My blurred opinion

My race against death

Shoba is the next guest and I couldn't be more happy about that, she is such a kind person, and has been through so much. She is the perfect example of a person who is so kind and doesn't deserve the things that has happened to her, but all that she has been through has made her the woman she is today.  She is a three time cancer survivor, and a kidney transplant recipient. She's originally from India, but now resides in San Francisco, California. Those she's very aware that cancer could happen again, she's not running from it, she wants to share her story to help those who are struggling with the horrible disease that is cancer. She wants people to know that the disease will not define her, and as long as she can, and as long as she's able, she will share her story, and she will help others
Her website https://www.shobarao.com
 

Without restraint

In this episode, we have two guests, Robert and Ryan Delena, a father and son who wrote a book about Ryan's struggles with his condition and how skiing saved his life. As a child, Ryan had difficulty controlling his emotions and was placed in therapeutic schools that relied on detrimental methods of behavior modification such as physical restraint. Nothing helped from a team of doctors to heavy medication. Then in 2010, he was voluntarily committed to a mental hospital for further evaluation. Robert and his wife were counseled to place him in a group home. They refused. 
Everything changed when they went on a trip and they took Ryan skiing, and saw how his behavior exponentially changed, and that Ryan had a passion, and he had something he was good at, and that overall he was just misunderstood. 
His website https://without-restraint-book.com
 

Ms. blind diva

Goddess Johnson is beyond qualified to talk about having a visual impairment and being successful. She lost most of her sight, and had a freak accident, and is that with mental health and many other traumas in her life, but she has had way more success than failures.  She has received two masters degrees, she owns two businesses, which they I'll have some sort of benefactor to the youth, who is visual impairment, mental health, and more.
Instagram at the.realgoddest

Thank you BEARy much for three years

In this episode, we celebrate our three-year anniversary by having one of my closest friends, and the previous guest. Roxie interviewed me. I sent a message to many of the earlier guests for questions that Roxie can ask me during the episode. I wanted to show a silly side, and a deeper side of me that you don't always get when I am doing the interviewing. She also answers questions, and we go back-and-forth, and show how weird our friendship is, but we also give you our take on serious issues that were brought up within the questions. 

I am my own best teacher

Michael Hingson, blind since birth, was born in Chicago to sighted parents who believed in raising their son with a can-do attitude. Treated like all other children in his family, Michael rode a bike did advanced math in his head and learn to read and write - Braille that is! Michael's family relocated to the warm Palmdale area of California when he was five years old. It is here that Hingson had his first adventure with Guide Dogs for the Blind and received his first guide dog. He later went to college receiving a bachelor's and master's degree in Physics along with a secondary teaching credential from the University of California at Irvine.
Michael then enjoyed a nearly-30-year career working for high tech companies spending most of his time in management roles.
Michael Hingson's life changed dramatically on September 11, 2001 when he and his guide dog, Roselle, escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center moments before it collapsed. Soon after, Michael and Roselle were thrust into the international limelight where Michael began to share his unique survival story and 9-11 lessons of trust, courage, heroism, and teamwork.
Mike has served as The National Public Affairs Director for one of the largest Nonprofit organizations in the nation: Guide Dogs for the Blind; He serves as the vice president of the National Association of Guide Dog Users; Michael holds seats on other agency boards including the Fort Worth Lighthouse for the Blind, the Earle Baum Center for the Blind and the Colorado Center for the Blind; Michael is The National Ambassador for the Braille Literacy Campaign of the National Federation of the Blind. He is the Founder of the Roselle's Dream Foundation - helping the blind obtain the technology they need to not only excel in school and at work, but to live out their dreams!
Until October 2019 he worked as the CEO of the Do More Foundation, the non-profit arm of Aira Tech Corp, a manufacturer of assistive technology which makes a revolutionary visual interpreter for blind people.
He is the author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller: "Thunder dog -The True Story of a Blind Man, a Guide Dog & the Triumph of Trust" - selling over 2.5 million copies Worldwide. In 2014 Mr. Hingson published his 2nd book "Running with Roselle"- which Is the first of its kind- A story for our youth shedding light on one of Americas Darkest Days.
Aside from his talents and advocacies, Mr. Hingson has traveled the Globe from Japan to New Zealand, the Netherlands to his hometown, Chicago. Speaking to some of the world's most elite: from former President, George W. Bush to Larry King, to Fortune 500 companies and colleges and Universities Nationwide. After sharing his story of survival on hundreds of TV and Radio programs, Michael is now an Expert hired by many of today's major corporations and organizations. Speaking and consulting on the importance of Teamwork and Trust, Moving from Diversity to Inclusion, as well as offering Adaptive Technology Training - spearheading innovation for ALL! - Thus, bringing organizations to the forefront of the ever-changing competitive modern world.
Currently, Michael lives in Victorville, California with his wife, Karen, a professional quilter, Alamo, Michael's eighth guide dog and their rescue feline, Stitch. https://michaelhingson.com/books/

