Host, Boots Knighton, shares reflections on season one as well as new learnings

We feel it is important to have podcast transcripts available for accessibility.

This transcript was part of a portfolio of work that transitioned with this podcast when it joined our network. It has not been reviewed by our staff and may not match the formatting or standards of other episodes. If you find an error in the transcription, or if you would like to use a quote, please reach out to us at connect@37by27.com.

Hello, and welcome to the final episode of Season One of the Heart Chamber. I am your host, boots Knighton. We did it. We have recorded and aired now 20 episodes of the Heart Chamber. A year ago, I would not have thought I'd be hosting a weekly podcast about open heart surgery. I am so glad I took this leap.

It has been an incredible first season, and I can hardly believe the people that have come into my life because I chose to take the leap. I wanna thank you listeners for tuning in every week. I wanna thank you for your support, and I have a big ask of you if you haven't yet, please leave a review.

It's incredibly important in podcast land to have reviews also. I'm gonna take the summer off, but I'm gonna come back to you in the fall, and so I want to make sure you don't miss the beginning of season two, be sure to go hit the subscribe button if you haven't already. Lastly, I want to hear from you.

What have you enjoyed? What have you not enjoyed? What do you wish I did more of less of? You can go to the heart chamber podcast.com and you can go to the contact form and leave me a message there. You can also leave me a voicemail on that website, or you can email me boots. At the heart chamber podcast.com for our last episode today, I asked my sound guru.

Michael Morrie to have a chat with me and just reflect with me on this first season. We talk about a few episodes that touched us deeply and also just about the process of podcasting. I really enjoyed recording this with him. He's an incredible human and I'm so glad that he's in my life. He has said that he is on for season two, so we can expect more of his sound wizardry next season.

So without further ado, I bring you my last episode of season one.

Track 1: So when I decided to start this podcast, the Heart Chamber, at the time, I had recently been interviewed on the Jackson Hole connection and. . I live in the Tetons and have known Stephan Abrams for a long time, who hosts the Jackson Whole Connection and Michael Mory.

you for joining me today. Michael had done such a great job and continues to do such a great job. basically, how would you say it, Michael? Like you do the editing for Jacksonville connection and now the marketing, the scheduling. I just, and, and I've known you too from the past, and I just so appreciated your professionalism and your talent and your kindness.

And so I did the podcast with Stephan, first of all, I had a blast and I realized that I enjoy having conversations and sharing those conversations with other people, but I knew I didn't wanna do it alone. I knew I couldn't do it alone, . And so I approached you, Michael, my amazing sound wizard, help me launch this podcast.

And thankfully you've said yes and. I invited Michael on today because we're wrapping up season one and I am really big on the importance of reflection and this is now episode 20, and I cannot believe how much I have grown as a human through this process, and I just felt like Michael was, is The main dude to help reflect on this whole process, and he was touched by several episodes and I just wanted to have a conversation about all of that. So, Michael, I wanna kick it to you and I would love to hear what it's been like for you to help me in this process and like also reflection on like, what episodes touched your heart.

Pun totally intended.

Michael Moeri: Thanks for having me on the podcast boots. It's always fun to be on this side. Uh, yes. I first met you a long time ago.

We had a. A few friends in common back in Jackson. I live in Bellingham, Washington now, but we had some friends in common, one friend that we lost together as well. So, I don't think you've gone into that, uh, side on the podcast. It's might be a whole other bonus episode of grieving through that whole process, but I won't go into too much detail there. But yes, I do editing and marketing for the Jacksonville Connection Podcast. And that's how I first originally heard your story. I didn't know anything about it, because we didn't really keep in touch

too much while we were in Jackson. I saw you in passing and maybe in some occasional parties and stuff.

But, living out in Bellingham, I don't have too much connection with individuals anymore unless I'm trying to get them on the podcast, cuz I do still do the. Roping of people coming onto the podcast. We're up on 240 plus episodes for the Jaal connection. Now it's going on for almost five years. And then I also do work for podcasts as well, outside of that. But I was so happy that you reached out because this is such an important podcast. to spread the word about, and I had never heard of a podcast similar to this. I don't have too many issues myself other than some high blood pressure and who knows, that could lead to something.

