What happens to your mind after your body has been through repeated medical crises? For heart transplant survivor Jay Waddell, nearly two and a half years post-transplant, the answer looked like a surprise CMV hospitalization, a misdiagnosis at a local ER, two weeks inpatient — and then his longest hike in 19 years.

In this episode, host Andrea opens up about taking a health break from the podcast, then sits down with returning guest Jay to unpack how chronic illness can create PTSD-like fear responses, why so many patients get stuck in survival mode long after the crisis passes, and what it actually takes to move forward. Jay shares the concept behind his upcoming book Flip It — the idea that even in the middle of ongoing adversity, you can choose to reframe your narrative — and the "sparks" (a therapist, a book, a single conversation) that make that shift possible.

Whether you are navigating life after transplant, managing a chronic condition, or supporting someone who is, this conversation is a reminder that healing is not linear — and that flipping your story is always still an option.

Topics covered: chronic illness PTSD, CMV after organ transplant, misdiagnosis, post-transplant recovery, trauma and the nervous system, neuroplasticity, identity after illness, Voices From the Heart, the Flip It concept, and finding your sparks.

00:00 Chronic Illness PTSD

00:26 Medical Disclaimer

01:28 Show Intro and Guest Return

02:10 Andrea Health Break Update

02:48 Jay CMV Scare Explained

04:36 Misdiagnosis and Recovery

06:25 Facing Fear and PTSD

08:14 Voices From the Heart Book

09:59 Power of Shared Stories

11:24 Stroke and Neuroplasticity

15:56 Flip It Concept and Sparks

19:13 Themes of Flipping Forward

22:35 Identity as a Flipper

27:30 Choice and Nervous System Reset

28:54 Books Links and Call for Stories

31:18 Closing Thanks and Wrap Up

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Given 10 Years to Live, Still Here 23 Years Later: Peter McLaughlin on Leukemia, Stress, and Healing Beyond the Diagnosis

In 2003, Peter McLaughlin — a former volunteer firefighter and EMT — went in for a routine blood test and walked out with a leukemia diagnosis and a prognosis of about 10 years to live. He had no symptoms. He felt fine. And yet the numbers told a different story.

Twenty-three years later, his white blood cell count is less than half of what it was at diagnosis.

Peter joins me on Wake Up Your Soul to share the full story — from the intense stress surrounding 9/11 and possible Ground Zero air exposure, to the moment he decided he was not going to simply accept what he had been told and wait to die. What followed was one of the most comprehensive, multifaceted healing journeys I have ever heard: naturopathic care, radical changes to diet and water quality, mercury filling removal, chelation, infrared sauna, colonics, and perhaps most powerfully — addressing the emotional and psychological toxins that conventional medicine almost never talks about.

Peter explains how chronic fight-or-flight stress suppresses the immune system, the digestive system, and the body's ability to heal — and how unresolved trauma, subconscious triggers, and emotional patterns can silently drive illness and addiction for decades. He breaks down what hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis actually are, how the placebo and nocebo effects are more powerful than most people realize, and why forgiveness may be one of the most underrated healing tools available to any of us.

This episode is for anyone who has ever been handed a diagnosis and felt like their future was decided for them. It is for the chronic illness community, the holistic health seekers, and anyone who suspects that what is happening in their body is connected to what has happened in their life.

In this episode:

•How stress around 9/11 and possible Ground Zero exposure may have contributed to Peter's diagnosis

•The leukemia and Lyme disease diagnosis — and why Peter chose a path beyond conventional treatment

•How chronic fight-or-flight suppresses your immune system, digestion, and healing capacity

•The full detox protocol: mercury fillings, chelation, infrared sauna, colonics, diet, and water quality

•What hypnosis actually is — and how self-hypnosis can rewire subconscious patterns driving illness

