Living With...the End in Mind

Living with purpose might not seem to be very important when someone is battling a serious illness. There are a lot of other things to think about, but our guest, Richard Leider, says having a purpose helps in sickness and certainly in health, in fact having a reason to get out of bed is a big boost to one's physical and emotional health. Join host Cathy Wurzer in a conversation with best selling author, motivational speaker and executive/life coach Richard Leider. Take notes. You're going to learn something you can use in your own life. Want more info on Richard and his tips and tools  to find purpose in your own life? www.richardleider.com is where to go, first...listen to Richard and Cathy! Support the show

As of the end of 2020, there were an estimated 109,000 American adults and children waiting to get a life saving organ transplant. By the end of this day though, 17 people will have died while waiting. Stillwater, Minnesota native, Barb McKean knows what that's like to wait. She needed a double lung transplant after a rare disease ruined her lungs. She was one of the lucky ones. She experienced her miracle and tells host Cathy Wurzer the story plus how she and others can live in gratitude no matter the situation. Support the show

Sonya Goins is a broadcast journalist, a marathoner and a woman who has been living with Crohn's Disease since she was a college student. Her friends all say Sonya is an inspiration, a bright light, who doesn't let the serious gastrointestinal disease dictate her life. In this second part of host Cathy Wurzer's conversation with Sonya, she's finding her battle with Crohn's has prepared her for an even tougher fight. If you'd like to donate to Sonya's Go Fund Me campaign, here's the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/3rm4db-help-sonya-fight-breast-cancerSupport the show

There's an apt saying, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  That's true but for many of us, the battle is harder than most. In this episode of "Living With..." we meet Sonya Goins. Sonya is a reporter for CCX Media in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and she's been living an incredibly full life with Crohn's Disease. It's estimated there are about almost 800,000  Americans living with this difficult gastrointestinal disease which can be fatal. Sonya Goins is an inspiration to her viewers, her friends, her family and she will be for you too.  Sonya talks with host Cathy Wurzer in this episode about her disease and how she's living with it. Cathy and Sonya first met when they worked together at WCCO-TV, the CBS affiliate in the Minneapolis/ St. Paul area. Support the show

We're back and this time with the story of a well known television news anchor in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area who has beaten back cancer not once, but twice. How KARE-11's Randy Shaver is living with purpose, vibrancy and hope. Support the show

We saved the best for last. Frank Ostaseski is the co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco and the Metta Institute. He's the author of the best selling book "The Five Invitations" and his thoughts on death and dying will change your life. Support the show

So, you've written an advance care directive. You've made it clear, you think, about the kinds of medical care you want should you get sick with Covid-19 or you're in the midst of a medical crisis. Will your wishes be followed? We talk with two bioethics experts. Support the show

You're not feeling well. You think you might have Covid-19 and so you head to the emergency room. If you take a turn for the worse, what kind of care do you want? Do you have an advance care directive? In this episode of our limited series, an emergency room doctor walks us through end of life planning in a time of Covid. Support the show

The Covid 19 pandemic has upended our lives. People are getting sick and many are dying. Beyond the upheaval of everyday living, the virus is shining a bright, harsh light on our mortality. In this special series of conversations, we talk about planning for the end of life with advance care directives but also explore the larger questions around living and dying. Kate Bowler, who is no stranger to the fear and uncertainty around life threatening illness, is the guest in this first episode. The New York Times best selling author/professor and podcaster talks with Cathy Wurzer about the fragility of life and our future deaths. Support the show

You often hear politicians promising they'll fight for constituents if they get to the statehouse or Capitol Hill but what happens when the fight isn't over politics or policy... it's a life or death battle with cancer being the foe.  In this episode of "Living With...The End in Mind", host Cathy Wurzer talks with former Minnesota United States Senator Norm Coleman about his multiple year battle with cancer and how it has focused his life. Support the show

If you were diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness, what would you do? How would you live? Los Angeles based actress and model Grace Wethor was faced with those questions when she was just 13 years old. Grace was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. Surgery isn't an option and this type of cancer doesn't respond well to chemotherapy or radiation. Grace and her mother decided she needed to follow her dream, which led them to L.A. The now 18 year old is thriving in spite of cancer. Grace talks about her life with journalist and host Cathy Wurzer in this premiere episode of "Living With..." from the End in Mind Project. http://www.endinmindproject.orgSupport the show

The pandemic has cast a hot, bright spotlight on the need for an advance care directive but really, how the heck do you start talking about what you or a loved one wants at the end of life, when you've still got a lot of life left...or even if there isn't?End of life conversations are fraught with their own set of specific issues. In this installment of "Living With...the End in Mind: The Covid Conversations", we converse with a couple of conversation experts. Support the show

If you don't know someone who has battled or is battling COVID-19, you will soon enough. Melissa Jones, the single mother of two girls, was in good physical shape until she started to feel a little rundown and had a slightly sore throat in March of 2020. That began a more than month long battle with the virus.  Support the show