Breaking bondage from addiction

Doug Sweeneys honesty in this episode was courageous, sincere, heartbreaking at times, and powerful. His story is primarily about addiction, starting within his household, and eventually succumbing to it as a child. He tried to be a full fledge, functional alcoholic, but that didn't really work, if anything, it made it worse. Eventually, drugs came into the picture, and a multitude of mistakes, and hitting multiple bottoms, somehow, to this day he still alive, and here, to tell his story to those that are also struggling with addiction, and needing guidance. He's a beautiful and brave person, and he is well needed in the fight against addiction.
His website https://www.breakingbondagefromaddiction.com

Fabulous over 50

Jen Hardy is a podcast host, author, speaker, community builder, and a stay-at-home mom that homeschools her seven children. , until she hit her 40s and her doctor diagnosed her with horrible asthma, and muscular dystrophy that went totally unnoticed.  After a hospitalization, she had time to ponder where her life is going from here, and she decided that she wanted to live her best life in her 50s, even with all of her illnesses. Jen really is a sweet, smart, brave woman, who seems to take on all the challenges that come her way, go somedays it can be hard, but she's always there to meet that challenge at the door.
Her website https://jenhardy.net
 
 
 

The black sheep

She never truly felt well. After surviving a rough childhood, torn between a narcissist of a father and an unfeeling and emotionally neglectful mother,  she learned that she was the only one she could depend on. She eventually develop an eating disorder and became an alcoholic by binge drinking. Then, from there became entangled in a relationship with a man that was very similar to her father, in certain characteristics. Then, after a drawn-out divorce when she would lose everything, but her children, she had to do some soul-searching to figure out who she was, and where her life was headed. 
Her website  https://www.wholisticnaturalhealth.com.au
Her LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/magicbarclay/

Some dreams are worth keeping

Susan Johnson is the author of “Some Dreams Are Worth Keeping” A Memoir of My Bipolar Journey and an inspirational speaker. She is one of these individuals that is pushing the envelope when it comes to mental health, as a woman who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there's many stigma's that come with that, and she wants to educate people on those stigmas, and bring these topics to the table so that they are more widely spoken about. She wants to show people that she is an absolute success story and that having a mental illness is not a death sentence. She is now currently living her dreams as a renowned speaker, advocate, and author.
Her website https://www.sjohnsonauthor.com
Her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sjohnsonbooks/
 

The reconciliation

This is a very special episode for me, because this one is with my father, I've mentioned him on a multitude of episodes, and because our relationship has gotten better over the years, I really wanted to have him on. We discuss his upbringing, how some of his issues stem from his father, his regrets in life, specially the ones involving me, and him in current day, where he is working on himself. I never knew how this was going to play out, but it was a really peaceful, and therapeutic conversation, and I wanted this very episode to highlight the reconnection of two people who were filled with anger, resentment, and many other things that kept us apart.