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Episode 60: Overcoming Adversity
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In this episode we dive into the stories of people who have lived exceptional lives, despite the odds being stacked against them. We hope you find it inspiring!
Please share any episode ideas you have with us @woundedhealerspodcast
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Wounded Healers podcast.
00:00:10
Speaker
I'm Janessa. And I'm Amy. We were brought together by our shared wound of an autoimmune condition in our early 20s. This is a place where we explore our wounds with our listeners and guests who recognize the challenges of being human in hopes of helping all of us let the light in.
Warm Welcome Back and Casual Tone Setting
00:00:28
Speaker
Hi everybody, welcome back to the Wounded Healers podcast. here with Janessa, of course. welcome back i guess he let back to a podcast
00:00:43
Speaker
i love it i'm amy and i'm here with janenessa of course Hi everyone, i'm excited to be back here. i have a little bit of a cold or maybe some nasal stuff going on, I'm not sure quite yet.
00:00:55
Speaker
So if I sound a little squeaky and weird, um that's why. So here we are!
Community and Celebrations
00:01:01
Speaker
i have a town hall notice today before we get off into everything.
00:01:07
Speaker
um have a friend of mine that listens to the podcast. um And she really supported it right from the beginning. Like as soon as I put it, put it on Instagram that I was doing it, she got like straight involved, listened to the first episode and gave us amazing feedback. Her name is Jenny. Um, and she's turning, she just turned 40. So I just want to say a little birthday shout out to Jenny. Um, happy 40th birthday.
00:01:33
Speaker
Thank you for all of your support and love on the podcast. yes oh my gosh thank you so much yes yeah okay I can see Jenny's profile picture in my head yeah and also i like I need all your secrets Jenny because you do not look 40 and it's just spectacular so the way my jaw send me some honest some info on that my job yeah for she's like putting up pictures of like you know like people have the giant 40 balloon I was like I beg your finest pardon yeah I thought you were 33 yeah thirty three I need your secrets, please.
00:02:08
Speaker
Yes. But happy birthday. That's awesome. We...
Decorating for Seasons
00:02:11
Speaker
really appreciate you guys so I love hearing that stuff it's amazing so hot or not today gonna have a bit of fun uh last week was obviously quite politically charged because we had Edwin on who loves an intellectual conversation um but you're back to just me now so we're just going to talk about ditzy stuff which is so fun um but this week's hot or not is decorating your home for spring
00:02:41
Speaker
Ooh. I'm feeling like spring. I know we're still, we're a little off. We've got like, we're three weeks or so out, but I'm feeling like spring over here. That's true. I guess we are just slightly.
00:02:53
Speaker
It's around the corner. So it's coming. um I can tell you this about spring decorating. My mom, Miss Burke, ah Mrs. I guess, Mrs. Burke, is a deator decade decorator extraordinaire Can't even say the word.
00:03:12
Speaker
But she loves to decorate for any holiday or any season. So I know when I go over it's going to change depending on what the season is. And spring is definitely one of them.
00:03:25
Speaker
There will be a lot of like weird little cool, sorry, mom, cool, weird Easter bunnies out and strange little um eggs and stuff. So, yeah, my mom's house is always popping with those crazy pastels.
00:03:39
Speaker
Yeah. I have to share this too because I think it's so funny, but like one time a couple years back, Zach and I were at my parents' house and ah my mom was like decorating because it was going to be a Valentine's Day. And she was hanging up these like cute hearts and this like little heart thing over the mantle.
00:03:58
Speaker
And my mom was like, yeah, yeah, it's going to be Valentine's Day. She's like, but you know, I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day that much. Meanwhile, she's literally decorating the entire house in hearts. And Zach and I looked each other and i was like,
00:04:10
Speaker
mom? I was like, what are you doing right now? And she was, she just started cracking up. She's like, oh, okay. Maybe, maybe I do you celebrate it a little. And I was like, all right, we got you there. Your house is full of hearts.
00:04:22
Speaker
So I don't know. I don't know. I'm used to it I would say though, it's just depends on how you decorate. i don't know. I think it's hot if you are really good at decorating and you make it look like fun. And I think it can be new and exciting for like a family that sees their house every day, you know?
00:04:40
Speaker
However, I do not have that ambition in me to decorate for seasons other than Christmas and Halloween. That's all you're getting right now. yeah What about you, Amy?
Listener Engagement and Episode Focus
00:04:55
Speaker
um i i think it's hot i do i think it's hot and i do decorate myself for spring well my it' my mum always did for easter like obviously like easter lunch um very classy though like she she would have She'd get some branches from the garden, put them in like an ah empty glass vase and then have very classy little wooden, like little wooden bunnies and little wooden eggs like hanging from the branches.
00:05:28
Speaker
So quite minimal and chic. So I, inherited that from her and I do do that too. um And also just a, like a spring flower, a tulip, a daffodil, um low key, but adding some color.
00:05:45
Speaker
and so yeah, I love that shirt. I obviously wouldn't, or not obvious, but because I was looking in TK Maxx, also known as TJ Maxx in America, um and they had literal like side tables.
00:06:00
Speaker
for your couch of a bunny with a glass top outside this is i don't think we need to be buying furniture for spring um but yeah um i think it's really nice also obviously living in a climate where winter is a very dark somewhat depressing time in the uk spring absolutely feels like new life new energy a reason to celebrate um so I think that maybe compounds it more than if I had a more you know temperate climate year round you know it feels like it it feels like a festival in itself spring that is such a good way to put it yeah and and also i think that's such like a nice way to like
00:06:51
Speaker
honor a new season like if you're decorating you're celebrating it like bringing it in it's almost kind of like like I know you've said this before Amy but I truly believe the new year should not start in January yeah it really should start sometime in spring like when we're all back up and running in and not in the muck of it um so yeah that's a good way to celebrate that I love that. I hope someday I'll have good decorating skills. I gotta be honest, I'm almost like, I'm going on the TJ Maxx route. I'm like, oh, a lantern table? Put it out, Halloween. Like, literally, I need to refine. I need to refine this aspect of my life.
00:07:27
Speaker
If you want inspo, if anybody, if anybody wants inspo, look at how Scandi countries decorate. Because they're always like Scandi, like Danish Christmas decorations are always amazing. They hang like, they have these little cute people and they hang their own flag on the Christmas tree.
00:07:49
Speaker
And then they have real, little miniature, real real candles on the Christmas tree that they light up. But it's like a very, their flag is red and white. So it's very festive.
00:07:59
Speaker
um yeah Yeah, look up anything, Scandi decorations, and it'll always be chic. Just the right amount. Just a nod, you know, just a little nod to the season. Oh, I like that. All right, Pinterest, here I come.
00:08:15
Speaker
ah Well, today's topic. So we, Amy and I were kind of batting around some ideas for this topic and we're really excited about this one, but we also want to state again, we love it when you guys let us know what you want to hear.
00:08:30
Speaker
It is so refreshing. We absolutely love it. So if there's anything on your heart, on your mind, DM us at the wounded healers podcast on Instagram or wounded, or I think we're just wounded healers on
Inspiring Stories of Adversity: Jeffrey's Everest Climb
00:08:41
Speaker
there.
00:08:41
Speaker
But we'll put it in the show notes. You know, it'll be there. But DM us because we want to know. um Anyway, moving This week, we wanted to talk about overcoming adversities because there is a lot going on in our world at all times. But specifically, it feels like right now it's a little cray-cray, depending on where you are in the world. um And it's really easy to get down on life. And it's really easy to...
00:09:09
Speaker
Just kind of give in and give up when you are facing your own adversities and the adversities of the world. So yeah we've gathered some stories together of people you may or may not have heard of before who have some pretty inspiring stories. So hopefully this will get you in the mindset to start thinking about the great things that you have the potential to do.
