Life to the Max Podcast

From the Abilities Expo Chicago, we sit down for a fast, unfiltered talk with Flor, a 25-year-old grocery clerk living with schizoaffective disorder with bipolar features and PTSD. She brings a clear-eyed account of losing her sense of self last year and the stubborn faith that helped her rebuild it—verse by verse, day by day—despite doubts from doctors and family.  What emerges is a practical blu...

We’re on-site at the Abilities Expo in Schaumburg meeting Samantha, a freshly graduated 18-year-old heading to UIC who speaks with clarity about independence, dignity, and the everyday design of an accessible life. This isn’t inspiration theater. It’s practical courage: how to choose a major, compare campuses, and advocate for accommodations while keeping joy and curiosity in the driver’s seat. Sa...

Grabbed a quick seat at the Abilities Expo in Chicago to talk with Maleena, a high schooler who lives with dwarfism and aims to break into sports management. What follows is a brisk, open conversation about scouting, communication, and the small, intentional choices that make teams work better—on the field and behind the scenes. Maleena lights up when she talks football and basketball, but she’s n...

ActionTrackChair.com We sit down with our friend Chad, a dealer for Action Trackchair across Wisconsin and Illinois, to unpack how an all-terrain power chair with tracks—not wheels—turns sand, snow, grass, and trails into everyday options. If you’ve ever wondered how adaptive tech can change not just mobility but mood, this conversation is your field guide. Chad talks us through the essentials: ho...

The floor hums, the crowd buzzes, and we’re right in the middle of it—broadcasting from the Abilities Expo with Miss Wheelchair Ohio 2025, Alex Martinez. From the moment Alex describes thinking her win was a prank, you feel the shift from title to purpose: turning a crown into a platform that says everyone can dance, and everyone should be seen. We dig into the pageant’s reality—serious interviews...

Instagram @quadlifewithryan  We sat down with Ryan Herrick from Fort Wayne and unpacked what it means to live independently with a C7 spinal cord injury, from driving solo and hotel check-ins to planning trips just because the city looks beautiful from a new angle. The talk is lean, real, and candid: no studio gloss, just two people trading tools for resilience in the middle of a busy Abilities Ex...

YDDDY Instagram Shortya_official  We set up at the Abilities Expo Chicago and sat down with Abad, a 23-year-old Chicagoan seeing the convention for the first time, to talk grit, gear, and the joy of sports. Doctors once said he wouldn’t walk or talk; today he’s walking short distances with braces, rolling long ones with a chair, making sports content, and using a backyard hoop as a meditation mat....

This special "speedcast" episode captures a slice of life on the road as we step away from our usual format for something more spontaneous and raw. My conversation with Gabby Savino, a nursing manager at Elite (the agency that provides my personal care nurses), reveals the fascinating intersection of healthcare management and human connection. Gabby shares her journey from Scrubs-inspire...

Meet Lauren and Alex from Hummingbird Pediatric Therapies, two passionate professionals revolutionizing care for young people with disabilities. Their multidisciplinary approach spans three Illinois locations, offering everything from occupational and physical therapy to innovative programs like hippotherapy. What makes them unique? They're filling critical gaps between pediatric and adult se...

This brief but impactful conversation introduces us to Tommi Sellers. Her daughter, Amanda is an artist who creates under the name "@chronically._.creative". Amanda's story is extraordinary—having spent more time in hospitals than in her own home, she's undergone numerous surgeries including brain operations. Yet what defines her isn't her medical history but her response...

Chance encounters can create the most powerful connections. When the Quadfather met Sabeeh at the Abilities Expo in Schaumburg, their shared experience as ventilator users instantly created a bond that transcends the typical podcast conversation. "We've got stories to tell," says the Quadfather early in their exchange—and indeed they do. Sabeeh, at 35, reveals her lifelong journey w...

I sat down with Jorgé Alfaro – celebrating his 56th birthday and marking 45 years since a childhood shooting left him with a T7 spinal cord injury – for a conversation that crackles with authenticity, humor, and hard-earned wisdom. The energy between us is electric as we discover our shared Chicago-area roots and military backgrounds, bonding over similar journeys despite our different generations...

