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Raising Rare

Raising Rare
Raising Rare
Latest episode

103 episodes

  • Raising Rare

    Summertime...It's Different for Us

    26/06/2026 | 30 mins.
    Our conversation explores the end of the school year, summer planning, managing health challenges, and finding peace amidst life's unpredictability. Brittany and Kevin share insights on delegation, self-care, and maintaining perspective during busy seasons.
    A note from Kevin: As we were preparing to publish this episode, Brittany and her family faced another unexpected challenge. Everleigh had a severe seizure episode on Father’s Day. As of today, she has been hospitalized for nearly a week and is undergoing several tests. We ask our listeners to keep their whole family in your thoughts and prayers.
    This situation serves to remind us just how challenging raising kiddos with rare diseases can be. It is ironic that our discussion, recorded nearly a month ago, covered the challenges of being prepared for unpredictability.
  • Raising Rare

    Jessica Patay - Offering a Lifeline

    27/05/2026 | 33 mins.
    “I didn’t realize how alone I was.”
    For Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) awareness month, we are sharing a discussion with Jessica Patay, founder of We Are Braver Together. PWS requires 24/7 vigilance over a child whose appetite is unsatiable. This can become isolating, exhausting, and overwhelming to even the strongest moms. Jessica has turned her experience into a lifeline for other rare moms.
    We Are Brave Together emerged from the recognition that the girlfriend retreats she was hosting would be very helpful to moms who are caregivers. As these retreats have grown, she has helped many women feel like they belong. We Are Brave Together is built on the idea that human beings deserve to be seen, heard, understood, and validated. The retreats, the podcasts, the books all work to bring these moms together to share their stories.
    Her first book, Becoming Brave Together, was to share stories. The new book Suddenly Brave Together is a collection of letters from moms who have adult rare children to the new moms who have just gotten a diagnosis. Many hands and hearts reaching out across the universe saying, “You are not alone.”
  • Raising Rare

    100th EPISODE A New Season, A New Era

    27/04/2026 | 25 mins.
    100 EPISODES!!!
    It is hard to believe that over 6 years ago, we started Raising Rare as an experiment. How would people react to following the life of a young family affected by an ultra-rare disease? The response has been wonderful. The experience has been transforming. We thank Sanath Kumar Ramesh for sharing his stories all these years.
    And with our 100th Episode, we start a new era for Raising Rare. Brittany Ratke will be my partner, riding solo in the co-host seat. Brittany and Sanath have shared the co-host role since 2022. With this change, we are going to focus more on Brittany’s family and slowly shape the show to her story and her style. Laughter, tears, and heartfelt questions.
    Our hope is that our conversation will bring more people from the rare disease community together. As we reflect, we realize how many amazing people we have met along the way.
    Brittany shares some positive developments in their care team, Everleigh’s school, and family life. They even celebrated Rare Disease Day at school.
    We also touched on the impact on and of siblings of kiddos with a rare disease. They grow up faster than a lot of kids. They share in ways most people would not realize.
    We are looking forward to a great season.
  • Raising Rare

    Leaving a Legacy - Sanath Kumar Ramesh

    05/01/2026 | 44 mins.
    Almost 7 years ago, Sanath Kumar Ramesh found out his son had an ultra-rare mutation.
    This began a journey that would force him to grow into a man he never imagined. Part of his journey was this podcast, Raising Rare. Now, after completing our sixth season, Sanath is going to step back from this microphone.
    In this episode, we reflect on our beginnings, our favorite conversations, and the deep connections that we have developed with each other and our co-host Brittany Ratke.
    And with that... we close Season 6.
  • Raising Rare

    Rare Men, Rare Wellness – David Hogan

    09/12/2025 | 30 mins.
    How do you tell whether a zebra is male or female?
    The male doesn’t’ talk about their #raredisease.
    This can be hard on them. There have been very few places for them to gather to take care of their #mentalhealth. David Hogan set out to change this when the COVID pandemic threatened to isolate us all even more. David is affected by Cowden’s syndrome, and his mother had the condition as well. When she died, he felt the full weight of rare disease on his own mental wellbeing.
    He noticed that there were many places for women to gather, but it was not a great place for men to show their vulnerabilities. We needed something different.
    David took action and started inviting men in the rare disease community into conversation. Those conversations have now become the Men’s Rare Wellness Forum, a monthly opportunity for the male zebras to take care of themselves and each other. All men in the rare community – patients, Dads, brothers, caregivers, and providers – are invited.
    You can learn more about the Men’s Rare Wellness Forum by reaching out to David at mensrarediseasemh@gmail.com or searching “@mensrarediseasemh” on Instagram or David Hogan on LinkedIn
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About Raising Rare
Imagine the excitement of becoming a new parent and then within hours finding out your child has a serious developmental disorder. That is exactly where Sanath Kumar Ramesh found himself in the summer of 2018. One year later, on his son’s first birthday, they found out that their son, Raghav, had an extremely rare mutation of the GPX4 gene. At the time, doctors told them that Raghav may be the only one on the planet with this genetic variant who had lived beyond one month of life. The prognosis is completely unknown. They were alone. They were scared. And then they went into action. And now they want to share their story. Every couple of weeks Raising Rare will give you an update on baby Raghav as he grows up. We will also share how Sanath and his wife Ramya are driving toward a treatment for their son. We will explore the science that Sanath is initiating, their efforts to fund that research, and the people they meet along the way. We will also hear how the family adjusts to challenges and changes that they are faced with. Most importantly, we will share the wisdom they gain along the way so that other Rare Parents can learn from their steps and missteps. We don’t know where this story will go. We do know we want you to join us for the journey.
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Raising Rare: Podcasts in Family