00:09:31
Speaker
so yeah with that yeah and amy and i decided we'll we'll switch off um but i think i will i'll get started then yeah oh my gosh all right so amy and i are going to be switching off today so i'll get started and you guys know me um i love a name and a word that i can't pronounce and have to spell out so of course my first guest our guest my first person you've got the money someone this is the spirit in the room i'm just kidding so of course the first person i have is jeffrey and i really sorry jeffrey i think it's got to refrot um it's g-a-t-t-f-u-r-c-h-t come on give me a break guys that is a tough one um so ah so here we go
00:10:19
Speaker
So Jeffrey's story is super inspiring and and essentially, so he was diagnosed in 2002 with rheumatoid arthritis and that puts him at age 27 and that's really interesting and really close to and near and dear to our hearts because Amy and I have rheumatoid arthritis.
00:10:39
Speaker
If you're new here, that is kind of a common, one common thread we have that brought us together. So I can definitely empathize and sympathize with what he must have been feeling um He even goes on to talk about in his early 20s how he experienced swelling in his fingers and knees and wrists, but because he was an athlete and an avid hiker, he just supposed that those were possible experiences.
00:11:04
Speaker
sport injuries and or maybe allergic reactions he was having just in general. He wasn't sure. And how relatable is that? Because, yeah, I literally remember being like, oh, it's my shoes. yeah I need to get better shoes. Oh, I got to stop wearing high heels. Meanwhile, my joints were like, no, that's not it. I'm like, okay. So.
00:11:23
Speaker
So Jeffrey um gets his official diagnosis, which must have been a real relief in some ways. And he's officially diagnosed in 2002. And after he's diagnosed, this I can so relate to, his RA really goes rampant. Like it just starts attacking his knees, his toes, his elbows, his fingers, and his jaw. And That really speaks to me because I just feel like when I got diagnosed, suddenly my body just was like, yeah, that's what I have. And then it just freaked out. And I was like, what?
00:11:56
Speaker
Like, no. So, um yeah, that is really unfortunate. I can't help but feel like that is just like the power of affirmation. but like...
00:12:06
Speaker
Me too. In the, you know, in the way that you don't want it to work. But I feel like there's no other way to describe it. It's literally like you're telling your body every day, oh, I have rheumatoid arthritis and I'm going to be in pain. So your body's like, say less.
00:12:21
Speaker
Yeah, the body's like, I got you, I can do that. And you're like, no, please stop.
00:12:27
Speaker
So, yeah. so that is what Jeffrey is going through. And he, meanwhile, you know, we don't really know from all the things I've read and the accounts, he doesn't quite talk about his mental state in the articles that i was able to read.
00:12:41
Speaker
um But we know, amy and I, at least from going through r a and a diagnosis, that it can be both a relief, but also severely shape your world at that time because you're just, it's so new. It's so new and it's there's so much to take in.
00:12:57
Speaker
So meanwhile, as we said earlier, Jeffrey is sports. He's sportsman. He plays sports. He likes to hike. He climbs mountains. So this must have been really impactful, especially in his knees and toes for the activities that he loved to do.
00:13:13
Speaker
um However, he was committed. This man has some drive that I need a little bit of because I am just not this motivated in my life.
00:13:24
Speaker
So he stays committed to training and creating new ways and adaptive possibilities to be able to continue mountain climbing. So he trains and in 2010, I kid you not, this man, the will ah of steel, like of iron, iron will.
00:13:44
Speaker
So he trained 2010. he and He attempted mount Everest. Are you? Okay, we just have a moment? How, like, how wild is that? Like, I have got to tell you, I have had active RA in my right knee, and it's it's not as active anymore, but when it was at its worst, like, you are lucky if I wanted to get up to use the bathroom, like, why? When I needed to and not wait till like the very last minute. Like I truly, you I could not be bothered. So the fact that this man just was like, nope, I'm going to train. I'm to figure out what works for my body.
00:14:23
Speaker
But in that attempt for Mount Everest, he gets really sick and he makes it to about 23,000 feet um to a base camp. And then he falls really ill and needs to turn back.
00:14:35
Speaker
And that right there for me, i would be I would just be so happy I even attempted it. Yeah. Like straight up, like if this were my story, I'd be like, that's miraculous. And I almost got sick and I'm never doing that again.
00:14:49
Speaker
But good thing that I'm not Jeffrey because he did not stop there. um He ended up going back. getting getting well, taking care of himself, and training even harder. Now he had way more perspective on the elements he would be facing. And he trained so much that this man came back in 2011 and he returned to climb Mount Everest.
00:15:16
Speaker
And he became the world's first person with rheumatoid arthritis to climb to the peak of Mount Everest. Wow. That is wild, you guys.
00:15:30
Speaker
Wild. So Jeff is still alive from what I have found. Jeff, yes, I've stalked you on the internet. Hello. And um he began his career after all this. So like,
00:15:43
Speaker
that is a huge feat just to say for anybody anybody who attempts to climb Mount Everest one I'm like you are wild two I'm almost in some way a little envious because it's not in my it's not in my bingo card for Janessa's life like I'm not gonna try Mount Everest but part of me really like I'm I'm delusional enough some nights where I sit there I'm like yeah I could and I'm like oh no girl I could barely run a mile I'm not I'm not going to Mount Everest yeah but anyway yeah So after that, so Jeff begins his career in finances.
00:16:19
Speaker
So he goes into the finance world after his Mount Everest endeavors. i know, right? He's using that um that college degree. And he also doesn't give up still. still has our a He does not give up. He's still training to climb other mountains around the world.
00:16:38
Speaker
And he actually becomes a sponsored mountain climber. So one of the few sponsored rheumatoid arthritis athletes. oh my god so that is the story of Jeff. And Jeff, I'm sorry, I cannot say your last name right.
00:16:53
Speaker
But again, we'll put it in the show notes and we will link an article that the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation did on him. And also I'd like to note a fun fact that Jeff lives in Northern California, which is where I am. But I don't know where you are, Jeff, which is good. I'm glad you can't find that all on the internet.
00:17:11
Speaker
um Anyway, but I don't know where you are in Northern California, but I want to talk to you and get you on the podcast. Oh, my gosh. I would love that. Also, right? And also, he is a dedicated member and on the board of the Arthritis Foundation for Northern California.
00:17:28
Speaker
So that's so rad. So, so cool. Oh, my gosh. Let's try and reach out to him because i really want to know now, like, how...
00:17:40
Speaker
if he thinks these is extreme sports have made his joints like worse you know like I want to know about degradation of his joints and stuff like that that's my that's my immediate question because if he's done all of that and his joints are basically fine then well Right? Yeah, I can't say. i would love to know. And also, I just need, like, tips on, like, that the willpower. Like, are you kidding me? Like, truly, truly, Janessa does not have that in her yet.
00:18:14
Speaker
um Because there are nights when I'm like, oh, I'd really, really love, I don't know, like, a glass of whatever sparkling water. It's in the fridge. And I'm, like, on the couch. I'm like, yeah, that's a little far for me. I'm like,
00:18:26
Speaker
I'm still the couch. That's so bad to admit out loud. No, I'm the same. But yeah, so that that willpower is amazing. And I do, I will say, and I'm speaking for myself, no one else. I think some people...
00:18:40
Speaker
are just natural overachievers if you will and that still applies like post a diagnosis right so i was never an overachiever i was barely an achiever i was just like ish an achiever so that's not going to change just because i have ra you know but i i have a suspicion that he was probably already an overachiever I have the same suspicion and I actually was talking to my husband about this because I was so excited about Jeff's story and I was like, babe, like, you know, i was like, this is extraordinary. Like, truly, like, if I had a doctor tell me you have RA and a half, if my doctor told me you have RA in all these joints and you're wild that you're thinking of climbing this,
00:19:32
Speaker
I might actually not do it. And it kind of low key reminds me of rock climbing. Like I had a doctor who like, no, you can't. And I was like, yeah, I can. yeah And I went and did it. And that's a very small thing compared to Mount Everest.
00:19:45
Speaker
But for me, that was my Mount Everest. I was like, I did it. So I can't imagine like not allowing um the medical field to define yeah your experience in life and taking the reins like that's so wild.
00:19:59
Speaker
Oh, anyway. all right. Your turn, Amy. I'm so excited because I don't know some of Amy's stories. Like she put some names in our little chat together and I was like, oh, I'm gonna learn something today.
