Making Our Way

Here we go with Season 2! We are so incredibly lucky to be talking with Adam Hill....Adam is a father, husband, doctor, and a fierce advocate for mental health and a more compassionate world.

He's the director of palliative care at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. While he helps families in the most tender and difficult circumstances, he is continuing on his own journey of recovery.

Adam is amazingly open about his battles with anxiety, depression and alcoholism, as well as the times in his life when he had an active suicide plan.

He was an accomplished high school and college athlete, and he made his way through medical school – all while crumbling under the weight of struggles.

Adam shares his heart with us and how he found his way to his calling as a pediatric palliative care doctor.

He is on his own journey with health and peace, while he helps his patients and their families with the same.

I stumbled on a tweet of his several years ago and loved his compassion and the way he advocated for himself and the ways that we can take care of each other.

I’m so glad he said yes when I asked him to be here on Making Our Way. What a gift to spend this time with him.

Follow Adam on Twitter - @Adamhill1212

Find his book on Amazon - Long Walk Out of the Woods

Follow Team Joseph on Twitter @TeamJosephInfo, Facebook:@teamjosephinfo, Instagram: team_joseph or visit us at www.teamjoseph.org

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On this episode, we’re wrapping up Season 1 with some reflections and a short clip from each episode. These amazing conversations are the perfect backdrop to some really happy news I’m sharing. It’s something I wasn’t sure would ever happen. But here we are, and there’s been a lot of celebrating going on in my house. Enjoy!

Rob Dube is a business leader who started his entrepreneurial career by selling Blow Pops out of his high school locker with his best friend. After college, he went on to start a company that was named in 2017 as one of Forbes Top 25 Small Giants – a honor given to the best small companies in America.

By all accounts, he was successful, but Rob had struggled with stress and anxiety. He made his way through that with self-awareness, a lot of hard work, and ultimately....meditation.

Over the years, Rob met many other top level leaders in business, sports and the military who also meditated, and he eventually wrote a book called “Do Nothing” – a fascinating read that explores the benefits and the power of mindfulness meditation for all of us – whether we’re leading a company or a family or just want more peace in our lives.

Rob and I talk about stressors, about perspective, about embracing joyful times AND difficult times, and the tangible impact of meditation beyond the actual time spent meditating.

Rob says that meditation is the gateway into showing up as a better person in our all around life. It’s free, you can’t do it wrong, and he even leads us through a short meditation session in this episode.

Rob is wise, he’s kind, and he is incredibly calming. I hope we can all find a few minutes to pause, take a deep breath, and really soak this in.

For information on Rob's book and retreats, click here:

www.donothingbook.com

Check out our website for more info on Duchenne and how we’re changing the world: www.teamjoseph.org.

Facebook: @teamjosephinfo

Twitter: @teamjosephinfo

Instagram: team_joseph

Check out our website for more info on Duchenne and how we’re changing the world: www.teamjoseph.org.

Facebook: @teamjosephinfo

Twitter: @teamjosephinfo

Instagram: team_joseph

When Danny Bader was just 28 years old, in a terrifying accident, 8,000 volts of electricity tore through him – in effect killing him until he came back to life moments later. Danny says in those moments he connected with something bigger than us – and it transformed him and set him on his life’s path.

Between that near death moment and today, he’s navigated guilt and suffering and thoughts of taking his own life. What he came to understand and embrace, is that none of us are immune to difficulty and heartbreak, but there is another side to those moments and periods in our life.

Danny believes wholeheartedly in the power of the human spirit and our resilience to move us through the toughest of times and to create joyful lives filled with love and perspective.

He talks today about having vision – understanding what we can’t control, and influencing what we can. He shares 3 powerful questions to help build resilience, and to understand the difference between just living and really being alive.

He’s a best-selling author and a highly sought-after speaker. But more than that, he’s committed to helping other people through his own struggles and his hard-won wisdom. He’s real and generous and calming and practical.

His near-death story is fascinating, but what’s even more amazing is that he chose to make it matter....he makes us feel like no matter what tough stuff we’re facing, we can still have a life filled with heart, hope and purpose. I hope he does the same for you.

Charlie Steward is a genome scientist, a dad to 2 children with rare diseases, and an incredible advocate.

