Chronic Pain “Miracle Makers” Hosted By Cynthia Toussaint
For Grace is excited to announce a 2019 partnership with The Mighty’s worldwide community to educate, inspire and empower women in pain. Beginning in February, For Grace Founder Cynthia Toussaint will host a live stream where she’ll interview miracle making women, many who have survived impossible odds to go on to make the world a better place for women with high-impact, persistent pain. All of her guests will be inspiring change agents!
Join Cynthia every fourth Thursday of the month at The Mighty’s Chronic Illness Facebook page for a lively interview that will get under the surface of the chronic pain experience while inspiring those struggling with it to start a better day.
Upcoming Guests
Dr. Jane Goodall
For our Holiday Special Edition of Miracle Makers, Cynthia Toussaint interviews Jane Goodall in the midst of her frenetic world tour. During this enlightening half-hour podcast, their conversation touches on suffering, resilience, forgiveness and positive risk-taking along with other issues that promote wellness for women in pain.
Dame Jane Goodall, DBE, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots program, and has worked extensively on conservation as well as animal, human and planet welfare issues. In April 2002, she was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
Listen below to this inspiring, intimate conversation between Cynthia and Jane – one that will raise your spirits and give you hope for the New Year…
Past Guests
Dr. Ginevra Liptan
Ginevra Liptan, M.D. is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine, board-certified in internal medicine, and trained in functional medicine, a holistic approach that blends both western and alternative medicine. After developing fibromyalgia as a medical student, Dr. Liptan spent many years using herself as a guinea pig to find successful treatments, and has fine-tuned her approach by treating thousands of patients. She is one of the few clinical specialists in the world to focus solely on fibromyalgia, and directs The Frida Center for Fibromyalgia in Portland, Oregon. She also serves as medical advisor to the Fibromyalgia Information Foundation and is on the board for the non-profit Mastering Pain Institute.
Ginevra is the author of The FibroManual: A Complete Fibromyalgia Treatment Guide for You and Your Doctor, The Fibro Food Formula: A Real-Life Approach to Fibromyalgia Relief, and Figuring out Fibromyalgia: Current Science and the Most Effective Treatments.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers premiere episode with Dr. Liptan HERE.
Karen Duffy
Karen “Duff” Duffy is an American writer, model, television personality, and actress. She is a certified hospital chaplain, a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen, one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1993, and winner of the Ernest Borgnine Look-Alike Contest. In 1995, Duffy was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease sarcoidosis called neurosarcoidosis. Since then, she’s written two books ( Model Patient: My Life As an Incurable Wise-Ass and Backbone: Living With Chronic Pain Without Turning Into One) about her experience living with chronic pain and is a member of the Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Pain Patients.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Karen HERE.
Maya Dusenbery
Maya Dusenbery is a journalist, editor, and author of the book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick. A New York Times Editors’ Choice pick, Doing Harm was named one of the best books of 2018 by NPR and Library Journal. Maya has been interviewed about gender bias in medicine on NPR’s Fresh Air, Good Morning America, and countless radio shows and podcasts. She has given talks on the subject to diverse audiences, including students, health care providers, patient advocates, researchers, and biomedical industry employees.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Maya HERE.
Nicole Smith
Nicole Smith is a radio talk show host, inspirational speaker and educator in the area of encouragement and motivation. A long-time woman in pain, Nicole has a passion for life and believes all of us are able to fulfill our purpose if we can only change our attitude and beliefs. Her work has been centered in helping those who have given up on their HOPE. She helps them to expand their purpose of life into meaning and growth. Nicole has been a motivational speaker for major corporations encouraging others to become successful in their endeavors.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Nicole HERE.
Dr. Susan Samueli
Susan Samueli, Ph.D., was born and raised in Los Angeles and is working tirelessly to get Integrative Medicine into mainstream health care. After an active consulting practice in the areas of nutrition, homeopathy and Chinese herbs, Susan received a Ph.D. in nutrition from the American Holistic College of Nutrition and a diploma in Homeopathy from the British Institute of Homeopathy. Inspired by a bout with chronic illness, Susan’s keen interest in Integrative Medicine led her to create the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute at the University of California, Irvine. The institute focuses on improving medical care by supporting multidisciplinary research, education, clinical service and community programs.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Susan HERE.
Dr. Melissa Cady
Melissa Cady, D.O., an osteopathic physician certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology, mentors students, writes health-related articles, and speaks for local groups and conferences. Dr. Cady can relate to her own subject matter, as she has endured and managed her own chronic pain. Her strong desire to overcome it has made Dr. Cady a passionate patient advocate for optimizing health through alternative means while minimizing excessive and unnecessary medical interventions. She is the author of “PAINDEMIC: A Practical and Holistic Look at Chronic Pain, the Medical System and the antiPAIN Lifestyle.”
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Melissa HERE.
Dr. Donna Benton
Donna Benton. Ph.D., is an assistant research professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, Co-director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center, and Director of Older Adult Services at Pacific Clinics. She is a clinical psychologist who specializes in gerontology. She is in her last term as commissioner on the California Commission on Aging. She has worked in the field of aging for over 30 years. Dr. Benton has presented her research and clinical work on elder abuse, minority aging, and caregiving locally, nationally, and internationally. She is committed to promoting collaborative partnerships and policies that enhance services for families caring for older adults.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Donna HERE.
Christin Veasley
Christin Veasley, is Co-founder and Director of the Chronic Pain Research Alliance. Chris has lived with life-altering chronic pain since surviving a near-fatal accident in her teens. Her childhood health experiences led her to pursue a science degree, time conducting neuroscience research at Johns Hopkins Medical School and to the research advocacy community. As one of millions of Americans living with debilitating chronic pain, she knows first-hand how critical it is for organizations to partner – not only to expedite scientific discoveries, but to translate those discoveries into meaningful clinical change for the affected. As such, Chris has spent her life advocating for the improvement and acceleration of rigorous multidisciplinary pain research. Chris also serves on several other collaborative alliances, federal initiatives, and public-private partnerships working to promote pain research, education, treatment and prevention.
Watch an archive of the Miracle Makers episode with Christin HERE.
See you at The Mighty’s Chronic Illness Facebook Page!