Resilience in the Face of Challenges: J.K. Rowling
00:20:10
Speaker
um Yeah, I hope I mean, I've definitely got some really quite famous people, but then some less famous people.
00:20:21
Speaker
um But it's kind of hard to find people that aren't somewhat of note, you know, when you're doing this research. I think, Janessa, you did a really good job of finding people that aren't really known.
00:20:32
Speaker
um But no, let me kick it off with my first one, which is someone... absolutely everybody listening will have heard of and she goes by the name of JK Rowling just the author of the Harry Potter series um and I think people know that she I think it's really famous at least in the UK it's very well known that she was on benefits when um harry potter and the philosopher's stone was published which let me really say that sentence in american she was on welfare when harry potter and the sorcerer's stone was released i need to know why they like americans just can't say philosopher so they changed it to sorcerer
00:21:26
Speaker
I didn't know that until this moment. oh That's hilarious. yeah Wow. Again, our our willpower is not strong. I'm just kidding. We're like, that's too big a word. We're going to stick with this little. They were like, we can't put philosopher on the front of a children's book.
00:21:43
Speaker
and like na in America um anyway sorry but so yeah everybody knew that she was on like she had like government help but the depth of the trauma within her story is something that I don't think everybody knows and I wanted to tell everyone about um So I won't get too much into like her really early life. Like I think she had like a pretty normal childhood and then she moved to London after she graduated from uni, which is pretty common in the UK.
00:22:17
Speaker
um Then she moved to Manchester for a little bit and this is when she started writing Harry Potter. Unfortunately, her mum died of multiple sclerosis during this time in 1990 and I can't imagine what it's like seeing your mum die from something like MS you know like seeing the woman that's brought you up just waste away and you know not be able to use her body anymore is and a level of trauma on its own
00:22:54
Speaker
um But then also she was robbed and everything that her mum had left her was stolen from her. So again, i know it's like a small thing, but when you're dealing with grief and then that happens to you, I think that could be a huge um trigger of pain and trauma, you know?
00:23:17
Speaker
Oh, my gosh. Robbed? Yeah. yeah big No, I would be destroyed. i don't know if I'll ever be the same if I'm ever robbed in any way. Even if there's no weapon involved, like, I would mentally be afraid yeah for a long time after that.
00:23:31
Speaker
Yeah. That was wild. I had no idea. so then she was made redundant from her job. as well just to add insult to injury and her relationship came to an end so she describes herself at this time as being in a state of fight or flight and i think everyone listening to this can understand that feeling um So she decided to move to Portugal in November 1991 and teach classes in English as a foreign language.
00:24:03
Speaker
um And she worked on the first Harry Potter book during the day. So I think that was good, you know, fresh start, new place to live. after five months of living in portugal she met a portuguese television journalist george arantes in a bar and found that they shared an interest in jane austen by mid next year they were planning a trip in london to introduce him to her family um and she had a miscarriage at this time so again another little bit of trauma um their relationship was troubled but they married in october 1992 and their daughter jessica isabel row rowling arantis was born the following july july 1993 same year i was born
00:24:54
Speaker
um By this time, J.K. Rowling had finished the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone um and had drafted the rest of the novel. But she was experiencing domestic abuse through this marriage.
00:25:10
Speaker
um he he has said that he slapped her and he didn't regret the way that he treated her the marriage was short and catastrophic um he manipulated her she wasn't allowed to have a house key of her own um like he had to let her in and out of the house And she's even said before that her husband used the growing manuscript of her first book as like hostage and threatened her with it and stuff like that.
00:25:42
Speaker
um They separated in November 1993 after he threw her out of the house. And then she returned with the police to get her daughter and her belongings.
00:25:55
Speaker
And she came to England and went into hiding. um She moved to Scotland thinking that he wouldn't be able to find her there and stayed with her sister.
00:26:06
Speaker
and So that's really horrendous and a lot to go through. What? What? I know. Amy, that gives so much more perspective to to like Harry Potter situations, like a especially when he's with his cousin Dudley and like living under the staircase like that is abusive.
00:26:26
Speaker
Like that breaks my heart that that comes from some experience, too. That's so wild. Yeah, so when she was back in England, she sought government assistance. So she lived on 69 pound, that's 103 dollars a week from the government.
00:26:46
Speaker
and And she moved to the only flat she could afford that she described as mouse ridden. um She said she was as poor as it's possible to be in modern Britain without being homeless.
00:26:59
Speaker
You know, after seven years, after graduating from university, this was her life now. She saw herself as a complete failure, which... you can understand why she felt like that, like a single mum living in poverty, hiding from ex-partner.
00:27:17
Speaker
and then her ex-husband came to Scotland um seeking both her and their daughter. um So she got a restraining order against him and he returned to Portugal, thankfully.
00:27:33
Speaker
um she at this time she says she was experiencing a deep depression and she actually contemplated suicide which made her reach out for help and she had therapy and that helped her mental health greatly and she was able to file for divorce at the end of 19 mid 1994 it was finalized in um Then she goes on to have Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone be picked up and published. And then think we all know the rest of her story. and
00:28:10
Speaker
You know, it's gone on to be wildly successful. She's like a billionaire. so Wow. what Yeah. Oh, Amy, I did not know that. Like any of that. That is so fascinating, like truly.
00:28:26
Speaker
And it's so funny because it's like, I know who she is. Yeah. Like just based off of her success, but I didn't know what she had to overcome. Like her adversities are extreme. Like, are you kidding me?
00:28:37
Speaker
And that's another thing too. That's so amazing is like, i I think of when I hear these stories, like, if I had seen my mom pass away in that way, I think that may have been actually, like, enough to break me. yeah And if not that, then certainly losing my job right after. And, like, it's so impressive how people can choose to just keep going. Or maybe they don't even know if they're choosing. Like, there's just an innate energy in them that's, like, keep going. Like, that is so beautiful. And also just, like...
00:29:09
Speaker
blows it just blows my mind don't know can't say I would I would have been successful in her situation at all yeah me too um I don't if you know this Janessa but she is a Christian she identifies a Christian I did not um which I think you know people say having a faith um helps them overcome things like this but isn't it funny that people I've seen people like Christian people say that Harry Potter's like demonic have you seen this yeah but I have i I know I have yeah I have a direct experience with knowing people whose families wouldn't let them read it
00:29:50
Speaker
As a kid, ah that's a little much, honestly, it's little much. but But how funny that a Christian a christian wrote it and they think it's demonic. and Yeah, that's that's their ignorance and their loss. Harry Potter is is amazing. So, yeah.
00:30:07
Speaker
So, yeah, that's J.K. Rowling. That is like something I can't wait to tell Zach about that because I had no idea about that. Amazing. ah well.
Adaptive Achievements: Maureen Beck's Climbing Triumphs
00:30:17
Speaker
All right. So I guess we will.
00:30:20
Speaker
Let me see. I got like, OK, OK, I'm going to go next with. So I have another person who is likely kind of unknown to the majority of folks. However, I hope she gets more known. Her name's Maureen Beck.
00:30:35
Speaker
Um, so Maureen Beck was born without her left hand. So this is just right off the bat. Um, that is what she had to deal with growing up.
00:30:47
Speaker
And growing up, she grew up in Maine and specifically in wooded areas in Maine. And Maureen has parents that she lovingly refers to in a lot of interviews and articles as ball busters.
00:31:01
Speaker
yeah So here, all that all that means is they're really tough. Like it's tough love. Like they are absolutely loving. No malice. It's just tough. So they taught her from a very young age to make her own path instead of wallowing in um the loss of not having a left hand. Wow. ah Yeah. So i i didn't put this in my notes, but I thought it was really endearing that like she...
00:31:28
Speaker
recalls a time when she was really young and her parents made steak and they put it on her plate and she couldn't cut it because she couldn't hold the steak knife and the fork and she started to cry but her mom was like you're gonna have to figure this out because someday we're not gonna be here and you don't want to rely on someone else to do this for you and she just realized oh shit I'm gonna have to do this and so she she actually figured out a way to cut the steak on her own So wow as I know, so truly, ah truly like, ah like that kind of at first it like jolted me. I was like, oh my God, I would run over there and cut my kids steak. But then I was like, wait, that was a very deliberate decision out of love to be like, I need to know that you can do this so that when I'm gone, I know you're okay. You know? Yeah.
