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Multiple Sclerosis Podcast, hosted by Brooke Slick and Jodi Feltham: For Living a Life by Design not Diagnosis
Episodes
Friday Apr 26, 2024
Friday Apr 26, 2024
In today's message Jodi Feltham shares about her own humble beginnings and healing journey from a broken rib injury. She also recounts the early beginnings of The MS Gym.
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
Wednesday Jan 24, 2024
I have the privilege today to interview our latest guest Dr. Samantha Roman, better known on TikTok as Dr. Sam. You'll learn valuable insights from our guest, who's not only a John Hopkins MS-trained neurologist, but a fellow MS warrior. In today's podcast, we'll discuss Dr. Sam's:
- Extensive education in mental health and neuroimmunology
- Experiences in MS research
- Initial symptoms, diagnosis, and MS treatments
- Experience with "medical student syndrome"
- Views on diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices
- Following on social media, most notably TikTok
- Desire to educate our community about all things MS
- Thoughts on therapy treatments in dealing with chronic illnesses
- Views on treatment risks and efficacy for each person
- Involvement in the "Treat MS trial"
- Distrust of the internet and the spread of misinformation
- Bewilderment about the TikTok myth of "MS and parasites"
- Advice to the newly diagnosed
- Recommendations about reputable and educational MS resources
Links
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Wednesday Dec 13, 2023
Join us for our podcast as we learn more about Brenda, one of the Original Gymmers (OG) in The MS Gym. Today, she'll talk about her:
- Initial symptoms
- Unexpected diagnosis
- DMT and treatment choices
- Journey to find The MS Gym
- Her commitment to exercise
- Her change in vocation
- Travel bug origins
- Mobility aids that assist her in her passion for global travel
- Upcoming plans
- Advice to fellow Chronic Illness Warriors
MS Gym Links
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Life can change so quickly when diagnosed with a chronic illness. Things we once held tightly to like our jobs, hobbies, abilities, family and friends can disappear in the blink of an eye. We can find ourselves lost and isolated from the world around us. Today’s podcast guest tells us how she channelled her own struggles, fear and uncertainty into her TikTok videos and created a safe space and community for others who are struggling with chronic illness. What started out as a wobbly dance turned into 41,000 engaged followers, and a whole world of purpose.
Join me as we get social with Julie and learn about:
- Her initial symptoms and diagnosis
- Her struggles raising young children
- How she had to forego continuing education
- Her medication dilemmas and complications
- Her dedication to exercise
- How she started posting on Tiktok
- What motivates her daily videos
- Why she is so loved by her 41,000 followers
- Her speaking opportunities with #sothisisms
- Her hobbies, interests and desires
- Her advice for the newly diagnosed
- How she deals with the difficult days
- The message she wants to shout out
Links:
Connect with Julie on TikTok
Connect with Jodi on TikTok , Facebook
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Social media is all around us and is a valuable tool for spreading knowledge, influencing others, and creating awareness. Today, we will learn from Toronto-born Christina Andaya as she shares about how she uses social media to:
- Create community and share about her own MS journey
- Raise awareness about atypical MS symptoms and unusual diagnosis in minority ethnic groups
- Collaborate with organizations, such as MS Canada and #sothisisMS
- Showcase her involvement in the Miss Galaxy Canada competition
- Explore career opportunities
Learn more about Christina Andaya.
Christina Andaya - Social Media Marketing Specialist
Thursday Oct 19, 2023
Thursday Oct 19, 2023
Today's episode is a super special one because I get to reintroduce and/or introduce the MS Gym to the masses.
The MS Gym has been around for almost 6 years and has thousands of followers, but there are upwards of 3 million people worldwide who have MS, so there's always someone newly diagnosed out there or just discovering us who may want to know more about exactly who we are.
Who's the founder? Where's it located? What's it all about? How can I benefit from it? And, what does it cost?
Our audience is going to get all of that information and more in today's episode as I had the unique opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with the creator and founder of the MS Gym, Coach Trevor Wicken. Let's goooo!
EPISODE NOTES:
- Its founder, programs, and pricing
- Reintroducing The MS Gym
- What is it?
- What is neuroplasticity?
- The role of the central nervous system.
- The brain is plastic
- The truth about neural pathways
- Trevor's credentials
- His own neurologic events
- Defending MS practitioners who don't have MS
- Fighting for people's lives
- The free online resources and where you can access them
- The difference between the free MS Gym information and the paid for program
- When you want more structure
- Details on the paid-for products and programs
- The Members Only Corner (MOC)
- The value of community and connection
- Mindset training
- A healing lifestyle
- Can you continue your regular exercise while using The MS Gym programs?
- Where to start
- Two of the most popular free programs
- Programs for people who use wheelchairs and/or mobility aids
- Full program pricing: semi-annual, annual, monthly
- Link to a promotional discount for podcast listeners
- Are the programs self-paced?
- The MS Gym app
- Consistently up-leveling the programs
- What the MS Gym isn't
- A fun random question about food
LINKS:
THE MS GYM:
The MS Gym Programs and Products with Pricing:
Membership Program including Members Only Community (MOC)
SPECIAL PROMOTION PRICING! (mentioned in this podcast episode)
BROOKE SLICK:
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
Thursday Jun 08, 2023
With summer, vacation months upon us, at least here in the U.S., for those of us living with mobility issues, it adds on an extra layer of complexity and consideration into planning a trip.
Things like...Is your vacation rental gonna have steps? Is it going to have an elevator? Are you going to be able to get to your connecting flight fast enough through the airport? Are you going to hold everybody back because you're slow? Are you even going to be able to enjoy yourself on the trip? You know what I'm talking about.
