Join me and one of my oldest friends Jen Balsbaugh as she shares her family's experience of the rare genetic condition of Trisomy 9, including navigating the world of medical specialists, pediatric therapy, and special education, and the many joys and delights it is to have a baby Nora.

Jen Balsbaugh (she/her) is wife to Colin, mom to Gus (7) and Nora (3), and former science teacher from northern Indiana.  In her free time, Jen enjoys reading, taking walks, and working in her garden.

When she was only 29 years old, Avni Tokhie was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a rare disease of the Central Nervous System that affects both the brain and the spinal cord.  Join us as she shares how she has adapted as a mother of young children, and her passionate advocacy to spread awareness and find a cure.

Avni Tokhie (she/her) was born and raised in Michigan.  Since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2015 at the age of 29, she has become a passionate advocate, educating and spreading awareness of this disease that affects at nearly 3 million people across the country. Avni resides in Michigan with her 2 children, dog & loving husband. 

Content warnings include ableism, healthcare accessibility, and cognitive decline.

Join us as Keturah shares what it means to her to come from Old Order Amish heritage, what it was like growing up Beachy Amish Mennonite in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and a little about her palliative care work with infants and families as a nurse at the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pa.

Content and potential trigger warnings include death and dying of children, genetic birth defects, and religious language.

Keturah Beiler (she/her) works as a nurse at the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, Pa where she does palliative care for infants and children in Amish and Mennonite communities.  Experiencing death and dying with these families Keturah has learned to be present for, and even embrace life's joys and pain. 

Keturah's roots are Old Order Amish/Mennonite, which honors by raising her children with the same values while also allowing them broader opportunities.  She is married with three children, ages 17-23, and lives in the farmhouse where her husband was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  The old house has taught them that progress is messy, not often linear or static, and that there's always another task right around the corner (or living in the corner!).  And such is life: the work and joy of living and learning.  

This one is a doozie!!  Join us as Mya helps to break down and explain so very many myths and stigmas related to diet culture, disordered eating,  the extraordinarily junk science of the body mass index and SO MUCH MORE!!  If you've ever been swept up in shaming your body or punishing yourself for eating that delicious treat, this one is definitely for you! 

Content warnings include fat shaming, medical weight stigma, disordered eating and eating disorders.

Mya ("Mee-ya") is an Anti-Diet Dietitian and holds a Master of Public Health in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Washington.  She helps life-long dieters break away from toxic diet culture and empowers them to build trust with their own bodies.  Her signature on-line program called "Body Respect" has helped hundreds of women break the cycle of food guilt & body shame and instead find food freedom and body appreciation. 

In addition to her on-line practice, she is a nutrition faculty at Seattle Pacific University.

She is a strong anti-diet advocate and believes that all bodies regardless of weight and size deserve respectful and compassionate care.  She can be found on Instagram @foodbody.peace or her websitewww.foodbodypeace.com 

References Cited:
The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
thebodyisnotanapology.com

Lynne Hurdle-Price TedXWomen 2012
https://youtu.be/ZMkQi8aPk6c

Curiosity Collective is back!

Host Katie Langley is joined by her dear friend Steph to launch season two of the Curiosity Collective Podcast!  Together they chat about where the Collective has been, where it's headed, and what Katie's learning, struggling with, and delighting in along the way.

Stephanie Frysinger (she/her) is a residential Realtor in central Pennsylvania with a Master's Degree in Social Work. She is a Mama to Lincoln (6) and Olivia (1) and happily resides in the Hamilton Park neighborhood in Lancaster City. In her spare time she can be found on her bicycle, catching up with friends, or with her hands in the soil.  She delights in the unknown, and thinks knowing all the answers is rather boring.

Join us as Lindley generously shares her experience and wisdom as an autistic fat person, how she has catalyzed her rage into hope and change for thousands through her fat liberation activism and photography, and the challenges navigating accessibility, medical weight stigma, and finding clothes that fit. 

Content warnings include body and neurodivergence shaming, fat phobia and medical weight stigma.

Lindley Ashline creates photographs that celebrate the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional "beauty" standards. She fights weight stigma by giving fat people a safe place to explore how their bodies look on camera and by increasing the representation of fat bodies in photography, advertising, fine art and the world at large.

