Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson - Life-Saving Sorority Sisters

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

A chronic kidney condition leaves a college co-ed convinced she was going to die.Find out how her Ohio State sorority sister went from Greek life to SAVING her life!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. September is a great time to travel, especially because it's my birthday in September, especially internationally. Because in the past, we've stayed in some pretty awesome Airbnbs in Europe. Did we've one in France, we've one in Greece,

we've actually won in Italy a couple of years ago. Anyway, it just made our trip feel extra special. So if you're heading out this month, consider hosting your home on Airbnb with the co-host feature you can hire someone local to help manage everything. Find a co-host at Airbnb.ca slash host. Hey, it's your favorite jersey girl, Gia Judice. Welcome to Casual Chaos, where I share my story.

This week, I'm sitting down with Vanderpump Rural Star, Sheena Shea. I don't really talk to either of them, if I'm being honest. There will be an occasional text, one way or the other, from me to Ariana. Maybe a happy birthday from Ariana to me. I think the last time I talked to Tom, it was like, congrats on America's Got Talent. This is a combo you don't want to miss. Listen to Casual Chaos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The internet is something we make, not just something that happens to us.

I'm Bridget Todd, host of the Tech and Culture Podcasts there are no girls on the internet. In our new season, I'm talking to people like Anil Dash, an OG entrepreneur and writer who refuses to be cynical about the internet. I love tech. You know, I've been a nerd my whole life, but it does have to be for something. Like, it's not just for its own sake. It's an inspiring story that focuses on people as the core. building blocks of the internet. Listen to there are no girls on the internet

on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Tune in to All the Smoke Podcast, where Matt and Stacks sit down with former first lady, Michelle Obama. Folks find it hard to hate up close. And when you get to know people and you're sitting in their kitchen tables

and they're talking like we're talking. You know, you hear our story, how we grew up, how Barack grew up. And you get a chance for people to unpack and get beyond race. All the Smoke featuring Michelle Obama. To hear this podcast and more, open your free iHeartRadio app. Search all the smoke and listen now. I'm Bridget Armstrong, host of the new podcast, The Curse of America's Next

Top Model. I've been investigating the real story behind that iconic show. I ended up having anorexia issues, bulimia issues by talking to the models, the producers, and the people who profited from it all. We basically sold our souls and they got rich. If you were so rooting for her and saw her drowning. What did you help her? Listen to the curse of America's Next Top Model on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Kate Hudson. And my name is Oliver Hudson. We wanted to do something that highlighted our relationship. And what it's like to be siblings. We are,

A sibling reverie No, no Sibling reverie Don't do that with your mouth Sibling Reveory That's good We live forever

Knowing together That we did it all For the glory of love We did it all for love That's Peter Satera from Karate Kid Part 2 I have no idea why I was singing that But it just popped into my head I know why

I was driving back from Colorado And I was listening to random music And that song popped up And that's why it's in my head I loved karate kid too I love that song I love, like, weird, cheesy, like, ballads. Oh, God, I'm hungry.

Anyway, so I am home in my house and already looking forward to Labor Day because I don't, I don't want to labor anymore. Even though I haven't labored all summer, I just, I want to just keep partying. You know what I mean? I'm producing stuff for Fox. Things are good. I need a fucking acting job. I'll tell you that right now, though.

I mean, in November, it will be two years. Actually, I am doing a movie. I am doing a movie in October. I don't know if I'm allowed to say what it is or not yet, so I'm not going to, but it's pretty fucking exciting for me. It's three weeks. it's not a big part or anything, but it's, it's, uh, it's a, it's a movie that I think anyone would want to be a part of. I'll, I'll, I'll say that. I might even be able to say what it is,

but I'm not going to because I don't want to get in trouble. Um, but yeah, so aside from that, I, uh, I don't want to labor. I think it's been a detriment to me in my career, but whatever, I'm having fun. I choose fun. I choose fun over everything, you know, I, I choose, is fun. In fact, Labor Day, I think I'm getting out of town. And I might go to Montana because I love to flyfish. And I've been looking. I found this like this really cool cabin, like right on the river on Airbnb. Airbnb is fun, by the way. Airbnb is fun, by the way. Airbnb is almost like scrolling through Instagram except it's just houses

because what's cool about it is like you can dream you dream up a place that you would like to go you know let's just say Montana because I've never really I've been in Montana but I'm fish Montana I'm like oh this is like Airbnb you're like oh what's out there and then you can sort of you know see what the most expensive things are that you would never get but anyway so that so I don't

