Learn From People Who Lived it

You Have Breast Cancer; Now What? with Naturopathic Physician and Survivor, Dr. Kimara Vaughn

You Have Breast Cancer; Now What? with Naturopathic Physician and Survivor, Dr. Kimara Vaughn
Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended to provide medical advice. Consult your doctor before making any decisions regarding your health or treatment.
In this episode, Mathew, Frank, and Dr. Kimara discuss her diagnosis, the importance of early screenings, how naturopathic medicines helped her alongside modern treatments, and her advice to anyone who has been recently diagnosed.
Dr. Kimara is a Naturopathic Physician, a Buddhist, and a cancer survivor who grew up as the only child of a single mother. She knew she wanted to be a doctor by the time she was 5, and after 20 years in the medical field, she became the patient in 2022 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 46. Her doctor immediately told her the cancer was caught early and she wouldn't die from it. She tells us she never felt like her cancer was going to kill her, but instead saw it as her path and began to compile a team of medical professionals to help her through it.
Her advice to other people who are diagnosed with breast cancer is to be patient with all the steps and take care to compile a trusted team: talk to your health insurance, get a therapist, consider adding in alternative medicine options, and identify the people in your life who can be there for you. Dr. Vaughn says to remember that your healing journey is about YOU so do what is best for yourself. Have a good mindset, be invested in your care, control the controllable, and let go of the rest.
“Drop what doesn't serve you.”
“This is my path. I get to live it, live through it... Let’s see how it goes!”
In this episode, you'll hear:
What is a naturopathic physician?
Dr. Kimara’s advice to anyone diagnosed with breast cancer
What homeopathic treatments did Dr. Kimara administer to herself to help her through the mental toll of her treatment?
The role of a therapist for someone diagnosed with cancer
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
Dr. Kimara’s Meridian clinic
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

Teen Pregnancy and the Resiliency Needed to Make it Through

Teen Pregnancy and the Resiliency Needed to Make it Through 
In this episode, you'll hear:
What would Andrea do if one of her children entered teen pregnancy?
The toll the reaction from her family and church took on her and how she healed from it
What Andrea thinks leads to teen pregnancy
Where does resilience come from, and how can we foster it?
Andrea Wallen was raised in a Christian household with her brother and two sisters. She was homeschooled, so going to church multiple times a week was her main outlet and something that was very near and dear to her heart. When she was 16 and singing in the church choir, a new face walked in. It was an older boy who would eventually become the father of her first son. Contrary to conventional assumptions, Andrea tells us she believes that if she hadn't been homeschooled, she may not have gotten pregnant so young because she “would have known more” about life.
After she became pregnant, her church told her she was not welcome back because she was a “bad example”. When she told her parents, they offered to help her raise the child but told her if she didn't accept their terms and ever left, she could never come back. Andrea decided she’d rather stay with the father of her children and left home to get married. Shortly after, her son was born. A few months after that, her husband was deployed to Iraq. When he came back, she says he was a whole different person, and there were many scary nights she spent hiding from him due to his struggles with PTSD. Eventually, she left him, and before she was even 21, she began to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
There was a period of time when her son was a few years old, when they were homeless, living in a hotel, and had no car, when she realized she needed her parents. At that time, her parents were going through a divorce, and like they told her, she was not welcome back. There were moments when she felt like her family was falling apart, and it was her fault. This weight, combined with being told she was a disappointment by her parents and church, took a toll on her self-worth. However, she maintained her faith and tells us now that it was the only thing that gave her hope and set her on solid ground.
Through it all, she just kept going. She lived many years in survival mode, and eventually, her resilience brought her to a life that she says she dreamed of on those nights when she was sleeping in a shed. She tells us it was her son who kept her going. She knew she couldn't let him down, and she had no other option than to make it work.
“Even if your life isn't stable in your living condition, know that you can be their stability. You are their rock. You are what their foundation is going to be when they look back.”
In this episode, you'll hear:
The psychological impact of being pushed out of the church
What would Andrea do if one of her children entered teen pregnancy?
The toll the reaction from her family and church took on her and how she healed from it
Why Andrea hasn't lost her faith and how her relationship with the church is different today
The importance of stable relationships, especially without stable living conditions
What Andrea thinks leads to teen pregnancy
Where does resilience come from, and how can we foster it?
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
Dr. Frank Bevacqua
 