00:32:17
Speaker
Um, so that was a story she mentioned in an article. Beautiful. Um, but as we're moving along here, so Maureen has a natural inclination to the outdoors. She's raised in the woods, she's out there, and she's attending Girl Scouts.
00:32:31
Speaker
And Amy, do you guys have Girl Scouts in the UK? Um, they're called something different. They're called, like, brownies, but it's the same thing. Oh, cool. Okay. I always wanted to be one. I never was, but they were always really cool here. They were not seen as cool in England. but all really?
00:32:48
Speaker
Dang. Okay. Well, they're cool here. So Maureen is in the Girl Scouts and there's a lot of activities that the Girl Scouts get to do. One of them was rock climbing. And because of where the location was in Maine, there was a real granite rock.
00:33:06
Speaker
that they were able to climb through the camp. um And her counselor, when it came to doing this, you know, this rock climbing activity, her counselor did mention, you know, out of love, that it is okay if she wanted to sit this out, um that she did not need to give this a try.
00:33:26
Speaker
um but This did not deter Maureen, and she said, no, I'll i'll give it a try. And this is despite the difficulties she was going to face with it.
00:33:38
Speaker
And something she did not mention, but I thought of is I was very self-conscious as a child. I was almost too aware of what I perceived people are would think of me. To the point where I can't imagine already overcoming that at a young age. yeah Like being like, okay, I'm about to do something in front of a bunch of other girls and I'm not, my body does not operate the same way as them. So yeah, that is really impressive as it is. Again, she didn't talk about that, but that was a thought that came up.
00:34:09
Speaker
um But when so she goes on to climb and she, you know, she doesn't talk much about that first experience, but she does give it a try. um When she goes away to college, she starts climbing.
00:34:23
Speaker
And she loves it. There's a climbing gym at her college. um A lot of colleges in the U.S., like bigger ones or even the smaller ones, like the small one I went to has a climbing gym. ah I don't know if that that is a universal thing. I'm not sure.
00:34:37
Speaker
ah But there was at her college. And she absolutely loved it. But one thing that was a bit of a bummer is that the college was not equipped with the resources um to assist climbers with disabilities.
00:34:50
Speaker
And just meaning like... There were no other alternatives to a belay system, so that's what helps you lower someone on a rope or and or keep them from falling completely to the ground. If they are to fall, it's like a system that catches them along with the person holding the belay.
00:35:08
Speaker
So they didn't have any other alternatives, and they also didn't have any like sports type coaches or groups that could talk about how to do routes like how to plan a route so when you're going to go climb rock climb a wall sometimes you can talk with friends about what you think you're going to do for certain moves and there just wasn't anyone she was able to relate to for that um But again, she did not let that stop her.
00:35:35
Speaker
And she just got up there and tried climbing. yeah So she basically taught herself everything. um And what she did she adapted unique climbing techniques.
00:35:49
Speaker
And I love this quote. She said, she said, if someone tells me I'm not able to do something, I'm going to go do it anyway. I love that so much. I think that is so badass.
00:36:01
Speaker
um So Maureen gets really good. She is spending a lot of her time in the climbing gym, um aside from her studies, and she starts to meet people. She joins a climbing club through school.
00:36:13
Speaker
She's meeting friends, and she is fun to be around. She's just a really cool person. So she's engaging people who haven't even climbed, who are fully able-bodied, and she's teaching them how to climb. home She's showing them the world of climbing. Wow.
00:36:27
Speaker
And this is when her world starts to really unfurl and unfold for her when she realizes she starts going out onto the internet. And this is in 2012.
00:36:38
Speaker
She realizes, oh my gosh, I am not the only disabled climber. I am not the only one. So she makes a big move after college and she goes to Denver, Colorado. we Love Colorado. Love Colorado.
00:36:51
Speaker
um And so in 2012, she's in Denver, Colorado, and she's in the climbing scene. And she starts professionally competing in climbing, which is wild for anybody.
00:37:04
Speaker
So she's kicking butt in competitions. And she says something that I love. She said, so she's doing all these competitions. People are meeting her after. and she said, I got really sick and tired of people telling me that I was what I was doing was impressive for having one hand.
00:37:22
Speaker
So I decided I should go send, which means climb, something that would be impressive even for someone with two hands. oh I love that. i love that because I think it's, um I don't think anybody means ill when they say that is impressive because it absolutely is.
00:37:38
Speaker
But to someone, um when you say for someone with one hand, yeah like that, if you already live with that and you never get to turn that off, you're like, could you not? Could you not? like Yeah. ah but So liked like that she thought this way.
00:37:53
Speaker
She really that was her mindset. So she set out um to climb ah route called Days of Futures Past. And this is a route that is in the wilderness.
00:38:07
Speaker
Of course, it's outside on a forest. face of like basically cliff and it is graded 512a so for any climbers you know how insane that is i think the highest rating we have for climbs is like a that any man or woman in the world can finish like yeah yeah so this is this is like saying like ah four point zero 4.0 student and she was just like two maybe less than two points below that like it's it's insane so she goes on to work on this climb and so it's not like she just goes up there and she nails it no she fails for years she fails and fails and fails but she doesn't give up she keeps coming back to the rock and she's learning to how to wrap her
00:38:59
Speaker
um where her left hand would be there's more of kind of like a a situation of like where the wrist would be is where it ends and so she's learning how to wrap that area so that it doesn't get cut on granite rock as well so that's another thing you can get a lot of like finger cuts when you climb all kinds of stuff So she goes on to finish that climb, which is impressive for you anybody um because it takes a lot of determination and a lot of planning.
00:39:28
Speaker
And not only that, she doesn't even stop there. She just keeps doing these extraordinary climbs. And she gets involved with a climbing group called Paradox Sports. And from what I understand, they're mostly out of Colorado, but they're spreading kind of rapidly throughout the U.S. And Paradox Sports, it's a group that is for climbers and other athletes with a variety of disabilities, not only physical, but mental as well.
00:39:55
Speaker
And they work together to make climbing and sports more accessible for them. So it's just so extraordinary what they're doing. And Maureen's a huge advocate for that.
00:40:07
Speaker
ah And that's pretty much the story of her. She is still climbing. She is so extraordinary as just a human being. And, um, I think it's really, like you said, Amy, I think some people are born very motivated.
00:40:21
Speaker
And I think what from everything I read, I think she was born with parents who pushed her into alignment of motivation. And I'm glad that she accepted that and didn't see that as unloving.
00:40:34
Speaker
um Because it made her into one heck of a person and an extraordinary climber. Yeah, that's what I
Overcoming Trauma: Katie Piper's Advocacy
00:40:40
Speaker
was gonna say. it was like my biggest takeaway from her story is it a lot of it comes down to the people that are around you.
00:40:48
Speaker
And like, if her parents or the people that had influence on her had like mollycoddled and done everything for her, I'm sure she wouldn't have felt that independence and that drive and have that belief in herself. So credit to her parents. What great parenting.
00:41:09
Speaker
he absolutely yeah absolutely gorge what a nice story your stories are so um like uplifting and all of my stories are the stories i found are so depressing oh no I love the JK Rowling one you kidding me that is so uplifting no she's out there living her best life that's what it's all about it's depressing in the start but uplifting at the end yeah that's some some real life real life shit there for sure
00:41:45
Speaker
um okay my next one is gonna be someone that janessa i know you haven't heard of and i think most american listeners or rest of the world listeners we have won't have heard of her but there's a good chance any uk listeners will know who i'm talking about um Her name is Katie Piper and she has this incredible story and I can't wait to tell it to you. um
00:42:16
Speaker
So she was born in Andover in Hampshire, which is the same county I'm from. so that's cool um had just very normal childhood and normal life but she was very very beautiful she's blonde hair blue eyes like stunning smile so she began a career in modeling um fashion glamour promotional photo shoots um
00:42:47
Speaker
um and doing like do you know what a ring girl is like at like boxing like matches and like mma oh does she come out with like a sign yeah yeah yeah okay okay wow i had so many other thoughts i'm sorry
00:43:07
Speaker
No, and that's good good to know. So, you know, I guess I'm trying to paint the picture that she's hot, right? She's a hot, she's a hot model, a gorgeous model. and and Daniel Lynch was a martial arts enthusiast who had been tracking her media and modeling career.