Airbnb is almost like you can lose yourself in it and it's kind of this wish fulfillment thing anyway I'm rambling people have probably hung up by now if the podcast was a phone you might have hung up because this intro sucks but who cares

we're getting we got some girls in the room sorority sisters really interesting story and um um Jess and Megan

we're going to talk to them kidneys are being exchanged given and let's hear their story bring them in Hey hey how are you guys good how are you

good good thank you for coming on to tell your story absolutely thanks for having us yes I mean, this is a sibling show, but you are sorority sisters. So the word sister is enough to bring you on and allow this to maintain and stay within the confines of what this show is. Because you are.

Perfect. I thought so. Yes. So where are you guys, first of all? We're both in Ohio. I'm in Cincinnati. Megan's in Columbus. Okay.

And how long ago were you in your sorority, just so I'd give a sense of this? Oh, gosh. 20 years ago. Yeah, 20 years ago. I graduated in 2010. Okay. And I graduated in 2008. Okay.

So let's hear the story. First of all, let's even go back to the sorority where you met, how you hit it off. how you became homies, you know, and how 20 plus years later we've gotten to this place, how you guys have connected, have you stayed, had you stayed amazing friends? Just give me the overall, give me the cliff notes. We met when we were both in the sorority Pi Beta Phi at Ohio State, and I was drawn to Jess because she was just so much fun. She loved techno music and going out and dancing, and she knew how to have a good time,

And so we really hit it off. And we had a great group of girls that we were friends with through college. And after that, we saw each other for a while afterwards when people were getting married. There were a lot of weddings, things like that. So that was actually the last time we saw each other in person was 10 years ago at one of our friends' weddings. And then not again until after we matched. Yeah, I moved after college. I moved to Phoenix.

And I lived in Phoenix for 11 years. so I really didn't I didn't travel home much so I saw people I'd come home for football games or Christmas and see people but me and Megan never really were able to connect so then in September of 2023 that's when I was diagnosed and I was living in Charlotte at the time so I'd move from Phoenix to Charlotte during COVID and yeah and so I was diagnosed when I was in Charlotte in September 2020. So almost a year ago. So what were you diagnosed with? I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in stage renal disease. So basically stage five or four or whatever of chronic kidney disease. How did you, how did you discover this? How did this all start? So to make a long story short, in 2021, I was diagnosed with C. diff, which is, I don't know if you know, it's like a bacterial infection in your intestine. And I was in the ICU for 31 days then. And half because the hospital

kind of screwed up some things. And so when I was in the hospital for that, my kidney function was fine. Two years later, I had shingles and it was on my face. covering my face. And so when I had shingles, and I was in the hospital then, they said that my kidney function was low. So to go to a kidney doctor, just see a kidney doctor regularly to keep an eye on it. That was in the beginning of 2023. So 2023, up until April, I was going to the kidney doctor, but they weren't really concerned. It kind of was staying the same. In April of 23, I lost my job. So I lost my health insurance. So I stopped going to the doctor. So come September of 2023, I started noticing I was tired all the time, sleeping all the time. I had stopped

urinating. And then my knees started to go numb or my legs started to go numb from my knees down. And that lasted for like a week. And I was just like, you know, just kind of blew it off was like, oh maybe I'm not getting enough exercise I'm the opposite of you if that would have happened I would be like holy fuck and like literally run to the hospital yeah yeah oh my god

I have like a hangnail I'm like is it cancer like I you know I'm I mean if I'm if I'm if I'm can't pee I'm exhausted and I'm numb from the knees down I would not be like It's so good. Yeah.

So that lasted for a week. And then it started to move to my hands. And so then it got to the point where I was having, I was living by myself, just me and my dog. I was having a hard time taking care of my dog. I was having a hard time making coffee in the morning. So my brother lives in Charlotte, too. So I called him. And I was like, hey, you know, something's not right.