He spent more than 2 decades working on mapping the human genome. It was important work and a passion for him, but when his daughter Imogene was born it became personal.

Shortly after her pre-term birth, Imogene was diagnosed with a catastrophic and potentially fatal form of epilepsy, and a short time later with cerebral palsy. Several years later, her little brother, Jasper, was also born pre-term, suffered severe brain damage and was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Charlie’s story weaves together the intellect and brilliance of science with the emotion and heartache of being a dad to 2 special needs children.

He may be the smartest person I’ve ever had a conversation with, but talking to Charlie is like spending time with a comfortable old friend. He shares with us the vulnerable, human side of his life – what a perfect day looks like with his family, and what his hopes and dreams are for his children. And he very gently explains the advances of and the hope in science, as well as the limitations and the acknowledgement that we still have much to learn.

Charlie is now the patient advocacy lead for Congenica, a digital health company that is focused on improving lives by rapidly converting genomic data into usable information for patients and their doctors.

His story is fascinating and filled with heart, hope and love.

Claire Hogan is a nationally certified and licensed professional counselor. Her passion is creating safe and unconditionally supportive space for her clients as they cope, grow and experience their unique life journey.

But...she’s a lot more than that to me.

I sometimes talk about the earliest moments after my youngest son, Joseph, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and one of my first reactions amidst the horrible fear and grief was thinking to myself “I’m going to need a really good therapist to get through this!” And I did. And I have one. It’s Claire. She’s been my rock, my sounding board, and my guide for over a decade. She’s walked with me through the diagnosis, caring for my elderly parents, navigating a life transition to single parenthood, and a lot more.

There’s such a needed focus on mental health today – thank goodness! So I wanted to pull back the curtain a little bit on my own journey. We’re not going to talk about all the intimate details, but we decided to focus on something I’ve worked on and that we all need....and that is... self-care.

Self care is a hot topic. And it’s important. We’re coming out of a global pandemic, our days and our lives often feel upside down, and we all need help sometimes. But with so much information out there about it, how do we dig into that? How do we figure out what self care means for us. And what it DOESN’T mean for us...

Claire will give us some thoughts on WHY self care matters, how it impacts quality of life, and she’ll teach us a technique, that in just 60 SECONDS each day, can make a big difference for us. What she shares with us requires no equipment, it’s free, and you can do it anywhere! She has a wonderful take on the special stress for those of us who are caregivers, and how to approach taking care of ourselves so it doesn’t feel stressful or selfish.

I’ve said for years that “everyone needs a Claire in their lives.” I’m really excited that today, if you’re listening in, you do in fact get Claire in your life for at least these next 30 minutes or so. This is for everyone – men, women, kids, caregivers, non-caregivers -- I’m so glad you’re here with us for this conversation!

On episode 5, we’re talking about a whole lot of things with Mandy Vogler -- through Mandy’s beautiful story, we’re going to touch on parenting and adoption, grace and faith and finding peace.

Mandy is a public health nurse, but she’s known in her town as “the lady with 10 kids” – she and her husband always hoped for a big family, but they had no idea what life had in store for them.

Her story centers on giving birth to six children, navigating the heartbreak of multiple miscarriages, and traveling half way around the world two different times to two different countries to adopt 4 children.

Mandy is driven by a profound faith and a strong belief in the purpose for her life. When her son Judah was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy a couple of years after they brought him home from China, it was that deep faith that helped her navigate the heartbreaking diagnosis, begin to move forward, and find her way to acceptance and peace.

Mandy gives us a really intimate look into their bustling life – including the low moments of struggle and questioning God, as well as the joy and love in this family that she and her husband created.

Even if you don’t have 10 kids – because not many of us do – and no matter what you believe in – or don’t – it’s a gift for all of us to get to know Mandy’s incredible strength and her sweet, gentle spirit.

I’m in awe of her and I think you will be too!

For more info on Duchenne and how we’re changing the world, visit us at: www.teamjoseph.org.

Facebook: @teamjosephinfo

Twitter: @teamjosephinfo

Instagram: team_joseph

Today we’re talking about making your way through a diagnosis, devastation, a life....that you didn’t plan for.....with my friend Lauren Fritz.

Lauren is the mom to two sons with Duchenne muscular dystrophy – but she’s so much more – she’s a longtime trauma and grief counselor. She worked for years with families in crisis – dealing with loss and catastrophic medical issues, and the heartache of wanting to help their child.

