Caregiver Stories: What My Daughter's Disability Taught Me About Living with Evan Rosenblum

What happens when the life you planned disappears overnight? In this episode of Inchstones, Sarah Kernion sits down with former TMZ executive producer Evan Rosenblum to explore caregiver stories, disability parenting, neurodivergent families, and how raising a child with profound disabilities transformed his understanding of purpose, fatherhood, and joy.

When Evan Rosenblum's daughter Sydney arrived at just 25 weeks gestation, everything changed in an instant. After 143 days in the NICU, multiple surgeries, a traumatic brain injury, and a long list of medical diagnoses, Evan found himself navigating a reality he never imagined while desperately trying to hold onto the life he thought he was supposed to have. 

In this deeply honest conversation, Sarah and Evan explore what happens when identity, career, expectations, and parenthood collide. Together they discuss the emotional journey of becoming a special needs father, processing grief, balancing work and caregiving, and learning to see disability not as the end of a story—but the beginning of a completely different one.

Evan shares how leaving his career at TMZ allowed him to embrace a new definition of success, why his daughter Sydney became one of his greatest teachers, and how his son is growing into a compassionate sibling whose understanding of disability is quietly changing the world around him.
This episode is about more than disability. It's about what happens when life forces you to become someone new.

Whether you're navigating an autism diagnosis, raising a child with profound disabilities, supporting neurodivergent families, or simply searching for hope inside an unexpected life, this conversation is a reminder that joy can exist alongside grief—and that sometimes the life you never planned becomes the one you were always meant to live.

In This Episode
02:00 — Sydney's birth at 25 weeks and surviving 143 days in the NICU
06:15 — Identity, work, and trying to hold onto a "normal" life
09:30 — Processing grief after a life-changing diagnosis
13:00 — Why fathers experience caregiving differently
17:15 — Anger, healing, and emotional recovery
21:00 — Raising siblings alongside children with disabilities
25:00 — Inclusion, friendship, and changing the next generation
29:00 — Adventure, surfing, Disney, and giving children full lives
33:00 — Living in the present instead of fearing the future

Resources
Learn more from Evan Rosenblum by reading his Substack, where he writes about fatherhood, disability, caregiving, and finding meaning through unexpected life experiences.

Subscribe to the Inchstones Podcast for more conversations about autism advocacy, caregiver stories, and neurodivergent parenting featuring parents, clinicians, researchers, and advocates helping families thrive.