Today's guest is going to tell you how you can conquer all of your fears with ease...on a scooter. That's right. It's the mobility device you didn't know you needed. Maybe the mere thought of using one makes you want to stop listening. Maybe you think you're not ready or bad enough yet to use a scooter.
Well, you can keep wasting your time and your physical energy trying to get all of your daily tasks completed. You can struggle through trying to keep up with the crowd. You can continue to rely on others to get you where you need or want to go. Or, you can listen to today's guest debunk all of your misgivings and tell you how it's done.
Join me in welcoming Jodi Johnson, one of our fellow MS Gymmers, to the podcast.
EPISODE NOTES:
- Rapid decline
- Most symptoms -related
- Persistent foot drop
- Tripping
- Enter mobility aids
- From strolling to rolling
- Starting with canes
- The joy and frustration that came with deciding to use a mobility aid
- Embarrassment
- Traveling with aids
- Discovering a workaround for walking longer distances
- Renting a wheelchair even though she wasn't "ready"
- Feeling small
- Being an ambulatory wheelchair user
- Trying out a walker/wheelchair combo…even in Portugal and Costa Rica
- Getting unapologetically used to using a mobility aid
- Mobility aids in the home
- Getting her first scooter
- Shocked at the freedom and portability of a scooter
- Going to the mall again!
- Getting her independence back
- Using multiple mobility aids depending on how she was feeling on any given day
- Canes/walker/wheelchair/scooter
- Acquiring her bumblebee scooter
- Flying with a foldable scooter
- The Transformer by Solax
- Getting a lift for her car - Bruno Scooter Lifts for vehicles
- Opening up doors for travel
- Been on over 40+ flights
- Being aware of potential airline damage
LINKS:
Solax Transformer Automatic Folding Scooter
Bruno Scooter Lifts for vehicles
THE MS GYM:
BROOKE SLICK:
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
In today's MS Gym podcast episode, we'll chat with MS Gym member Kim as she shares about her:
- Symptoms and rare diagnosis
- Brain biopsy
- Family life
- Career in mental health
- Support system
- Love for MS support groups
- Inspirational mindset
- Independence and self-determination
- Priorities for living well
- Use of imagination to activate movement
- Desires for inclusivity and awareness
- Ability to break obstacles down into smaller, manageable parts
MS Gym Links: The MS Gym
Join host Jodes Feltham, on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook Reels to learn more about disability awareness and inclusion.
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Thursday Apr 06, 2023
Welcome back to our 3rd and initially unplanned episode with Dr. Richard Burt, author of the recently released book, Everyday Miracles and the OG provider of HSCT here in the US.
Let me explain why we thought it would be useful for our listeners, as well as Dr. Burt to come back and re-hash some of Dr. Burt's touch points from the first two episodes. In particular his stance on NOT treating PPMS and non-active SPMS with HSCT.
You see, after the first two episodes, I witnessed rumblings of concern and discontent within the online HSCT community. I belong to multiple HSCT groups and most had at least one or two conversations going on addressing Dr. Burt's most recent interviews, including ours on this podcast.
So, who was most concerned? Well, primarily PPMS patients, and non-active SPMS patients who are either considering HSCT, are already booked to have HSCT or those who've recently had HSCT. I 100% understand how Dr. Burt's stance on the efficacy of HSCT on their types of MS would have been reason for pause. Knowing that, I felt a responsibility to revisit the topic with him and drill down on the details.
It would also give us a chance to ask him a couple of questions we missed on the first interview, like dietary restrictions before and after HSCT as well as questions on second transplants.
We feel so fortunate that Dr. Burt graciously agreed to come on again and address a lot of these pressing issues.
Also, if you hold on until the end, Jodi and I have a short chat about what we took away from today's interview and recap our thoughts on our entire experience with Dr. Burt.
Because she and I have had HSCT, and each in different facilities, Russia and Mexico, we have a unique perspective and are able to relate to the concerns of an HSCT patient no matter what stage they're at in their HSCT journey.
EPISODE NOTES:
- 2nd transplants
- Were you misdiagnosed?
- Do you even have MS?
- Many diseases mimic MS
- The average percentage of patients who relapse post HSCT
- Explaining in detail his thoughts on treating PPMS and non-active SPMS patients
- What is RPMS (relapsing progressive MS) and would he offer HSCT to RPMS patients?
- The type of regimen he would recommend If progressive MS is treated with HSCT
- If not HSCT, what types of treatments does he recommend for PPMS and non-active SPMS patients?
- Does he have any dietary recommendations for HSCT patients either before or after HSCT?
- His thoughts on carbohydrates
- The Epstein Barr virus (EBV) connection to MS
- Following EBV titers after transplant
LINKS:
Episode #1 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ezjhqHtYA8Y
This episode, #2 of 2, on YouTube: https://youtu.be/40dqLdIeZlc
Dr. Burt's book, EVERYDAY MIRACLES: https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Miracles-Scleroderma-Autoimmune-Hematopoietic/dp/1637631251
Dr. Burt's website: https://astemcelljourney.com/about/drrichardburt/
Email to apply for HSCT with Dr. Burt: BURTRRMSTrial@scrippshealth.org
THE MS GYM:
BROOKE SLICK:
JODI FELTHAM:
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Today, we'll chat with one of our Original Gymmers, Jan J, and learn about her:
- Misdiagnosis and surgical treatment
- Primary symptoms and their impact on her life
- Change in occupation
- Adventures living in foreign lands
- Love for travel and how that looks after diagnosis
- Introduction to the The MS Gym
- Love for the Members Only Corner Facebook group
- Strategies to keep calm and maintain a positive outlook
- Ability to find joy in daily chores
- Future travel plans and bucket list destinations
- Goals for finding continued freedom
- Advice to keep moving your body
The MS Gym Links: