In the video game Fallout, players wander a wasteland trying to manage their health bar and scavenge for resources. This week, I realized my life isn't so different.

Welcome to the "Holiday Wasteland."

In this episode, I share the reality of trying to "hustle" through Christmas with a chronic illness. From a failed quest at the local Christmas Parade (where I forgot a crucial piece of equipment) to a new, bizarre symptom that sounds like a George Lucas movie in my ear, we are keeping it 100% real.

I also open up about the mental spiral of feeling like a "burden" to my family—and the one sentence my daughter said that stopped me in my tracks.

If you are entering the holidays feeling like your battery is blinking red, this episode is for you.

• The Fallout Metaphor: Why chronic illness feels like managing a depleting "Health Bar" in a survival game.

• The Parade "Fail": What happened when I tried to attend the Christmas Parade without my scooter (and the dizziness that followed).

• Symptom Spotlight: Dealing with tinnitus that sounds exactly like an Empire Battleship from Star Wars.

• Mental Health Check: Confronting the "I am a burden" narrative with a powerful reality check from my daughter.

• Teaser: Why I’m bringing my husband, Corby, on the mic next week to discuss the friction in our parenting styles.

• Catch the next episode: Subscribe so you don't miss the big interview with Corby in Episode 10!

• Let's Connect: https://linktr.ee/NoLongerAHustle