What I learned when the worst happened, as a parent | Lindsey Wahlstrom | TEDxMtHood

In this deeply personal talk, Lindsey Wahlstrom shares the lessons she learned as both a clinical research professional and a mother navigating her daughter Rona’s rare disease treatment. And how she is finding hope and purpose after her daughter's death. Lindsey Wahlstrom works at the intersection of medical research, caregiving, and meaning-making. After more than a decade supporting patient engagement across 200+ clinical trials, Lindsey’s understanding of success in healthcare was radically reshaped when her daughter, Rona, was diagnosed with and died from a rare disease in 2023. She is the co-founder and Chief Momatologist of Rona’s FUN LAB, a nonprofit supporting critically ill children and the teams who care for them, alongside her ongoing work in patient engagement and research. Her work challenges how we define outcomes — and what it truly means to help. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx