Hosted by Erica Jolene with special guest Kaylee Sutton, LPN | Transcription HERE
In this week’s episode we hear from our loveable home-health nurse, Kaylee. As Kaylee describes, her experience living an atypical life started at a very young age when her baby brother developed a seizure disorder. She shares with us about her experience navigating this as a proud big sister and how her natural tendency to care for her siblings led her into nursing and then into our home.
Kaylee was one of the first people I interviewed, long before the podcast had even released a single episode. She was delighted to join me but also very nervous. After hearing the other guests on my show, listening to the preview of her own episode, and then after some personal conversations with her family, she expressed her desire to revisit some of these topics in next week’s afterthoughts episode because she felt like she was being too careful, too gentle, and not quite as bold and brave as she wanted to be in sharing her Atypical Truth.
Research conducted in relation to this podcast, "Telling the Atypical Truth: Disability Community-Building Through Podcasting," can be found HERE.
Episode Transcription
Erica 00:16
Hello and welcome back to Atypical Truth. This is a podcast community for those impacted by disabilities in complex medical conditions. I'm your host, Erica Jolene. In just about every episode, I've opened with that same line and it's dawned on me that someone listening to this show right now might be asking themselves if a podcast about lives impacted by disabilities is applicable or relatable to their own life. So I thought I'd take a moment to address that very good question.
Erica 00:55
The harsh reality is that unless you have some sort of extremely powerful luck, most people have been, or will be impacted by disabilities, and or some sort of complex medical condition at some point in your life. As this past year and a half has taught us, even the healthiest of humans are still vulnerable to illness and disease. Disabilities and complex medical conditions may be experienced by you personally, or someone who you care about. Heck, you may have already experienced a time in your life when you or a loved one has had to navigate a difficult diagnosis. You might be someone who is only just now realizing the prevalence of disabled people within our society. And for that, I applaud you for becoming aware and tuning in to learn more about the people who directly identify with this community.
Erica 01:58
Your life experiences with or without disabilities may look and feel different from the stories you hear on this show, or it might be similar. I only hope that this show helps to better represent the beautifully complex lives of my fellow friends and family in the disabled community. In this week's episode, we hear from our lovable home health nurse Miss Kaylee. I've been holding on to this episode for some time, waiting for just the right time in this first season to share it. Kaylee describes with us her experience living an atypical life, and how it started at a very young age when her baby brother developed a seizure disorder. She shares with us about her experience navigating this as a proud big sister, and how her natural tendency to care for her siblings led her into nursing, and ultimately led her into our home.
Erica 02:58
Here's the thing though. Kaylee was one of the first people I interviewed. Long before the podcast had even released a single episode. She was super pumped to join me, but she was also very nervous. After hearing the other guests on the show, and then listening to the preview of her own episode, she expressed her desire to revisit some of these topics in next week's Afterthoughts episode, because she felt like she was being too careful, too gentle, or maybe not quite as bold and brave as she wanted to be in sharing about her atypical truth. So here you have the first of a two-parter, detailing the perspective of that classic big sister turned nurse.
Erica 03:52
I have to ask, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Kaylee 03:55
I really wanted to be a marine biologist.
Erica 03:58
Really?
Kaylee 03:59
I was... Yes. I was so incredibly fascinated by marine life, even though I've lived in the Midwest and nowhere near the coast. And I was just super interested. Like my favorite animal is a shark.
Erica 04:15
So do you have any pets?
Kaylee 04:17
Yes, I have three kitties. They are my entire life. My little fur babies.
Erica 04:26
Kaylee, what is your favorite thing to nerd out on?
Kaylee 04:29
Hmm, that's a tough one. I nerd out on so much.
Erica 04:34
I want the raw, real, truth. Okay, but you're also a gamer, which, honestly of all the things that I've come to learn about you, that one surprised me the most because...we're talking about the girl who comes in with her perfectly pink Kate Spade purse or perfectly proper hair and clothes. And then you're like, Oh yeah, I play fortnight every night with a bunch of people online and I'm like, "Wait, what?!?"
Kaylee 05:01
Yeah, it surprised me too. I'm very versatile. There's a lot of things that you know, that you wouldn't expect from me. But that's the beauty of diversity.
Erica 05:14
Exactly. And we're living in a time of COVID. And prior to COVID, like, some of us gamers learned that that is a really easy social outlet. You can do this thing, you can meet with your established group of friends, not have to leave the comfort of your own home, and still feel like you're connecting to the outside world. Also having a lot of fun.
Kaylee 05:37
Right? It's so much fun like I did, I had no idea that you played D&D, it was so surprising, but I love it so much. I love that that's one of your nerd-out things.
Erica 05:50
I'm actually newer at D&D, but I've always played what they call RPG or like role-playing games, like video games. It started with computer games, it was all about the storylines. There was a lot of reading involved. There was a game that I played called Neverwinter Nights, and I would play so much of it, that I would actually dream about it. I would be in my sleep, having these adventures, wake up in the morning, and be like, "Hmm, that was exhausting". I don't know that that's healthy, but it was
Kaylee 06:25
I have so many fortnight dreams! So I definitely understand.
Erica 06:28
Okay, okay, good. I'm glad. Some of them are a little scary. I'm not gonna lie. And then I'm like, "Why am I doing this to myself if I'm just gonna, like lose sleep over it?" But it's so fun and I'm such a homebody. Traveling through different types of adventure RPG games, it gives me that sense of adventure that I crave without having to get me out of my comfort zone. Does that make sense?
Kaylee 06:54
Definitely. We're introverted extroverts.
Erica 06:58
We are introverts who know how to play the role of an extrovert really well.
Kaylee 07:02
That's pretty accurate actually.
Erica 07:04
We know how to wear that hat. But we don't want to. Like we just do when we have to.
Kaylee 07:10
Right. And we can still enjoy it. But it doesn't mean that we don't want to get home right away.
Erica 07:14
Oh, I know. What is one thing you are presently grateful for?
Kaylee 07:19
My fiance Miranda.
Erica 07:21
MmmmHmmm.
Kaylee 07:22
I'm very grateful for her. She just came into my life about a year and a half ago. Is a real blessing to have her in my life.
Erica 07:31
You guys have done a lot of growing together.
Kaylee 07:33
We have.
Erica 07:35
What is one of the best pieces of advice you've ever received?
Kaylee 07:40
A piece of advice I have received that's a good one... Ummmm here recently I've really been into Glennon Doyle. We've talked about her and she said, she told me that I am a Gosh Dang Cheetah and I have not been able to get that out of my head.
Erica 07:58
I love how you're like, "She told me..." Like you...
Kaylee 08:02
She did! She straight up told me I'm a Gosh Dang Cheetah!
Erica 08:06
(laughter) Love it! You are a cheetah!
Kaylee 08:09
You're a cheetah too! We're all cheetahs.
Erica 08:11
I feel it more recently than I ever have. But I definitely feel the cheetah in me coming out. Kaylee, before you begin working as a nurse in our home, we had an informal Meet and Greet. This Meet and Greet, for those who may not be familiar with this process in home health nursing, it gives you, as a family and as a nurse, the opportunity to feel each