Ryan and Jon have two things in common: They both lost a loved one to a serious illness, and they both turned that loss into a cause for good. Ryan lost his brother, Colin, to cancer in 2005. Eight years later, Ryan joined First Descendants to create free adventures for young adults living with illnesses like cancer. Jon’s wife, Jeanne, was diagnosed with progressive MS in 1997. He took care of her until she died in 2020. His experience inspired him to start RealTalk MS, an informative podcast for people living with or impacted by multiple sclerosis.

“MS took everything from us,” Jon says. “[It] ended up taking my wife. It took all of our resources. It took the home we lived in. It took everything as chronic illness can do. And it was important to me that that not be the only story of my journey with MS. There had to be some good [to] come out of it.”

Now Jon has published more than 200 episodes of RealTalk MS. His show has been downloaded more than 1 million times by listeners in over 100 countries. Meanwhile, Ryan sends off groups of First Descents participants to go white water kayaking in the Smoky Mountains or surfing in Santa Cruz. Since he started at First Descents, the nonprofit has been recognized as a ColoradoBiz 30th Anniversary Top Company in the non-profit category and was also featured in Outside Magazine’s “Best Places to Work” list.

In this episode of Forge Ahead, Ryan and Ben discuss turning a challenge into purpose, meeting people where they are, and reaching out for support.

Visit www.forgeaheadpodcast.com for the full Show Notes or to learn more about the show.