195: Ali’s Story | An Invisible Disability, Living in Survival Mode + Giving Up Her Dream Career  episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 4, 2025 · 43 MIN

195: Ali’s Story | An Invisible Disability, Living in Survival Mode + Giving Up Her Dream Career

from The Rare Life · host Madeline Cheney

What happens when your child’s rare disease doesn’t look “serious enough” to the outside world? For Ali Platt, the invisibility of her daughter’s Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) meant battles with doctors, endless appeals to Medicaid, and colleagues who refused understand as Ali spent months and years trying to prove that her daughter’s suffering is real.In this episode, Ali shares it all: how caregiving collided with her career in law enforcement, the isolation she’s felt without a local support network, the constant state of survival mode, the grief of not being able to stop her daughter’s pain, and what it’s like to advocate for your child when their disabilities aren’t as visible to the general public.If you’ve ever felt unseen, doubted, or forced to do the impossible just to keep your child safe, this episode will hit home.Links:Join The Rare Life newsletter andnever miss an update!Fill out our contact form to joinupcoming discussion groups!Listen to 194: Season 12 Kickoff forMadeline’s big announcement!Follow us on Instagram @the_rare_life!Donateto the podcast or Contactme about sponsoring an episode.Follow the Facebook page. Join the Facebook group Parents of Children with Rare Conditions.Access the transcript on the website here. And if you love this podcast, please leave usa rating or review in your favorite podcast app! 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 4, 2025

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195: Ali’s Story | An Invisible Disability, Living in Survival Mode + Giving Up Her Dream Career

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