Chasing Insight

Pete Panariello spends most of his time in a wheelchair. He was able-bodied until his mid-30s and still does not have a definitive diagnosis, however it is MS-related and is a form of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia.  Pete has a magnetic, outgoing personality and everyone wants to be around him. You cannot help but feel uplifted in his presence because of his positivity and sense of humor.  The most frustrating thing for Pete is not having a diagnosis which means that he cannot answer the question WHY he is in a wheelchair. He talks about his experience of being in a wheelchair: ways that he is treated differently, feelings of self-consciousness, and how he deals with seeing old friends that did not know he was in a wheelchair. Pete's belief is that we all have "stuff", and it is not even a question for him to have a positive attitude on a daily basis. He does not give in to negativity or self-doubt. His advice to others is: YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. YOU CAN EITHER LIVE OR DIE. Pete sees everyday as a silve

Alopecia effects 2% of the population or 6.5 million people in the US. It is an autoimmune disease which contains the same 8 gene map as celiac disease or rheumatoid arthritis.  Magaret Staib has Alopecia Areata, which means having spots of hair loss. There is also Alopecia Totalis, a total loss of hair on the scalp and Alopecia Universalis, total hair loss including the scalp, face, and body. Each case of Alopecia is different. Margaret's inner journey of acceptance spans 12 years. She describes watching her hair fall out and what the experience of not knowing why or how much she will lose did to her mentally. She explains how someone changes with the disease. Margaret tried steroid injections at the follicles which did not work for her. Margaret eventually found Jacki's Wig Works, Inc:   https://www.jackiswigworks.com a full service wig salon that changed her life. Jacki is a very special person who has 30 years of experience helping people with hair loss. Jacki's Wig Works is located at: 338

Amanda Ferranti is a certified sports psychology consultant. She has a Master's degree in sport and exercise psychology, is a nationally licensed soccer coach, and played professional soccer herself. Amanda works one on one with youth athletes to identify their performance hurdles and strategize how to overcome them to ultimately achieve their goal.  Amanda talks about her journey to sports psychology and being a scholar-athlete at Princeton University. We learn that to be a successful scholar-athlete one needs: to identify and balance what is important, the ability to prioritize, organizational and management skills, self-discipline  Amanda feels there is a difference in the mentality of kids and young adults today: the search for identity is taking longer, kids without a firm sense of self are overly dependent on praise and outcomes kids are very influenced by those around them if they do not have a firm sense of themselves. Amanda's ADVICE FOR KIDS HEADING TO COLLEGE: have a firm s

Asim Farooki's weight loss journey started exactly 9 years ago. He was morbidly obese at 360 pounds and lost 175 pounds. His personal transformation is incredible.  The three things that pushed Asim to make the weight loss change were: He didn't want to be a liability to his daughter if she couldn't do things because he could not be a part of it He didn't want to be an embarrassment for his daughter He feared he would not be there for her because of illness or possibly even death from obesity  Asim shares how he lost the weight: He went to the gym daily and starting with walking in the pool. He inspired the trainers with his perseverance. They befriended him and gave him advice, tips, and motivation to stick with his personal commitment. Asim considers these trainers family to this day and sees them as a blessing.  He drank only protein shakes for 6 months. His biggest challenge - Taking the initiative to go to the gym every single day. His biggest lesson - People say appearances aren't tha

Part 2 of our powerful interview with Katy Schomburg, a true inspiration to all, as she continues her story about what happens after mastectomy surgery and dealing with chemotherapy treatments.  Katy uses her diagnosis as an opportunity to create awareness and to raise money through the charity Pink Cans 4 Cancer. WE GOT THIS Katy talks about: The news about her particular diagnosis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and the decision to get chemotherapy treatments How the treatments are going How she got a haircut to prepare for the side effect of hair loss and what she eventually did as a result of that side effect How she tries to stay healthy with young children  The incredible gesture that her college lacrosse team from the University of Delaware did to show their support and how it affected her How her community supports her How she spoke to her children about her diagnosis and treatment and how they handled it She touches on her upcoming timeline with final treatments and reconstructive surgery and

Part 1 of our powerful interview with Katy Schomburg, a 37 year old teacher, wife, and mother of two who was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 15, 2017.  THIS IS HER STORY.   Katy talks about: What led to her breast cancer diagnosis How she formulated her plan of action for her summer and going forward Her road to mastectomy surgery, how she prepared, and what was involved The discovery of the BRCA gene in her family and how insurance companies prevent people from getting genetic testing.  We were shocked to learn that some states require THREE positive familial results of the BRCA gene before insurance companies will cover genetic testing.   How she told her young kids and their reactions How her husband helped her become open to receiving support from others Dealing with a second surgery to make sure nothing was left behind from the first surgery News about her cancer and treatment options from her oncologist who tells her she needs chemotherapy based on the recurrence rate of her ca

Welcome to Chasing Insight. Dana and Barb try to answer the question, what can we learn from ordinary topics, extraordinary people and everyday experiences? We look for the positive lesson from our inspiring guests. We find meaning and inspiration in every day experiences. How can we live a better life? We try to find that out.