My Neighbour The Hero

6 people die every week waiting for a kidney transplant.

In this episode, I talk to Chris, who donated his kidney to his friend Steph at the height of COVID.

This is a story of friendship, of how Chris helped his university friend, suffering from Polycystic Kidney Disease, get back to health so that she could continue to be a Mum to her daughter for a long time to come.

Chris tells us all about his kidney donation journey, the matching process and the pressures of having life changing surgery during COVID.

We discuss the different anxieties he experienced, from the fear of not being a match and being unable to save his friend, to the worry of them being in different hospitals and something happening to his kidney on the way to Steph. But we also talk about the positives of the journey, of sharing a unique experience with his friend, the benefits of having a cause and the surprising health benefits that come from kidney donation.

Chris also explains his need to continue raising awareness and the life changing advice given to him by a nurse about the power of language.

In this interview we cover:

• Kidney donation, the matching process and the matching scheme.
• Polycystic Kidney Disease
• The emotional impact of donating a kidney
• Kidney transplant surgery and the different methods used
• Immunosuppressants
• How people know they can donate blood but they don't know they can donate a kidney
• The positives of having a cause
• The power of language
• What to do if you're interested in donating a kidney

Thanks to Chris for telling his story and Steph for allowing it to be told.

Thanks to Eoin Buckley for his help in organising.

Follow Chris here: @chrisluck89

If you are interested in kidney donation, please visit -

Donate A Kidney: https://www.donateakidney.co.uk/

Give A Kidney: https://www.giveakidney.org/

Location - Mill Street Studios:https://www.1millstreet.com/

Thanks to Anna Burrows and Bryher Williams for their input.

Please follow us at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@myneighbourthehero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast features themes of death.

#AreYourKidneysOK #WorldKidneyDay #KidneyHealth #OrganDonation, #KidneyDonor, #KidneyTransplant, #KidneyWarrior, #ShareYourSpare

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In today's episode, I talk to Gina, who is a surrogate, who has given birth to 3 children for parents who could not carry their own.

Gina tells us all about her surrogacy journey's, how she found the couple she was going to be a surrogate for and the disappointments of failed embryo transfers. Pregnancy, labour, and the feeling she got watching another couple become parents for the first time, knowing she helped to make it happen.

We also discuss feminism and the anti surrogacy community, and she gives us her unique take on how helping others makes you feel good.

She also answers one of the most common questions posed to surrogates, how is it possible to give a baby to another couples when you have given birth to it?

We also discussed...

• The intention agreement that needs to be in place before the embryo transfer begins 
• Why the surrogate and intended parents need to do a will
• Belly buds and how to connect the intended parents with the baby even if they’re not carrying it
• The highs and lows of embryo transfers 
• Feminism and the Anti surrogacy moment 
• Pregnancy and labour
• How surrogacy is not about giving a baby away but giving the baby back to its parents
• The most common misconceptions around surrogacy
• Surrogacy laws and how they need to change 
• Hyperemesis - severe vomiting in pregnancy
• How the support of Gina’s husband was so important 
• How there are many types of family building

Thanks to Gina Kinson for telling her story - you can follow Gina here - https://www.instagram.com/gink49

You can follow Fran Simmons, whose story it also is, here - https://www.instagram.com/100yearsinthemaking/

Gina works for 'My Surrogacy Journey' you can follow them here - https://www.instagram.com/officialmysurrogacyjourney/

Thanks to Dan Fanshawe and Tom Walker for the introduction.

Thanks to Sarah Powell, Bryher Williams and Felicity Papendieck for their input.

Location: NoStar Studios - https://nostars.uk

Please follow My Neighbour The Hero at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myneighbourthehero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast features themes of pregnancy loss.

#newpodcastalert #podcastseries #femalepodcasters #podcastinterviews #podcastcommunity #surrogacy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, I meet Ryan. 20 years ago, on Boxing Day, 2004, over a quarter of a million people were killed, across 14 countries in the Indian Ocean Tsunami. At 11am, when the Tsunami hit Krabbi in Thailand, Ryan was snorkelling in the sea.

Ryan will be telling his story of survival, of how a dream holiday with his girlfriend and his friends turned into his worst nightmare. We discuss what happened that day, and its aftermath. His experience of being treated in a Thai hospital which was overrun and how fellow holidaymakers and local communities kicked in to action to help.

He also tells me about the long term physical and mental effects of the Tsunami and the importance of getting help, along with what he’s learnt about people and how they can be the light in the darkest of times.

We talked about -

• A detailed description of what happened when the Tsunami hit and the immediate aftermath.
• The terrifying experience of losing his girlfriend and friend
• His injuries and the fight against bacteria that had never been seen before
• His experiences in an Thai hospital that was completely overrun, the language barrier and stories of the kindness of people
• Their decision to hire a speed boat rather than a long tail boat that saved lives.
• His unique journey to the Bangkok hospital
• The kindness of people and how people are mostly good
• The importance of seeking help and allowing yourself to be supported
• PTSD and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• How nature brings peace
• Survivors Guilt

Thanks to Ryan Kelly for sharing his story and Abi Kelly for making it happen.

Thanks to Jamie Moore and Bryher Williams for their input.

Location: NoStar Studios - https://nostars.uk

Please follow My Neighbour The Hero at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myneighbourthehero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast features themes of death and graphic descriptions of injury.

#newpodcastalert #podcastseries #femalepodcasters #podcastinterviews #podcastcommunity #tsunami

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tyler is a Showman and the founder of Traveller Pride.

We discuss growing up on the fair and how he felt being bisexual in a community where being gay was seen as a bit of joke, and where reputation is your lifeblood.