00:43:28
Speaker
I assume had seen her, you know, at one of the fights and took an interest in her. And the two first met in person in Reading, which is literally so close to me, like where me and Edouard had our first date. Like it's crazy that they first met in person, the same place me and Edouard did.
00:43:46
Speaker
um she She had been working there and she was really pleased with the relationship. Two weeks into dating, they booked into a hotel together following a meal out.
00:44:01
Speaker
In this hotel room, Lynch raped her and beat her, threatened to cut her with a razor and hang her, and he stabbed her several times in her arms.
00:44:16
Speaker
this imagine like you've known someone for two weeks you think you're having this like amazing romantic time and they attack you like that you know um after eight hours of this attack He drove her back to her flat and she went to hospital, obviously, um but withheld the nature of the in incident from the medical professionals because she was afraid of him and what just happened.
00:44:49
Speaker
and After she received numerous phone calls and apologies from him, of course, how he, how someone would think they could come back from that, I don't know, but he was kind of trying to like win her back.
00:45:03
Speaker
and On the 31st of March, 2008, two days after the attack, he persuaded her to go to an internet cafe to read an email that he had sent to her Facebook account.
00:45:18
Speaker
So luring her to this location ruse as she had given her details to Stefan Sylvester who identified her. um Wearing a hoodie to obscure his identity, he approached her.
00:45:36
Speaker
She thought he was going to ask for money, like thought he was like a homeless person, but he threw sulfuric acid at her face. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
00:45:48
Speaker
That's horrific. Yeah. and Everything is horrific, but like, goodness. This. nothing this is like the thing that enrages me the absolute most is when men like do attacks on women because they like can't have them you know that like i'll i won't like kill you i'll just like ruin your beauty which is something i loved so much about you because i can't have you like it is literally i mean of course it's of course it's disgusting but um
00:46:24
Speaker
yeah it's just horrendous um luckily the attack was caught on cctv and both men were arrested lynch her boyfriend received two life sentences um so in the uk life in prison isn't actually your whole lifetime um it's i think it's like 28 years or something like that um but he will only serve ah minimum of 16 years Isn't that crazy? that oh well That's giving U.S. s vibes.
00:46:59
Speaker
They're like, oh, you did something horrific? Maybe just think about that for 20 years and let's release you. It's like, no, no, I think you need to think for a lifetime. ah and And Sylvester, the guy that actually attacked her, um received a life sentence and was told he would serve a minimum of six years.
00:47:18
Speaker
It's nothing. um His parole application for release was approved in 2018. How insane is that?
00:47:29
Speaker
um oh He's now on the run. he think hey they So he was released he was released from prison and they think he's fleed the UK. Oh, I thought you meant like people are after him and he's trying to run for his life. I'm like, as he should, as he should, pitchforks out.
00:47:46
Speaker
ah No, I feel like he's probably having a great time. He's just like in a foreign case in Spain, running a pub in Spain or something like that. um In terms of Katie's treatment and recovery, um she ran into a local cafe immediately after the attack where they called an ambulance.
00:48:05
Speaker
She was treated in London. and The acid, some of which she had swallowed, blinded her in her left eye and caused a lot of partial sickness and full sickness burns.
00:48:20
Speaker
Surgeons completely removed the skin off of her face and replaced it with a skin substitute to build the foundations for a skin graft. um It was actually the first of its kind to ever be done in a single operation.
00:48:36
Speaker
After this, she was put into an induced coma for 12 days. um At this point, she's been through numerous surgical operations to treat her injuries. um For a time, she wore a plastic face mask for 23 hours a day, which helped with her scarring.
00:48:57
Speaker
um yeah so she's had a ton of work done a lot of like first of its kind which is obviously awesome um she looks now like if you i will put a picture up like with the podcast post but she's still really beautiful like obviously you can tell she um that you know she's had an acid attack but her beauty like still absolutely shines through um and most importantly like what makes this story like a story of overcoming adversity she has spent like the rest of her life
00:49:36
Speaker
um advocating for other victims of acid attacks. So she's created her own foundation, um charity campaigns for all of the specialist treatment she received.
00:49:49
Speaker
um Like, so she went to she went to France to have really specialist treatment because you know, or you might not know, but like the NHS, you don't really, because it's government funded,
00:50:01
Speaker
we don't get all of the like special stuff, you know, like because we're not paying for it, like we got like the basic like save your life. But when it comes to stuff like this, when it's like plastic surgery, it's a little bit limited what you can get under the and NHS. so she's been campaigning for it to come under the and NHS for other women that have suffered attacks like this, which is like shockingly common, unfortunately.
00:50:29
Speaker
and she's done multiple um documentaries and interviews like really i think it would be really easy for when a woman has been through something like this um to hide away you know like literally hide away from the whole world bearing in mind this man is going to get out of prison right like and she is making herself really known making herself really part of like the public sphere it's going to be much easier for him to find her if he wants to like i would completely understand if she would want to have like moved to america you know or like moved somewhere far away but she she hasn't she stood up to all of those fears she's made
00:51:14
Speaker
documentaries like one of them is called my beautiful friends which is all about other people who are disfigured and disabled and let them tell their stories um yeah she's just done so much amazing advocacy work and I think that's so beautiful and it's not something that many of us would have been able to do after something like that happened to us do you know Yeah, that is extraordinary.
Innovation Post-Adversity: Cole Sindor's Story
00:51:42
Speaker
yeah Like, truly extraordinary. And also just reminds me, like, it's so, like, and I'm not saying it's ever okay. This is not my intention. But just to say that, like, in the world, like, the body can be harmed. Yeah. But what's extraordinary is when the soul goes untouched. Like, it meaning a soul can still, your body can have trauma. But if your soul is but as beautiful as you are,
00:52:07
Speaker
Like if you truly live that way for yourself and with yourself, like it will always come through, yeah like no matter what's been done to the body. And um yeah, I just think that's such a beautiful example of someone who's like you were saying, beautiful from literally the inside out. That like it just there's just a presence that is just stunning. And like.
00:52:29
Speaker
ah I think we need more women in the media like that so I'm so happy she's doing that because we've got to remember like you know things will happen like we will age different things will happen to different people with their bodies some things will change but it's really there's an inner beauty that just cannot be taken away and that's really what is the key there exactly that yeah wow wow thank you I had no idea I can't wait to learn more about her. I'm going look her up after. Aw, good.
00:53:01
Speaker
And I want to watch that documentary. Oh, yeah. I wonder if you'd be able to find it. Maybe. Maybe on, like, YouTube or something. yeah Wow. Oh, that is a beautiful story. Wow. Okay. Well, I feel like I need a breather after that one. That one touched me. was like, dude, there is a lot of evil in the world. There really is. And, and, but there's also a lot of good. She's doing a lot of good out of, out a lot of evil that's happened to her.
00:53:30
Speaker
So. Oh, okay. Well, all right, you guys. so my my next person I have, his name is Cole Sindor. um And this one is a little bit of a bummer too at first, but don't worry, it gets good.
00:53:45
Speaker
um So at 16 years old, Cole was having a day at the James River, which is in Virginia. And he was playing around with some friends, living a carefree life as a 16 year old should.
00:53:56
Speaker
ah At this time, he was an athlete, a swimmer, a football player in high school and well liked. um But on that warm day, this was August 11, 2011, Cole decided to dive into that river, um despite the warnings to be very careful if you choose to do so.
00:54:16
Speaker
um Yeah, so unfortunately, things went very wrong, terribly wrong. um Cole dove in and he hit a rock that was hidden beneath the surface and his neck broke. Oh, shit.
00:54:30
Speaker
Uh, yeah. So because of the way his neck broke, um, what it did is it severed and injured the spinal cord and it left him paralyzed from the chest down.
