Chats From A Chair

In this episode we speak with Brigid Kelly and her incredibly inspiring sister, Katie Kelly. Katie was diagnosed with usher syndrome which affects both eyesight and hearing with it slowly degenerating over time. Despite this Katie won a gold medal at the Paralympics in Rio in the triathlon while tethered to a guide, she has received the Order of Australia Medallion, started a foundation that gives grants to young disabled athletes and continues to inspire every day. We are privileged to share this incredible story and hope you gain a lot from it.

In this episode we do something a little bit different. There is no guest, but instead we have an open and honest chat about our mental health battles, how it has affected us and how we have seen it affect our loved ones. Struggles with mental health is something so prevalent in today's society and so often goes untreated and even unspoken about. We hope that by opening up about our mental health, we can help encourage others to do the same and get the help they need.

In this episode we do something a little bit different. There is no guest, but instead we have an open and honest chat about our mental health battles, how it has affected us and how we have seen it affect our loved ones. Struggles with mental health is something so prevalent in today's society and so often goes untreated and even unspoken about. We hope that by opening up about our mental health, we can help encourage others to do the same and get the help they need.

In this episode we chat with successful model and actor Zoe Hoad, who in her past has battled an eating disorder that saw her admitted to an eating disorder clinic on three separate occasions and weigh just 39kg at one stage. She discusses how her weight-loss got so out of hand and what it was that allowed her to recover, as well as the impact she saw it have on her friends and family.

In this episode we speak with Olympic medallists and sisters Taylor and Kaylee McKeown. Taylor and Kaylee's dad, Sholto passed away in August last year following a two-year battle with brain cancer. We speak with the girls about their reaction to finding out about their dad's diagnosis, how they were able to stay so focused on their training and what their dad would have made of Kaylee's post gold-medal interview slipup.

In this episode we chat with Teigan McKinnon, wife of former NRL player Alex McKinnon who sustained a spinal cord injury in a dangerous tackle while playing for Newcastle Knights in 2014. Alex is now classed as a C5 quadriplegic with complete paralysis from the chest down and partial paralysis of the arms. Teigan shares with us the incredible journey the 2 have been on including the early days following such a high profile injury, the struggles that come with becoming parents to 3 beautiful children and we explore the ways in which she has been able to stay so strong during the hard times.

In this episode we chat with Russell and Madison Leary, father and sister of Alexa Leary who sustained a brain injury following a bike accident in July. We speak with them about the days following Alexa's injury, the rollercoaster journey the family have been on, the incredible support they have received from complete strangers, what the future looks like and all things about the move for Lex page and why they are moving for those who can't.

Ryan is able to bring a unique perspective of being affected by disability as he is both the loved one of someone, and person with a disability. His father, his best mate, and then himself all sustained spinal cord injuries while riding dirt bikes. We chat with Ryan about how it affected him growing up having a parent with a disability, the toll it took seeing his best mate sustain an injury and if it ever made him think about giving up his motocross aspirations. He also shares the incredible journey the family have gone on together and how they are a strong team.

WNRL player, Millie Boyle speaks about how having a sister with Down syndrome has shaped her positive outlook on life. She shares the reasons for her sister year of silence, and why she is so invested in promoting positive mental health for people with disabilities.

 Hear the story of Will Apps, whose brother Jason suffered a spinal cord injury when snowboarding overseas in Canada. Now needing full-time care, Will decided to drop out of university and take on the responsibility of helping out his little brother. We speak to Will about his reaction to finding out the devastating news, why he decided to alter his course in life and become his brothers full-time carer, as well as have him share their experience with big wave surfer, Mark Matthews.