Utah StoryCorps - Hope and Healing

Holly Moss-Rosen found herself taking her son, Alex, for leukemia treatments at a Utah hospital where she also works and cares for children with the disease. Colleague Kiley Patáno found little ways to make this family’s burden a little lighter.

Bucked off her horse and lying in a dry creek bed, Marie Zaphiropoulos found herself with serious injuries to her forehead, ribs, and back. Marie recalls being greeted at a rural Utah hospital’s emergency department by a kind woman who went to work caring for Marie – even washing her hair. This sparked a desire inside Marie to give back to the hospital that took such good care of her.

Exercise physiologist Tiffany Gust’s mantra, “Play big—because you can and because you're worth it,” is reflected in her passion for triathlons and even a full-distance ironman. Then Tiffany had a series of mini-strokes and learned she had a hole in her heart. She was devastated, but came back strong, continuing her commitment to fitness and to inspiring others. Tiffany says to fellow caregiver Christy Lawson, “I know you would like to do a triathlon, and I would love to help you reach that goal

Yasmen Simonian has always used her voice for good, and going through breast cancer and a mastectomy helped her magnify that voice. In a conversation with radiologist Dr. Brett Parkinson, she explains she’s no longer afraid to do things—and how beating breast cancer has given her the liberty to be an advocate of early detection.

After being diagnosed as pre-diabetic, Jay Whatcott knew he needed to make changes, but he didn’t know where or how to start. He joined the100-day Heart Challenge at a Utah hospital, where he learned to exercise and eat healthy.

When Hernando Manrique came to Utah from Colombia, he didn’t know what to expect. But he found his way by continuing to drink his Colombian coffee, sharing his passion for soccer—ultimately meeting his wife through soccer—and using his roots to connect with Hispanic patients in his job as a security officer at a Utah hospital. Here, he shares his story with colleague Abram Jones.

Kara Mortensen and Cheryl Satterthwaite, who live just miles apart in northern Utah, discovered that the children they adopted have the same birth mother. The children, Eli and AleyahJai, now enjoy regular outings together and their parents are excited to have their children share beautiful journeys as they grow up.

During medical school and early on in their careers, husband and wife medical doctors, Sumaira Arain and Suleman Iqbal would go up to 48 hours without seeing one another.

Congenital heart disease kills more kids than all childhood cancers combined. Nola Spicer and Nicura Thompson know this first-hand.

Mike Bleak has served as commissioner in Iron County, Utah since 2016. He previously worked in public safety for more than two decades, most recently as a detective with the Cedar City Police Department. Here, Mike and his wife Amy talk about “the choking game,” a topic Mike is passionate about preventing and speaks about close to home, across the United States, and abroad. Mike is also open and candid about experiencing post-traumatic stress from his career in law enforcement.