We need to go to the emergency room. So we went. They took me back immediately. drew blood, did a thousand tests, and they came back and they were like, you have chronic kidney disease. You need to start dialysis immediately. Wow. And I was like, what? You know, I didn't know, I'm just ignorant on kidneys and kidney disease and dialysis. And being my age, who, you know, who would have thought you don't hear of young people getting kidney disease and being on dialysis. Mm-hmm. Wow. That's crazy. I mean, it sort of throws life upside out. And you're like, wait a minute. Like, what does this mean?

Completely. I thought it was like I thought it was death. I thought it was in sentence. I didn't. I had no idea. So I was there at the hospital by myself and I just started Googling kidney disease. And I started looking on Instagram like young people on dialysis, young people with kidney disease. And I couldn't find like anything. just generic posts from the National Kidney Foundation or things like that, but nothing like I could relate to. Was this a cumulative thing from sort of your intestinal issue? I mean, was this all playing a part in it? I found out later that it was that C. diff can cause harm to your kidneys and it can hurt your kidneys, but no one had ever told me that. And I guess it's my own ignorance for not looking it up, but who would have thought? you know but would have there been anything you could do about it if you had caught it early or you know you understood that CDIF might cause something like this or was this just a foregone conclusion I think it's just yeah it is what it is because once your kidneys go they kind of

just go I mean yeah and was it one both of them so yeah so they took when I was got diagnosed, the first thing they did was took me to get a kidney biopsy to make sure to confirm what they had found with my blood work. And so they said one of my kidneys was full of crystallized cyst, which are basically just kind of like kidney stones, I guess. And the other one was just completely dead. And in college and after college, I had had kidney stones like four or five times. So that was kind of like, you know, like you start seeing all the flags and things from before, but I mean, I had been tested and my kidney function was fine in 2021.

And then just all of a sudden it went to shit. Wow. September always feels like the start of something new, whether it's back to school, new projects, or just a fresh season. It's the perfect time to start dreaming about your next adventure. I love that feeling of possibility, thinking about where to go next, what kind of place we'll stay in, and how to make it feel like home. I'm already imagining the kind of Airbnb that would make the trip unforgettable, somewhere

with charm, character, and a little local flavor. If you're planning to be away this September, why not consider hosting your home on Airbnb while you're gone. Your home could be the highlight of someone else's trip, a cozy place to land, a space that helps them feel like a local. And with Airbnb's co-host feature, you can hire a local co-host to help with everything from managing bookings to making sure your home is guest ready. Find a co-host at Airbnb.ca slash host. I had this like overwhelming sensation that I had to call it right then. And I just hit call. I said, you know, hey, I'm Jacob Schick. I'm the CEO of One Tribe Foundation. And I just wanted to call on.

and let her know there's a lot of people battling some of the very same things you're battling and there is help out there. The Good Stuff Podcast Season 2 takes a deep look into One Tribe Foundation, a non-profit fighting suicide in the veteran community. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, so join host Jacob and Ashley Schick

as they bring you to the front lines of One Tribe's mission. I was married to a combat army veteran and he actually took his own life to suicide. One Tribe saved my life twice. There's a lot of love that flows through this place Listen, it's sincere. Now it's a personal mission. I don't have to go to any more funerals, you know.

I got blown up on a React mission. I ended up having amputation below the knee of my right leg and the traumatic brain injury because I landed on my head. Welcome to Season 2 of the Good Stuff. Listen to the Good Stuff podcast on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Jenna Lopez. And in the new season of the Overcover podcast, I'm taking you on an exciting journey of self-reflection. Am I ready to enter this new podcast?

part of my life. Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time? I wanted to be successful on my own, not just because of who my mom is. Like, I felt like I needed to be better or work twice as hard as she did. Join me for conversations about healing and growth. Life is freaking hard. And growth doesn't happen in comfort. It happened in motion, even when you're hurting. All from one of my favorite spaces, the kitchen. Honestly, these are going to come out. So freaking amazing. Be a part of my new chapter and listen to the new season of the Overcumper podcast

as part of the MyCultura podcast network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The Super Secret Festi Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy chisement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season.

Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here! Today, we have a very special guest with us. Our new super secret bestie is The Deva of the People. The Deva of the People. I'm just like text your ex.

My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbrates, men, and of course, our favorite secrets.

Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance, bro, tell you how to manage your money again. Welcome to Brown Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem a year from now. When you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan, starting with your local credit union, shopping around online,

looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge. It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months, months, you can have this much credit card debt when it weighs on you. It's really easy to just stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. For more judgment-free money advice, listen to Brown Ambition on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. And then Megan, how did Megan, how did you come into the picture? How did this all come about? Because you hadn't seen each other in 10 years or even talked or anything, right? Yeah. Yeah, we'd seen in touch on social media, mainly on Instagram, just keeping up with each other's lives in general, sending messages, that kind of thing. And I saw that Jess started posting things about kidney disease and kidney awareness. And so I sent her a message and said,

if you or your family's looking for a donor, please let me know. it's something that I'd listen to some podcasts and read about it in the past and always thought, like, wow, that's something I could do. I'm fairly healthy. We don't have any kidney related problems in my family. So when I saw Jess post, I knew her from college and I'd gotten to know her family in college too. They are also just an absolute blast. And so if it was, I was, I just immediately was drawn to help if I could. And so once I saw that Instagram, post, I reached out to Jess for more information. Yep. And then so it's the everything's going through Christ Hospital in Cincinnati and they have been absolutely wonderful. I reached out to them and did, it was about an 11 page questionnaire that was like everything from health history to why are you doing this? What's your relationship to the person you're looking to do this for? Just very.

comprehensive. And then I did a blood draw and actually shipped that down to them. And after that is when I got the call that I was a preliminary match, which was really exciting. But then at that point, you schedule more testing. So it was really hard. But I didn't tell Jess at that point that we had matched at all because I was worried at the next step. If something happened, I didn't want I didn't want there to be disappointment or, you know, if it didn't work out. How does one match to someone, is it rare or is it, you know, is it, is it hard to match with someone, you know, I don't know. Yes, it's pretty rare. My niece is a nurse and so she was kind of helping me through this process and she was setting me up when I did the blood draw.

Like, don't be surprised if you don't match. It's very uncommon for people who aren't related. And luckily, Jess and I have the same blood type. We're both a positive. So I think that that helps if you're the same blood type match. But even if you're not, there's still ways you can donate. So it is not super common, I guess, to match, especially if you're not related. Do you know the markers to be a match?

You know, obviously there's blood, but maybe not just blood. What has to, how does it all have to line up for you to be a match? I know it's blood type and then it's something within the blood that they test. Once they told me I was a match, I asked for more details and they said with HIPAA, they can't really tell you much about like how well you match. I think there's like tissue typing that's in there and antibodies and things like that, like how what my antibodies are if they're high or not and if I'll reject the organ.

so I think it's very scientific and detailed but they're all they're really hush hush like Megan said with details so wow I mean it's unbelievable that you would even sign up for this but what a what a human being you are holy shit man I mean it's really amazing it's incredible thank you all the thing was like she kept the whole thing so quiet like I had even forgotten that she had asked me about, like, because I had other people reaching out, and I was trying to, you know, like, keep everything in line in order and remember who was doing what. And I didn't know, I didn't want to ask anybody that said they were testing because I didn't want them, A, to feel guilty if they decided not to or feel bad if they didn't match. So I just was kind of, like, left in the dark.

And she was so good at keeping it quiet. It, like, blew my mind when I got the FaceTime from her. Yeah. When you found out you were more than a preliminary match, and this was actually a go, a green light, was there any part of you that was like, oh, shit? Yeah. Not at all. No, luckily, not at all.

I had gotten to the point where I figured once I went down to the hospital and did in-person testing like I was in like if I was doing that step like my decision was made so at that point I'd already I felt really comfortable with my decision but it's funny you say that because my husband before we FaceTime Jess he stopped and looked at me he's like I just want to make sure you're going to do this right there's no backing down okay so Jess when you got the FaceTime yeah I'm sure it's an unforgettable face time unforgettable like yeah I I thought she was calling just to be like, I'm sorry, I tested, and I didn't match. I wanted to tell you in person or, you know, just like checking up on me.