How he managed to overcome his fears of bringing shame on the family, and being rejected by the community he loved, to embrace his sexuality and start the very first Traveller Pride.

We talked about -

• What it was like growing up on the fair and being different to others
• The Showmen Community, their beliefs and values and the importance of family and heritage 
• Being a traveller in the LGBTQ community 
• The pride of the Showmen community and the importance of appearance ‘the flash’
• Traveller education 
• What it was like moving into a house for the first time after living in a trailer
• His experience of the Showmen community's views of the LGBTQ community 
• Coming out
• Starting Traveller Pride 
• The importance of LGBTQ visibility in Traveller communities
• Knowing yourself
• Cherry Valentine, the Romany Gypsy drag queen and what she did for LGBTQ travellers

Tyler works as a therapist and has his own private practice.

Follow Tyler on X/Twitter - https://x.com/tjhatwell

Follow Traveller Pride here:

Website - https://www.lgbttravellerpride.com

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/travellerpride/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lgbttravellerpride/

Follow Metro Charities here:

Website - https://metrocharity.org.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/METROcharity/

Follow London Gypsies and Travellers here:

Website - https://www.londongypsiesandtravellers.org.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/londongypsytraveller/

Thanks to Barney Addison, Bryher Williams, Felicity Papendieck and Sarah Powell for their input.

Please follow us at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myneighbourthehero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast features themes of suicide.

#newpodcastalert #podcastseries #femalepodcasters #podcastlaunch #podcastinterviews

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode I meet Angela, who has been a nurse for over 40 years, and for 20 of those she has worked in a hospice.

This is the story of how she overcame her fear of death to work in a hospice and what she's learnt about death, regrets and what happens at the end. Angela tells us what can help the grieving process, and how you can use the knowledge of death to live a life where you won’t say ‘I wish I had’ at the end. And for those of you who wouldn't mind a few assurances about life after death (definitely me!) Angela tells us about the experiences she's had that could allude to an afterlife.

We talked about

• Working as a student nurse
• The deaths that began her fear of death
• The role of palliative nurses
• Active listening and communication 
• What happens at the end
• What she’s seen that could allude to the Afterlife.
• How to live in the knowledge of death
• Living in the now 
• How to avoid saying ‘I wish I had’ at the end. 
• The guilt of the bereaved 
• The kindness of people

Angela is the Lead Practice at Ellenor Hospice in Gravesend. 

Follow Ellenor Hospice here: https://ellenor.org

Thanks to Basia Wilson at Ellenor Hospice.

Thanks to Bryher Williams, Sarah Powell and Jamie Moore for their input.

Please follow us at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast features themes of death.

#newpodcastalert #podcastseries #femalepodcasters #podcastlaunch #podcastinterviews

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the age of 22, Sophie sustained a spinal cord injury which left her paralysed from the chest down. 

We discuss how she struggled to adapt to life with a disability, in a world where disability isn’t catered to. Grief and friendship loss. But how she found freedom on the slopes, became a Team GB athlete, and how she got to the point where she prefers the life she has now to the life she had before her disability, and how finding her people was one of the biggest factors.

We talked about:

• The injury that changed her life
• Recovery 
• Adapting to life with a wheelchair 
• Grief 
• The effects of a spinal cord injury 
• Sports, Sit-skiing and water skiing
• Team GB and finding yourself
• Ableism
• Friendship losses and friendship gains
• The wide ranging benefits of meditation
• A growth mindset, taking responsibility and resilience 
• Gratefulness and finding the good 
• Community and finding your people 

Sophie works as a Service Manager for a charity and has her own podcast A Life Less Ordinary.

Follow Sophie here: https://www.instagram.com/sophieelwes?igsh=YXlrM2N6OHh0Ym8=

Sophie’s podcast: ‘A Life Less Ordinary’ - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-life-less-ordinary-with-sophie-elwes/id1514110779

Location: Ministry Venues  https://www.ministryvenues.com/

Back Up Trust: https://www.backuptrust.org.uk/

Thanks to Sarah Powell, Bryher Williams and Jamie Moore for their input.

Please follow My Neighbour The Hero at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

#newpodcastalert #podcastseries #femalepodcasters #podcastlaunch #podcastinterviews

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the age of 12, Vernel was taken to live on the notorious Pembury Estate in Hackney. He saw a man shot dead within the first week. 

We discuss how he was drawn into gang crime, his suffering at the hands of the police, and how the Hackney riots happened, and threw his life into even more chaos.

This is a story of determination, of how, despite everything stacked against him, Vernel turned his life around, starting with mastering the power of the mind.

Vernel is now the founder and CEO of the Social Enterprise Inside Out.

In this interview we cover:

• Life and survival on one of the most crime ridden estates in London
• How and why people are drawn into the gangs
• Violence on the estates and how gang rivalry begins
• Police attitudes towards the people on the estate and it’s psychological impact 
• The Hackney Riots and why it happened 
• Life in prison, the home office and judicial failures 
• Mental health and survival mode
• The power of the mind and changing the pictures in his brain 
• How someone believing in him gave him the confidence to overcome hurdles
• Equine Therapy
• The power of affirmations and meditation

Follow Vernel and his company 'Inside Out' here:

Website: https://insideout.org.uk

TikTok: @insideout_cic

Instagram: @insideout_cic

Location - Ministry Venues: https://www.ministryvenues.com

Please follow us at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myneighbourthehero/

Twitter: https://x.com/myneighbourhero

If you know of any amazing everyday heroes who you think should appear on this podcast please email [email protected].

CONTENT WARNING: Please note that this podcast features themes of violence, death, swearing and mentions of suicide.

#newpodcastalert #podcastseries #femalepodcasters #podcastlaunch #podcastinterviews

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.