But, I've had people in my family that have a lot of heart issues and so it's a really podcast to edit. It's sometimes challenging because, some things you don't necessarily wanna think about, like you kind of wanna think you're almost invincible and nothing can happen to you. But then you hear these stories of people that were healthier than you and still have all these issues. a lot of times it could be something that they had from birth, but it could be something that may be developed later in their life. But, it's been a really great podcast to be a part of and I so appreciate you bringing me onto it. And yes, there's been quite a few stories that have really tugged at my heartstrings, pun intended, as you like to say it, and so I can jump into specific episodes now, or do you want to talk about some specific episodes first?

Track 1: No, I would love to hear yours and we could, reflect back and forth.

Michael Moeri: I would say one

episode that really just, it just kept hitting things over and over again. Like so many things that just kept happening was the Jason Kruk podcast. so many

things that happened to him throughout his whole life where. Losing his brother and kind of losing touch with his mother, then regaining such great relationship with her and then her passing away and then all of his issues throughout his whole life. But, just him, him and his perseverance throughout his whole life where he is, had the congenital heart defect. Is that what you wanna refer to or do you, do you

wanna refer to it as the congenital heart difference? Is that, I know you've mentioned that a couple times,

but

Track 1: yeah, exactly, either, but he not only had one, he had four.

Michael Moeri: mm-hmm.

Track 1: Four different ones. Had nothing to do with

each

other.

Michael Moeri: Yeah. And that's super rare as far as I heard in that podcast. I don't know if there's any more details outside of what you discussed on the podcast with him, but his story just kept going and kept going, and just like, he just kept adding things on was like, oh yeah, this also happened too. I was like, geez. Yeah. And he had such an upbeat attitude and it's just a, it's just a amazing story to hear somebody. Was such a great attitude with so many things that have happened throughout his life.

Track 1: Yeah. And I, I think that, the resounding theme amongst all of us heart warriors, and I'm wondering if you have picked up on this, is We just have a very clear understanding now of what matters and what doesn't I am finding that every heart warrior I talk to, no matter what their heart story is, when you have that open heart surgery, your heart has literally been handled by a surgeon.

You just come out the other side changed. and there's a common thread of calmness, peace. This deep understanding that there is a force much bigger than all of us that's in charge, and we just don't have to ring our wrists over the small things anymore.

Michael Moeri: Yeah, for sure. And, I don't know what it's like to be a part of that group necessarily. my dad back when I was in college, he had. open heart surgery where he didn't necessarily have any sort of defect, but he had stints put in and he had his heart handled. I've seen him, it's such a terrible thing to witness, but, probably the most dramatic time period when he had his first heart attack.

He's had a few scents actually, just holding his hand after he was. Looking like he was turning around and then just him flatlining right in front of me and then having to be pushed away and having to be paddled, like eyes rolling in the back of the head and just seeing that happen. It's just like, like it just, things can just change so quickly and it's just so unexpectedly.

He just started. Rambling about nonsense and then all of a sudden eyes rolled back and he was just like, flatlined. It was like, I thought he was done. I thought that was it. And, but they brought him back and he's been around for, geez, that was a long time ago at this point. That was 20 some years ago. crazy how much they can do for somebody that's struggling for so long, he had un. Untreated type two diabetes that really affected it. And now he kind of has that under control, so that's really helped. But he's, he's struggling still at this point where he's continuously losing toes and it's just every, every, every couple months there's something that new, that happens because, mostly because of the type two diabetes.

And, but, um, anyway, that was, that's my most personal connection with heart issues. Um,

I would say,

Track 1: It's, and, and you're, I'm glad you bring all that up because it is traumatic on the family members. And in that same episode with Jason Crutchley, his wife sits in on that and I do plan on interviewing her for season two. I wonder if it's almost harder on the caregivers than the heart.