•The nocebo effect: how a diagnosis itself can become a self-fulfilling prophecy

•Epigenetics, forgiveness, and taking back control of your health story

Connect with Peter McLaughlin: https://www.blueskyhypnosis.com/

Follow Wake Up Your Soul: https://youtube.com/@wakeupyoursoulwithandrealynn?si=-p_CSy9891E77HCz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrealynnintuitive/

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

If this episode spoke to you, please share it — someone in your life needs to hear this today.

leukemia survivor, holistic healing, stress and illness, fight or flight, nervous system healing, hypnotherapy, self-hypnosis, detox protocol, mercury fillings, chelation therapy, infrared sauna, chronic illness, Lyme disease, 9/11 health, naturopathic medicine, epigenetics, nocebo effect, placebo effect, trauma and illness, Wake Up Your Soul podcast

Support the show

Click and subscribe to my youtube channel where you can catch fun lives to uplift your mood and video versions of this podcast:

https://youtube.com/@wakeupyoursoulwithandrealynn?si=fGyeGrftRqTZNnjR

Follow me on Ig:

https://www.instagram.com/andrealynnintuitive?igsh=MTgzemQ2bnNwM2d4ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

She Survived a Decade of Domestic Violence — Then Guillain-Barré Paralyzed Her: Jennifer Perri on Resilience and Reinvention

What do you do when you survive one unsurvivable thing — and then life hands you another? That is the question at the heart of this conversation with reinvention strategist Jennifer Perri, and her answer will stay with you long after this episode ends.

Jennifer grew up watching her parents' marriage fall apart, shaped by a father whose verbal abuse and gambling left deep marks. She walked into her first marriage carrying those wounds — and spent a decade in a violently abusive relationship, staying out of fear, isolation, and the complicated love that keeps so many women trapped. She finally left only when her husband began harming their children. It ended with a restraining order, an ER visit, and his incarceration — leaving Jennifer alone with two young sons and almost no support system.

She rebuilt. She found her footing. And then, in December 2021, after her second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Jennifer began experiencing symptoms she could not explain. Within days, she was in the ICU, near-totally paralyzed with Guillain-Barré syndrome — a rare neurological condition her doctors later confirmed was linked to an adverse vaccine reaction, documented by the CDC and her own medical records.

She relearned how to walk. How to use her hands. How to live.

In this episode, Jennifer and I talk about what it actually takes to survive the "messy middle" — the part of the story nobody posts about. We cover why women stay in abusive relationships, how to discreetly help someone you think may be experiencing abuse, what near-total paralysis teaches you about resilience, and how micro-steps and a solutions-focused mindset can move you forward when everything feels impossible.

This episode is for anyone who has ever had to start over — once, twice, or more times than they can count.

In this episode:

•How childhood trauma shapes the relationships we choose

•Why women stay in abusive relationships — and what actually helps them leave

•Practical, discreet ways to support someone experiencing domestic violence

•What Guillain-Barré syndrome is and how Jennifer's case developed after her COVID vaccine

•The ICU, near-total paralysis, and defying the recovery odds

•The "messy middle" — why sharing the hard parts matters

•Micro-steps, mindset, and the reinvention framework Jennifer uses with her clients

Connect with Jennifer Perry:https://jenniferperri.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrealynnintuitive/

If this episode resonated with you, please share it — you never know who needs to hear it today.

domestic violence survivor, Guillain-Barré syndrome, vaccine adverse reaction, GBS paralysis, reinvention strategist, Jennifer Perry, why women stay in abusive relationships, how to help domestic violence victim, resilience, mindset, messy middle, starting over, survival story, Wake Up Your Soul podcast, Andrea podcast, breaking cycles, trauma recovery, solutions-focused mindset, micro steps to change, COVID vaccine injury

Support the show

Click and subscribe to my youtube channel where you can catch fun lives to uplift your mood and video versions of this podcast:

https://youtube.com/@wakeupyoursoulwithandrealynn?si=fGyeGrftRqTZNnjR

Follow me on Ig:

https://www.instagram.com/andrealynnintuitive?igsh=MTgzemQ2bnNwM2d4ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr