Cory and her two sisters were all born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type II, a hereditary and progressive neuromuscular disorder. Although she has never walked, Cory has lived a full life: she enjoyed school; was an early adopter of online dating, where she met her husband; and has two healthy biological children. Cory is passionate about advocating for equal rights for those with disabilities, learning and teaching about motherhood from a wheelchair, and educating others on disability-life in general. She is a monthly blogger for the Colorado Springs Moms blog. Cory is also pleased that in 2018, SMA was added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) for newborns in the United States. With increasing treatment options available, early diagnosis and intervention are more important than ever.


Links and Resources
Cory’s blog post: View from a Wheelchair: Living in a World that Wasn’t Made for Me

Cory’s posts on Colorado Moms blog

Cure SMA

SMA Foundation

Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK

Muscular Dystrophy Association

General Newborn Screening Resource: Baby’s First Test

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Living a Full Life with SMA Type 2

Genetics isn’t always black and white. And the emotions and decisions surrounding genetic testing can be even more complex. Hosted by genetic counselor Eleanor Griffith, the show brings you the personal experiences of patients and genetic counselors.

Medicine

Science & Medicine

Health & Fitness

When Ushta was pregnant with her third child, she found herself being told which tests she would be having done—rather than being offered options and having them explained to her. As a genetic counselor working in reproductive genetics, she had also started fielding many questions from individuals looking for more insight and direction in a time of expanding prenatal testing options. These experiences led her to leave her role in industry and start her own company: FiND Genetics, an independent telemedicine genetics consulting practice. Ushta shares the path that led her to FiND Genetics, her perspective on recent changes within the field of genetic counseling, and how genetic counseling can empower patients to make informed decisions.


Links and Resources
FiND Genetics
Genotypecast Interview with Katie Stoll: Prenatal Screening, False Positives, and NYT's Coverage


Connect with Ushta on Social Media
Ushta and FiND Genetics on Instagram: @findgenetics
Ushta on LinkedIn


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Navigating Genetic Testing in Pregnancy & the Path to FiND Genetics

Eleanor first interviewed Heather in 2018. At that time, Heather was several years out from completing a prophylactic mastectomy and oophorectomy related to her BRCA1 mutation and was living in Singapore. Her children were ages 10, 12, and 13. Heather shared her story of losing her mother to BRCA1-related breast cancer when she was only 13 and her determination to learn her risks and take all the steps she could to be there for her children. Today, Heather is living in Spain and her children are 15, 17, and 19. When I reached out to Heather about a follow-up Next Chapter interview, they had all just mailed their DNA to 23andMe for testing.


Resources
Listen to Heather’s 2018 interview with Patient Stories
My BRCA Story (Heather’s blog)

Heather’s books on Amazon:
Why is Mommy Having Surgery? She Looks OK to Me: For families with BRCA risk and undergoing prophylactic surgery and implant reconstruction
This Much I Know


Connect with Heather on Social Media
Heather on IG: 
 @expattravelmom 
 @my_brca_story 
 @learnwithheatherb



Check out other Patient Stories podcast episodes.

Read other Patient Stories on the Grey Genetics Patient Stories Page.


Interested in digging deeper into the professional issues raised in the podcast? Consider joining the Patient Stories Club!
Do you want to support Patient Stories? You can make a donation online!
Are you looking for genetic counseling? Patient Stories is sponsored by Grey Genetics, an independent telehealth genetic counseling and consulting company. Book an appointment with a genetic counselor specialized in your area of concern. All genetic counseling appointments take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing or by phone.
Looking for a place to collect your family history and share with relatives? Check out the FamGenix app.
Grey Genetics is no longer active on social media. To receive occasional email updates, sign up for our mailing list. 


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Next Chapter: Losing My Mother, Previving For My Children

As a teenager, Devin experienced what she now describes as mito crashes and thought it was just a normal part of being a teenager. Her older brother led the way to a shared diagnosis of an autosomal recessive mitochondrial disease: mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. Devin’s diagnosis came as she was beginning to develop an identity as an adult. In college, she found community, support and activism among other disabled students and started identifying as Disabled. Today, as a genetic counselor, she brings her perspective and activism to the subjects of eugenics, disability, and inclusion: “If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing.”


Related Resources
Mitochondrial Medicine Society: resources 
Mitochondrial Disease Care Network
United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation: Teen and Young Adult Virtual Meet-Up Ages 16-35 (weekly)
Stella Young Ted Talk “'I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much”
Devin on Mito Genetics 101
Devin on Mito Genetics 102
Devin’s Ted-Ed talk (No, she didn’t choose the title. And it doesn’t make sense!) 


Connect with Devin
Devin on Twitter: @DevinShuman
Request an appointment with Devin through the Genetics Support Foundation
Wish you could chat with Devin about mitochondrial disease? Every 4th Wednesday of the month, she hosts an hour-long session through Mito Action.


Check out other Patient Stories podcast episodes.
Read other Patient Stories on the Grey Genetics Patient Stories Page.