Patient themselves cuz I know how hard. My husband, Jason, you know how hard it was on him, and he still has lingering effects. He has some, some memory loss from that time. It's, it's really difficult. I mean, we are on the edge of life and death. We are at the veil, and it is thin. And, when loved ones like you witnessed with your dad, like Jason witnessed with me, it, it changes the

caregiver too.

Michael Moeri: Yeah, for sure. I mean, it was, it was a super dramatic time period back then where he had to be airlifted to, To Minneapolis and, and they have a really good heart hospital there in Minneapolis and they took really good care of him, but he still has to go to kind of like more of those smaller hospitals in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Fargo, North Dakota often. they do what they can, but he still has to visit like a larger hospital in Minneapolis. Um, he But it, it is very dramatic on the family

members and it's not something you get over easily. It's, it's something that impacts you pretty much for the rest of your life. When you see a loved one go through something like that. And yeah, I think it was probably harder on us than it

was on him, honestly, just because, I mean, it was at the point where he had racked up so much medical bills and I don't think he realized that the coverage that he had for insurance, because, working for the state of North Dakota at the state school is what it's called, which helps with people with mental, lower mental faculties, and. He had state insurance, so it was actually a really good coverage. But at one point in the hospital, he was like, you should just let me go because this health, this insurance bill is gonna be too high. You should just let me go. And then my mom was like, you have good, good coverage. We'll be fine. I But he thought it was gonna be like hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know, to like, cover this because of the air flight.

And he was in the

hospital for how many weeks, you know? So, so yeah, at one point he was about to give up, just because of really the cost of the medical expenses and But uh, after that he made a pretty good recovery and we've had a lot of good years since. So.

Track 1: I'm so grateful for that. The medical expenses are the, the daunting part, and I haven't done an episode on that. That's probably for season two. I just haven't been able to go there yet. Um, it's so enraging. It's truly enraging what it costs to survive, thrive. It just shouldn't

be that much

Michael Moeri: Yeah. I mean, outside of medical expenses, I'd say like the

other, another big theme with the podcast that is recurring is just medical gas lighting. So much gas lighting that happens so much. Advocating for yourself. That almost seems unnecessary at this point because so many people are just written off because of either thinking that it's just stress or something that's triggering it, and it's just kind of ridiculous that, I mean, I just wonder back like how many times I've been gaslit or about my kids or, I mean, we just had an incident where my son had to be airlifted because of his breathing issues that he had, and so he had to be airlifted to Seattle And we didn't necessarily get a clear reason why.

It was just more of like, we feel like he needs more attention than he could have here, which is fair. But it's just kind of crazy how much don't get informed about or just get written off about when we have questions about certain things. Um, so it's kind of infuriating that way too.

Track 1: And, and that's why I've been talking more and more about we are the c e o of our health and we get to hire and fire our medical team and the medical professionals we choose, choose to engage with. should arriving to our, the appointments with us, first of all, on time, that would be appreciated. And secondly, like ready to serve and the willingness to work with the patient and not just stay in the silos that they're all practicing medicine in.

it's interesting, Michael, I just yesterday, I finally filed a formal complaint. , with the local hospital here against my first cardiologist, and it took almost three years to the day. And I explained to the person, you know, I, I, I don't know, he, and he didn't even know what the statute of limitations were, but I said, this is more about my own healing.

And I just realized that after I told him about the podcast. and I told him about how I just recently joined this national organization called Women Heart, and I'm now a heart champion for Women Heart. I just went through an extensive training through the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, to advocate for women with heart disease.

And I, I educated the, the gentleman I was speaking with about this. And I said, I didn't even know as a woman I could advocate for myself and. I explained to him how this first cardiologist blew me off and told me I had anxiety, and sent me on my way After, his nurse, not even him, he didn't even call me.

He had his nurse call me to tell me I had three congenital heart defects, but that none of them were the problem. And I received no education, but yet I was told just to see a therapist when I was already seeing one. And he knew that. And this, this guy yesterday was aghast at that. And he was so upset for me, and, and I said, I'm embarrassed that it took this long.