00:54:44
Speaker
And because of the nature of that, he was unconscious in the water. So if you can imagine this, like your friends are there, like it's summer, like you're just playing around kids and your friend just floats up and like It's not moving. I would be, I would be very traumatized. um So he becomes unconscious from this. He's in the water and immediately and very luckily things move into action with emergency rescue. His friends, you know, get ahold of people. They take care of him as much as they can.
00:55:15
Speaker
um And he is emergency transported to the hospital where he is basically fighting for his life. He's completely unconscious, pretty much in a coma state. um When he comes out of this and is conscious again, not only does he learn that he is in the hospital, but he is now learning that he is paralyzed and has to learn to navigate life now.
00:55:41
Speaker
on new terms, he is actually paralyzed from the neck down. Um, I know I was like, Oh my gosh. So he says, ah he has a quote. He said, he said, I didn't think I would be, uh, I would be able to live a full life again.
00:55:57
Speaker
So at that time, and I don't blame him. I would pretty much think my life was over too. Um, So, as Cole is learning how to adapt to life in a wheelchair and how to resume being a student, mind you, he's still in high school. and That doesn't go away.
00:56:12
Speaker
And he was well-liked. He was an athlete. So, this is a huge change. um And so, he realizes he needs to dig really deep. if he wants to live fully.
00:56:24
Speaker
um And so he is a quadriplegic. And what he does is he goes on to explore a variety of new activities and works on making things adaptive um for a wheelchair user.
00:56:41
Speaker
So things that other people in his community hadn't thought of. ah So for example, this is skiing. So he works, he goes on to work with a company that's creating a way for wheelchair users to experience skiing um by having the wheelchair be built on with the skis and there being a handle for an assistant.
00:57:01
Speaker
wow ah But really gives you that experience of being on the mountain. It's pretty amazing. um He goes on to work with a company that designed a wheelchair that can go on a beach and So your average wheelchair, it can't go on the beach. It will sink in the sand and not be able to move. So a lot of wheelchair users do not get to experience the beach, which is really heartbreaking to me because that's a very healing place to be.
00:57:25
Speaker
um But this wheelchair company goes on to create these wheels that can actually spin automatically and be steered by the wheelchair user on a beach. So he goes on to with that company, which is really cool.
00:57:36
Speaker
um So this is all still like while he is in his late teens, early 20s, and Cole starts to travel and he starts to want to do public speaking.
00:57:49
Speaker
He starts to want to do public speaking to inspire teenagers and youth um with profound speeches on how to live fully despite any obstacles.
00:58:02
Speaker
So this leads to Cole starting a YouTube channel. um A lot of people are taking him. He's such a sweetheart. He's so handsome, too. And he just has a lot of wisdom. And he creates this YouTube channel, and he calls it Roll with Cole, which I think is so cool. Yes.
00:58:19
Speaker
It's so good. And on Roll with Cole, he creates a community that is honest. It's down to earth about the struggles um that he's facing, but also about the real beauty of life that he's facing as well.
00:58:33
Speaker
ah And I know. And amazingly, along his journey and through his literal healing with physical therapy, mind you, he has to go through physical therapy appointments a lot.
00:58:45
Speaker
He meets the love of his life. And her name's Charisma, which is such a name. I'm like, okay, you go girl. And they click like no other. Charisma is not a wheelchair user. She is fully abled. um And they just absolutely fall in love with each other.
00:59:03
Speaker
And what happens later on, so that love story you can view on Roll With Cole, they like documented their dating, all kinds of stuff. It's a really a beautiful, beautiful journey. um But they go on to continue Roll With Cole still to this day.
00:59:20
Speaker
um And now they take on relationship questions regarding being in a relationship where one person is physically disabled and the other partner is fully abled. um How do activities look? How does life look in the house? How do chores look?
00:59:34
Speaker
It's a really honest take on that life together. And it's really beautiful because it dismantles a lot of prejudgments we may have of like oh she's gonna do all the work because he's not able to he's actually able to do a lot and um yeah there's there's a lot i love it when men do trolls right yeah me too thank you so yeah no truly so charisma and cole are now married And they're thriving and they create beautiful content. Like I have been following them for years now and their content is heartfelt. It's honest. It's true. And it's really uplifting. And it's so beautiful to see the ways in which, um,
01:00:18
Speaker
cole has chosen to shine his light out to other people who are struggling and other people who aren't even struggling in the same way so like when he does his talks and speeches these aren't to other wheelchair users necessarily these are just to people who are contemplating tough life decisions and discernments that they have to make and just little things they can keep in mind that are at the root of living a full life so wow yeah like what ah what else he also is like a foundation What a humbling experience that must be to listen to him speak live and just see him up there and just be like, I have literally no excuses.
01:00:56
Speaker
I have not a single excuse for not living life every day the maximum that i can. Exactly. Yeah. No, no. Same. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, check him out. Him and his wife. They're a beautiful couple. I'm like, oh, my gosh.
01:01:11
Speaker
Stunning. So, yeah. Check them out. What an sport and inspirational story. I mean, it would I think that's got to be that's got to be up there with. one of those situations where, like, I completely understand, um, what's it called? Like, when people, like, opt to take their life, you know, assisted suicide or whatever, like, waking up being paralysed from the neck down when you used to be, like, an athlete. Like, I can't, that, yeah, I can't even fathom what that's like to come back from, you know? So that is just...
01:01:51
Speaker
credit to him credit to him for not giving up absolutely yeah yeah so go support his page i know he has like millions of followers but go do it honestly it's worth that he's amazing he's amazing we need more people like that we do these the these are the kinds of people we should be giving a platform 100 100
01:02:09
Speaker
hundred percent Okay, so my next one is, again, someone people will have heard
Candid Reflections: Shia LaBeouf's Recovery Journey
01:02:17
Speaker
of. And it's a really selfish one from me because this person was my first crush. Like, my first, like, celebrity crush, 100%. Have always had a soft spot for him. he's not...
01:02:32
Speaker
and he's not he's not your typical story of someone overcoming adversity and that's why i wanted to include him in this because i think overcoming adversity isn't always going on to be like a completely perfect person that exceeds all expectations you know i think he's a really good example of someone that came out of a really bad situation and is just kind of surviving and making mistakes, making the kind of mistakes that are inevitable after going through what he's been through.
01:03:11
Speaker
and So I wanted to include a story like that in the podcast because it's a little more, you know, real, you know. and Okay, so the person I want to talk about is Shia LaBeouf.
01:03:23
Speaker
or Le Boeuf you may know him from Transformers that was when I first saw him and fell in love for the first time that was that first Transformers film when it's him and Megan Fox I was like by panic slash in love with him slash in love with her I was like whatever like 13 at the time I'm just like oh my god ah great film great film um so yeah he's been he you may also know him from holes we studied holes weirdly we studied holes at school did you study holes do you even know yeah it was on our reading list yeah yeah what is that about um but now i mean i also watched him in even stevens i think he was in even stevens with um amanda bynes right was it amanda bynes that in that or no uh i don't think it was amanda bynes it was someone else but that was such a good show i still recall some funny moments yeah
01:04:17
Speaker
um But what you say, you'd probably know him as an actor, comedian, and but I think what people may not know is that his childhood was insane.
01:04:32
Speaker
So he was born on June the 11th 1986 in Los Angeles California. He's the only child of visual artist and jewelry designer and dancer Shana Saeed and a professional clown Jeffrey LaBoeuf.
01:04:53
Speaker
yeah so you know that it's not giving home it's not giving solid home it with comfortable um he he himself shia has described his parents as hippies his father as tough as nails and a different breed of man he thinks his upbringing is similar to a hippie lifestyle stating that his parents were pretty weird people but they loved me and i loved them and his parents eventually got divorced because they had a lot of financial issues and and he remembers what he or he describes his childhood as a good childhood
01:05:39
Speaker
grew up in a trailer park with his mum who worked selling fabrics and brooches. and i think maybe he's remembering it slightly in a more of a positive light than it was because his uncle has said that he was trying to adopt him at one stage because his parents really couldn't afford to look after him anymore and they had too much pride to go on welfare food stamps um but interestingly as a way of like dealing with the trauma that came from his parents divorce Shire would perform for his family mimicking his father's work as a clown which is just so weird and cute um
01:06:22
Speaker
During his childhood, his father was on drugs and was placed in rehab for heroin addiction, um leaving his mum to try and hold down the fort.
