pregnant, she was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and hospitalized immediately. Three weeks later, her daughter Colette was born at 24 weeks and 5 days and spent nine days in the NICU before Michelle and her husband lost her.
What Michelle created in the aftermath of that loss is extraordinary.
On Colette’s due date, Michelle launched a nonprofit dedicated to helping families facing high-risk pregnancies, NICU stays, and pregnancy and infant loss — particularly the financial realities that exist outside the walls of the hospital. Since then, the organization has provided more than $2 million in direct assistance to thousands of families nationwide.
But this conversation is about more than grief. It’s about what happens when women finally begin sharing the stories they were taught to whisper about. It’s about how common pregnancy complications and loss truly are — and how isolating silence can become. It’s about motherhood, advocacy, survival, healthcare, and the powerful reminder that telling the truth about our experiences helps other people feel less alone.
Michelle’s honesty, compassion, and strength moved me deeply, and I’m so grateful she trusted me with this conversation.
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
Connect with Michelle and the powerful, hope-giving work she is doing right here:
The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation.
Thank you for spending this time with us. If this episode moved you, comforted you, challenged you, or reminded you that you’re not alone, I’d be so grateful if you shared it with someone else who may need it too.
And if you haven’t already, subscribing, rating, and reviewing the podcast truly helps more people find these conversations and this community.
Until next time… take very good care of you. Hope is never as far away as it feels.
New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.
For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit
xo, Danielle