To call and formally say this to someone with authority, but first of all, my life was a dumpster fire at the time, and I was. Scared I was gonna die and then I had to have surgery and then my mom died. It's like complaining about a doctor was the bottom of my list at the time. But it takes a lot to speak out against the medical community because there's this overarching theme that they are.

They are in charge of our health. But that's, that couldn't be further from the truth. And I am through this podcast and other projects I'm working on right now, I'm here to break that line of thinking. We've got to think differently about how we engage with our medical

professionals.

Michael Moeri: So with regards of making a complaint like that, what are the repercussions for. The person that is actually having the complaint brought against them. what is the process like for that and what is the outcome that you would like to see from it?

Track 1: Yeah. Um, so the way the guy explained it to me yesterday, they present it to the risk management team and they review it, and I should receive a letter within two weeks of their next steps. And he said sometimes th you know, they'll, they'll decide like, Hey, this medical professional still stayed within their lane.

It was appropriate given that we're a small community hospital. Maybe he's not as well versed in congenital heart defects. And as he said that, I pushed back and I said, oh no, he is. He came from Stanford University, then moved to Jackson, and when I went to Stanford University for the testing, they referred to him by his first name and couldn't believe that he hadn't referred me to Stanford.

So I made sure that went into the complaint. , but I was angry when the guy said, well, sometimes, you know, there's this like, like wiggle room that doctors can move in where like, you know, if you go to. an er, like they're meant to stop the bleeding, save your life if you're in a life-threatening situation.

But beyond that, you're on your own and we can't expect them to like give you like a nutritional consult in the er. . I was like, I get all that. But there was this real lack of education and like you said, gaslighting and that has got to stop. Just because it's a small hospital doesn't mean they have to suck at their jobs.

I said it just like that, you know, I was like, you know, we're in a very affluent, wealthy

community. We can do better.

Michael Moeri: I mean, even in the non wealthy communities, they deserve to have people that are going to listen and not gaslight and

Track 1: Amen.

Michael Moeri: try to do the best for the people that are coming to see them and entrusting them literally with their lives. Like, it's not like you're trying to like

get some sort of like delicious treat or something from the grocery store or you're complaining about something.

This is literally. Your life in their hands and you're trusting them with this. So yeah, it's not something that should be taken lightly. It's not something that you should just write off easily. You're not just like a customer care representative that's you're complaining about your phone bill with, or something like that.

You know, this is literally life or death, and they just sometimes write it off or just don't.

I know there's a lot of pressure put on them and they have a lot of stress and there's a lot of time that's put into certain things. and it's gotta be draining. And you probably get jaded a little bit and you probably get a little bit. I guess it kind of just becomes a, a lot of routine and you don't really look at people sometimes as people, you just think of them as like, all right, you're my patient. I have this next patient. I'm just thinking about maybe what's gonna happen later today. is their job, but it's literally people's lives that you're dealing with.

So, And there's a lot of great people out there, a lot of great doctors, but some of the doctors just need to realize that you are taking people's lives in their hands. So,

Track 1: Yeah. . Yeah, exactly. And education. Just if it, even if I would've so appreciated a few minutes of that guy's time. This, this is what you have. Cuz it was so, it was like a meteorite had hit the earth. I just did not see any of it coming. Right. And it, I had lived 42 years thinking I had a okay heart. And then to learn that the opposite was true.

there's could have been so much more done for me to help that land softer than it did. Right. And, and just what it did to my nervous system and the anxiety that that only exacerbated the symptoms. And yeah, there's just an easier, softer way could be taken across the entire medical

field.

Michael Moeri: Right. And to some of these people's credits, it sounds like. I mean, what you had is fairly rare and it is, seems like it's becoming more well known, but it wasn't as well known. A couple decades ago. I mean, as far as I can tell, like, I mean, I had never heard of myocardial bridging until your podcast,

so that's completely brand new to me.

