Jane Fischer on Suzy’s Journey Beyond “Never” and the Power of Advocacy

Jane Fischer shares the story of her daughter Suzy, born with severe brain abnormalities and rare Joubert syndrome, after doctors predicted she would never walk, talk, live independently, or have meaningful relationships. Jane describes how Suzy “gave her a voice,” reshaping her from a quiet “plain Jane” into a leader in special education, and details the early fight for therapy and services in a pre-Google era, including the importance of early intervention and learning “tough love.”

The conversation covers the strain a medically complex child can place on marriage and family, Jane’s regret about sending anxious older daughter Beth to preschool too early, and the support Beth and son Ben provided Suzy. Jane recounts Suzy’s later end-stage kidney  ...