When Everything Changed: The Group Health Podcast

Today’s guest on the When Everything Changed Podcast is Shawn, an Olympia, Washington native who has continuously refused to let the bumps in the road slow him down. Back in 1984, at the age of 14, Shawn played every sport you could imagine, and his favorite was basketball. Because of this, his energy levels were usually high, but after missing a few days of school due to fatigue and spiking a fever, Shawn’s parents decided to take him in to see a doctor. The doctor ordered X-rays and...

Approximately 30 million people in the U.S., or 9.3 percent of the population, are living with diabetes (CDC, 2016). Harry was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005 at the age of 59, after he started experiencing neuropathy (numbness) in his lower limbs. In today's episode of the When Everything Changed Podcast, Harry reflects on his poor health habits prior to his diagnosis and how changing those habits contributed to stabilizing his diabetes. Despite his first few failed attempts at adopting...

In today’s episode of When Everything Changed, we hear from Jonnel, a retired senior research analyst for the Washington State legislature. When hearing problems and other unusual symptoms began occurring during her last few years at work, Jonnel just thought it was part of the normal aging process. But when these symptoms started interrupting her ability to work, a visit with her doctor led to the discovery of a benign, slow-growing tumor called an acoustic neuroma that attaches itself to...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the most common types of inflammatory bowel disease according to the CDC, with 2.2 to 14.3 new cases per 100,000 people diagnosed each year. Today's guest on the When Everything Changed Podcast is Julene, who was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 1997 at the age of 27. She learned that her treatment options included medication, removing her colon, J-pouch surgery, or using an ostomy pouching system. When reviewing her choices, she feared the stigma that...