Joy In The Journey

Sometimes life deals a hand to you that most people would never choose for themselves, but that doesn't mean that finding joy in your own journey isn't possible. And today's guests speak to this in a way that is just so beautiful to see.

Tommi is a mother of 3 wonderful girls. Her oldest daughter Amanda was diagnosed with a rare form of Spina Bifida, a debilitating and progressive neurological condition, when she was 6 years old. As a result, she has endured dozens of surgeries and many extended hospital visits in her life over the last 23 years. Once you hear her story, I know it will inspire you and help you to appreciate all the little victories in your life.

There were so many great takeaways from this conversation that I know will resonate with you as well. Hearing their perspective, their outlook on life and the things they have learned from this experience was nothing less than powerful and inspiring.

This mother and daughter duo shares a ton of great advice for families who need to spend a lot of time in hospitals. From keeping your child in the loop, not just about life at home, but the conversations with medical treatments when it's appropriate. They also reinforce the idea that we can only focus on the things within our control, and if you can find humor along the way, it makes a huge difference.

Key Takeaways with Tommi and Amanda

• Sometimes ignorance is bliss when thinking about the number of surgeries.
• The importance of keeping your child in the loop with everyday life at home when you have a child in the hospital.
• Finding ways to experience some joy in the hospital, especially during the holidays.
• Make sure to focus on the little things, as sometimes they are more important than we initially realize.
• Think about the things that are in your control, and not in the things that you can't control. Those little things can be a small victory for the day.
• Treat child patients just like any other child, even when it comes to discipline.
• The importance of teaching your children that it's not okay to treat medical staff poorly just because you're frustrated with your own situation.
• Your child will appreciate that you include them in the conversations about medical treatments when it's appropriate to do so.
• Children that spend a lot of time in the hospital tend to be more mature than children who don't by the sheer amount of time spent with highly educated professionals.
• Finding humor will make your daily life much easier.
• The challenges of finding your identity when you're always caring for others or focused on your own health.
• Even though you haven't chosen the journey you're on, finding joy in it makes all the difference.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/13

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

It's not uncommon for a family to experience kindness and generosity when a child is diagnosed with cancer. But when that family finds joy in paying it forward, it's a pretty incredible thing to see. That's why I'm so excited to share the journey that Jordan and Nikki Arseneau are on with you today.

Their medical journey started a little over a year ago when their 4-year-old, Joy, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. And if that wasn't enough, Nikki also lost her father during this time. With their faith in God and help from their friends and family, they have found ways to bring joy to others.

You'll hear about how their daughter, Joy, is getting her smile back, even while going through the daily treatments of chemotherapy. They also share the wonderful story about how their son created a fundraiser that raised over $2000 for JoyStrong.

You'll also hear about the silver linings that came with Covid, the overwhelming help and support from their community, and the organizations that not only changed their life for the better but inspired them to always say yes when it came to generosity.

If you want to support JoyStrong, you can find more information here.

Key Takeaways with Jordan and Nikki Arseneau

• The silver lining of starting a medical journey during Covid-19.
• How the pandemic has actually made things safer for families that are dealing with similar medical issues.
• The connection with others that they found while in the hospital.
• The organizations that will change your family's medical journey.
• How their faith in God gave them the strength to carry-on.
• The helpful perspectives that they gained connecting with others who were experiencing similar issues.
• That God has a plan, we just have to see the big picture.
• The joy from seeing your children learn the spirit of generosity by following your example.
• How to practice gratitude within your life and be thankful for the little things when you know that other families are facing bigger challenges.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/12

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

Jen Gawel has not only mastered the hardships in her life but puts effort and intention into giving others the tools to master their own challenging paths, and she does it all while oozing joy from every fiber of her being.

If you ask Jen about her family, she will tell you that her family is just like everyone else's; they just accommodate a few differences along the way. She's a mom of three kiddos and having spent as much time in the NICU as she has, her attitude and perspectives are incredible.

Even though your journey as a parent might start in the NICU, it doesn't end there. Her second child, JD, was diagnosed with a very rare condition called Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome. Some may describe it as missing the 4th chromosome, or as Jenn would say, it just makes you lose some of your chromosomal instruction booklet.

And her third child, Kaitlyn, suffered from cardiac complications, having a pinched aorta, something that she says was almost harder because it was so unexpected.

I'm just delighted to share Jen's story with you today. You'll hear from one of the sweetest supermoms that I've ever met as she reminds us that through all the ups and downs, we have to look at the big picture and let our friends and families help us continue on with our own journeys.

Key Takeaways with Jen Gawel

• Why Jen thinks of the NICU as a warm hug.
• The gratitude that she has for the nurses at the NICU.
• The sense of community that comes from sharing your stories and connecting with other parents.
• The comfort that comes from having the opportunity to go through a grieving process after receiving a challenging prenatal diagnosis.
• The deep connection that comes with nursing a child.
• The hope that came with doing their own research and understanding what their child could do instead of what they couldn't do.
• The power in writing your own narrative for your family.
• Everyone is unique, but your family is the same as anyone else's family in all the ways that truly matter.
• The importance of teaching your kids about how it's okay to be different.
• Enjoying and cherishing the little things goes a long way.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/11

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

I am so grateful and honored to have today's guest on the podcast. Carrie Meghie has been recognized as one of CNN's Heroes and is affectionately known as the "parking fairy" through the work she is doing with her foundation. It's an amazing story and I can't wait for you to hear it.

When you have a child in the NICU, as a parent, the only thing you want to do is be there with them every moment that you can. But spending days, weeks, and months comes at a cost. Carrie knows about these challenges very well, and it's so great to hear about the impact she is having on people's lives.

Carrie is a successful businesswoman with a background in hospitality and real estate. She's been voted Chicagoan of the year in Chicago Magazine and is the Co-Founder of The Jackson Chance Foundation, a non-profit that is dedicated to providing resources to families with babies in the NICU.

Carrie shares the story of her son unexpectedly being born 10 weeks premature and the challenges they faced as Jackson spent all 10 months of his life in the NICU between two hospitals.

After spending thousands of dollars on parking during their time in the hospital with him, she knew that she wanted to do something to help others. This experience inspired Carrie and her husband to create an amazing foundation to honor their son and give parents the freedom to enjoy more time with their babies.

She shares the lessons that come with the loss of her son, the challenges of finding affordable parking with a child in the NICU, and all the wonderful things her foundation is doing to help families spend more time with their kids.

• How Carrie dealt with the news of an unexpected premature birth.
• The tough decisions that come with having a NICU baby.
• How an experience like this puts everything in perspective.
• The shocking costs for parking when you're spending so much time at a hospital.
• The things that you wished you knew sooner about the NICU.
• Why open communication with your partner goes a long way.
• Managing the feelings of seclusion when your child is in the hospital.
• The importance of celebrating each moment and every milestone in the journey.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/10

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

Sometimes it's hard to find the strength to move on when you feel like your feet are stuck in cement.

Today's guest knows exactly how that feels and has made it her life mission to make that support more readily available for girls like her⎯ girls that need to feel a little less alone in their community.

Cara Belvin is the founder and CEO of the non-profit organization called empowerHER®, a place where girls can come to talk about the oftentimes uncomfortable topic of loss. The foundation was inspired by her mother, who was taken from her at age nine from breast cancer.

She created the mentor program because of the tremendous amount of gratitude she felt for people's endless courage and compassion during her life, even from simple gestures of a friend giving her a Blow Pop every Mother's Day.

Cara shares her thoughts on creating space for community, speaking your truth, and wants you to know that the loss you suffer is survivable. And she asks us to remember these three things: You are enough, your feelings are a gift, and it's okay to ask for help.

Key Takeaways with Cara Belvin

• Extension of family and the network of supportive people around you.
• The importance of connection and knowing you're not alone.
• Sharing the burden of your loss.
• The realization of everyone dealing with their own lens in the face of grief.
• Why do you need to know about other's survival?
• Ask the hard questions and talk about your loss.
• The courage it takes to talk about your loss.
• How to find the strength of building community and seek your truth.
• It's okay to feel like you can't get out of bed.
• How can you get involved.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/9

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

My guest today is Jenny Kernan. She's a mother of three beautiful children, with two of them at home and one of them in heaven.