And it was my birthday two days before. So I was like, oh, maybe she's calling to say happy birthday or something like that. So it was a shock, a shot. I'm so glad that her husband reported it because. Oh, that's great. Yeah, yeah. well walk me through it walk me through the face time so how did it how did you break the news you know what i mean like hey it's me like guess what or what did you plan anything oh i had a whole like

lovely soliloquy planned i had all these things i was going to say and then as soon as i saw her on the face time i just peered up and i was like i have to tell you i'm a match like it just immediately started coming out so I just said you know just hello and then I told her I was a match and just like being able to see the shock turned into the excitement it was it was so fun and the fact that her mom was there too and got to pop in and say hi it was so good to be able to see her and I mean just I can't even describe the feeling it's just wow pretty incredible yeah and then and then shock like shock i couldn't even i couldn't even say anything i was just like i love you like you're no way like because i had had someone tell me a stranger because i had been putting out like my daily

life on dialysis on instagram to try to find a donor and so i had this girl who was a stranger a friend of a friend tell me like three weeks prior that she was a match but there were better matches so to like be on hold and so when megan said she was a match i was like oh like is she the one like that's why in the video i'm just kind of like uh when is something when she said i said so what next and she goes well the doctor said we can schedule you know we can talk about scheduling and that's when i was like holy shit like this is this is it like oh my god it's happening finally because I've had dialysis for nine months prior to that. So I started dialysis in September of 23 and she told me on June 13th, 2024. Wow. And so what will this new kidney give

you? Life. Really? It'll give me my life back. Yeah. I'm in dialysis for I'm in dialysis three days a week for three and a half hours at a time. Wow. And I'm 37 years old. I want to have a family. I want to get married, you know, have kids, I get my job back and move on with my life. Like I lived in Phoenix for 11 years, like I said, and then I was in Charlotte for a year and a half.

And I'm, it's real hard being 37 and back of your parents' house. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so this donation will literally give you your life back. Give me my life back. Yeah, it'll save you my life. Because I know we can all, you know, function on one kidney. So this one kidney, you know, will just, boom, you're back to normal.

I'm back normal. Yeah. I can move away again. I can get married. I can have kids. Well, you know, it's hard to get pregnant when you're a kidney patient. or you have a transplant. But, I mean, there's so many ways to have kids now.

That's the great thing. Yeah. So, yeah. So my goal, my plan is after transplant and I recover recovery, they say you need to stay pretty close to the hospital for about nine months to a year after transplant. But my goal after that is to move up to Columbus, back to Columbus where Megan is, and just start life over there, act too. Wow.

Wow. Amazing. And I know kidneys take pretty well, right? So what are the odds all on your side as far as rejection, as far as taking? I mean, how does that work with the kidney? They test your antibodies and that kind of sees how well you'll accept the new organ. But of course, anything foreign you put in your body, no matter what it is, you're going to try to reject it. So I'll be on really strong immunosuppressants for the rest of my life. And there's, you know, side effects that come with everything. And there's a few silly things. Like I can never eat grapefruit or star fruit again. Really? Yeah.

Like weird shit. Like you don't even like. It's like a diuretic. I mean, is that water? Yeah. Yeah. And so because I was asking the doctors, I was like, so is there anything like I can't do? you know like could i go surfing could i you know go mountain biking whatever is there anything i can't do

and they're like no you can live you know just don't eat like don't eat star fruit right yeah like go skydiving but just don't eat a starfruit when you land right yeah totally yeah so when is the surgery scheduled for uh november 12th wow yeah so we have 82 days i'm pretty sure i think it's we're down to 82 days so we're excited i'll hear the crazy thing which you probably don't know this or maybe you do with kidney surgery we'll go in this is wild to think about we go in at the same time in like in different rooms they get megan's kidney and they put it in a pan and walk it over and then i don't i keep both of the my old kidneys and they just put the new one in like down by my bladder so you have three

kidneys so I'll essentially have three kidneys yeah and then Megan the recovery for you is probably just not really anything right I mean nothing compared to Jess's recovery I'll be in the hospital overnight and then they said usually people leave the next day as long as nothing goes wrong and And then I'm out of work for six to eight weeks, and that's really it. And I've been super lucky with my job. I work for a judge at the courthouse, and they have all been so incredibly supportive. And that was really helpful in making this decision, just knowing that it wasn't a worry to get time off work or schedule anything like that. This is like, I don't know, this is pretty amazing.

And then have you guys, you guys have talked? in the last 10 years, but have you seen each other? You have. We just saw each other for the first time on, in the end of June, I think like two weeks after I found out, Megan's mom was in town from Indiana. And Megan was like, can we FaceTime you? My mom would love to meet you because I had never met her mom. Or maybe I met her in college.

