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Life Expectancy - Sisters Surviving & Thriving

Life Expectancy - Sisters Surviving & Thriving

By: Julee Johns and Stacey Smith
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About this listen

 Julee and Stacey's podcast is a raw, honest, and deeply personal exploration of navigating life after addiction, breast cancer, and the complicated realities that come with both. Through heartfelt conversations, personal reflections, and unfiltered storytelling, they offer listeners an inside look at the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned, and the small victories that carried them through. But this isn’t just a survival story — it’s a guidebook for anyone who finds themselves fighting battles they never expected. It's about advocacy, self-advocacy, sisterhood, and what it truly means to rebuild a life after trauma. Without glossing over the hard parts, Julee and Stacey show that healing is messy, imperfect, and absolutely worth fighting for. Listeners come away not just with inspiration, but with real-world insights into surviving, thriving, and finding meaning through adversity.© 2025 Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease
Episodes
  • Spotify Playlist - Season 1

    Spotify Playlist - Season 1
    Oct 23 2025
    In this special companion episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Julee and Stacey open up about the music that defined their journey through addiction, illness, and recovery. The Season 1 Spotify Playlist is more than a soundtrack, it’s a reflection of everything they’ve lived and learned together. From anthems of resilience like Wide Open Spaces to raw confessions like She Used to Be Mine, each song marks a chapter in their story. Through laughter, tears, and shared memories, the sisters show how music became their bridge helping them reconnect, heal, and say the things that words alone never […]
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    16 mins
  • 06 Roles

    06 Roles
    Oct 17 2025
    In this candid episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Stacey and Julie unpack the often-overlooked roles people play during serious illness—from patient and partner to health advocate and caregiver. Drawing from their own journey through hospitalization, hospice decisions, and recovery, they reveal the practical and emotional challenges of navigating medical systems, legal paperwork, and family dynamics. Julie explains how to manage advanced directives, communicate with healthcare teams, and define clear responsibilities, while Stacey offers the patient’s perspective on autonomy, vulnerability, and trust. Together, they provide a grounded, compassionate roadmap for anyone facing the chaos of illness—and the people […]
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • 05 The UNOS List

    05 The UNOS List
    Aug 27 2025
    In this powerful episode of Life Expectancy: Sisters Surviving and Thriving, Stacey and Julee break down the complexity of the UNOS transplant list through both lived experience and medical insight. They explain how the national system works, what MELD and PELD scores mean, and the brutal math behind liver transplant eligibility. Julee shares the advocacy it took to get Stacey accepted after multiple rejections, while Stacey recounts the physical, emotional, and cognitive toll of end-stage liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy. Together, they explore the logistical, ethical, and deeply personal realities of navigating a life-or-death waitlist, culminating in Stacey’s placement on […]
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    48 mins
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