When they were ready to start a family, she struggled to get pregnant, and decided to take the fertility route. After going through the difficult process of taking follicle stimulating hormone shots, and Clomid, it wasn't long before she got the great news that she was pregnant, with twins!

Everything seemed to be going well until the ultrasound at 20 weeks when her doctor broke the news that one of her twins had a heart condition, which could be resolved with surgery after they were born. But at the 24 week mark, she went into labor and a week later went into delivery via C-section.

Jenny talks about how thankful she was to spend 49 days with her beautiful son, Dylan, before he joined God, and how she volunteers in remembrance of him and in honor of her children.

Both Jenny and her husband Pat are huge supporters of the foundation March of Dimes, and have raised over 1 million dollars for the NICU family research and support program. They won the Field's Family Legacy Award for their years of volunteerism and continue to help increase the quality of life for babies in the NICU. I hope that their message will inspire others who have faced similar challenges in their lives.

Key Takeaways with Jenny Kernan

• The difficulties that come with fertility hormones.
• How to overcome the extreme complications that can come with pregnancy.
• The terrifying moments that come with having premature twins.
• The moment when you're told your baby might not survive.
• The one thing you should never take for granted.
• How giving support to your community is a way that will honor your children.
• Learn how you can gain NICU support from March of Dimes.
• How talking about the child that you lost can feel good.
• How do you find your safe place after a trauma?
• Learn how to peel back the important parts of life to live life to the fullest.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/8

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

How do you keep going after losing your child? How do you deal with the grief when life has to continue for not just yourself but also your family?

Today, I'm speaking with Amanda Fierce. Amanda is a 5th-grade teacher, mother of three beautiful children, a volunteer for multiple causes, and a huge supporter of Mattea's Joy.

At only 23 weeks into her pregnancy, Amanda's water broke unexpectedly. She held off on her labor for 14 days before finally giving birth to her son Connor. During his stay in the NICU, Connor suffered from an infection, forcing Amanda to deal with the jarring realization that her son would die at just 2 weeks old, shifting her family's life forever with a trauma they weren't prepared for.

In today's episode, Amanda teaches us how to come to terms with grief, the lessons that she sometimes wished she never had to learn, and how to find the peace that's right for you.

She tells us that even though we'll never forget those painful memories, the sharp edges of our heartache will soften over time.

• Coming to terms with heartache.
• Why people distance themselves from loved ones after trauma.
• Take the signs that life offers.
• The shifts that change your family life forever.
• Finding the peace that's right for you.
• How do you navigate everything that comes with loss?
• How do you handle feeling alone?
• How do you reintegrate yourself into the world around you?
• Coming to terms with the reality of losing a child.
• Can you find peace in death?
• How to be there for someone else when they need it most.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/7

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

Sometimes when you can't control the circumstances life gives you, you try controlling everything else—something I know I've done as a mother.

Today's guest, Amy Kemp, is talking about how sometimes you need to make space for others to do things for you, especially when you're dealing with difficult moments in life.

Amy is a public speaker, and the owner and CEO of Amy Kemp Inc., where she helps leaders and business professionals understand how deeply thought habits impact every part of work and life. She's a certified Habit Finder Coach, and she's helped over 200 female entrepreneurs through their leadership development journey.

Amy is showing us how we can get through challenges by teaching ourselves a different way of thinking. She shares the dangers that come with expectations and assumptions, and dives into the tools you need to help ground yourself in the moment.

She also shares healthier coping mechanisms for life's struggles, how to articulate your needs, and most importantly how to allow space for other people to help you on your journey.

If you want to learn new thinking habits and how to be present in your current circumstances, don't miss my conversation with Amy Kemp!

