The Chronically Courageous with Bonni Howard

Chronic illness, even for the most social among us, can be profoundly isolating. There are days when it’s simply too painful or too exhausting to respond to a text, make plans, pick up the phone—or even record a podcast. One of the hardest parts of living with chronic illness is the not knowing—the endless search for answers. Currently, Bonni is embarking on a new diagnostic journey. In this episo...

If you could give a piece of yourself to save a stranger's life, would you do it? Just six weeks ago, Bonni's fiancé, David Pinkus, did just that. He got on the operating table and gave a kidney to save the life of a man whose name he didn’t even know. Bonni was by his side as they boarded a plane to NYC with four kidneys and returned home with one less.   Tune in to hear the inspiring s...

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the age-old issue of America’s broken and corrupt health insurance industry has recently received an abundance of negative press. Anyone living with chronic illness is well aware of the obscene costs and inhumane denials of necessary healthcare that are a daily occurrence in the U.S. With the recent shooting of United Healthcare’s CEO, those fo...

Join Bonni as she gets personal about all things EDS, with filmmaker and EDS warrior Jen Kain. They discuss Jen's upcoming documentary, "Exhausted Existence: An EDS Story”, which explores living with chronic illness through a therapeutic lens. Bonni and Jen share tears and laughs as they discuss their common struggles, coping strategies, and what keeps them going through it all. They talk about me...

Having a chronic illness can bring about so many challenges, not only physical but also social, emotional, and psychological. We deserve to have certain rights to thrive despite these challenges!  This is where the  "Chronic Illness Warriors' Bill of Rights" comes in.   Last week, Bonni talked about the first five of the eleven principles that she believes people with chronic i...

Over a lifetime of living with chronic illness, Bonni has learned that people with chronic illnesses have many physical, social, emotional, and psychological challenges. They deserve to have certain rights so they can better manage and navigate all their challenges. This "Chronic Illness Warriors' Bill of Rights", lays out eleven principles that Bonni tries to live by. She learned each of these th...

This week Bonni returns to the mic after a long hiatus and much self-reflection.  In honor of May being EDS Awareness Month, she sits down with Samantha Brechner to talk about the raw and real ways that having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome has affected each of their lives.   You’ll hear the following and more:  How having EDS has changed our lives The long journey to diagnosis Things...

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This week Bonni continues to celebrates one year of podcasting with a look back at the most life changing lessons of the past year. Listen to hear some of the most profound teachings from the last year of The Chronically Courageous podcast.  Please listen to the end for an important announcement about where the podcast is headed and follow Bonni on social media using the links below for updat...

This week Bonni celebrates one year of podcasting with a look back at the most life changing lessons of the past year. Listen to hear some of the most profound teachings from the last year of The Chronically Courageous podcast.  Things You’ll Hear About in this Episode:  The ways that Bonni’s life has changed because of everything she’s learned through the podcast  The correlation b...

This week Bonni answers listeners’ questions about how to navigate the healing journey. Tune in to find out how Bonni answers the following listener questions:  What is the best way to advocate for oneself?  What do you think are the top three lifestyle changes a person should implement when trying to heal from or deal with chronic illness? How do you handle people who respond with “but...

This week Bonni is joined by her fiancé, David Pinkus to talk about the importance of recognizing and celebrating progress over perfection throughout the healing journey.  With some recent health challenges resurfacing, they discuss how to recognize and identify progress from a 50,000 foot level vs. focusing on the day-to-day ups and downs.  Bonni and David hone in on their recent travel...

This week Bonni shares about her recent recurrence of symptoms and how she has been managing through them.  She provides ten tools and techniques on how to gracefully navigate the sometimes inevitably bumpy journey of healing from chronic illness.  Show Resources:  Article: The Healing Effects of Flow Connect with Bonni: Instagram Facebook Email Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac...

It has been nearly a year since Bonni launched The Chronically Courageous podcast, so she wanted to share her story with any new listeners and also catch her loyal listeners up on what she foresees for her future and the future of the show.   Bonni was recently interviewed on The Lawyer of Attraction podcast and thought what better way to share where she’s been and where she sees herself...

As an infant, Paul was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, a medical condition that causes paralysis of one side of the body. His mother was told he would be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but she refused to accept that prognosis and made it her mission to find a specialist that was willing to help.  After many grueling years of intense physical therapy and a life changing surgery...

This week, Bonni talks about the importance of finding purpose and meaning in life and how being of service to others can positively impact your own life. Bonni shares how, through podcasting, she has found so much healing because it has provided her with a platform to support, inspire, and heal others.   Bonni also shares a conversation she had with her podcasting mentor, Michelle Sorro...

In part two of this two part episode, Fusun Rynart shares the story of her daughter’s tragic motorcycle accident and how she helped her to get to the other side of it. Bonni and Fusun also discuss the power of gratitude and how the energy we surround ourselves with directly and profoundly impacts our lives. They also discuss the various ways in which we can sabotage our physical and mental health...

Founder of Life Healing Academy, Fusun left a successful corporate sales career of over 20 years to dedicate her life to helping people heal their emotions and boost self confidence for success.   She first discovered her gifts for being able to physically heal others when she helped her father to walk again. Today, her holistic approach and neuro-linguistic programming expertise focuses on t...

Paula Kidd Casey had been a practicing family law attorney for over 40 years and was one of the first women in the midwest to open a private law firm. Like many driven entrepreneurs, Paula spent years pursuing money and success at the expense of her health and peace of mind. After realizing her professional life was not bringing her joy and fulfillment, she spent years trying to define her passion...

As a medical doctor, Dr. Kumar-Singh experienced the limitations of traditional medicine. She left her career in emergency medicine to begin a 20-year journey to study, research and experience traditional healing systems from a wide range of cultures. She was led to become a practitioner of the 5,000 year old ancient healing tradition known as Ayurveda. Dr. Kumar-Singh has used Ayurveda to transfo...

This week Bonni shares vulnerably about the ups and downs of her healing journey, She talks about the valuable lessons she's learning as she continues to walk this very non-linear path toward wellness. Show Resources: Episode with Mollie Lowery, Bonni's personal health coach: https://shows.acast.com/the-chronically-courageous-with-bonni-howard/episodes/behind-the-scenes-of-bonnis-healing-journey-w...

Sarah Small, otherwise known as The Uncensored Empath, was a self-described “sponge to the universe’s problems”.  Her highly empathetic nature caused her to take on the emotions of everyone around her. She believes there is a strong connection between emotion and chronic illness and like so many others, all of her deeply felt emotions manifested into physical illness.  Diagnosed with sto...

Natali Križan was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease as a young girl. She went through years of disabling pain, eventually leading to surgical removal of two meters of her colon. Despite the challenges of her diagnosis, Natali immersed herself in self development. She went on to  become an expert on mindset through years of training under Tony Robbins. Natali is now a certified fitness and person...

This episode is captivating, mesmerizing, and filled with hope for anyone who has been told what they can’t do.   As just fifteen years old, Joy flew off a cliff on a motorbike and was declared dead on an operating table. Nine later she was hit by a drunk driver and suffered both internal and external injuries. She was told by doctors that her leg needed to be amputated and that she woul...

Adam Kruger, had a picture perfect life until the age of thirteen, when some personal events threw him into a downward spiral of stress and illness. At the age of fourteen, he found himself in the most excruciating, debilitating pain of his life, leaving him unable to keep food in his body. After a year of searching for answers, he was diagnosed with Duodenal Crohn's Disease.  Through various...