But so much changed for her when both of her sons were diagnosed with Duchenne...this brutal, progressive muscle wasting disease, that has no cure. Having always been the helper, she now became the mom – the family – that needed help.

Lauren has an amazing perspective on living in, as she calls it, the in-between – the place in life that holds both joy and despair.

She found peace, joy, and her way forward by saying “screw the standards” and designing a life for her family that redefined happiness.

She offers beautiful and very personal reflections on letting go of expectations, being present, and moving from being overwhelmed and devastated to feeling joy again.

Lauren is wise and kind and gentle. Through sharing a really intimate look into her own life – both the joys and the struggles -- she gives so much comfort. And most important, I think she helps all of us feel like, no matter what you’re making your way through right now, you will find peace and joy again.

I hope this is an episode you want to share with your friends and download and listen to over and over again.

For more info on Duchenne and how we’re changing the world, visit us at: www.teamjoseph.org.

Facebook: @teamjosephinfo

Twitter: @teamjosephinfo

Instagram: team_joseph

Blu Sanders is a songwriter, photographer, and musician. He’s written songs with some of the best in country music. He spent years working with the Eli Young Band, and he’s been out on the road as an assistant tour manager and photographer with Miranda Lambert. Many nights she would bring him out on stage to sing with her.

But Blu isn’t about glitz and glamour. The conversation we have today is one of grit and grace and a whole lot of love. When his dad was diagnosed with ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease -- Blu left Nashville and the music business for 18 months to go home to take care of his dad in the final months of his life. He talks openly about the challenges of caregiving.... the honor and the anger and the beautiful moments.

Blu’s story is one of selflessness and quiet determination, but there’s more to his story. Beyond taking care of his dad, Blu was in a race against time....to bring an old car back to life, as his dad’s life faded.

For most of us, cars are meant to take us from one place to another – but in Blu’s case, a 1941 Chevy Deluxe – as Blu calls it – a dusty old family relic -- was so much more.

Although he couldn’t fix his dad, he did fix this car -- A car that had been sitting in pieces in the backyard of his childhood home in El Paso, Texas for over 20 years. This car became a focal point, a reason for friends to gather, a temporary respite among the daily struggles of caregiving. And Blu was NOT a car guy – he struggled to rebuild that car.

Blu says his story is about relationships and commitment and grease and sweat. It’s about “the grim reality of a terminal disease coupled with life lessons from a Chevrolet.”

He is humble and honest about the toll of caregiving, the beauty of simple things and time.... just time.... with ones we love. His very intimate story is one of love, dying, and ultimately, his dad’s final ride.

To learn more about Blu’s book, The Forty One, and his story of caring for his dad, please visit www.blusanders.com.

For more info on Duchenne and how we’re changing the world, visit us at: www.teamjoseph.org.

Facebook: @teamjosephinfo

Twitter: @teamjosephinfo

Instagram: team_joseph

Tonya Dreher made it through a serious health crisis with breast cancer, including multiple surgeries and extensive treatment. On the day her treatment ended, she thought she was out of the woods. But the next morning, she and her husband, Steve, received test results for their youngest son, Gus, and had to face yet another devastating diagnosis.

When Gus was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative progressive muscle wasting disease, Tonya and Steve started a non-profit to raise money to fund research. But after a few years, Tonya wanted to do something bigger.

So, she put a team together, and with only 8 months of training, she flew halfway around the world to test her physical and emotional strength by climbing to base camp of Mount Everest. She wasn’t an athlete, but she wanted to climb in honor of her son and all the other boys who can’t.

Fueled by determination and a fierce love for Gus, Tonya pushed herself beyond anything she’d ever done before, making it to base camp and reading the names of hundreds of boys with Duchenne into the wind.

Tonya says her journey changed her. She not as afraid as she used to be and she feels better equipped to handle what comes her way. And she believes anyone can do it....using grief and heartache as a path to bravery and boldness.

For information on joining Tonya’s team for her next climb, contact her at: [email protected]

Check out our website for more info on Duchenne and how we’re changing the world: www.teamjoseph.org.

Facebook: @teamjosephinfo

Twitter: @teamjosephinfo

Instagram: team_joseph