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 episode, she opens up about what that looks like: the fear, the frustration, the grief, and the honesty that comes with not sugarcoating it.If you’ve ever been stuck in the uncertainty of not knowing what’s wrong, feeling too unwell to show up, and wondering if anyone understands—this episode is here to remind you that you are not alone.You can watch on YouTube by clicking here or listen here on Apple or Spotify: Please also subscribe to my YouTube channel or whichever audio channel you get your podcasts on so you don’t miss future episodes. It also helps to get the word out so that other people can learn about the podcast. And if you would be so kind to leave me a great review on Apple or Spotify it would really make my day! Follow Bonni on social:InstagramFacebookYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 story of how and why David became a kidney donor and changed the lives of an entire family. Check out the YouTube video, which includes some great visuals to accompany the story. You can watch on YouTube by clicking here.Follow Bonni on social:InstagramFacebookYouTubeTrack: "Sentimental Visions"Music provided by https://slipstreammusic.comDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/1TO8aP Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 fortunate enough to have not been personally affected by the trainwreck that is health insurance industry are now a little more in the know. In this episode, Bonni talks to Traci Hurley, a board-certified pediatrician turned accidental health insurance reform advocate. Traci openly shares the heartwrenching story of her husband Dan Hurley’s battle with chondrosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Dan, also a former medical doctor, and Traci experienced firsthand how unfair and broken the health insurance system is, but they didn’t take it lying down!  Tune in to hear how Dan, amidst the battle for his own life, selflessly looked beyond himself and sought to make systemic change to the health insurance industry. In his own words, Dan wrote, “If I can help even a few patients who don't have a voice from being harmed emotionally or physically by an unethical system, I will have partially succeeded in my goal”.  You don’t want to miss this touching story of love, loss, and generosity. Learn more about Dan's story and The Chondrosarcoma Foundation You can now watch The Chronically Courageous on YouTube by clicking here.Follow Bonni on social:InstagramFacebookYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 mental health, dynamic disability, living with unpredictability, societal judgments, and other tribulations of living with a chronic, invisible illness.One needn't have EDS or HSD to appreciate this conversation or the film's premise, as it’s relatable to anyone living with chronic illness or who knows someone with a chronic health condition.Film Website: https://www.goodstuff-story.co/exhuas...Film Trailer: https://vimeo.com/897950041Contribute to the film: https://www.goodstuff-story.co/donateFollow Bonni on IG:   / thechronicallycourageous  Click below to listen to The Chronically Courageous Podcast onSpotifyAppleand most other podcast platforms.You can now watch The Chronically Courageous on YouTube by clicking here.Follow Bonni on social:InstagramFacebookYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 illness should embrace to live more happy and full lives.  This week, Bonni continues that discussion, revealing the last six principles.  She learned each principle through much trial and error and now wants to share them with you so that you can live life more fully despite your chronic illness.  This is part two of a two-part episode.  If you missed part one, you can find it on audio or video at the links below. YouTubeSpotifyAppleBonni loves hearing from her audience, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to her on her socials below: :InstagramFacebookYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 through a lot of trial and error and now she wants to share them with you to make your lives more full, happy, peaceful, and equitable. This is part one of a two-part episode, so please set your notifications to be alerted when part two is released. Connect with Bonni:InstagramFacebookYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 livesThe long journey to diagnosisThings that help us improve our quality of lifeWhat we wish more people understood about EDS Our stages of denial and trying everything to cure ourselvesThe most challenging symptoms Dealing with the darkness of our most challenging timesThe importance of community #EhlersDanlosAwareness #MedicalPTSD #Gaslighting #Dysautonomia #MastCellActivationDisorder #SmallFiberPeripheralNeuropathy #InvisibleIllness #Disability #YouDontLookSick #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #ADHD #Dyspraxia #Subluxations #LongCovid #Anxiety #Depression #ToxicPositivity #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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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 updates of what is to come. Connect with Bonni:InstagramFacebookEmail Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 between chronic illness and certain common qualities that people with chronic illness possess (6:52)Yvette McCue’s advice that she would give herself younger self (7:52)The link between trauma and chronic illness (9:41)Cathleen Elle shares statistics and correlations between chronic illness and emotional issues (10:13)The importance of releasing emotions (12:09)Snead Cracknell shares about her experience with trauma and physical illness (12:52)The ways that neuroplasticity can impact our healing ()4:32)Rachel Barber’s thoughts on the power of brain rewiring (15:05)The role that removing toxicity plays in our lives discussed by Dr Avanti Kumar-Singh (20:39)How life can change when we change our perspective discussed with Sidney DeCamilla  (29:06)The things we can accomplish when we take our power back discussed with Christina Rice (34:00)How all we can do is our best and that is enough discussed Lara Bloom, CEO of The Ehlers Danlos Society. (41:15)Connect with Bonni:InstagramFacebookEmail Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.