01:06:35
Speaker
um During that time when his dad was in rehab, when LaBeouf was 10, he overheard his mother being raped by a stranger in their home.
01:06:48
Speaker
my gosh. Yeah. Um... when his dad was um around, he would accompany his father to his AA meetings.
01:07:01
Speaker
Can you imagine that as a 12 year old, like hearing the stories at a a hearing his dad speak AA? um He has said that he was subject, subjected to abuse by his father.
01:07:17
Speaker
um who once pointed a gun at him during a vietnam war flashback oh my gosh really you know really a horrendous a lot of horrendous stuff um for a child to go through and and he's even said um he didn't get into acting because he wanted to, he got into acting because he met another child actor who had things that he wanted and this child actor was like, yeah, just get into acting.
01:07:55
Speaker
So, and as we know, he was already, he's practicing comedy because of his dad's influence. and When he was 10, he performed standup at the improv.
01:08:07
Speaker
um describing his appeal as having a disgustingly dirty and material and a 50 year old mouth on a 10 year old kid which in itself is actually just a real signal if someone should have been like let's help this child not just um you know watch him at this comedy club which i think is just very much the early noughties, late nineties, you know, obviously that would never happen now.
01:08:35
Speaker
and yeah but he got into acting because he rang through the yellow pages and pretended to be his own manager. Isn't that insane?
01:08:47
Speaker
ah Wow. Yeah. yeah Oh my goodness. um And then he obviously, we know, he went on to really quite make it as an actor who's in a film called Disturbia in the Transformers franchise.
01:09:02
Speaker
um I think he kind he's been in some war films as well. He's been in some quite big films. But at the same time, In his adult life he has had a lot of turbulence. i' I don't know how much you would know but his, a couple of his ex-girlfriends have um said that he abused them.
01:09:27
Speaker
ah which he has admitted to as well he's been in and out of rehab for alcohol and drug addiction too which is you know kind of understandable given where he came from um yeah in um the one of the reasons that i wanted to talk about him is i've listened to this podcast called real ones with a guy i don't even know who presented presents it i only watched it because it was shyer and i love him um but that is a really interesting listen it's basically him coming clean to all of the things that he has done
01:10:10
Speaker
in the in the podcast he like cries multiple times like ah how he has hurt women um yeah and he said on that podcast he was a pleasure-seeking selfish self-centered dishonest inconsiderate fearful human being um and i think that is a really interesting synopsis of how a person can come out of a lot of trauma you know um yeah i wanted to put i just wanted to put this i know this doesn't sound like a positive story so i'm glad you have another one janessa to like buffer with no and i think this is really good because like you said lot of the stories i have these triumphs are the ones i'm highlighting are really big
01:11:00
Speaker
But the the story you just told, it's such a testament to people's origin stories. And what you were saying earlier, Amy, is like a lot of the people that I'm talking about had really stable parents who really pushed them.
01:11:16
Speaker
or stood up for them. And in this case, we see adversity taken on just solely on your own is, can be very traumatizing and can end up creating a cycle of perpetuating the same things you grew up seeing because you really don't know any better. yeah and that, that, I mean, you know, somewhat better, but at your core, that is how you grew up. That is what you saw modeled.
01:11:41
Speaker
So it's just really, i think it's really good to like hear this because There's still extraordinary things he's done. yeah And I also just want to say, i think it's really extraordinary that he was honest about the wrong he's done.
01:11:55
Speaker
i don't even think people I know in my personal life can admit publicly to the wrongs that they've done in any shape or form, even though they're not as great as, you know, like, not great, but as as big and...
01:12:08
Speaker
intense as like abuse or um something super traumatizing but there is some really serious strength in someone who remorsefully yeah can admit to what they've done and are working to correct that that is totally redeemable yeah yeah i really i highly urge anyone listening and you janessa to go and listen to that real ones podcast because it's It's really something to hear a man, like, be so vulnerable about that sort of thing. It's really just just made me love him even more, even though he's an abuser.
01:12:42
Speaker
Oh, my gosh, I love him. Well... Thank you. Cause that, yeah, I'm going listen that. I'm watch that documentary. Oh, I'm getting a lot out of this. Exciting.
From Polio to Olympics: Wilma Rudolph's Legacy
01:12:52
Speaker
All right, y'all. So we are going to wrap up with a one last one.
01:12:56
Speaker
And i saved this one for my last one because I was just so excited. Her name is Wilma Rudolph. and I don't know how I didn't know about her for so long.
01:13:07
Speaker
um Just no one told me, but she's pretty prominent. So some of you may know who she is. So let's get into it. So Wilma was born on June 23rd in 1940, and here's a fun fact about her. So she was the 20th child out of 22 siblings. Whoa.
01:13:24
Speaker
Isn't that f freaking crazy? Yeah. I was like, oh, my word. So this includes 19 older siblings two and two younger siblings. So as a child, she experienced. So thought sorry, it's hard to come back from that after saying that.
01:13:44
Speaker
But to to be honest with you, i researched into that. So her dad's first marriage, he had 14 kids. And then the rest of the kids, the seven others, if I'm doing the math correct, came from the second marriage, which Wilma was born through the second marriage.
01:13:58
Speaker
Yet the dad um still had the kids from the first marriage. um In his care. don't know. in his care. I don't know why that is. I didn't research that, to be honest. So it could be of illness. Who knows? Busy the busy breakfast table. Mm-hmm.
01:14:11
Speaker
Yeah, very busy. That's like a whole starting team for like a sport. So, um so yeah, so as Wilma is growing up, as she's a little girl, like infant aged, she has pneumonia.
01:14:28
Speaker
She gets scarlet fever and she can... contracts infantile paralysis and that's caused by the polio virus. So she is having hard time walking and her mom and her siblings are noticing that she can't really walk and her feet are kind of turning inward.
01:14:44
Speaker
So she is taken to the doctors throughout these illnesses um but at five she gets the official diagnosis of polio. And again like we said she is struggling to walk And her that her doctors told her parents it was likely she would actually never walk again.
01:15:03
Speaker
So they saw her and they saw what was going on and were like, yeah, we don't think this little girl's going to walk. um So they give her braces. ah So she's fitted for braces. They say what she can do, she should do in braces.
01:15:16
Speaker
ah But her mom and her family, they are ah Baptist family, which is a form of Christianity. And they are excuse me they are people of real faith.
01:15:29
Speaker
And her mother said something to the extent, and I couldn't find the exact quote, people had it a little differently, um But she says something to the extent of this to the doctor in front of Wilma at age five. And Wilma recalls this.
01:15:43
Speaker
She says, no, thank you. But no, you don't know my daughter. wow So not only did Wilma just hear, oh, she's probably not going to walk. And if she does walk, she's going to need these braces.
01:15:56
Speaker
But she hears her mom saying, i't I don't think so, but we'll take the braces, of course. so So her mom, you know, makes sure to take care of her properly. Her mom's not ignoring the fact that she has polio.
01:16:10
Speaker
So she goes home. She starts using the braces and she's using these braces um on and off until she's nine years old. And I say on and off because remember how many siblings she has? She has 21 other siblings. Her other siblings are also children of faith.
01:16:27
Speaker
They have a belief in like a greater power, a greater God, and that all things happen for a reason. And that is a huge testament to Wilma's journey, as we'll see. But her brother and sisters would actually help her take her braces off and try to walk, which doctors said don't do it.
01:16:45
Speaker
um But her dad was a little overprotective of it and wanted to see the braces on at all times. But her mom let it happen and just made sure that her siblings were very careful with her. um So she speaks fondly of her all of her siblings literally coming together as a literal team to help her um walk.
01:17:03
Speaker
So, while that's going on in the home, there's a lot of faith, there's a lot of, you know, upliftingness from her siblings and her mom and her parents who believe in her. There's also a lot of adversity she's facing on the outside, so she gets so severely teased by children in school for the braces and her ability to not be able to.
