The New Normal

This episode is a little different than normal. After the last several months of conversations, stories, and episodes, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk honestly about where The New Normal is heading. What started as me sharing my own story slowly became something much bigger — conversations about motherhood, marriage, foster care, growing up, identity, purpose, and how life changes all of us...

When you’re younger, you think adults have life completely figured out. Then you grow up and realize most people are just trying their best while figuring things out as they go. In this episode, I talk about some of the things nobody really warns you about when it comes to adulthood — friendships changing, responsibilities replacing freedom, isolation, realizing your parents were learning too, and...

Everybody’s version of a “new normal” looks different. Some people go through loss. Some go through illness. Some go through heartbreak, fear, anxiety, addiction, change, or moments that completely alter the direction of their lives. And the strange thing is… most of us are walking around carrying things nobody else fully sees. In this episode, I wanted to step back from just my story and talk abo...

One thing I’ve realized while doing this podcast is that everybody’s version of a “new normal” looks different. In this episode, I sat down with a 10-year-old who went through foster care, was adopted, and is now growing up in a loving family while learning what life looks like as a big brother too. We talked about what foster care was like for him, meeting the people he now calls family, the mome...

With Mother’s Day this past weekend, I wanted to have my mom back on — but not really to talk about me this time. This episode is just an honest conversation about motherhood. Wanting a baby. Finding out you’re pregnant. Morning sickness, fear, excitement, bringing home a newborn, watching your kids grow up, and eventually seeing them become adults. We talked about the parts of motherhood people s...

For this episode, I sat down with my dad and walked through everything from his side. We’ve talked about parts of this over time, but it’s usually been pieces here and there—so this time we went through it from the beginning. From the day everything happened, to Riverside, to Shepherd, and what it was like when I came home. And then we shifted into his own experience—his health issues, his stroke,...

For this episode, I sat down with my wife, Rachel, and just had a real conversation. We talk all the time—but we realized we haven’t actually just sat and talked like this in a while. So we started from the beginning—how we met, first impressions, and what it was like getting to know each other. And then we got into what life actually looks like now… from her side. Not just what I’ve been through—...

For this episode, I’m just doing a real-life check-in. Nothing heavy. Nothing big to unpack. Just where I’m at right now. I’m a couple weeks into a new job, back into a routine, and honestly… things just feel smooth. That might not sound like much, but for me, it’s a big shift. In this episode, I talk about what my days actually look like, the small parts of life I’ve started to enjoy again, and w...

Up until now, you’ve heard this story from my perspective. But I wasn’t the only one going through it. In this episode, I sit down with my mom to talk about what it was like for her to experience everything from the outside — from the moment everything happened to the days and weeks that followed. We talk about the moments I don’t remember, the fear she carried, and what it felt like to watch some...

There are parts of going through something like this that people don’t really see. In this episode, I talk about the side of recovery that doesn’t always get talked about — the internal weight that can come with it. I share what it’s like seeing people from my past and feeling like I’m not the same person anymore. The thoughts that come up when I compare who I used to be to who I am now. And the q...

After going through something life-changing, you’d think the fear would eventually go away. But for me, it didn’t. In this episode, I talk about the moment I realized I might not be as “out of the woods” as I thought — and how that changed the way I see my health and my future. From that point on, I started noticing every little symptom. My mind would jump from something small to something serious...

After the hospital, after rehab, and after therapy ends, a new question appears: now what? In this episode, I talk about the moment my recovery structure ended and I realized I was now responsible for figuring out what life was supposed to look like moving forward. For a long time, that question of purpose didn’t have a clear answer. And to be honest, there are still moments where I wrestle with i...

Sometimes it takes a life-changing moment to realize what really matters. In this episode, I talk about the perspective that came from lying in a hospital bed after my stroke. I didn’t think about money, possessions, or the things I spent so much time chasing before everything happened. Instead, I thought about the experiences I had, the people in my life, and the simple things I used to do every...

After a life-altering event, people talk a lot about “getting back to normal.” But what if there is no going back? In this episode, I talk about what life really looks like after the comeback moment. After returning to work. After the emotional peak. After the relief. What does it mean to live as someone who has changed? I share what I’ve learned about expectations, invisible struggles, rebuilding...

Life really can change in a moment. And when it does, it can feel like everything you knew — and even who you were — got left behind. In this episode, I’m not just sharing more of my story. I’m talking directly to you — the listener who knows what it feels like when life shifts and nothing feels the same anymore. I talk about what people misunderstand about strength, why progress can feel invisibl...

In this episode of The New Normal , I share what it really looked like to step back into life after everything changed. Coming back didn’t happen all at once — it happened in layers. From my first shift back in Central Sterile, to rebuilding confidence through Shed Hauling, to realizing I was still a nurse in PACU, each step showed me something I didn’t expect: I wasn’t as fragile as I thought. Th...

In this episode, I share what happened medically — along with what I experienced in real time and what I understand now looking back. This isn’t just my perspective, and it isn’t just the medical version. It’s both. I walk through what was happening to my body, what was happening around me, and what I remember experiencing as everything was unfolding. I also talk about the things I didn’t understa...

Seven years after everything changed, life didn’t go back to normal — it became something new. In this episode, I talk honestly about what life looks like now: what I lost, what I gained, and what never went back to the way it was. We explore identity after change, the lingering grief, the slow acceptance, and what the “new normal” actually means when you stop trying to fit back into your old life...

Leaving The Shepherd Center wasn’t the end of recovery — it was the beginning of learning how to live without structure. This episode follows the return home: stepping away from a place built to hold you together and re-entering a world that didn’t slow down. I talk about the quiet shock of being back in familiar spaces, the pressure to be okay, and the long middle of healing — including months of...

This episode follows my arrival at The Shepherd Center, the place where survival gave way to rehabilitation, and the reality of long-term recovery set in. I talk about the early days there, starting therapy early, learning to navigate a new body, and the people who challenged me to stop feeling sorry for myself and start engaging with what was in front of me. Shepard was focused on work, routine,...

After the incident, I wasn't fully present in my own life. This episode lives in that space- the days where time didn't feel real, decisions felt distant, and I didn't recognize myself or the world I was in. I speak candidly about what it feels like to navigate moments without fully understanding what's happening or what comes next. If you ever felt lost inside your own life after...

One ordinary day, everything changed. This episode isn’t about answers or lessons learned. It’s about the moment life split into before and after — the shock, the fear, the loss of control, and the realization that nothing was going back to the way it was. If you’ve ever had something happen that changed your life in an instant, you may recognize this space. The confusion. The waiting. The feeling...

In this episode, I want to introduce myself, share a little bit about why this podcast exists, and what you can expect as we go forward. Thank you for being here at the beginning of this journey.