I can't remember. But my dad was like, well, how about we just? drive up to Columbus and we can do face to face so I was like hell yeah like let's go so we went and finally got to reconnect and it was amazing that reunion like how do you think someone you know how do you think somebody for saving it was so nice it's it's almost impossible you know exactly September always feels like the start of something new, whether it's back to school, new projects, or just a fresh season. It's the perfect time to start dreaming about your next adventure.

I love that feeling of possibility, thinking about where to go next, what kind of place will stay in, and how to make it feel like home. I'm already imagining the kind of Airbnb that would make the trip unforgettable, somewhere with charm character and a little local flavor. If you're planning to be away this September, why not consider hosting your home on Airbnb while you're gone? Your home could be the highlight of someone else's trip, a cozy place to land, a space that helps them feel like a local. And with Airbnb's co-host feature, you can hire a local co-host to help with everything from managing bookings to making sure your home is guest ready. Find a co-host at Airbnb.ca slash host.

I'm Janica Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcover podcast, I'm taking you on an exciting journey of self-reflection. Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time? I wanted to be successful on my own, not just because of who my mom is. Like, I felt like I needed to be better or work twice as hard as she did. Join me for conversations about healing and growth. Life is freaking hard.

And growth doesn't happen in. comfort. It happened in motion, even when you're hurting. All from one of my favorite spaces, The Kitchen. Honestly, these are going to come out so freaking amazing. Be a part of my new chapter and listen to the new season of the Overcomfort Podcast as part of the MyCultura podcast network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I had this like overwhelming sensation that I had to call it right then. And I just hit call, said, you know, hey, I'm Jacob Schick.

I'm the CEO of One Tribe Foundation, and I just wanted to call on and let her know there's a lot of people battling some of the very same things you're battling. And there is help out there. The Good Stuff podcast, Season 2, takes a deep look into One Tribe Foundation, a nonprofit fighting suicide in the veteran community. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, so join host Jacob and Ashley Schick as they bring you to the front lines of One Tribe's mission. I was married to a combat army veteran, and he actually took his own life to suicide. One tribe saved my life twice. There's a lot of love that flows through this place, and it's sincere. Now it's a personal mission.

I don't have to go to any more funerals, you know. I got blown up on a React mission. I ended up having amputation below the knee of my right leg and a traumatic brain injury because I landed on my head. Welcome to Season 2 of the Good Stuff. Listen to the Good Stuff podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance bro? Tell you how to manage your money again. Welcome to Brown Ambition.

This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem a year from now. When you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan, starting with your local credit union, shopping around online, looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge.

It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt and it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. For more judgment-free money advice, listen to Brown Ambition on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy cheesement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season. Oh.

Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here. Today we have a very special guest with us. Our new Super Secret Bestie is the divo of the people. The divo of the people. The deep of the people.

I'm just like text your ex. My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley.

And I'm Maya. In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbreak, men, and, of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the Michael Tura podcast network available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts. or wherever you get your podcast. Are you moving to Columbus? So you guys are near,

are you, you'll be in the same place. Yeah, yeah. Trying to see if the house next to Megan goes up for sale and I'm there. Was the plan always to move back to Columbus?

No, this is, I mean, like I said, I was in Phoenix and then I was in Charlotte and I had planned on staying in Charlotte

forever but now I just like I said this is life changing and it makes you value you know Oliver family family is everything and so my family's here in Cincinnati and my brother's

in Charlotte and it just it makes sense now so and no and I never had like really great jobs or anything in Phoenix or Charlotte so there's no like reason like why and I know Columbus I

I live there for five years in college, and all my friends are still there, and there's great work opportunities there. And now you can be best, best, best, best friends because you have a part of her. I mean, it's sisters, like true sisters now. True sisters. Yeah, blood sisters. Yeah. Oh, my God.

Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. What an amazing, beautiful, inspiring story. And Megan, is, was your husband at all? like, babe, I mean, I know you're a saint, and I know you, but are you sure? I mean, did he have any hesitations at all? And do you have kids, by the way? Okay. I do not have kids. And luckily, he didn't have any hesitations. None. He was just kind of like, if it's

something that you've looked into and you feel safe doing it, I'll support you. So if he had any, he at least kept them to himself, but he never said anything, like always very behind me and supportive. And I was super lucky. My family was the same way. Both of my parents, my siblings, like when I told people, everyone was just incredibly supportive. And Megan's husband is great. There's a photo of me, Megan, my mom, and her husband shotguning beers at his fraternity. That is awesome. We go way back. It's so great. I had to remind him. I was like,

I was like, I was thinking of that, just were you able to drink alcohol? I'm not right now, but after surgery I will be able to. But when you were, when you were in dialysis and stuff, I mean, no, right?

Or could you? Oh, yeah, no. Like right now, like in dialysis, like no way. Yeah, yeah. So this is nice too. Like you can get wasted again. So it's like a sober moment.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. That's like the, funny thing because Megan said like one of the first questions she asked the surgeons or the doctors at Christ like during her meeting was can I drink alcohol like after this is over like because we're celebrating after this is over like we are celebrating like oh once you get I've got vacation I'm on the first plane to Hawaii yeah let's go yeah yeah yeah it's like once you get the green light, all systems go, like shots of tequila.

Let me just get fucking hammered. Yeah, exactly. Let's see how good this kidney works. Of course. No, but it is really awesome. I mean, forget about how incredible the story is and, you know, the fact that you are even doing this, Megan, is amazing. but even for you just having this sort of new life you know what I mean it's almost

like you're a child again in the sense of holy shit I can do anything that I want to do I'll be pain free I can go to Hawaii I mean it must be so exciting well yeah and especially because right now like life is just so wild the twist and turns that it throws you like I mean I like I said never did I think I'd be talking to you last year you know laying on like what I thought was my deathbed like it's crazy and to be able to just look at life differently and I've had a huge lifestyle change because I don't like if you know anything about kidney disease like being on dialysis the diet is so strict it's a renal diet i can't have um so it has to be low sodium or no sodium which you know it's in literally

everything yeah everything and then it's um no potassium and no phosphorus so like no bananas no oranges no deli meats no tomatoes like it's basically like just it's like plain chicken and broccoli and like eggs and that's it like no cheese no dairy no you know like no fun oh my and then no and no alcohol and then two with since i don't since i retain all my fluid um i you have to drink like only a certain amount every day so i can't have more than 24 ounces of any sort of liquid all day oh so like my freaking coffee in the morning is like this much and then i just like eat ice a lot because it's yeah like it sucks so can you smoke weed no but i've got about it this came very Wow, wow.

It just became legal in Ohio. It did. Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm excited for you. Yeah, like you said, it's like being a kid again. And it's like to this new lifestyle change is kind of what I want to include, you know, going forward because it's just a healthy way of life. I walk like seven to ten miles a day. I do an hour Pilates a day, like even on dialysis days.

And I don't have, well, like, what the fuck else am I going to do? I can't work. So I'm like, might as well be in the best shape I can be. So I can recover well. And God forbid I have to go through this again, you know, because sometimes kidneys don't last your entire life. Like, I want to be able to be healthy enough to get a transplant again if I have to. Hopefully, I never have to.

But that's the other thing. is the testing is so rigorous to be a recipient. They test you all over from head to toe. Like, you got to go to the dentist and make sure you have no infections in your mouth. You've got to do a mammogram, pap smears, ultrasounds. Like, literally, if there's a list they give you at your meeting pre-transplant, and you have to go through all this testing, there's about 15 different tests, those included, and then they decide if you're,

healthy enough to be on the list. Wow. And then they put you on the transplant list. And there's 125,000 people waiting on the transplant list and only about 25,000 like organs, like living donors. So the rest will get deceased donors. And you really don't want a deceased donor because there's limited testing. Sometimes you have to do dialysis. after transplant to kind of like kickstart the kidney because it's been on ice for who knows

and they just don't last as long as a living donor does so that was my mission and why I was so like putting shit on Instagram all the time because I was like I've got to find a live donor I'm young like I said I don't want to go through this again yeah yeah so you're on the list if you're on the list you're just waiting for somebody but if you find someone then you it's there's no list like obviously yeah Megan's like oh boom let's go yeah yeah so some people are on the list for one to five years it just depends when their match dies you know so that's why we too are doing this and we're like we want to interview with as many people as we can because we just want to be the face and spread the word about organ donation and how important it is and even

blood donation. Megan is a fucking saint. She texted me the other day and she's like, hey, I'm giving blood. And I'm like, well, the only reason I even thought to was because you inspired me too. So I'm thinking you're the same out of us. Good news. I'm giving my other kidney.

