Raising Joy Podcast: Self Care for Parents with Melarie Odelusi
Listen to Episode 46 of the Raising Joy podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. The podcast is part of the JOY Campaign, which launched in April 2021 as a suicide prevention communication initiative, and aims to reach parents through honest conversations about the mental wellbeing of children and teens.
When Melarie Odelusi’s daughter was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in 2020, she didn’t know what the future held in store for her family. One thing she did know – it was going to be critical for her to take care of herself. While doctors focused on her child, Melarie and her husband made every effort to ensure they were mentally strong through the storm. Today, Melarie is a member of Cook Children’s Family Advisory Council and uses her experience and perspective to help improve the hospital for all patients and families.
On this episode of Raising Joy, Melarie teaches us all she has learned on her journey of self-care, from meditation to breathing techniques, the importance of sunlight – and even some surprising things you may have not heard of. She’s also an artist and uses her creativity as an outlet for stress and anxiety. Learn more about her art (which has been shared by Macy’s, Philosophy and Michelle Obama) here.
For more information about self-care for parents, Cook Children’s has a guide of resources listed here.
Raising Joy is part of Cook Children’s Health Care System’s Joy Campaign, a communications initiative aimed at preventing youth suicides. For more information about the Joy Campaign, visit cookchildrens.org/joy.
New episodes of the Raising Joy podcast will be available each Tuesday. It is currently available on all major streaming platforms including Apple, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
About Cook Children's
Cook Children’s Health Care System embraces an inspiring Promise – to improve the health of every child through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, we’re proud of our long and rich tradition of serving our community. Our not-for-profit organization is comprised of nine companies, including our Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services Inc., Child Study Center and Health Foundation. With more than 60 primary, specialty and urgent care locations throughout Texas, families can access our top-ranked specialty programs and network of services to meet the unique needs of their child. For 100 years, we’ve worked to improve the health of children from across our primary service area of Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties. We combine the art of caring with leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child. This has earned Cook Children’s a strong, far-reaching reputation with patients traveling from around the country and the globe to receive life-saving pediatric care. For more information, visit cookchildrens.org.
