Whit's Grit

What does it look like to keep pursuing your dreams when the person you trusted to help you becomes the source of your fear? In this episode of Whit’s Grit, our Queens series continues with my friend and fellow wheel sister, Dr. Carrie Mulderink, Ms. Wheelchair Illinois 2026. Carrie is an educator, scholar, and advocate who knows what it means to face challenges head-on—and she’s using her voice t...

A blocked parking space can mean a missed appointment, a canceled outing, or being unable to get out of your vehicle. For Sarah Kinney, protecting that space means protecting independence. This week on Whit’s Grit, Whitney Lavender continues the Wheeling Crown series with Sarah Kinney—Ms. Wheelchair South Carolina 2026 and second runner-up at Ms. Wheelchair America 2027. A disability advocate, com...

What happens when you stop letting other people’s expectations define your life? In Whit’s Grit Episode 14, Ms. Wheelchair Kansas 2026, Magda Samantha Carlos-Treviño, joins Whitney Lavender for a real conversation about spina bifida, disability advocacy, independence, and learning to be your own advocate. Magda is a senior HR professional, Chief Empowerment Officer of MS Consulting & Training,...

Kristi Scheunemann, Miss Wheelchair Wisconsin 2026, joins Whitney on Whit’s Grit for the next stop in the Queen series. Born with spina bifida and raised in Watertown, Wisconsin, Kristi is a disability advocate with People First of Wisconsin, a certified peer mentor with Aptiv, a board member with Creative Community Living Services, and an advisory committee member for My Choice by Molina. She has...

Whit's Grit Episode 12 is live. 👑 Dr. Sue ElHessen is an educator, public servant, childhood polio survivor, and Ms. Wheelchair California 2026. She earned her doctorate in education from USC, a master’s in industrial-organizational psychology from Cal State Long Beach, and has spent her life opening doors that were slammed shut — in hospitals, classrooms, graduate programs, and government. In th...

Whit’s Grit | Queen Series Jamie Clendening — Miss Wheelchair America 2027 Born with spina bifida, Jamie was told at age 5 she would never walk again. She did — until a tethered cord release a week before her 34th birthday left her a T10 incomplete paraplegic. Infection, ten more surgeries, coding on the table, years without a proper exam table or accessible scale, and a system that sent her home...

Doctors gave James Logan months. He gave himself a start line. In April 2024, Jim was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic colorectal cancer. Thirty months later he is still here: surgeries, chemo, radiation, an ostomy, a book, and a slot at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona on October 10 with Team IMF.On this episode of Whit’s Grit, Jim talks about the life that looked perfect until it wasn’t,...

Welcome back to Whit’s Grit — the podcast dedicated to resilience, heart, unbreakable spirit, and the kind of grit that refuses to quit. This episode opens the "Drama Queen Series" with Whitney’s friend and wheel sister Carla Sanders, Ms. Wheelchair Arizona 2026. Carla is a mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, bilingual real estate professional, and fierce disability advocate. In 2018 a car accident...

In Episode 8 of Whit’s Grit, host Whitney Lavender sits down with Reggie “KingKnub” Amerson — congenital one-armed MMA fighter, former Team USA Para Taekwondo athlete, coach, husband, and dad of (soon-to-be) four.   Born with a complication from his umbilical cord that left him with one hand (his “nub”), Reggie shares how he shimmied free in the womb, the childhood bullying that followed, and the...

In Episode 7 of Whit’s Grit, host Whitney Lavender sits down with her dear friend and remarkable disability advocate Lauren Compere. A quadriplegic living with a rare genetic condition (one of only about 22 documented cases), Lauren opens up about her lifelong journey from an early cerebral palsy diagnosis through whole genome sequencing, the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, and a recent consultation...

In this raw, powerful, and often hilarious episode of Whit’s Grit, host Whitney Lavender sits down with fellow bilateral above-knee amputee Mandy Horvath — the first female bilateral amputee to summit Mount Kilimanjaro without prosthetics, 8-time world record holder, TIME100 Sports 2026 honoree, Naked and Afraid star, and subject of the award-winning documentary The Ascent. Mandy opens up about wa...

From a life-changing motorcycle accident at 22 that left her paralyzed, to becoming one of the most inspiring adaptive athletes in the world — Jesi Stracham’s story is pure proof that your biggest setback can become your greatest power. 🔥 In this raw and powerful episode of Whit’s Grit, Jesi shares: • 00:55 – Welcome & Jesi’s recent hospital stay + ongoing wound battle • 02:50 – Childhood as...

Episode 4 - Sam Schaefer (Part 3/3) The powerful conclusion of Sam Schaefer’s story on Whit’s Grit. Sam wakes up after his advanced amputation surgery (Ertl procedure + Targeted Muscle Reinnervation) — pain-free for the first time in nearly a decade. What follows is an inspiring explosion of life reclaimed: shattering Highland Games world records, competing at Wodapalooza, becoming the first amput...

Episode 4 - Sam Schaefer (Part 2/3) Continuing directly from Part 1 with U.S. Air Force veteran and adaptive athlete Sam Schaefer. In this section, Sam and Whitney dive deep into the brutal reality of living with CRPS for nine years: medical gaslighting, failed treatments, nerve blocks, spinal injections, being accused of faking it, pushing through workouts on crutches while his body deteriorated,...

Episode 4 - Sam Schaefer (Part 1/3) In this powerful episode of Whit’s Grit, Whitney Lavender sits down with Sam Schaefer — U.S. Air Force veteran, adaptive athlete, 5x Highland Games world record holder, boxer, ultra-runner, and adaptive coach. Sam’s story is one of the most remarkable transformations you’ll ever hear. In 2011, while training to become a Combat Controller, a simple fall during a...

In this powerful episode of Whit's Grit, Arkansas native and rising MMA fighter Chase Mann shares his raw, unfiltered journey from a childhood defined by parental addiction, constant court dates, and chaos… to becoming a powerlifting champion and professional MMA contender. By age eight, Chase was already in and out of the legal system. Sports became his lifeline—football gave him discipline, stru...

From New York City Ballet apprentice at 17 to Soloist by 21,  Kathryn Morgan danced iconic roles like Juliet, Aurora, and Sugar Plum Fairy. But a serious chronic illness forced her to step away from the dream she’d worked so hard for. After a powerful comeback and leaving traditional company life behind, she built something even greater: KM & Friends — a joyful, inclusive online ballet communi...

Welcome to the first episode of Whit’s Grit. In this deeply personal launch, double above-knee amputee, Whitney Lavender shares her unfiltered journey from a busy life to an uncertain one in a split second. She also shares the real reasons she started this podcast, and the heartfelt dedications that motivate & keep her going. If you’ve ever faced life-altering challenges and still chosen resil...