• How can emotional attachment amp up any challenge?
• Catastrophic vs. Fantasy thinking.
• How do you deal with expectations and assumptions?
• What fight or flight has to do with hurtful expectations.
• Tools you can use to get through life's challenges.
• Learn how to bounce your concerns off of the people you surround yourself with.
• How to bring yourself back to the present moment and ground yourself.
• How moving your body and listening to music can help you get out of flight or fight moments.
• Feeling a loss of control and how that can affect you mentally and physically.
• Why do our brains need to draw conclusions, and what happens if they can't?
• Grounding everyday tasks that help you get through hardship.
• Destructive escapism and figuring out healthier coping mechanisms.
• Learning to delegate things and articulating your needs.
• The power of systems and checklists!
• Allowing space for people to help you.
• How to advocate for your kids when what they need is beyond your scope.
• How difficult circumstances can lead to positive outcomes.

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/6

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

Today, I'm speaking with Joy Harmon—a courageous woman who has overcome more than her fair share of hardship.

Only 15 weeks into her first pregnancy, Joy had a placental abruption. She underwent a C-section and spent four months watching over her daughter in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. By the time her first daughter was two years old, they had their second little girl, who also spent time in the NICU.

And if life wasn't challenging enough, Joy was also diagnosed with breast cancer years later. This life-changing experience led to her non-profit organization, Bringing Joy, which provides support for families coping with cancer.

In this conversation, Joy sheds light on the post-traumatic stress of going through NICU twice and how she found joy, even when her kids were fighting for their lives.

Joy talks about the difficulties of pregnancy not going as planned, the aftermath that no one can prepare you for, and how to explain to your children that you've been diagnosed with cancer.

• None of it is easy, but we came out on the other side which doesn't always happen.
• How do you prepare yourself for the aftermath of having a baby in NICU?
• Learn about early intervention and keeping up with your child's therapies.
• Speak up when something isn't going right.
• Why it's okay to ask for help as a parent..
• The most surprising extension of family that you gain during unexpected traumas.
• Navigating the difficulties of having one child in NICU while the other is at home.
• The PTSD that comes with being a NICU parent.
• The good and bad of being prepared.
• Seconds to figure out how to deal with life changing circumstances.
• Be willing to assist others who are going through similar difficulties.
• The importance of celebrating the little things.
• The truths that come out of having a NICU child.
• Knowing there is joy even during years of difficulty and depression.
• How do our children inspire us to be better?

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by Visiting: MatteasJoy.org/5

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!

It's hard to allow other people in on your journey through life, especially for the difficult moments.

No one knows this better than today's guest, Kim Piggush.

She's on a mission to spread cancer awareness through public speaking as well as mentoring others through their battles with the disease.

Kim is a wife, mother of two beautiful girls, and a 2-time cancer survivor. She's currently the Chief Operating Officer at S.A. Piggush Financial Consultants and has a previous background at K.M.P. Coaching & Consulting, her own coaching company, which set her out to climb the corporate ladder.

During her first pregnancy she was told she suffered from pancreatitis, which was actually a 10-year misdiagnosis of colon cancer, forcing her to figure out the intricacies of fighting insurance companies, putting her career on hold, and how to be a good mom while being sick.

In this episode, Kim shares the positives around the isolating moments that are darkest in your life, and how to be grateful for the empathy and generosity that you learn through your hardships and through your kids.

• How do you navigate being a mom while also having cancer?
• How can your struggles turn you into a warrior?
• Learn the grace of people coming into your life, and the lessons people teach you when you let them in.
• How to see people in a different perspective to foster empathy.
• Prepare yourself to fight insurance companies and figure out how to deal with the legalities that come with a cancer diagnosis.
• Allow yourself to get help from other people who are going through similar struggles.
• Redefine the experience and realize many people are going through it with you.
• The isolation of our darkest moments.
• Dealing with the infamous 'it could be worse'.
• How to tackle the 'why me?'

Show Notes:

Get Full Access to the Show Notes by visiting: MatteasJoy.org/4

If you enjoyed today's episode of The Joy In The Journey, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device.

You can also help by providing an honest rating & review over on Apple Podcasts. Reviews go a long way in helping us build awareness so that we can impact even more people. THANK YOU!