Sickboy

Getting Your Back Blown Out | $40K Hernia

It may have started with a joke about getting his "back blown out", but it turned into a wild story of a two-year medical saga involving brutal nerve pain, mobility issues, and a diagnosis nobody saw coming? Meet our new friend Ryan, a professional drummer who felt a literal "pop" in his back while he was sick and quickly realized his life was about to change. After months of being told it was just "getting old" and facing the classic medical gaslighting shuffle, Ryan took his health into his own hands. We dive into the bizarre world of SCNES (Superior Clunial Nerve Entrapment Syndrome)—a condition so rare in adults that the only guy who could fix it was a pediatric surgeon in Cincinnati. Ryan breaks down the "back mice" (lipomas) that mashed his nerves into a cluster, the frustration of being a musician who can't sit on a stool, and the wild reality of having to leave the country just to get a "yes" from a doctor. This one is for anyone who’s ever been told it’s "just back pain" when it absolutely was not.Check out Ryan’s Music:https://www.instagram.com/_kyliefox_/https://www.instagram.com/waylonnapadogan/https://toobadjim.bandcamp.com/Follow Sickboy on Instagram, TikTok and Discord!

Your Body is Allergic to... Everything? | Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

What happens when the person paid to have all the answers suddenly gets hit with a medical mystery that turns their world entirely upside down? Vicki Jeha is a counseling therapist who spent years helping people navigate their own minds—until her own body decided to stage a coup. In 2023, mid-therapy session, Vicki’s vision started sliding, her limbs went numb, and she was carried out of her office on a stretcher. The diagnosis? A double-whammy of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Histamine Intolerance.In this episode, we dig into the "perfect storm" that broke Vicki's immune system, the absolute absurdity of being a therapist who is "allergic to stress," and why a healthy spinach salad is basically poison when your internal "fire alarm" won't stop going off.Follow Sickboy: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sickboypodcastTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sickboypodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/expeUDN

"I Fell 11 Stories and Should be Dead” | Walking Paraplegic

What happens when your paragliding wing folds in half 165 feet in the air, sending you on an 11-story plunge directly onto your ass? (Spoiler: You wake up and start a career in musical theater.) Most people’s worst nightmare involves falling out of the sky. For CJ, that nightmare became a violent reality. On a "big air" day in Pemberton, BC, CJ’s paragliding shute collapsed, and he fell 165 feet shattering nearly his entire lower spine, blowing out his sternum, and becoming a walking paraplegic. In this raw and hilarious conversation, CJ breaks down the "snowflake" of unique injuries that come with spinal cord damage. From the itchy feet you can’t reach to the Costco-sized quantities of lube and the absolute horror of a Senna overdose. But CJ didn’t grieve the "old CJ." Instead, he leaned into the discomfort, started saying "yes" to everything, and pivoted from managing risk to playing Rumpelstiltskin. This is a masterclass in radical gratitude, and the absurdity of the human body!Check out CJ's TV project here: https://socializedmedicine.tv You can watch this entire episode over on YouTube. And don't forget to follow Sickboy on Instagram, TikTok and Discord!

16% Diaphragm, 100% Genius: How AI is Saving Cho’s Voice

What happens when your body is slowly losing its ability to breathe, but your brain is busy building the future of technology? This week, the fellas (and a very helpful Brock) sit down with Chouaieb (Cho), an AI Black Belt at Google who is quite literally using technology as a personal savior. Cho lives with Ulrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD), a rare condition that has left his diaphragm functioning at just 16% capacity. For Cho, the "AI revolution" isn't about deepfakes or taking jobs - it's about cloning his own voice so he can keep telling stories to his three kids after his inevitable tracheostomy. We dive into the raw logistics of "engineering a life": from why he has to basically dehydrate himself just to sit through a podcast, to the nightmare of calling 50 hotels just to find one with a bed that fits a medical lift. It’s a conversation about "Career Pivots," the BS "Saint or Pity" binary society forces on disabled people, and why Cho identifies more as an entrepreneur than a patient.Connect with Cho:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nemriInstagram: @choe_nemriMentorship & Advocacy:FREE Mentorship (Disabled in Tech): https://cal.com/nemri/disabilityProfessional Paid Mentorship: https://mentorcruise.com/mentor/chouaiebnemri/Cho’s Accessibility Projects:* Airbnb Accessibility Analyzer: https://github.com/cnemri/airaccess* WheelAir: A repository of airline wheelchair policies: https://wheelair.netlify.app/You can watch this entire episode over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0EVgIbBQOxtKJ4qjAlfeutzZRfCGV8nbFollow Sickboy: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sickboypodcastTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sickboypodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/expeUDN

"My Tongue is Shedding" | Refractory Myasthenia Gravis

What do you do when your own tongue starts "shedding" like a snake and your doctor tells you to just "eat a banana"? Imagine waking up and seeing the world through 90s TV static, while your muscles literally stretch and tear like gum when you yawn. Làyla joins the boys to break down the reality of living with Refractory Myasthenia Gravis (MG), a version of the illness so stubborn it requires constant infusions just to keep her stable. From the terrifying moment she realized her jaw was atrophying, to the bizarre neurological world of Visual Snow Syndrome, Làyla shares it all with a level of humor and confidence that is honestly infectious.You can watch this entire episode over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0EVgIbBQOxtKJ4qjAlfeutzZRfCGV8nbFollow Sickboy: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sickboypodcastTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sickboypodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/expeUDN