Lifespan: Stories of Illness, Accident, and Recovery

May 02 2024 24 ep. 39 mins 79

Lifespan: Stories of Illness, Accident, and Recovery Podcast artwork

On Lifespan, you’ll hear stories about encounters with the health care system. Each show contains stories bound by a common theme – a person’s personal journey through a particular type of medical trauma. The stories are deeply personal. Some stories reflect a person’s response to treatment and other stories simply reflect on the aftermath of an illness. Even when multiple people are describing their experiences with the same disease, condition or treatment, each account is unique. If the subject of this podcast interests you, please subscribe to Lifespan wherever you access your podcasts. You can also listen to Lifespan at WOUB.org/listen.

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“Kidney Failure”

May 02 2024 47 mins

Dylan lives in Tennessee. He’s a magazine editor. He has a wife. He has a young daughter. And he has Alport syndrome, a hereditary kidney disease. In this episode of Lifespan, Dylan describes his years on kidney dialysis, how a kidney transplant recently transformed his life, and the uniqueness of being part of an extended family with so many members affected by an inherited illn

“Alzheimer’s”

Oct 03 2022 43 mins

Larry and Carol have been married for 66 years. About 17 years ago, Carol began to show signs of memory problems. She has since been diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s. In this episode of Lifespan, Larry, and his daughter, Madeline, who are both physicians, talk about Carol and the difficulties that Alzheimer’s presents to everyone touched by the illness.

“Benign Tumors”

Mar 08 2022 27 mins

When someone suspects they have a tumor, the first thing they think about, and fear, is cancer. So, when their biopsy comes back as “benign,” they’re relieved. But the word “benign” can be deceptive. In this episode of Lifespan, our guest, Deidre Naughton, describes her experience with painful, recurring, non-cancerous tumors.

“Testicular Cancer”

Nov 29 2021 35 mins

“‘Breast cancer awareness’ is a national catchphrase. There is less recognition, however, of testicular cancer, even though the average age for onset is 33, far younger than for breast cancer. At 33, few men worry about cancer and so they tend to ignore any signs of the illness. In this episode of Lifespan, Dan Skinner, a professor of health policy, and the producer and host

“Medical Interpretation”

Aug 05 2021 33 mins

Faiza Aziz is a medical student. Before enrolling in medical school in 2020, given her public health and medical knowledge, her fluency in several languages, and her familiarity with several cultures, she trained and worked as a medical interpreter. In this episode of Lifespan, Faiza describes the vital role played by medical interpreters in the healthcare system, how interpreters

"Stroke"

Jun 10 2021 25 mins

Bob Simpson and Estelle Carol have been together for almost 50 years. They have two grown children. Before retirement, Bob was a high school history teacher. Estelle is still working as a graphic designer. For decades, they also combined their talents to produce syndicated political cartoons under the byline Carol Simpson. Then, in 2016, Bob had a stroke. In this episode of Lifespa

“Choosing Down Syndrome”

Mar 11 2021 41 mins

Chris Kaposy and Jan Beattie have three children: Elizabeth, 14, Aaron, 11, and Ty, 7. With each pregnancy, Jan and Chris decided in advance to refuse prenatal testing. But when Jan was pregnant with Aaron, her first ultrasound at 19 weeks showed some markers for Down syndrome and she and Chris had to revisit their original decision about prenatal testing. Chris is a biomedical e

“Depression in the First Person”

Jan 11 2021 32 mins

Anna Mehler Paperny is a Canadian journalist who has worked for Reuters, The Globe and Mail, and Global News. She’s won awards for her investigative journalism. And she’s struggled with major clinical depression for most of her adult life, attempting suicide several times. On this episode of Lifespan, Anna talks about her experience of mental illness, the stigma of mental illn

“Grievous Loss: Death of a Spouse”

Oct 29 2020 48 mins

Steve Bild, Renee Pollock, and Mary Costello have all lost their longtime spouses. In this episode of Lifespan, they describe their spouses’ lives and legacies, their partners’ deaths, and their own adjustment to living in the aftermath of grievous loss. Steve, Renee, and Mary also offer advice to others coping with similarly profound loss. If you want to view Steve’s wife�

“A Tale of Two Recoveries: Alcoholism and Co-Dependence”

Sep 11 2020 54 mins

Debbie and Doug have been married for more than 40 years. In this episode of Lifespan, Doug talks candidly about his addiction to alcohol and his ongoing recovery. Debbie describes the meaning and effect of co-dependence, and the invaluable help she received from Al-Anon. Doug is now a substance abuse counselor, so his description of his recovery offers professional as well as deep