With the birth of their son Conner, Lanya and Todd McKittrick discovered they were parenting a finicky baby who loved bright colors, expressive faces, and touch. But when Lanya and Todd noticed Conner wasn't reacting to loud sounds, their pediatrician's tests revealed their son was profoundly deaf. The McKittricks immersed themselves in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, seeking every resource to give Conner advantages.

After their second son Cole's birth, they noticed Conner's development lagging behind milestones—at two, he still couldn't walk due to balance issues. When Conner began experiencing vision problems, they received another devastating diagnosis: Usher syndrome, a rare disease causing deafblindness. Lanya and Todd were thrust into a swirl of pain and panic, now wrestling with the fact that Conner suffered from a rare disease that causes deafblindness. Already deaf, Conner would certainly go blind.

In response, Lanya and Todd established Hear See Hope, a foundation dedicated to Usher syndrome education and research. The foundation flourished, raising over a million dollars for cure research. They later had two more children, Hunter and Dalton, the latter of whom was also diagnosed with Usher syndrome despite using IVF with genetic screening to prevent it.

In Silence and Light, Lanya McKittrick chronicles the journey from diagnosis through grief to advocacy and self-discovery. She explores life with rare disease, its unique challenges, and the importance of pursuing quality care and effective treatments. Listeners learn to look beyond pain toward hope—to persevere when everything seems lost. The story ultimately reveals the healing power of connection, collaboration, and community in facing rare degenerative disease.