I had never heard of it,

and I still don't a hundred percent understand what it is. I mean, I, I mean after going through all these and trying to like grasp at some of like the details about what these exact things are, there's a lot of terminology that still goes over my head and I try to understand it, but. unless you're in it, unless you actually experience it. I feel like it's hard to actually completely grasp what is happening to other people unless it's happening to you or somebody that you love. so, or you're in the medical profession, I would say. But for the general person, I would say

most people still probably haven't heard of myocardial bridging, at least I would think.

joined, I think we were over: 3000

I'm, I, I'm looking at. Apple Podcasts at my own podcast and looking at all, at all the episodes and I. Thank you Michael for hanging in there. I mean, there are so many intense stories and I mean, I think back to Bill Win Gates's story that I released on April 11th, and his four open heart surgeries.

Where he had seven valve replacements and then I, I forgot the number of aneurysms he had replaced. and he had a heck of a, of a sense

of humor. , I.

Michael Moeri: Mm-hmm. . Oh no,

he's great. And still

drinking his bourbon, I assume. Maybe

Track 1: Oh yeah. Yep, yep. And, Paul, Fosse, two open heart surgeries. And, you know, that was a really big, important story to me. I mean, all of them were important to me in a variety of, for a variety of different reasons, but, Talk about how he had to A, so he had to advocate for himself and he actually had to release the local doctor's response.

He had to sign a, a form releasing the local doctor of any responsibility cuz the local doctor insisted he needed surgery immediately. But Paul knew he needed to get to Cleveland Clinic and that. that story, of all the stories that one probably impacted me the most because he, he was closer to death than I think out of all the people I've interviewed.

May, maybe minus Jason and Chris, who both had, um, heart transplants, but he was so close to death and he still, he chose to sign that, that, that form and get his buns to Cleveland Clinic and. That is such a, a testament to the human soul and the willingness to listen to your own intuition

and trusting that it's gonna be okay.

Michael Moeri: Mm-hmm. And going back to the Bill Wink episode, where I think the thing that personally stuck out the most to me, where he had one of his valves replaced and then he had that infection that happened in his chest,

Track 1: Oh my gosh,

Michael Moeri: apparently infection was linked back to having a cavity filled.

I literally got a cavity filled. The next day. and I was going into it like, oh, great. And just like thinking like, oh, I've had some, maybe some minor heart issues. Like now I have to think about am I gonna get an, a giant infection that's gonna like, grow in my chest And then cause some, cause some heart issues.

But so far, so good. Um, But I, I mentioned it to actually the, person that was cleaning my teeth, and she was like, oh yeah, that happens. It's pretty common to, you know, to have things linked and like you, people don't really think about how close, closely linked your teeth are to your heart and how important it is. so it's, yeah, that, that one really stuck out there.

And just thinking like, yeah, he's had so many surgeries he's had. I mean his kids are pretty well grown now, but just like how many times he had to have surgery while he was trying to just live his daily life, you know, kind of thing and have a family is just crazy if how many times he had to go through that with his family.

Track 1: Mm-hmm. . Talk about the strength of the human spirit. .

Michael Moeri: Mm-hmm.

Track 1: and I'm glad you brought up the dentist because I made a switch this past year. I switched to a w holistic dentist in a community about an hour away called Idaho Falls. and. , I am blown away by the care I'm receiving at the holistic dentist, and he is really, every time I see him, he's taking into account my heart and I, I had some cavities I needed filled, and he took extra precaution.

had me take supplements before and after to protect my heart. And the dent, uh, the dentist I was seeing closer to home just did not have that mindset and that, and even that training. and I, I wanna educate listeners that it is important to choose the right dentist. And if you can find a more holistic dentist that can educate you more on, mouth health, all the better.

And so, , I actually had all of my fillings taken out that were mercury fillings. and that was quite the process, but, , it was worth it, because I had been having a lot of palpitations and it did help lessen those. And then the other thing he has done is he did a bone scan of where I had my wisdom teeth taken out.

Long, you know, when I was a kid and I actually have rotting bone in one of my wisdom teeth pockets, and I'm gonna have surgery in August for that. because the meridians, if you hear an. . I did an episode with my acupuncturist at Erin Borba and she talks a lot about the meridians, the importance of acupuncture and healing from heart surgery.

