This week on the podcast, I had the privilege of sitting down with the incredible Tracy Carroll, a woman whose strength, honesty, and love left me deeply moved.

With over 500,000 family carers in Ireland, Tracy is a leading voice for parents and carers of children with life-limiting disabilities. She is a passionate advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves - children who deserve to be seen, heard, and supported.

Tracy is Mum to two superheroes, Willow and Noah, and wife to John. Since Willow suffered a brain injury shortly after her birth in 2016, Tracy has been a full-time carer, devoting her life to her daughter’s needs. In our conversation, she opened up about the daily realities of caregiving - the exhaustion, the heartache, the endless appointments -but also the immense love and joy that fill her home.

Tracy’s story is not just one of courage and resilience, it is a call to action. We are all just one step away from becoming a carer ourselves - whether for a child, a parent, or a partner. If that day came for you, how would you want to be supported?

What struck me most in speaking with Tracy was her wisdom about grief — not grief in the loss of a person, but grief for the life you thought you and your child might have had. She spoke of how she has learned to hold space for that grief, while also finding peace in acceptance and celebrating her daughter for exactly who she is.

Her words resonated so deeply with me, as my own sister, Bonnie, was left physically and mentally disabled after contracting meningitis just three days after birth. She was the angel of our house, and my mother became her voice and her carer. Listening to Tracy brought me right back to those moments of watching my mother carry so much - the love, the fight, and the heartbreak of navigating a system that so often does not provide enough support.

Tracy’s story reminds us that carers are not just quietly coping in the background - they are holding families, and often entire lives, together. They need to be seen, heard, and supported by all of us.

I invite you to listen to this powerful episode, to sit with Tracy’s words, and to reflect on how we as a society can do better. Carers like Tracy should not have to shout to be heard - but until they are given the resources, respect, and recognition they deserve, voices like hers are essential.

This conversation is one that will stay with me, and I hope it stays with you too.

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Sharon Fitzmaurice

Holistic Wellness Coach, Author & Podcast Host

This week’s on The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast conversation with Rachel Crowder was one of those deeply enlightening moments that stays with you, and reminds you of the importance of what we eat, doesn’t just feed our bodies, it feeds our minds.

Rachel is a qualified Nutrition and Health Coach, but more than that, she is a woman on a mission - one that is deeply personal and profoundly purposeful. Her passion to help women reclaim their energy, reduce chronic symptoms, and feel empowered in their health is not something she learned in a textbook; it’s rooted in the kind of life experience that shapes who you are and how you show up in the world.

At just nine years old, Rachel became a young carer for her mother, who battled with rheumatoid arthritis and complex chronic health issues. She was cooking meals, cleaning, and managing a household long before most children her age even considered such responsibilities. Her school had no idea. There was no outside support. She simply did what needed to be done.

When she later met her now husband, he was amazed by her resourcefulness. To Rachel, it was just what she had always known - her normal. But it made me wonder: how many other children are out there, quietly carrying the weight of the world on their small shoulders, unseen and unsupported? In Ireland alone, we know there are over 4,000 carers under the age of 15, but those are only the ones recorded in the census. How many more go unnoticed?

Rachel’s story is a powerful reminder of how deeply intertwined our life experiences are with our health journeys. After 20 years in the retail world, she retrained in nutrition and health coaching - driven not just by her own family’s history of autoimmune conditions, cancer, and heart disease, but by her husband’s decade-long struggle with digestive issues. It was through exploring gut health and functional nutrition that they found answers and healing.

Today, Rachel helps women facing similar challenges - autoimmune issues, arthritis, hormone shifts, reclaim their vitality using whole-body, gut-focused nutrition. She reminds us that chronic illness does not have to define our future. That our bodies are far more capable of healing than we often believe.

As we wrapped up our conversation, I was reminded of the deep connection between what we eat, how we live, and how we feel. Science is now confirming what many in the wellness world have long known that conditions like Alzheimer’s and diabetes often begin in the gut.

So if something within you feels off, or if you sense that your food is not serving you, don’t wait for the perfect time to start over. Try just one small change today. Add a nourishing whole food to your plate. Drink a little more water. Tune in, gently, to what your body is asking for.

Your body and your mind will thank you in the days, weeks, and years to come.

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Sharon

Author, Wellness Coach & Host of The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast