Navigating Disability

Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of health struggles and trauma. Please take care while listening.

Need support? Call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

What does it mean to build a life of purpose when your body has been fighting you since childhood?

Today, Navigating Disability sit with Eliot Carroll. Before his tenth birthday, Eliot was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH). His childhood wasn't defined by playgrounds and playdates, but by two life-altering brain surgeries, a complex dependence on medication, and the profound limitations of a body that couldn't keep up. 

He learned to navigate the world from hospital rooms and the sidelines, a witness to a "normal" life that always seemed just out of reach.

But this isn't a story of sickness. It's a story of strength.

Eliot has decoded a powerful truth: a life limited in activity is not a life limited in impact. 

Now, he uses his voice as a microphone for the marginalised. As a passionate disability rights advocate, he breaks down barriers, challenges stereotypes, and fights for a world where access and understanding are not privileges, but fundamental rights.

Connect with Eliot Carroll:

Eliot's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliotcarroll/

What happens when you grow up expecting to be “fixed” and later learn that your disability isn’t something to hide, but a source of insight, purpose and power? 

In this episode, Kate and Jenn sit down with Anja Christoffersen, an award-winning disability advocate, social entrepreneur, and 2025 QLD Excellence in Women’s Leadership Award winner. Anja discusses her powerful story of living with a complex disability and turning that lived experience into a mission for change. Born with anatomical differences and spending the first five years of her life in hospital, she believed she would be “fixed” only to discover later that disability isn’t about being broken, it’s about navigating life differently. Anja shares her teenage years of masking, invisibility, trauma from repeated surgeries, and how that shaped her understanding of identity, equity and leadership.

She then takes us into her work: sitting on a health‑service executive board, launching a toilet‑paper startup (“Shit Happens”) to create inclusive change, and building a network of women with disabilities entrepreneurs. We explore how she defines disability today, bowel and bladder challenges, swallowing and breathing difficulties, chronic fatigue, and how she channels those realities into advocacy and economic innovation.

Tune in to hear Anja’s advice for anyone feeling stuck by their disability: “Give yourself more credit. What you do matters.” Learn how you can support disability‑led business, challenge the “inspiration porn” narrative, and engage with change on a systems level. Listen, share and subscribe, you’ll leave inspired, empowered and ready to take action.

See more from Anja:

• Shhithappens Website:  https://shhithappens.com.au/   
• Shhithappens Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/shhithappensau/
• Anja’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anjachristoffersen/ 
• Anja’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anja-christoffersen-999446152/ 

Trigger warning: Topics include medical trauma, childhood hospitalisation, incontinence and sexual health. If you or someone you know is in distress, call Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia).

After a devastating car accident at age four, Eamon Wood's life was forever changed. But instead of letting paraplegia define him, he forged a path that redefines what resilience looks like. In this powerful episode, Eamon shares his journey from becoming New Zealand's first professional wheelchair basketball player in Europe to building a family, an engineering career, and a thriving assistive tech company, Nudge Assist. He talks candidly about identity, dating, fatherhood, mental health, and the realities of navigating systems not built for inclusion. With warmth, insight, and a dash of Kiwi humour, Eamon reminds us that adaptability isn't just about mobility, it's about mindset. You’ll laugh, reflect, and probably tear up as Eamon shares the pivotal moment he stopped wishing to walk and started choosing to live fully. This episode is a must-listen for anyone needing a nudge of inspiration or practical insight into living fully with disability.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to trauma and addiction. If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline at 13 11 14.

More from Eamonn:

• Order physical copy of "A Backpack, a Chair and a Beard"  via email [email protected]  
• "A Backpack, a Chair and a Beard" on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-backpack-a-chair-and-a-beard-eamon-wood/1138409871 
• A Backpack, a Chair and a Beard Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/waywardwheeler 
• Nudge Assist Website: https://nudgeassist.com.au/ 
• Eamonn’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wayward_wheeler/
• Eamonn’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eamon-wood/ 

Cassie Day never expected her life to unfold this way. At 23, she was thrown into the deep end when her newborn son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. What followed was a rollercoaster of medical trauma, emotional resilience, and a relentless fight to give her son a chance at life. In this episode, Cassie shares the raw, unfiltered story behind founding The Carer's Place, winning South Australia’s Carer Achievement Award, and how her darkest moments became a catalyst for change. From fractured relationships to small wins that felt like miracles, Cassie speaks with radical honesty about the hidden realities of being a full-time carer. If you’ve ever felt unseen in your caregiving role or struggled to hold onto hope, this conversation will meet you where you are.

Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of medical trauma, mental health struggles, and domestic violence. Please take care while listening.

Need support? Call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Tune in, share, and subscribe to help us amplify carer voices that too often go unheard.

Connect with Cassie:

• https://www.cassieday.com/ 
• https://www.instagram.com/thecarersplace/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/cassiedayofficial 
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassieleeday/ 

Trigger warning: This episode discusses psychiatric hospitalization and suicidal thoughts. If you need support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) or your local crisis line.

At 17, Dr. Azi Jankovic was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and told she’d be medicated for life. For over two decades, she lived within a system that prioritised sedation over root-cause healing. But Azi chose a different path, and now she’s helping others do the same.

In this episode, Kate and Jenn sit down with Dr. Azi to discuss her new book, Defying the Diagnosis: Reclaim Your Mental Health and Thrive, a groundbreaking guide that fuses lived experience with research and the wisdom of healing beyond the label.

Azi introduces us to her signature Four Pillars of Mental Health:
 🧠 Physiology
 🧘‍♀️ Psychology
 🎯 Purpose
 👥 People

We explore how she moved from surviving to thriving, and how you can too. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking real hope and whole-person healing.

💚 Dr. Azi’s links:
Website: azijankovic.com
Order book: Amazon
Insight Timer: Dr. Azi Jankovic
Instagram: @defyingthediagnosis
LinkedIn: Dr. Azi Jankovic

🎧 Listen now and share with someone who needs to know: You are not your diagnosis.

In this episode of Navigating Disability, Kate and Jenn speak with Lisa Grech, living with multiple sclerosis while caring full time for her adult daughter, Hannah, who experiences a severe intellectual disability and is non-verbal. Lisa gives us raw, courageous insight into what it means to be both a person with disability and a carer, and why amplifying the voices of those who can’t be heard is vital.

Lisa walks us through the challenges of diagnosis, the emotional weight of grief and guilt, and how she found pathways toward acceptance. She also lifts up the practical strategies that have sustained her, how she and Hannah’s father, Tim, collaborate, how they’ve built a support team over decades, and how they’re planning a specialised home (SDA) to better secure Hannah’s future.

We also dig into the tensions within the disability sector: how carers’ perspectives are often undervalued, how inclusion still falls short, and how listening and respect must be foundational.
If you’ve ever felt stuck between roles, or questioned whose voice counts, this conversation offers powerful validation, solidarity, and direction.

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses grief, guilt, and mental health in the context of caring.
 Lifeline (Australia): 13 11 14

See more from Lisa:
https://www.thetalkshop.com.au/dr-lisa-grech-psychologist-bp/ 

 → Please remember: you are not alone. Share this with others and let’s keep widening the space for all voices in disability.

Natalie Terry Bedwell never planned for a life filled with diagnoses, advocacy, and navigating complex care systems, but it’s the life she’s embraced with courage and clarity. In this moving episode, Natalie shares what it's like to raise seven children, four of whom live with disabilities, while also managing her own diagnoses of ADHD and autism.

From unexpected grief to unexpected joy, Natalie walks us through the hard-won lessons of parenting, caring, and choosing to create inclusive spaces through her business, Honoured Social Enterprise Gym, and her charity, Infinitely Valued. We dig into the emotional labour of carers, the small moments that fuel resilience, and how laughter and love show up even in chaos.

This is not just an episode about disability or care, it’s about what happens when we stop pretending everything’s fine and start building the communities we actually need.

🔔 Trigger warning: Discussion includes mental and emotional exhaustion, systemic challenges, and medical trauma.
 📞 Lifeline (Australia): 13 11 14

🎙️ Listen in and discover how Natalie turned overwhelm into impact.

Check out more from Natalie:

• https://honouredgym.com.au/
• https://www.infinitelyvalued.org/ 

In this moving episode of Navigating Disability, we sit down with William Ward-Boas, an Autistic, First Nations, gay self-advocate and deputy chair of VALID. Diagnosed as non-verbal with intellectual disability and written off by professionals as a child, William's story is one of incredible resilience, transformation, and purpose.

William opens up about the harsh realities of growing up in a segregated education system, surviving stigma, internalised ableism and homophobia, and the trauma of being underestimated. He shares how community, therapy, and fierce advocacy helped him reclaim his identity and find pride in every part of who he is. From non-verbal beginnings to speaking at the United Nations, William's journey will leave you inspired to rethink what’s possible when people are given love, support, and the right tools to thrive.

This episode is a must-listen for families, educators, and allies who believe in potential over prediction.

⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode discusses self-harm, trauma, and mental health struggles.

If you or someone you know needs support, please contact Lifeline at 13 11 14.

🎧 Listen now and share this story of courage and change.

In this powerful episode of Navigating Disability, Kate and Jenn sit down with Aaron Fowler. He’s a senior physiotherapist, sports journalist, and vision-sports advocate living with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Diagnosed at age five, Aaron shares the reality of his condition: tunnel vision, night blindness, and a future of unpredictable sight loss. He opens up about how he learned to navigate school, university, sport, and mental health through courage, community, and a deep sense of purpose.

You’ll hear:

• what retinitis pigmentosa is, and how Aaron has adapted from childhood to now
• how sport, especially blind cricket, vision‑impaired rugby, and the Disability Sports Podcast, became not just an outlet, but a lifeline
• the hard truth about mental health, isolation, burnout, and how Aaron found hope again
• advice for anyone who feels stuck, without support, or unsure how to move forward
  
  

Trigger warning: this episode mentions depression, anxiety, thoughts of self‑harm. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a trusted person, or a mental health service. Lifeline (Australia): 13 11 14.

If Aaron’s story inspires you, share this with someone who might need to hear it. Subscribe to Navigating Disability for more honest stories and real insights, and leave us a review if this episode spoke to you.

Mel James is a force of lived experience, resilience, and truth-telling. In this powerful episode, she shares her journey as a mother of children with "unique needs," her advocacy within the disability and education systems, and her personal healing from complex trauma. 

Mel dives deep into what it means to raise children in a world that often misunderstands difference, the grief and grace of diagnosis, and why connection, community, and compassion must lead the way.

With fierce vulnerability, Mel calls out systemic failures while offering hard-earned wisdom on self-preservation, acceptance, and advocacy. Whether you're a parent, educator, or ally, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone passionate about shifting the narrative around disability, trauma, and motherhood.

Trigger Warning:

This episode includes discussion of trauma, sexual abuse, and complex PTSD. Please take care while listening.

If you need support, call Lifeline at 13 11 14 (Australia).

🔊 Hit play. Be inspired. Share the truth.