Lindley is also the creator of Body Liberation Stock (body-positive stock images for commercial use) and the Body Love Shop (a curated resource for body-friendly products and artwork). Find Lindley's work and get her free weekly Body Liberation Guide at http://bit.ly/bodyliberationguide.

The Body Liberation Guide newsletter: http://bit.ly/bodyliberationguide
Website: http://www.bodyliberationphotos.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodyliberationwithlindley/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bodyliberationphotos/

Weight bias in healthcare:

- https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-018-1116-5?fbclid=IwAR0n2iAShDgo9foHzNbJ7PoL3mOYl8lTX8TWz6_DFbqk9-numQdyxYC8UBg

- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6650789/?fbclid=IwAR3VbYgE-szL05OsZhUaICDtCC8nle4Rh2og3kKP1Vk3brk4eWD7hN9fUT0

- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381543/?fbclid=IwAR0o1FroNobVWLQdpQd3yGB2wlzh0vaVQ-20dDfUBGAjNW4y6eTk9cIJ3GE

No matter where she lived growing up military all over the world, Gozá learned over and over through racist beauty standards and toxic purity culture that she was ugly, and never enough.

In this episode Gozá shares her erotic exploration from embodied trauma and shame to wild power, freedom, and joy.  

Gozá Parks is an artist, speaker and coach from Chicago. She has a psychology background and a passion for empowering Black women. 

Content warnings include childhood sexual abuse, eating disorders, fat phobia, religious trauma, purity culture, and racism.

Like many boys, Frank learned young that boys don't cry, but that it better (and safer) to repress his feelings in silence and shame.  In this episode, Frank bravely shares his experience confronting childhood sexual abuse, his path through addiction towards recovery, and the beauty in being surprised by hope.

Frank Sheffer (he/his) is a 44 year old father of two from central Pennsylvania who strives daily towards redemption, gratitude, and joy in every moment.

Content warnings include childhood sexual abuse, suicide, and addiction.

National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-4673

National Human Trafficking Hotline
1-888-373-7888

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
rainn.org

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence
https://www.pcadv.org/

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
https://pcar.org/

Refuge Recovery
https://www.refugerecovery.org/

Joanie Wolf (she/her) was born in Oil City, a small western Pennsylvania town and raised in Mechanicsburg, a suburb of Harrisburg, PA.  A former Kinesiology major, Joanie first dreamed of becoming an Elementary Phys Ed Teacher.  She graduated from West Chester University in 2008 with a degree in Liberal Studies with concentrations in Health and Education. With 15+ years’ experience working alongside adults and children in various capacities such as at-risk youth, youth with autism and working in the juvenile justice system, she now works serving victims of trauma. 

Joanie has been at the YWCA York for over 6 years, where she ensures internal staff are trained in best practices to maintain their Confidentiality Privilege (confidential communications between victims and advocates). She supervises volunteers and interns, coordinates the holiday program, and conducts community awareness advocacy training.  Joanie is passionate about helping others and serving her community,  and enjoys being outdoors and spending time at home with her husband, daughter, and dog Dobby.

National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-4673

National Human Trafficking Hotline
1-888-373-7888

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
rainn.org

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence
https://www.pcadv.org/

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
https://pcar.org/

YWCA York (24/7 Confidential Hotline) 717-846-5400 www.ywcayork.org 

Loveisrespect.org
furtureswithoutviolence.org
Safesecurekids.org
iHollaback.org
PolarisProject.org (Anti-Human Trafficking Non-profit)

SEPTEMBER IS WOMEN IN MEDICINE MONTH!

Meet Dr.Deon,  Pediatric Rehab Physician in Chicago!  Join us as we talk about disability access, using your voice and finding your power as a woman, and choosing curiosity as our hope for healing.

Dr. Deon graduated magna cum laude from Xavier University in New Orleans, LA and attended the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, TN where she obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree. She completed a PM&R residency at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX and a fellowship in Pediatric Rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rush University Medical Center and La Rabida Children's Hospital. She is double boarded in adult rehabilitation and pediatric rehabilitation. She is also the course director for the Health Equity and Social Justice Leadership Course at Rush Medical College and was previously the Co-Course Director for the Readings in Special Populations Course on Disparities in Healthcare Research at Rush Graduate College.

Dr.Deon can be contacted via email at [email protected]