Interested in digging deeper into the professional issues raised in the podcast? Consider joining the Patient Stories Club!
Do you want to support Patient Stories? You can make a donation online!
Are you looking for genetic counseling? Patient Stories is sponsored by Grey Genetics, an independent telehealth genetic counseling and consulting company. Book an appointment with a genetic counselor specialized in your area of concern. All genetic counseling appointments take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing or by phone.
Looking for a place to collect your family history and share with relatives? Check out the FamGenix app.
Grey Genetics is no longer active on social media. To receive occasional email updates, sign up for our mailing list. 

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Red Herrings, the Diagnostic Purgatory & Mitochondrial Disease

Eleanor first interviewed Melanie in 2018. She was 29 years old at the time and had received a diagnosis of Lynch syndrome just before turning 25. Melanie shared her experience with receiving a diagnosis, recommended screenings and related challenges with health insurance coverage, and how Lynch impacted her experience with dating and thinking about having her own family one day. Today, Melanie is 35, recently married, and 28 weeks pregnant!
In Next Chapter interviews, we check back in with previous guests on Patient Stories to see how their stories have continued to unfold. 


Related Resources
FORCE (Facing Our Risk Empowered)
AliveAndKickin
Connect with Melanie on Social Media
Melanie on Twitter: @melaniebkursun
Melanie on Instagram: @melaniebkursun


Check out other Patient Stories podcast episodes.
Read other Patient Stories on the Grey Genetics Patient Stories Page.


Interested in digging deeper into the professional issues raised in the podcast? Consider joining the Patient Stories Club!


Do you want to support Patient Stories? You can make a donation online!


Are you looking for genetic counseling? Patient Stories is sponsored by Grey Genetics, an independent telehealth genetic counseling and consulting company. Book an appointment with a genetic counselor specialized in your area of concern. All genetic counseling appointments take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing or by phone.
Looking for a place to collect your family history and share with relatives? Check out the FamGenix app.
Grey Genetics is no longer active on social media. To receive occasional email updates, sign up for our mailing list.

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Next Chapter: Living with Lynch Syndrome

This episode was originally published in February 2019. On June 24, 2024, ⁠Roe v. Wade was overturned⁠. A few related links have been updated. 


Erika and Garin were 30 weeks into a complicated pregnancy when they learned that their pregnancy was not viable. Erika was denied an abortion due to New York’s 24 week cut-off so the couple travelled to Colorado to terminate her pregnancy. Their experience with New York’s abortion law, and the realization about how others were affected by it, led them to share their story publicly and advocate for reform.
They founded the RHAvote campaign, the grassroots home for the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), a bill that decriminalized abortion in New York and brought the state’s regulation of abortion in line with Roe vs Wade. They worked alongside a statewide coalition, and in January 2019, New York finally passed the RHA after being stalled for almost a decade.
After seeing the power of patient narratives first hand, they began organizing later abortion patients across the country ⁠⁠(PatientForward.org⁠⁠). They are also parents to a 2½-year-old-daughter, Pepper.
Have thoughts or a related story you’d like to share? ⁠⁠Leave us a short voice message here!⁠⁠ We may use your message on a future show.


Related Links and Resources
⁠⁠PatientForward⁠⁠
⁠⁠RHAvote.com⁠⁠
⁠⁠Erika & Garin on Twitter: @RHAVote⁠⁠
Tolentino, Jia. “⁠⁠How Abortion Law in New York Will Change, and How It Won’t.⁠⁠” The New Yorker. January 19, 2019.
⁠⁠The New York Times Editorial Board: A Woman’s Right (Series). ⁠⁠The New York Times. December 28, 2018.


Additional links for 2024
Tolentino, Jia. “⁠⁠⁠We're Not Going Back to the Time Before Roe. We're Going Somewhere Worse⁠.⁠⁠” The New Yorker. June 24, 2022.
Hercher, Laura. "⁠Genetic Counselors Scramble Post-Roe to Provide Routine Pregnancy Services without Being Accused of a Crime⁠." Scientific American. August 23, 2022.


Do you have a story to share related to abortion and genetics? Send. an email to ⁠podcast@greygenetics.com⁠




⁠Check out other Patient Stories podcast episodes.⁠
Read other Patient Stories on the⁠ Grey Genetics Patient Stories Page⁠.


Interested in digging deeper into the professional issues raised in the podcast? Consider joining ⁠the Patient Stories Club⁠!
Do you want to support Patient Stories? You can ⁠make a donation online!⁠
Are you looking for genetic counseling? Patient Stories is sponsored by Grey Genetics, an independent telehealth genetic counseling and consulting company. ⁠Book an appointment⁠ with a genetic counselor specialized in your area of concern. All genetic counseling appointments take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing or by phone.
Looking for a place to collect your family history and share with relatives? Check out ⁠the FamGenix app⁠.
Grey Genetics is no longer active on social media. To receive occasional email updates, ⁠sign up for our mailing list⁠. 



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Living a Full Life with SMA Type 2

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