But there's meridians that run from each tooth directly to your heart, that includes your wisdom teeth. And so, When you pull the wisdom teeth, it does directly impact your health. And he really strongly advocates against wisdom teeth pulling unless it's gonna cause a lot of other

issues.

but I'm

Michael Moeri: I have, I have a Wisdom Tooth appointment coming up, uh, scheduling for my, having my wisdom teeth removed. And in about a month,

Track 1: Oh,

so really this podcast is about saving Michael's life.

Michael Moeri: yeah,

Track 1: Yeah, so it, it could go either way, but the education I've just received around that has been fascinating. and my insurance does cover cleanings for the holistic dentist, so, thankfully I can, I can pay for the surgery. it's an elective surgery, but you know, it's contributing to the inflammation in my body, that I've been battling ever since heart surgery.

so I just have decided, hey, I live through all of this. Why not maximize my health and make it as, as, as awesome as I can. and speaking of that, I think couple of the most listened to episodes. besides my story, I'm looking back to episode three with optimizing open heart surgery through nutrition with Georgie McNiff that's often downloaded along with, episode five with my physical therapist, physical and mental health therapy for open heart surgery.

And I wanna bring more of that to the listeners in season two. because I, I do wish that I was given some education when it was time, when it was go time for my heart surgery. but what I wasn't educated about and it's to no fault of the individual doctor. It's the fault of the system is the role of nutrition and the role of bringing your inflammation down, to as close to zero as you can.

And Georgie McNiff talks a lot about that along with e hormones in episode three. But, um, I recently had covid in January and it kicked off this inflammation storm in my body and kicked up all of my cardiac symptoms. And I've been getting that under control and I'm a whole new woman now that I am getting a handle on my inflammation.

And I'm doing that through supplements, but I'm also doing it through a Mediterranean Paleo diet. and I have no chest pain. Now all my palpitations are gone. My gums are no longer bleeding, I'm not getting dizzy, and the most important thing is my heart rate is finally responding appropriately to exercise, and that's just been within the last three weeks.

And so listeners don't underestimate the lasting effects of covid or the Covid shot, and I'm not advocating for or against here. This is not a political vaccine thing, but Covid in and of itself, whether it's from the vaccine or covid, the virus attacking you, it causes an inflammation response that does affect the heart, and it is really important.

That you optimize nutrition to minimize that inflammation in the body. And so I just keep finding that episode three with Georgie is such a, an evergreen episode of, of just information and knowledge. and then episode five, just the, the mental health piece of going through sur any surgery. It's, it's not just for heart surgery, it's, it's for anything.

It, it's not easy, but it doesn't have to be devastating

either.

Michael Moeri: Yeah, and we've been talking a little bit about healthcare within the United States, but we haven't actually touched on. The story of Belinda, which was just, published on May 9th and that episode where she was trying to figure out

how she could get care in Venezuela, and this was back in the seventies and eighties, that she was trying to get care in Venezuela and just, uh, what an incredible story of her. Finding, seems like such a, a savior of a doctor trying to save her life basically by bringing her to the United States to have surgery done. And it's just, um, it was a great story and I mean, I don't know what the ending's gonna be like for her story because she still hasn't basically had the proper treatment yet, or she's not sure if she's gonna get the proper treatment for what she actually needs to help her.

But her story was also heartwarming slash. I don't, no, I feel like it's not gonna end great. Un unfortunately. Um, sorry to say, but she's such a amazing woman and she's done, done such incredible things and she's so passionate about helping other people. So that was, it was great to hear her story.

Track 1: She's an amazing human. Yeah. And she, so she's in heart failure. She's constantly in heart failure and she cannot leave sea level. and she is choosing to live life as fully as she can despite her, her diagnosis, which isn't super. and. another testament of the strength of the human soul. I, I have become friends with every single person I've interviewed and I've stayed in touch with all of them.

And I actually joined, I sat in on a meeting with, with her on Global Arch, which is a international organization for congenital heart defects, and rheumatic effects on the heart. and it was really, really cool to see her advocating and for children around the world to receive healthcare, and be thanks to Bellon.

