Empowerment

In this episode I get to have a wonderful conversation with my great friend Kendra. Kendra is a woman I met on Instagram and I did a live on her channel.. She is an entrepreneur, a disability advocate, and an overall kind hearted woman. She does not have a disability herself, but she has had friends, and incidences in her life where she stood up for those who either were afraid to, or just didn't have the voice that Kendra did. Her goal is to empower and create safe spaces so that there is some fairness when it comes to people with disabilities. She discusses all the things as she is passionate about, and all the things that she is working on to help make this a better world.

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/empowermentapparel531/

Website https://thehello.llc/EMPOWERMENTAPPAREL531

It‘s not black-and-white

Deon Joseph has bin an LAPD for 25 years in high crime areas of Los Angeles. He has worked on skid Row which is a notorious area of LA for having a giant population of homeless people who have built their own community, and an area of lawlessness and crime. Some of our subject matter in this episode that is discussed, crime, homelessness, race, and his honest opinions on special interest groups like Black Lives Matter. 

His website  http://www.deonjoseph.org

Just a bunch of numbers

This episode was recorded a lot different than any of the other episodes I've done in the past or in the future, we used a phone service that has her interpreter, the type to hear what I say, and then she replies with her voice.  Karen is a woman who was born with normal hearing but after a fall from her, JetSki's it end up activating a specific gene that only her family has, This gene took most of her hearing. She was really adamant about looking for a role model in the deaf community, so much that she end up going to a school with a bunch of deaf people and she got so comfortable that she end up teaching the other students. She also talked about having kids with the same gene and dealing with guilt because of passing it on to them.

https://www.yourpassionschool.com/22%20Lessons

Very direct

This episode is with Michael Holden.  He is lives all the way in Northern Ireland and he suffers from a neurological disorder called Motor neuron disease, which put him in a wheelchair, and it started to affect him in his late 30s. He talks about the slow deterioration of his body that started with pains in his legs and then moved around throughout the other parts of his body. He was also misdiagnosed for a condition he didn't even have which then drove him down a long road of psychological issues that he needed therapy for. He's had a very up and down rocky road in his so many years, but no matter what he still wants equality and he still speaks out for people who need it most, even though he may not come off the best way to everyone, but if you're kind to him, he will ingratiate you with kindness.  He also talks about his disabled son and how they had to restructure their house to make it wheelchair accessible.

Open the valve

Our next guest is Teri who is a woman I met through my grandma's next-door neighbor, her family was getting rid of a cat which is now my best buddy bullet. She was born with a condition called aorta stenosis, Which means her aorta valve was almost entirely closed. Her doctors and family put restrictions on how much she could do, but she did not listen and I got her in lots of trouble. She had many surgeries including one that would preserve a few extra years of her life by opening up her valve, But even though she nearly died three times through that surgery, she is still alive many years later. She is also the first person to survive that surgery because it was done in 1962. Even though that surgery was a success and did prolong her life, she needed another surgery while she was going through her schooling, but it was also a success. The irony of all the problems he's had with her heart, her heart is the most valuable part of her body,  because she's adopted a lot of children and taking care of them over the years, and she cares about them equally and always wants the best for them. Unfortunately, the health issues continued when she had a massive stroke that paralyzed one side of her body, And also couldn't talk. She is a very tough woman and continues to fight no matter what is thrown at her

On the spectrum

Please episode with a delightful woman named Elaine she has ADHD and she is on the autism spectrum. We discuss her journey in trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with her, and how things changed when the label autistic was put on her after her diagnosis, And how some people treated her totally different even though they knew her for years, all because of a label. We also discussed her being from generation X, in which there was not much conversation about what people with autism were, and how things have changed from generation to generation. She tells us the difference between people who are autistic who need higher support and people who are just on the spectrum. We also discuss labels and which ones to stay away from, and much more. Her Instagram is @Elainebythebeach

Eyes like mine

This episode is with my friend Krystle Allen, she's an entrepreneur, she started her own nonprofit which is called eyes like mine, she has her own zoom show as she allows people all over the visually impaired and blind community to speak and tell their inspiring story and how you can overcome something that seems like it's impossible to do. In the episode, we discussed how she lost most of her sightp which was caused by a condition called pseudotumor cerebri which is caused by excess fluid in the back of the brain.  We discuss her upbringing, mental health, and all her endeavors. She tells her inspiring story on how she lost her vision physically but gained a new vision in life which is her passion to help people with disabilities to thrive in this world and love themselves.

Her website  eyeslikemine.org

Angel interventions

This episode is with Joseph who is a former combat veteran who served over in Vietnam. The bulk of his story is mainly about his journey after serving, when he had a nervous breakdown while teaching, and can no longer do that profession anymore. His PTSD and erratic behavior were starting to seep through the cracks when he had to make a change. He realized that his guardian angels were always there for him, and we're constantly trying to guide him in the right direction, but he didn't always listen, and that's one when  his  life didn't go as planned. He talks about his first interaction with his angels, and how now they help him make every move in his life. 

He's written many books and here is a link to one of them including his website

**The Power of Angels Vol. 3: 
https://amzn.to/3AhvoR0

**Website: jmmlove.com

Danny the anchor

This episode is with Ken Atkins who tells a story about him and his son Dani's journey, And how no matter how bad things got for them Dani was the anchor, and he kept them both going. I Danny suffers from a condition called Angelman syndrome, Which is a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system. though Danny   has a low IQ, he is a very smart kid who does know what's going on if you pay attention enough to him. Ken talks about the long periods of time trying to figure out what is wrong with Danny, And t the abandonment of his wife and Danny's mother I could not take it anymore. Ken is a great father and he took this head-on and even though he battled alcohol addiction, and depression, he never gave up on Danny. Ken also had to quit his highly paid job to fully take care of Danny and he also became his personal caregiver. This is a story of an amazing father with an amazing son, and no matter how tough it got, they weather the storm.

Please get his book the silent son here, Or anywhere you can get books https://thesilentson.com/shop/

Survivor to thriver

In this episode we talked to Carey, She is a woman who became disabled due to a horrible car accident that also caused pain, and PTSD to her two daughters.  we go in-depth on that night and how it all unfolded and how her life changed forever. We discussed the bone and nerve damage that was caused by the accident and the constant chronic pain that she goes through on a daily basis. She also talks about how the accident changed her for the good, how she feels things that she never felt before, and that she has more of an open mind and an understanding of how precious life is. She then opens up about her family with her two daughters, and her husband and how supportive they have been through her traumatic recovery.

Her website https://careyportell.com

Her Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CPSTY

Her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cp_sty/