Stepping away from our studio setting, we're bringing you a special "speedcast" from the bustling Abilities Expo in Chicago where we met Mikaylah, a remarkable young woman navigating life with dystonic cerebral palsy while pursuing her dreams. Mikaylah, a creative writing major at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, offers a candid glimpse into her world. She manages her co...

https://www.amazon.com/Just-Keep-Swimming-crash-quest/dp/1956450548 This raw, intimate conversation from the Abilities Expo in Chicago captures a powerful moment between two strangers who discover their parallel journeys through life-altering accidents, guilt, and ultimately, resilience. Meet Cindy, a lifelong disability advocate whose world transformed when she fell asleep at the wheel, causing a...

Amy Tarpein's world changed forever when doctors told her that her eight-month-old son Elijah, diagnosed with an extremely rare brain malformation called Lissencephaly, wouldn't live to see his second birthday. Instead of shrinking from this devastating news, this remarkable single mother of ten made a life-altering decision: if her son's time was limited, she would fill it with as...

Sometimes the most powerful conversations happen outside the studio. Recorded live at the Abilities Expo in Chicago, this episode introduces you to Victoria Jembe, a remarkable self-autism advocate revolutionizing opportunities for people with disabilities through the captivating rhythms of West African drumming. Victoria shares the inspiring story behind founding Victoria Djembe Academy in 2021,...

We're joined by two passionate disability inclusion coordinators from Milwaukee's Jewish Community Center who share their mission of creating meaningful opportunities for adults with disabilities. With over 150 programs annually, they're focused on what truly matters: combating isolation and ensuring people with disabilities have authentic life experiences and community connections....

Edwin's story grabs you from the first moment—in 2008, while heading to his computer science night course, a car hit him at a bus stop, resulting in the amputation of his right leg. Unlike many similar stories, Edwin was conscious throughout the traumatic experience. Yet what strikes you most isn't the tragedy itself, but Edwin's remarkable response to it. With unwavering faith and...

Dave Stevens has defied expectations at every turn. Born without legs and immediately put up for adoption, the odds were stacked against him from day one. Yet during our chance meeting at the Chicago Abilities Expo, Dave shared how his adoptive parents instilled in him a powerful mindset: being without legs wasn't a disability—it was simply his normal. Dave became a three-sport varsity athlet...

Thomas Daniel Queter's powerful statement sets the tone for this eye-opening conversation: "When your wheelchair breaks down, you become unseen and unheard." Recording from the Abilities Expo in Chicago, this speedcast features the founder of the Mobility Independence Foundation sharing his revolutionary approach to mobility equipment access. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta and ha...

Dan McConchie shattered expectations when he became the first paraplegic elected to the Illinois state legislature. His remarkable journey from military service to groundbreaking political advocacy unfolds in this raw, candid conversation recorded at the Abilities Expo in Chicago. McConchie's story begins with military service as Army infantry and military police from 1989 to 1998. Life chang...

From the moment of catastrophe to a life of global adventure, Kayla Godwin story captivates with raw honesty and unexpected turns. After a devastating car accident left her in a month-long coma and permanently changed her physical abilities, Kayla found herself at rock bottom—one-handed, using her non-dominant hand, and questioning whether life was worth living. Her candid revelation about contemp...

Follow Amanda's journey on Instagram @chronically._.creative and discover how art becomes both healing and revolutionary in the hands of someone determined to increase representation through creativity. - From the 2025 Abilities Expo in Chicago comes a powerful SpeedCast that packs an emotional punch in just under eight minutes. Meet Amanda Peters, the creative force behind "Chronically...

@marcfucarile  @marcnetworkinc A chance encounter at the Chicago Abilities Expo led to one of our most powerful conversations yet. Marc Fugarile, a Boston Marathon bombing survivor, shares his journey from the devastating moment when the second bomb detonated just feet away from him – instantly amputating his right leg, setting him ablaze, and leaving him fighting for his life. With remarkable can...

"Travel isn't meant to be easy—it's meant to be worth it." These words could easily be the mantra of Cory Lee, an extraordinary traveler who has visited 52 countries and all seven continents while navigating the world in a power wheelchair. In this intimate conversation recorded at the 2025 Abilities Expo in Chicago, Cory shares his remarkable journey with spinal muscular atrop...