We, I now know that like, I am one of the lucky ones, which just continues to drive home My whole purpose of doing this podcast, cuz I, I truly feel like I'm one of the lucky few who had access to good healthcare as tricky as it was and broken. In my opinion. It's still head and shoulders above anything that a lot of other countries have.

so I feel a little silly complaining. , about local resources. When I think about her story and what she's looking to do, which is to actually, she was telling a story of, this mom in Venezuela who had to put her child on a donkey or horse. and ride down a mountain to get to a dentist because a child has a lot of different heart issues.

And as we were just saying, you know, mouth health is so key to heart health and she raised money to pay for that dental visit, but the mom had to, it was like a, a heck of a journey just getting the child to the dentist down the mountain. and that's the reality for a lot of kids around the world. And I think that's a, a good segue into like how this podcast has impacted me.

I just knew I had to do it. Like it was like this internal calling you hear about. Preachers and religion saying, I had this calling to, to like do this with my life. And I always wondered about that until this happened. And I remember the day and the exact time that like I felt this existential something nudge me and say, do this podcast.

And was no denying it. I could not do it and I could not have been prepared for how. , it has changed my life for the better and how I feel like it has made me a better human. and how it has really opened my eyes to how truly privileged and blessed I am, continue to be here and thriving and doing as well as I am.

And Yes, I'm gonna, we're gonna be taking a break for a little bit, but, and I'm, I'm gonna recharge and get refocused for season two because if anything, like I, I am just learning so much and I am so enjoying every person I have the opportunity of interviewing. but most importantly, I can just tell that there is so much more education that needs to be dispersed about heart congenital heart defects in particular, but heart disease also in women in the United States and around the world.

And it's just not a story that's getting told enough. I've never been more clear on my purpose and direction with the heart chamber. , but I do need a break.

Michael Moeri: Hey, I mean, this is a, it's a intense podcast to have. It's not like you're sitting around just chatting with your friends. You know? It's, uh, these are stories that

kind of have, you almost relive your trauma almost every time you have a conversation, which can be good, but it's also. Maybe not something you want to visit on a weekly basis.

Sometimes, at least. I, I can imagine. Um, you're making some great connections and great friends and you're building such a great network of people that have experienced similar things. It's you, which is really empowering and impactful. But I can understand just wanting to step away and kind of live your life with people that maybe. Haven't experienced that trauma too, and maybe are just, uh, you want to enjoy the life with your husband and get out and experience the summer and get ready for season two.

Track 1: Yeah, and hopefully you will still want to be my main

sound dude.

Michael Moeri: I'll try. I'll try as as, as long as you'll have me. I mean, some of these podcasts, right, Tina's like, oh wow, it's a two hour long conversation. , it's like, you know, sometimes it's like, okay, this one must be really good. Or it's a, you have a really good talker. It's a really good story. You never know what you're gonna get with some of these people. But,

It's never

really a dull moment with these conversations, even if it is a two-hour long conversation, if of these great stories that these people are telling and all of 'em are still living their best lives as best as they can, at least for the time that they have with us.

Track 1: Beautiful, and I think we can leave it there. And thank you for. Everyone who has tuned in this season who has supported me, who's left a review, there's still plenty of time to leave a review. there's also still plenty of time to subscribe. I, I never knew how much that mattered until I launched my own pod podcast and it really, really matters.

And so thank you for taking a another moment outta your day to hit the subscribe button and leave me a review, wherever you get your

podcast.

Michael Moeri: All right. Thanks for having me on Boots.

Track 1: you.

Well, that's the last episode of season one. I hope you enjoyed it. Again, please don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you won't miss out when we come back in the fall. And I really do wanna hear from you. So go to the heart chamber podcast.com. Lastly, I am looking for sponsors and affiliates and so I would appreciate it if you'd reach out to me if you wanna be a sponsor of this podcast or send this to someone who might.

Thanks again so much for listening and your support this season. I'll be back in the fall.