US vs THEM: Patients and Caregivers Confront Healthcare

This episode is focused on a topic that does NOT get enough attention: chronic pain. A 2022 study published in the journal Pain found that 50.2 million adults in the U.S. (that’s over 20% of us) reported pain on most days or every day… that makes it one of the most common chronic health conditions in America. Let’s rip the band-aid off! I’m joined by one of my favorite advocates for this important discussion… Barby Ingle from the International Pain Foundation.

 Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is a younger-onset form of dementia often mistaken for Alzheimer's disease. Join me and my guests Sharon Hall and Amy Johnson for a candid discussion about their life-changing journeys having spouses diagnosed with this common form of dementia. Their stories will inspire you!  

You don’t know the whole story about mental illness until you’ve heard it from a mother’s perspective. Sydney Graham of Families for Addiction Recovery (Canada), and Lindsey Hoggle, a Health IT Consultant, share their stories as mothers who have struggled for decades to get mental health services for their adult children -- in American and Canadian healthcare and social services systems that were never designed to support mental health. Their revelations will shock you.

Join me for an eye-opening discussion with two phenomenal fathers of young adults with special needs, Jeff Cousins from Navigating Life’s Detours and Vik Sharma from tech startup MiraKare. Jeff and Vik spoke to me about the challenges they’ve faced getting appropriate healthcare for their kids as they have transitioned from pediatric to adult care in a healthcare system that is completely unprepared to provide this care. This is an amazing discussion and may impact someone you know.

Join us for Episode 2 of Us vs Them: Patients and Caregivers Confront Healthcare, a no-ground-rules conversation about a condition you may not know about: Frozen Shoulder, featuring my friends Michele Houck of CircleOf and Theresa Wilbanks of Sustainable Caregiving (check out Theresa’s new book “Navigating the Caregiver River: A Journey to Sustainable Caregiving”). If you are a woman aged 50+, this is a discussion you don’t want to miss! Why? Because Michele, Theresa, and I all developed this condition when we hit menopause. Odds are... you may have it or know someone who does.

Join me for the inaugural episode of Us vs Them: Patients and Caregivers Confront Healthcare, as we tackle the complex issue of Gender Bias in Healthcare, featuring Journalist and Author Maya Dusenbery, author of "Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick;" and MS Advocate Julie Stamm, author of "Some Days: A Tale of Love, Ice Cream, and My Mom's Chronic Illness" and her latest project, "52 Essential Inclusion Skills: An A-Z Guide To Kindness, Compassion, and Respect for Diverse Abilities."

The Us vs. Them Podcast featuring host MaryAnne Sterling is giving patients and caregivers (and those who support them) the opportunity to tell their stories and talk about how we transform healthcare as we tackle tough topics that don’t get enough attention from the perspective of those with lived experience. MaryAnne has been an advocate in the Alzheimer's space for 25 years, having had multiple parents with dementia. It has been a long journey for her and along the way, MaryAnne has met some amazing people with fascinating stories that are compelling and... needs to be heard by everyone who is impacted by Health Care The Us Vs. Them Patients and Caregivers Confront Healthcare podcast will take listeners on a deep dive into some of the taboo subjects in Health Care as MaryAnne provides an outlet for people to tell their stories about how difficult situations are confronted and dealt with while amid care. Our trailer episode will provide a clear insight into the taboo topics, exciting guests, and those heartfelt stories that will help all of us become better healthcare advocates.  Please subscribe to the Us. vs. Them Podcast, wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!