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

Facing Grief One Day at a Time and Living Without Fear

In this episode, you'll hear:
What it felt like to lose her parents and how she deals with the grief
How a near-death experience impacted her life for the better
How being a teacher has changed since 1995
Tools she has learned and developed over the years to help her cope with the stressors of life
Elizabeth was born and raised in Arizona with her brother. Her mother was an educator, and her father worked for the newspaper. She tells us she had a great childhood and recalls good memories from that time in her life. However, like many of us, Elizabeth has faced more than her fair share of hard times. Not all of us have a single huge life-defining moment, but rather we face several “normal” challenges throughout our lives.
Health scares, raising children, professional conflicts, divorce, losing our parents.
Through it all, Elizabeth has always found a way to put one foot in front of the other, grow from the pain, and move forward. Today, she joins us to talk to all the people who are doing life and share the tools she has learned and developed over the years that help her through it.
In 2008, Elizabeth had a near-death experience when she survived two pulmonary embolisms. That scare endowed her with a sense of fearlessness when it came to trying things she’d only dreamt of until then and pushed her to pursue her dreams of writing a children's book and trying out stand-up comedy.
In 2015, Elizabeth's mother passed away unexpectedly. She tells us her mother was her best friend, and losing her took an immeasurable toll on Elizabeth and her two sons. Just two months and eight days later, her father passed. Her boys were 6 and 12 at the time, and she felt pressure to keep it together for them. However, through this experience, she learned that she had to feel her feelings in order to move through them. Grief counseling helped her during this period, but even now, all these years later, she tells us that grief never leaves her; it just changes form.
A few years after she lost her parents, Elizabeth went through a divorce that was finalized in 2020. This brought a new version of a feeling she knew well: grief. She compared these different periods of grief to going through a metamorphosis that changed who she was. It can be painful, but when you come out the other side, you have grown.
As a backdrop to all of these experiences, Elizabeth has been an early childhood educator for 28 years. She started teaching in 1995 and tells us she has seen drastic changes in the kids she works with since the advent of social media in the aftermath of the pandemic. Between these changes in children, a lack of appreciation and understanding from parents, and pressure from administrators, being an educator has been getting harder every year.
No matter what your life looks like, grief and strife are inevitable. However, joy and growth are just as ever-present. For Elizabeth, taking one day at a time, remembering tomorrow is a new day, embracing change and fear, using humor, and talking to counselors and peers helps her through it. Start small and find a thing that makes you happy, then try that without fear.
“An adventure takes a first step. Don't be afraid to take that step.”
In this episode, you'll hear:
What it felt like to lose her parents and how she deals with the grief
How a near-death experience impacted her life for the better
How being a teacher has changed since 1995
Tools she has learned and developed over the years to help her cope with the stressors of life
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
Sticker Room Adventure by Elizabeth Detrick Jeffrey 
Grief Relief Retreat
EricsHouse
LFWPLI: Marianne Gouveia, life after loss by suicide and finding healing at EricsHouse 
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson

Finding Longevity and Avoiding Compassion Fatigue with Dr. Kathleen Rickard

Finding Longevity and Avoiding Compassion Fatigue with Dr. Kathleen Rickard
 
In this episode, you'll hear:
The difference between compassion and empathy
How Dr. Rickard looks at the full body and follows the emotion to bring healing
The ways emotional and mental stressors affect how our bodies work and feel
Ways to overcome and recover from burnout and compassion fatigue 
Dr. Kathleen Rickard was born and raised in a Catholic family in Phoenix as the only daughter of five children. Her father was absent, and her mother was tough out of necessity, so Kathleen’s emotional needs were often pushed to the side. As a silver lining, these challenges make her great at what she does now. Kathleen has been a registered nurse since 1981. She was in the emergency room for 12 years, then became a nurse practitioner because she was concerned about burnout. She went back to school in 1997 to become a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), then went back to school and is now a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
In this episode, Mathew, Frank, and Dr. Kathleen Rickard discuss the healer's dilemma, the ways chakras impact our health, and how our diets and guts affect our overall wellness. Dr. Kathleen also talks about burnout, compassion fatigue, and how revisiting our childhood loves can guide us to longevity. She encourages us to give ourselves pause long enough to feel what feels right to us. Seek out fun and stay in the flow.
"Your body works better when you're working with ease and you use emotion to be your guide."
In this episode, you'll hear:
The difference between compassion and empathy
How Dr. Rickard looks at the full body and follows the emotion to bring healing
The ways emotional and mental stressors affect how our bodies work and feel
Ways to overcome and recover from burnout and compassion fatigue 
Follow the podcast: 
Listen on Apple Podcasts (link: https://apple.co/3s1YH7h) 
Listen on iHeart (link: https://ihr.fm/3MEY7FM) 
Listen on Spotify (Link: https://spoti.fi/3yMmQCE) 
 
Resources:
Dr. Frank Bevacqua
HEALGRACEFULLY: Deeply Healing With Energy Medicine
Jill McMahon’s Episodes: Understanding Suicide, Prevention, and Coping with Loss and The Brain Believes What You Tell It 
 
Connect with Mathew Blades: 
Twitter - twitter.com/MathewBlades
Instagram - instagram.com/MathewBladesmedia/ 
Facebook - facebook.com/mathewbladesmedia/ 
Website - learnfrompeoplewholivedit.com/
 
Additional Credits:
LFPWLI is managed by Sam Robertson