Profound Awesomeness
Profound insights from trauma survivors. Hear their stories and learn from their experiences as they go from near calamity to living with meaning and purpose. Each episode you will gain valuable knowledge and tips for how to overcome long odds to achieve a life full of awesomeness. Heart attack survivor Adrian Jones takes a deep yet uplifting approach to understanding the meaning of survival and how it can transform people for the better. Ultimately, Adrian seeks to understand what makes us human in a way that lifts people up and leaves them changed.
Episodes
34 episodes
A Seizure Triggers Changes in Sydney Fletcher's Life
Meet Sydney Fletcher. She's a Type 1 diabetic who suffered a diabetic seizure in her mid-20s. This triggered a period of anxiety, stress and insomnia. Through restorative yoga she found peace in her life that was able to...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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35:41
Casey Beats Cancer (Three Times!) and a Stroke
"It's time to get your affairs in order," was not what 31 year old Casey Head wanted or expected to hear from her doctor. She had just been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, known as a children's cancer. Four months into ...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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1:03:05
John Carey Was Presumed Dead And Gave The Nurse The Fright Of Her Life
A nurse entered the hospital room to get John Carey's body ready for the morgue. In the hospital for days with kidney disease, he was presumed dead but in fact John was very much alive. As the nurse approached him, he moved his eyes...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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1:04:40
Held Hostage for Five Years, Jose Pereira Finds New Meaning in Hostage Advocacy
Jose Pereira (Jose Angel Pereira Ruimwyck) knows what it's like to be wrongfully detained in a foreign country. In November 2017 Jose, the then CEO of Houston-based CITGO oil company, was summoned to Caracas with members of his leadership...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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58:24
Stefan Survives a Major Car Crash in the Middle of Nowhere
Driving with his cousin on a remote winding mountain road in August 2022, Stefan Venne lost control of his 1984 Volkswagon Rabbit and crashed into a tree. Far from help and outside of cell phone reception, Stefan was trapped and out of it...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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51:16
Repeatedly Dead Fred
Can you imagine what it would be like to be clinically dead and return to life once? How about twenty times? Meet Fred Rutman. He has clinically died twenty times as a result of a condition called sudden onset full heart block...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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43:16
James Gardner Conquers Paralysis and a Brain Tumor
James Gardner isn't afraid to take on a challenge. Dealt paralysis at a young age and a brain tumor later in life, James did not allow them to affect his grit and determination. He's traveled the world, he worked as a journal...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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1:06:48
Dr. Kathy Zhang and Finding One's Purpose with Lessons from Hospice Patients
Doctor, coach and podcast host, Dr. Kathy Zhang has so much to offer people. With a first hand account of the struggles and the toll of treating COVID patients in New York City in 2020, Kathy brings a wealth of experience and perspective ...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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44:00
Chuck Thuss, A Former Hockey Goalie, Has the Biggest Save of His Life
A phone call saved his life. Drowning in anxiety and depression, Chuck Thuss almost did the unthinkable. Driving down the road he accelerated his truck with the intention of slamming into a guardrail and ending his life. Yet a...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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51:20
A Personal Account of Beating a Heart Attack
Thank you for tuning in! I'm trying a new format in addition to continuing with the interviews. From time to time, I'll do short form solo podcasts on things that I think are relevant to Profound Awesomeness. I think the...
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6:21
Eliza Survives Addiction
Addiction is an insidious, undiscriminating disease and Eliza Schecter knows all about it. Her addiction started at the end of middle school and the beginning of high school. She didn't feel right in her own skin and began to self-s...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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1:06:21
Lizzie's Incredible Journey Conquering Multiple Myeloma
One night in San Francisco Lizzie Azzolino sat on a bench at a park nearby her home, looked up at the stars and felt herself completely surrender for the first time in her life. After searching for answers to her mystery illness, she had ...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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1:06:37
Frank Jackson, Mr. Positive
Writer, speaker and creative Frank Jackson lost both his parents at a relatively young age. His mother died of pancreatic cancer while his father died from HLH, and at age 23 Frank became an orphan. Frank now finds his meaning, and ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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42:55
Trevor Jones and Traumatic Brain Injuries
Trevor Jones has an incredible capacity to beat traumatic brain injuries ("TBIs"). He has survived not one but two TBIs. The first happened when has was thirteen years old and he later suffered another one later in life. Each ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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51:44
Andrea's Darkness Shall Not Prevail
Andrea Blindt has lived through several dark periods in her life. From a difficult relationship with her mother as a child to one day losing her twins, Andrea found ways to prevail by leaning on love. That's how she found hers...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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1:00:49
Chris' Fall and Life as an Amputee
Amputee Chris Prange-Morgan talks about her family, her catastrophic fall at the climbing gym and her decision to remove her right leg below the knee. Hear how she worked her way back from her injury both physically and psychologically an...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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58:33
Dave, Ready-to-Hand, Tackles Life
Born with hereditary peripheral neuropathy, also known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Dave Oferal had an awakening. With his early years defined by bullying, theft, alcohol abuse, arrests, and other devious behaviors, Dave woke up one da...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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1:01:16
Steve the Paratriathlete
Steve Lovelace has a huge heart and a strong mental fortitude. On top of that he can also claim that he is the second known paratriathlete in history. Before accomplishing that feat, he had to survive a death-defying accident and te...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:06:49
Sandra Survives It All
Sandra Jarvis has survived a lot. From abuse to cancer to a horrific accident while riding an ATV, Sandra has found a way to survive and press on. Listen to her story and how she finds a way to be happy and decide who she accepts in...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:11:22
Paul's Journey With Cerebral Palsy
Meet Paul Forchione and hear his story of living with and finding ways to conquer cerebral palsy. Hear how his "mama bear" mother wouldn't take no for an answer and helped him find a doctor who would believe in him and his ability to walk...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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43:31
Melinda Survives Her Fall in Kenya
During a trip to a remote part of Africa, Melinda Walker fell from a rock band onto a boulder and survived and her journey to critical care was nearly as dangerous as the fall itself. More than just surviving, Melinda is thriving finding ...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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1:02:54
Type A Crazy Jen, A Natural Giver
Jen Marples is a warrior and she's on a mission. A career-driven, Type A workaholic, Jen suffered a myriad of health issues and put important relationships on the line. Not any longer. She is out to help midlife women find the...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:15:06
Julie's Remarkable Reunion
Hear a story where profound awesomeness is pervasive. Through a remarkable set of circumstances, Julie's life takes an incredible turn that is filled with love, acceptance and joy. A chance encounter through her daughter leads her d...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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2:02:06
Mark's Fight Against Stage 5 Kidney Failure
Meet Mark Pruett. A gifted natural athlete and physical trainer who recently encountered the fight of his life. His fight against severe kidney failure is no joke and it put his body through all kinds of hell. We're glad he's ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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1:29:36
The Resilience of Tiffany Rowe
Severe idiopathic aplastic anemia survivor Tiffany Rowe discusses her fight against this disease - and her relapse - and how that has shaped how she lives her life today. If you would like to learn more about Tiffany, or would like to get...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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1:17:18