Today, I will be interviewing Heather MacKenzie. Heather is originally from Detroit, Michigan, however she resides in Denver, Colorado. She was diagnosed with Acute and Chronic Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis. Her condition is very rare and is shared only by 2 to 3 people in 100,000 each year.

Today, Heather is going to share her raw and candid story about her journey with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis which is a form of Interstitial Lung Disease and how she manages her symptoms.

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Thank you!

Today, I will be interviewing Cheryl Jackson. Cheryl is originally from Gainesville, FL, however she currently resides in Murfreesboro, TN. She was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Her rheumatologist later discovered that her IPF came from the autoimmune disease Myositis (which is very similar to Lupus).

As Cheryl’s disease progressed, she underwent a double lung transplant in February of 2021. Today, she is going to share her raw and candid story about her journey with pulmonary fibrosis and how she managed her symptoms and her journey with lung transplant.

(Please like and share what you hear. The Silent Battle Podcast is aired on Pandora, Spotify, Amazon, and Google Podcast. Donations to The Silent Battle Podcast through cashapp or paypal are greatly appreciated as well)

Thank you!

Today, I will be interviewing Deb Schroeder. Deb is originally from California, but she has been living in Utah for the past 30 years and she has RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis )Interstitial Lung Disease.Today, she is going to share with us her raw and candid story about her journey with RA ILD and how she manages her symptoms. Also, she will give us some tips if she has any on what may help you all out there to live life more easily as we battle our lung and autoimmune diseases.

Today, I will be interviewing Dr. William Schaffner. Dr. Schaffner is Professor of Preventive Medicine with a primary appointment in the Department of Health Policy as well as Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. I asked him to come on the podcast to discuss illnesses that can be potentially transferred to immunocompromised people from our pets.

Today I will be interviewing Robin Fountain who is a Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration. I know a lot of you out there have had a lot of questions surrounding applying for disability and the process of getting Medicare. So, Robin is here today to help answer some of these general questions. Below I have also listed some important helpful links to information online on the ssa.gov website she shared .

If you like what you hear, like and share. The Silent Battle Podcast is aired on Pandora, Spotify, Amazon, and Google Podcast. Donations to The Silent Battle Podcast through cashapp or paypal are greatly appreciated as well

Thank you and Enjoy!

Compassionate Allowances:

Compassionate Allowances Website Home Page | SSA

Social Security Disability

Disability | SSA

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) | SSA

Medicare

Plan for Medicare | SSA

Ticket to Work:

What is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program? | Choose Work! - Ticket to Work - Social Security (ssa.gov)

Your Ticket to Work (July 2020) (ssa.gov)

Field Office Locator:

Field Office Locator | SSA

Disability Starter Kit:

Adult Disability Starter Kit (ssa.gov)

Working While Disabled: How We Can Help

Working While Disabled: How We Can Help (ssa.gov)

Social Security Disability Benefits – Number of Credits Needed for Disability Benefits

Benefits Planner | Social Security Credits and Benefit Eligibility | SSA

my Social Security Account

my Social Security | SSA

Today ,I will be interviewing a special friend of mine ,Lisa Ezell ,from Murfreesboro, TN. Lisa's husband ,Eddie Ezell, was diagnosed with IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) with unknown origins. Eddie received a double lung transplant in September of 2022, and Lisa was his primary caregiver. Today, she is going to shed some light on what it is like to take on the role of being a primary caregiver to someone who has had or is going to have a double lung transplant .

The Silent Battle Podcast is aired on Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, and Google Podcast. If you like what you hear like, subscribe, share. Donations are greatly appreciated as well. Thanks and Enjoy!

The Month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Therefore, today I will be interviewing licensed master social worker and behavioral health therapist Shawn Daniels. This segment is very important and much needed for people who are chronically ill because we often times are so focused on our physical health, and we tend to forget the importance of our mental health which is not good because our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Shawn will be talking to us today about the importance of mental health and how to seek counseling if needed. If you like what you hear like, share and donate . Thank you all for your support!

Today, I will be interviewing a friend of mine and chief meteorologist for Nashville News 2 , Danielle Breezy.

Danielle and I met at a Lung Force Walk for the Nashville American Lung Association a few years back. She is a huge advocate for lung disease /lung cancer. Today she is going to share with us how she feels regarding the importance of the fight against lung disease/lung cancer.