Destiny Is Debatable
Meningitis Episodes
Oct. 5, 2024

World Meningitis Day 2024

STORIES OF RESILIENCE Meningitis Survivors and Advocates Share Their Journeys Welcome to another special and poignant episode of the Destiny is Debatable podcast. As we acknowledge World Meningitis Day on October 5th, we are ...

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Feb. 26, 2024

From EOD to Extraordinary: Aaron Hale's Unconventional Journey

Join us for a captivating chat with Aaron Hale, a former US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician turned entrepreneur, ultra endurance athlete, and host of The Point of Impact podcast. Aaron's story is one of resilience, peppered with hum...

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Oct. 5, 2023

World Meningitis Day 2023

This year for World Meningitis Day, we pulled together a remarkable collection of people from around the world to raise awareness and share their story to help light the road ahead to defeat meningitis. Turning the World Health Organization's (WHO) …

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July 4, 2023

Making It Work with Sheryl Ellis

Sheryl Ellis, a Certified Professional in Human Resources and a recognized expert in Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) stops by to discuss how she helps employees and employers understand how to apply the ADA to a …

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June 27, 2023

Hypothetically Speaking Two

After an exciting and somewhat cryptic podcast and book update, Erin is back with another round of hypothetical questions for John that force them to choose the better of two bad options. Things get tense when Erin poses a “scandalous” …

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March 28, 2023

Meningitis Stories and Advocacy with Patti and Alicia

Patti Wukovits and Alicia Stillman, two mothers who each lost their young, healthy daughters too soon to a now vaccine-preventable disease, Meningitis B (known as MenB). High school senior Kimberly (Patti’s daughter), 17, died one week before her gra...

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Feb. 7, 2023

Meningitis Stories with Painter Sam

Fellow survivor, Samantha Bennett, stops by to share her meningitis experience that begins as a 10-month-old baby and how the fast action of her family and an ER doctor helped her beat the odds. She recalls the countless months spent …

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Nov. 15, 2022

Chef Regina, Your Friend In The Kitchen

While on a family road trip, Regina Mitchell noticed a pain in her eye that changed from slight to excruciating within a few days. After a long medical journey she was diagnosed with Bilateral Panuveitis and began losing her sight …

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Oct. 5, 2022

Meningitis Stories with Andy Marso

As a senior at the University of Kansas, Andy Marso was not aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis. Because of the fast action of his friend and local doctors Andy miraculously survived to tell the tale in his …

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July 26, 2022

Meningitis Stories with Krystle

Fellow bacterial meningitis survivor, Krystle Beauchamp, stops by to share her meningitis story and how thankful she is for a quick diagnosis and the support of her family and friends. As Advocates for the National Meningitis Association (NMA), Krystle a...

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April 27, 2021

Jamie Schanbaum

Fellow survivor, Jamie Schanbaum, stops by to share her meningitis story and talk about life as an amputee, the vaccine legislation she helped pass, her advocacy with the J.A.M.I.E. Group and her days as a cyclist on the United States …

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Feb. 23, 2021

The Meningitis Experience

Fellow survivor, National Meningitis Association Advocate and podcast host, Adam Busuttil, stops by to share his meningitis story and the similarities with John’s story. They also discuss their road back to college and the importance of mental health che...

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Jan. 26, 2021

Q&A Four

Erin returns with more listener questions. John discusses what he misses the most after vision loss, how technology helps with independence and if his other senses have become heightened to adapt to the loss of vision. In addition, they cover …

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Jan. 12, 2021

Advocacy in Action

Fellow bacterial meningitis survivor Francesca Testa stops by for a visit to share her harrowing experience with the disease more than 15 years ago. As two former athletes, John and Francesca discuss the challenges they each faced in regaining their …

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Dec. 15, 2020

Moms and Meningitis

National Meningitis Association President Leslie Maier joins John and Erin to discuss the organization and how she channeled her grief into advocacy and action after she lost her son to meningitis. Leslie shares Chris’ story, explains how she first got …

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