Squeeze a world of passion, goal driven problem solver and an adventurous triathlete into 5

feet of fun and you get Faith Louise Cooper.

Faith Louise grew up in a family of 5 with 2 younger sisters. At the 12 she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, now known as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. In 2017 she was diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome and was recently changed to Hypermobility Ehlers Danlos Syndrome abbreviated as hEDS. Her younger sister also battles with hEDS on a daily basis.

Faith Louise joined the swim team in middle school to help manage the arthritis. She lives an enriching life and despite what the medical research says she has gone from being in excreting pain when standing for 15 mins to completing a half Ironman a few years back. Faith Louise has great joy and strength in life because of challenges she has faced.

Faith Louise, wanting to have all the tools in her tool box to live an enriching life has decided to study nutrition and is completing her certified holistic nutrition. She has passion for equipping, educating and inspiring other families going through the same thing as well as raising awareness.

​​In this episode she discusses the difficulties during COVID with hEDS.​

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cooperfa/. Faith Louise Cooper

Instrgram: https://www.instagram.com/speakingoftri/. Speakingoftri

LinkIn: www.linkedin.com/in/faith-cooper Faith Louise Cooper

This week we are discussing bullying amongst young children.

CDC defines bullying as any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths, who are not siblings, that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance, and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm. Common types of bullying include:

• Physical such as hitting, kicking, and tripping.

• Verbal including name-calling and teasing.

• Relational or social such as spreading rumors and leaving out of the group.

• Damage to victim's property.

Bullying can also occur through technology, which is called electronic bullying or cyberbullying. A young person can be a perpetrator, a victim, or both (also known as "bully/victim"). (credits: CDC)

We would like to take a moment to thank the judges at The National Health Information Awards Organization for granting us the Bronze Medal for Media/Publishing for 2024!

Your immune system is your body's main defense against germs and illnesses. When you have lupus, you're more prone to infections because your immune system works differently than most people's. It becomes overactive and attacks your body itself.

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Our guest on today's show is another repeat guest, Amber Blackburn. Amber is a Registered Nurse turned blogger and patient advocate for those with chronic illnesses. She deals with Hemiplegic Migraines and Lupus and unfortunately she caught COVID at the very start of the Pandemic.

This week we will discuss kidney dialysis with Christina & Michael. Christina and Michael Gilchrist have quickly become known as "BLIND CHICK LIVING" & "THE CARETAKER" but who could forget Christina's service dog MOOSE!

Christina story: early teens kidney disease diagnosed, early 20's pregnant, doctor missed toxemia, seizures which caused retina and optic nerve imploded causing blindness in total kidney failure, oldest brother donated kidney, unfortunately rejected, asked if she could do home dialysis "NO!! YOU ARE BLIND", in center dialysis 5+yrs plus a young single mother, cadaveric kidney donated, start LIVING and having fun that is where Michael slid into Christina's DM's!!, started rejecting again, INSISTED on doing Peritoneal Dialysis and would not take no for an answer, kept LIVING on PD doing dialysis all over from dry camping with solar panels even got married and did PD on honeymoon and YES! on the back of a motorcycle!!, PD stopped working started home hemo with Michaels help, Michael felt he needed support and not being able to find a support group that fit his needs he started his own. That was the start of LIVING on dialysis!! We have traveled all over the country advocating for dialysis and sharing how we are LIVING!!

This week we will discuss Red Blood Cell Exchange (RBCX) and Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). Our guest is Carly Newton.

​Carly is a Registered Nurse at Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies with over 15years helping Health Care Professionals treating SCD patients with Red Blood Cell Exchange all over the globe. Specializing in apheresis treatments, Carly uses that experience to educate Health Care Professionals on the most effective ways to prescribe Red Blood Cell Exchange.

​By focusing on differentiating the different types of transfusion therapies available to SCD patients, Carly has been able to put the Registered Nurse degree they earned at The University of South Australia to good use. Carly may spend their days at the Terumo Lakewood campus, but it’s the patients and helping them live their best lives that gets them up in the morning.

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When they’re not at Terumo, Carly loves spending time in the great outdoors and enjoying everything the Colorado Rockies have to offer.

As you may recall Myisha spoke with us in season 7 about Crohn's Disease and season 10 about Asthma. We are running this week's episode as a re-run of her asthma interview. Myisha is a passionate dedicated advocate she’s received proclamations from states for recognition of her advocacy and IBD awareness. Besides her challenges with Crohn's, Myisha has a daughter with severe asthma and is here today to discuss her daughters' journey.

​Patients with severe asthma use the highest dose of inhaled corticosteroids plus a second controller and/or oral corticosteroids. However, despite using high dose medicines, reducing risks, and following their treatment plan, many times their asthma remains uncontrolled. Severe asthma is categorized into three types: allergic asthma, eosinophilic asthma and non-eosinophilic asthma.

On this week's episode we are talking with Dr. Cornish about Neuro complications in Chronically Ill Patients. Dr. Cornish, a highly regarded physician, provides integrative medicine services to a diverse global patient community. Currently serving as the Functional Medicine Director of the Amen Clinic East Coast Division, she specializes in autoimmune diseases, hormone imbalances Lyme disease, autism, environmental toxicity, gut imbalances, neurology and various other chronic conditions. Employing a holistic approach, Dr. Cornish identifies the root causes of health issues within the body's biological systems, offering comprehensive treatment to both adults and children. Her treatment philosophy is integrative and evidence-based.

Within Amen Clinics, Dr. Cornish has been instrumental in developing the Neuroinflammatory Intensive program—a two-week inpatient initiative addressing neurological complications arising from chronic infectious diseases, mold illness, and other chronic inflammatory conditions including brain imaging.

Dr. Cornish's educational journey includes earning honors at Brown University for her undergraduate studies and obtaining her medical degree (M.D.) from Brown University Medical School. She further refined her skills through a family medicine residency at Georgetown University.

As a Howard Hughes Medical Fellow, Dr. Cornish conducted translational research at the National Human Genome Research Institute NIH, working under the guidance of Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D. She currently serves as the treasurer of the board for the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society,

Acknowledged as an authority in her field, Dr. Cornish was honored as Northern Virginia’s Top Doctor for family practice in 2021 and 2022. She has also been recognized by Continental Who’s Who as an Exceptional Woman in Healthcare, highlighting her professional excellence at Amen Clinics.

Beyond her clinical practice, Dr. Cornish is passionate about education, regularly conducting webinars to inspire medical professionals and patients to better understand functional medicine. Her aspirations include contributing to research on Alzheimer’s, Lyme Disease, and pediatric autoimmune diseases, with plans to write a book detailing her experiences. She is also a proud mom of triplets.

For more information, please visit www.amenclinics.com.