How could uncertainty teach you to savor life? Why is joy never too far away? How do you build a meaningful life when plans change?
In this podcast episode, Jennifer Froemel discusses how fear of illness can transform us with Jennifer Cramer-Miller.
Meet Jennifer Cramer-Miller
Jennifer Cramer-Miller is an award-winning writer, speaker, wellness mentor, and patient advocate who specializes in stories of hope, resilience, and finding joy in the face of uncertainty. She is the author of Incurable Optimist: Living with Illness and Chronic Hope, a memoir about surviving serious illness, kidney transplantation, loss, and the enduring power of human connection. Jennifer serves as Board Chair of the National Kidney Foundation Serving Minnesota and works as a patient mentor and Donate Life ambassador, helping others navigate uncertainty and find hope.
Visit Jennifer’s website and connect on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
In This Podcast:
- Jennifer’s story in sickness and later in health
- Living the life you’ve been given
- What’s inside Jennifer’s book Incurable Optimist
- Jennifer’s final takeaways for listeners
Jennifer’s story in sickness and later in health
When Jennifer was 22, recently graduated, and living with a friend in Seattle, one morning her health took a sudden and unexpected turn for the worse.
We often feel when we’re young [that] we’re ready to launch into life, and I had, all of a sudden, an unusual morning … And I learned that I had kidney damage.
Jennifer Cramer-Miller
The doctors found protein in her urine. She got a biopsy, which showed that Jennifer had an incurable, autoimmune kidney disease, and six months later it got to the point that she had to go on dialysis.
After two years of using dialysis as a way to live and waiting for a viable kidney donor to become available, Jennifer finally got to have a kidney transplant.
However, after three days, the incurable autoimmune kidney disease had recurred in the transplanted kidney.
[I had] a shift in identity and didn’t know how to go forward with the fear and manage a life … I had to [figure] a lot of that out at the age of 25, because I didn’t know how I was going to lead a meaningful life … While it’s so common in our lives that we have these pivot points of your identity, but when I was in my 20s and so young, it was like my life hadn’t really started yet [and now it was changing].
(Jennifer Cramer-Miller)
With time and throughout her life, Jennifer found a way to move forward through the uncertainty of living with a chronic illness. She found a way through the fear of change and a way to embrace it.
I had to give up the life I had planned, and how was I going to launch into the one that waited [for me], and make it a good one? It was a big undertaking.
Jennifer Cramer-Miller
Living the life you’ve been given
Jennifer’s biggest lesson ultimately came from trying to figure out a way to live with the kidney autoimmune disease, and that was to, simply but truthfully, make the most of it.
I learned at a young age that I can’t take [my life] for granted, and I’m going to savor it while I have it.
Jennifer Cramer-Miller
Her donated kidney lasted for five years before she had to go on dialysis again, and in that time, Jennifer:
- Built a full life with friends and hobbies
- Got her MBA
- Furthered her career in business
- Married her husband
One thing that’s always top-of-mind for me is somebody at the DMV checked the box, and there was a family who was grieving the life of somebody who paid their life forward. I felt like I owed it to that family to live the best life I could with the gift that I had been given.
Jennifer Cramer-Miller
What’s inside Jennifer’s book Incurable Optimist
The book ties together three main pillars:
1 – How we manage uncertainty
2 – How we hold onto hope
3 – How we find joy
Around these three pillars is the central core of Jennifer’s life story, and her experience of finding a way to continue loving and enjoying her life amid the medical uncertainty she has often faced.
Life is uncertain; that’s just the fact. What becomes necessary then is to find a way to continue moving forward. Otherwise, one can become lost in trying to find elusive certainty, which distracts us from the beauty and love that surround us.
That’s why I think life is such a great thing. When we look for the good we find it, and there is so much good.
Jennifer Cramer-Miller
Jennifer’s final takeaways for listeners
Joy is never that far away! And you can easily be the one who sparks a long chain reaction of goodness that spreads far into your community, and even into the lives of those far away.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Jennifer Cramer-Miller – Incurable Optimist: Living with Illness and Chronic Hope
Rhonda Byrne – The Secret
RESOURCES MENTIONED AND USEFUL LINKS
Visit Jennifer’s website and connect on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Donate to Jennifer Froemel’s Lifesaving Work in Nepal
Practice of the Practice Network
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ABOUT THE FEAR OF CHANGE PODCAST
Change can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. The Fear of Change podcast is all about helping you embrace change and live a more fulfilling life. Hosted by Jennifer Froemel, LCPC, a therapist with nearly 30 years of experience, we cover topics like mental wellness, holistic health, and improving relationships.
Jennifer’s down-to-earth approach makes it easy to understand why we fear change and how to move past those fears. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, relationship issues, or just feeling stuck, there’s something here for you.