01:17:22
Speaker
walk correct um correct that sounded her her issues with not being able to walk in a way that looks correct to other kids yeah so she gets bullied so much that her mom starts homeschooling her um and this allows her mom to also kind of keep tabs on like the polio throughout the day how it impacts her how her left leg is doing which was the one that was most twisted inward okay um and she wilma doesn't necessarily want to be homeschooled But this is just the circumstances of the situation.
01:17:55
Speaker
um Also at this time, she is facing severe and is surrounded by severe racism. So this is in the forty s We're still talking segregation. She's in Virginia. Like.
01:18:07
Speaker
or pardon of me she's in Tennessee sorry Cole is in Virginia she's in Tennessee so she is feeling the heat of that like that is very ever-present where she's growing up so she's black is yeah so that's something to think like that's that's a lot of factors yeah like yikes so she doesn't know is she black She is. like Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
01:18:31
Speaker
Yeah. and And sorry, I wrote it later in here, but it will come in. said That's a good thing. I should have left. I was like, which side of the racism is she on? but it Oh, yeah. No, that's a good point.
01:18:41
Speaker
Yeah. So Wilma, she is determined. She really wants to go to school. She wants to be a, you know, yeah kid who's living ah a kid's life, who's able to do things.
01:18:53
Speaker
So she just gets so determined in trying to learn how to walk and And how to adapt to life. So she actually manages to go back to school in high school. So she enters high school and she is doing it without her braces.
01:19:08
Speaker
she is She is very strong in her faith that she'll be okay. And that she knows what she's doing. That she can trust her body. And she does that. So she's in a public school in Tennessee.
01:19:19
Speaker
And mind you, again, it's a time of segregation. So this is an all-black school. Wow. And she starts to play basketball. A fun fact here is at this time at 13, she is six feet tall.
01:19:33
Speaker
So she is no short girl. She's six feet tall. That is amazing. So she starts to play basketball and she plays with grit and with passion. She is not the best at first, but she stays extra time just to learn how to work with her body learn how to block shots. She is just dedicated. Dedication is literally the word here.
01:19:55
Speaker
So, so much so that she stands out to the high school coach. His name is Ed Temple, and he basically pulls her aside one day and is like, Hey, I think you have so much potential.
01:20:08
Speaker
Like you, I just know you do. And she, she believes in that too. She really does believe in God and and God working through her. And she believes in her potential enough to say, okay, well, what are you thinking? And he is thinking track and field, which is wild because that's running. Yeah. So.
01:20:27
Speaker
Yeah. So mind you, you know, Wilma has this left leg that is significantly weaker. So she's working working on strengthening that left leg.
01:20:37
Speaker
um Like we said a few times, it was twisted in as a child due to polio, but she does not use it as an excuse. Instead, she allows it to drive her to want to be a great, successful athlete.
01:20:51
Speaker
And this comes true. So at 13, so she starts doing track and field that year. And that year, she is so determined. She stays late. She hustles.
01:21:03
Speaker
She sacrifices friendships. She sacrifices regular teen things you would do just to be able to be good in this area. um And at 13, the coach finds a way for her to join the University of Tennessee's running club in the summer. So that, so imagine yeah that's a college. Yeah. So you're 13 years old and you're running with college level athletes. Wow.
01:21:28
Speaker
And, So, yeah, so Ed Temple really believed in her and was like, yeah. So he made sure she was able to kind of meet the best of the best at the time in her area. And um he is still cheering her on as her coach for high school.
01:21:44
Speaker
But... um Yeah. So anyway, so remember, she's still living through these times of racism, too. So while she is with college athletes, she's only allowed to be with black college athletes. She's not allowed to work out with white college athletes, ah which is just so wild to me. Like that 1940 was not that long ago. Yeah.
01:22:05
Speaker
um So ah she is ah one of her only siblings. She realizes the weight and the gravity of her circumstances that she is actually one of the only siblings who will qualify to go to university. Her family can't afford to send it and it wasn't actually the norm back then. It was very much a privilege if you could go on to university. yeah And because she qualified running so well in track and field and because she's honed herself so deeply and so passionately she realizes that she could change the direction of her family by going to college so this just is more fuel for her so fast forward a little bit and wilma gets into tennessee state she does it so that's the you know the college she was training with in the summers in high school she gets in
01:22:54
Speaker
And she goes on to compete in track and field events through them. She stands out so much that she's actually selected to go to the Melbourne Australia Summer Olympics in 1956, where she wins a bronze medal. That's so crazy for the four 100 meter relay.
01:23:13
Speaker
I'm, like, almost crying. She's, like, that's so beautiful. Like, can you imagine? And, like, having to hone, like, your your foot that is just not. like And it's also kind of almost, like, invisible at this point because she's not wearing braces. And, like, people know something's probably going on, but they don't really know what it is. So...
01:23:33
Speaker
Oh, yeah. So amazingly, so she wins bronze, but she doesn't stop there. She goes back to school. She does really well in her academics, and she continues to just keep working on running, keep working on strengthening herself.
01:23:48
Speaker
And by 1960, for the Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, she broke at least three world records in the 200-meter individual events and the 4x100-meter relay events.
01:24:02
Speaker
So and she in total wins three golden medals in 1960 and becomes one of the most famous female athletes ever. Crazy.
01:24:13
Speaker
So after that, after her Olympics experiences and as she gets older, she goes on to continue her education and complete her studies in education um And she goes on to help educate other children and other youths on a variety of topics, but also as a source of inspiration to not give up or to allow other people to tell you what your limits are.
01:24:43
Speaker
um Wilma died in 1994, which I was like, dang, I really, I wish she was still alive, um which is the year was born. So yeah, there's no way I would have overlapped at all. um But um this quote she has stood out to me. So again, she's a person of faith. So I think, you know, if you believe I'm not talking about Christianity only, but if you believe there's something greater out in the world than just you that everybody has the opportunity to tap into and it's available to everyone, then I think you'll.
01:25:12
Speaker
you'll extra appreciate this quote, but she said, never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We're all the same in this notion.
01:25:23
Speaker
The potential for greatness lives within each of us. Yeah. I just love her. i love her. And that is Wilma Rudolph. And please check out her story. There's so much more there. And um what what an amazing feat. Yeah. Like, literally.
01:25:41
Speaker
how amazing is that is the the real that is the true definition of overcoming adversity like that's just incredible and she was competing as a normal in the normal olympics like not the paralympics like the normal one yep regular olympics amazing oh so yeah yeah it's pretty pretty amazing and i think A common thread through all the stories we've had today is that, you know, it helps to have a good community or like parents behind you. And if you don't have that at this time, do not get down on yourself.
01:26:21
Speaker
There's always the potential to create, you know, your chosen family yeah and to meet new friends who will push you in directions that you don't think you can go. um But that you have the right to go in. yeah um So, yeah, i hope that, you know, you listeners just remember whatever it is that you're facing. It's not it's not big enough to take you out. yeah i mean, like there are ways around this um in time and with time. Yeah.
01:26:49
Speaker
There really is always a way. There really is always a way. Exactly like Wilma said, just have to, we all have the power. the Power of the human spirit is more powerful than we sometimes acknowledge, I think.
01:27:06
Speaker
yeah absolutely oh well man i am just now i'm like all right what am i gonna do today what am i gonna take on today yeah ah feeling inspired that's that was awesome thank you for that suggestion janessa that is just such a good vibe it's fun to talk about something really positive
Conclusion: Power of Community and Perseverance
01:27:28
Speaker
It is. Yeah. And I feel so excited to go one, watch that documentary and to listen to that podcast episode. So, ah ah you know, there's things we can do after to maintain the Yeah. Maintain the inspiration.
01:27:42
Speaker
Love it.
01:27:45
Speaker
Well, thank you all for being here. um You know, we know, we don't know, we know that we don't know all the adversities that you're facing right now. But we're hoping that you have a good support system. And if you don't, we're hoping that you can reach out to someone to gain that support system because we believe in you overcoming your obstacles. So, yeah, thank you so much for being here. And we'll see you back here in two weeks. And until then, remember to let the light in. Remember to let the light in.
01:28:13
Speaker
I couldn't help it. was like, I'm telling you what this time is. Yeah. All right, guys. Bye.