We're like, wait, you can't do that. She would. That's just the type of person she is. She would too. this is so great well it's an inspiring story and um yeah you know you getting your life back is even exciting for me you know not that i wish i was in your position but at the same time i'm like ooh you get to experience all of these things almost for the first time again like that's awesome and you know of course everything happens for reasons and you know this is a blessing

But the silver lining in all of it, now that you do have Megan, is that you have learned to, you know, eat correctly. You walk. You know, you now know what it's like. Like, you are in a healthy place. You know what I'm saying? A hundred percent. You have kickstarted that kind of lifestyle for yourself, which is awesome. Yeah.

You know. And, of course, Megan, I mean, geez, amazing. You guys are awesome. you're an inspiration and I hope people can listen to this and not be afraid but not be afraid because I'm afraid and you know Megan's like no fuck that there's no fear like I have two I can get rid of one and save someone's life I mean yeah it's pretty remarkable yeah it's an amazing thing to be able to do you only do need one kidney to live and like there are people that are born with just one kidney and it's if they so when they take

Megan's kidney her other kidney will like kick into gear and do more work for the lack of you know the other ones so the human body is pretty incredible yeah yeah yeah and there aren't major restrictions afterwards either which like Jess said I can still drink after which is great and it's just kind of basic like don't eat like shit don't eat a lot of sodium like pretty much stuff that I try to do anyway so it's not a huge lifestyle shift for the donor. Well, thank you guys so much for telling your story coming on. I really appreciate it.

This was awesome. You know, you guys are both an inspiration and, you know, hopefully people give more kidneys. Yeah. Or blood or whatever they can. Yeah. Yes. All right, good. I appreciate you.

you guys. Good luck in November. I'm sure it's going to be amazing. I'm sure it's all going to take and be beautiful. And then within nine months, you're going to be partying and having the best time. We'll invite you. We'll come out to California. Yeah, let me know if you're out here. I'll come out of a few cocktails. All right, guys. See you later. All right. Thanks, Oliver. All right. Thank you. Bye-bye. Wow, cool. Inspiring. Very nice. Man. give a kidney. I mean, would I? Yeah, I'd give a kidney to my, to a family member. I'd give a kidney doing like a best friend, probably. You know, if like John or Jesse or Alex or Brian or Mark or, you know, needed a kidney and I was a match, so yeah, fuck it. Take my goddamn kidney.

Take my kidney, but you know what? You're going to pay for it. You know, now you owe me everything. That's how I would do it. I'd be like, Mark, look, you can have my kidney. But it's going to cost you. You know, just you need to weigh this out. You can have my kidney, but now, oh man, I can, you've got to do everything that I want. You know, it's kind of a nice, kind of a nice thing. Anyway, those girls were amazing, really inspiring.

And I wish them the best of luck in November. And hopefully I get an update. All right, I'm out. Peace. Hey, it's your favorite jersey girl, Gia Judeyce. Welcome to Casual Chaos, where I share my story. This week, I'm sitting down with Vanderpump Rural Star, Sheena Shea. I don't really talk to either of them, if I'm being honest.

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In our new season, I'm talking to people like Anil Dash, an OG entrepreneur and writer who refuses to be cynical about the Internet. I love tech. You know, I've been a nerd my whole life, but it does have to be for something. It's not just for its own sake. It's an inspiring story that focuses on people as the core building blocks of the internet. Listen to There Are No Girls on the Internet on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Tune in to All the Smoke Podcast, where Matt and Stacks sit down with former first lady, Michelle Obama. Folks find it hard to hate up close.

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I ended up having anorexia issues, bulimia issues, by talking to the models, the producers, and the people who profited from it all. We basically sold our soul. souls and they got rich. If you were so rooting for her and saw her drowning, what did you help her? Listen to the curse of America's next top model on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Jennifer Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcomfit Podcast, I'm even more honest, more vulnerable, and more real than ever. Am I ready to enter this new part of my life?

Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my age? time join me for conversations about healing and growth all from one of my favorite spaces the kitchen listen to the new season of the overcombered podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast this is an iHeart podcast