Life Expectancy - Sisters Surviving & Thriving

Stories, Connection, and the Power of Community In this special between-seasons episode of Life Expectancy, Julee and Stacey travel to the annual UC Health Liver Transplant Picnic – an event that brings together liver recipients, donor families, advocates, and transplant ambassadors. This is their first time attending, and the experience becomes far more emotional, validating, and transformative t...

In this special companion episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Julee and Stacey open up about the music that defined their journey through addiction, illness, and recovery. The Season 1 Spotify Playlist is more than a soundtrack, it’s a reflection of everything they’ve lived and learned together. From anthems of resilience like Wide Open Spaces to raw confessions like She Us...

In this candid episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Stacey and Julee unpack the often-overlooked roles people play during serious illness—from patient and partner to health advocate and caregiver. Drawing from their own journey through hospitalization, hospice decisions, and recovery, they reveal the practical and emotional challenges of navigating medical systems, legal pap...

In this powerful episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Stacey and Julee break down the complexity of the UNOS transplant list through both lived experience and medical insight. They explain how the national system works, what MELD and PELD scores mean, and the brutal math behind liver transplant eligibility. Julee shares the advocacy it took to get Stacey accepted after multi...

In this episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Julee and Stacey reflect on real-world events that struck a personal chord during their transplant and recovery journey. From headlines that triggered painful memories to public narratives that shaped their private fears, the sisters explore how the news intersects with illness, advocacy, and survival. What starts as commentary on...

In this episode of Life Expectancy, the sisters go head-to-head in the best way possible—comparing notes from opposite sides of the hospital bed. Stacey was the patient. Julee was the advocate. But their experiences, emotions, and responsibilities couldn’t have been more different. This episode explores the clash between what it feels like to be sick and what it feels like to watch someone you lov...

In this deeply personal episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Julee and Stacey take a courageous step backward in order to move forward—by unpacking the complicated history that shaped their relationship, their identities, and their survival. From childhood trauma and family conflict to the long stretches of silence, this conversation doesn’t flinch. Julee opens up about leav...

Welcome to the very first episode of Life Expectancy – Sisters Surviving and Thriving. Meet Julee and Stacey: two sisters bound not just by blood, but by trauma, resilience, and an unshakeable bond forged through liver transplant, breast cancer, addiction, and advocacy. In this raw and revealing conversation, they introduce the heart behind the podcast: building a space where survivors, caregivers...