With Gratitude, Matt

Kathy and her husband Dave Leurck are the proud parents of 3 children, Andrew, Audrey, and Alexandra. As parents, we of course all hope that our children are born and develop perfectly. But sometimes God has other plans and our dreams change. In Drew’s early years, it was discovered he had special needs and his family did everything they could to understand his condition and “fix it”. However, as time passed and his growth and abilities were better understood, the family came to accept who Drew is and how God made him. This led to his family celebrating everything Drew was teaching them, from how to love more, to having more compassion and patience, and to just appreciating the small and simple things in life. At the age of 7, Drew began drawing rainbows everyday for him mom (he has now drawn over 8000!). This gave Kathy the idea to make a small card that included a picture of one of the rainbows, a snapshot of Drew, and a message that “you’re special.” Since printing the original batch, Drew has handed out over 18,000 cards and made so many others smile. The experiences that came from handing out the cards inspired Kathy to write a book, titled, You're Special: Daily Reflections from God's Children with Exceptionalities, released on December 11, 2022. It is a daily devotional that features Drew and many others with exceptionalities. You can also see some of Drew’s artwork via their foundation, Drew’s Rainbows, where they are helping other artists make a living as thriving artists. Enjoy this uplifting conversation with Matt and Kathy as she shares more about their journey and her realization that we all are quite perfect just as we are. The book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble where you will have the opportunity to embrace 365 days of reflections and embrace Drew's purposeful words: "You're Special." You can also view the video of this interview here - https://youtu.be/gdVcdvGINso

An unexpected illness has many effects, physically and mentally, on a patient and on loved ones who surround that patient. When kidney cancer came around for a 2nd fight in 2018 with Matt, he went searching for ways to cope. One of the most common attributes he found with those who were successfully fighting a disease or some type of adversity in their life, was gratitude. The gratitude stories inspired Matt to begin his own gratitude practice and to learn more about caring for what Dr. Roy Vongtama’s calls the four houses of health – the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual houses. Feeding, balancing and connecting these 4 houses has made a significant difference in Matt’s recovery journey, but as you might expect, there is more work to do. March is once again Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, bringing attention to the 68,000 new kidney cancer cases and 14,000 deaths that will hit in the United States alone this year, making it the 6th most common cancer among men. Listen in as Matt reviews his journey and the many lessons he has learned from the support that has surrounded him (you can also watch on YouTube here). His uplifting message about finding positivity and awesomeness in every day is inspiring and drives his mission to help others fighting kidney cancer. To get behind Matt and the charge he is leading to bring more attention and funding to kidney cancer research, please visit Matt’s Kidney Cancer Fundraising page below. On behalf of Matt’s family and all those battling, many thanks for your support and generosity. Support Kidney Cancer page.

Author Barbara Legere lost her 29 year old son Kevin to suicide in 2020. Kevin had been fighting a drug addition and his mental health for 13 years and Barbara did everything she knew how to do to help him recover and just love him. His life and the lessons Barbara learned from it inspired her to write a book called, Kevin's Choice, A Mother's Journey Through her Son's Mental Illness, Addiction and Suicide. Her hope is that the book will help other parents and teens who are suffering, shine a light on the warning signs (for those who think everything is fine), and prevent further loss. In 2021, there were over 100,000 lives that were taken from us who were just like Kevin. Her book and this interview are filled with tips and guidance for parents that might be dealing with similar issues. You can also learn more at www.barbaralegere.com/ and read about her latest book Talk to Me I'm Grieving: Supportive Ways to Help Someone Through Grief. Barbara would have done anything to save her son and his choice will never be easy to accept. But she often feels his presence, love and encouragement and that fuels Barbara to keep sharing, writing and speaking about ways she can help. She also lost another dear soul in her life named Anthony to a drug overdose and he also is part of her drive to be a source of strength and wisdom for anyone who will listen. Tune in for her candid interview with Matt. You listen to the audio version or view the interview on youtube.

Some life lessons we are forced to learn earlier than others. For Bryce Steele, he learned at age 17 that suffering is part of the journey and that bad things can happen to good people. In September of 2019, Bryce was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called thymoma, which after the initial treatment, would still return two more times. Cancer was not part of his plan of a being a future college linebacker. Initially, Bryce was recruited by over 30 schools around the country to play football including Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, and Tennessee, but cancer narrowed the list and ultimately, he was led to Boston College. When the cancer returned a 3rd time, surgery and treatment set him back physically but he has fought to defy all odds to return to the field. It was during one of his routine scans at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, that Bryce met Matt and Bill Moran in the waiting room. While they connected because of their cancer journeys and several mutual friendships, there was also an admiration and appreciation in how each was living and battling. Matt immediately saw the maturity, charisma, and faith of Bryce and the positivity he carried despite the battle. Prayers, support, this podcast, and some motivational words from Bill would just be part of the relationship that sprung from this chance meeting. In addition, the stories of both Matt and Bryce are being shared in an article appearing on the Jimmy Fund website. In conjunction with the article, a fundraising Giving Page was created to help fight cancer in honor of Matt and Bryce’s journey - http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/mattmoranandbrycesteele. Direct donations can be made there online, or by mail at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or by phone 800 525 4669.

Through the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, Bryce has been surrounded by love from his family, his girlfriend, the University, and from the staff at the Dana Farber Institute in Boston. We hope you will also join us in supporting, praying and perhaps donating. The 2024 football season is also just around the corner for Boston College so keep your eye out for number 2 for the Eagles, that's Bryce. He is courageously preparing and is optimistic about all that is ahead for his future.
The video version of this episode can be found here on Youtube.

Jessica Hanna has a faith that is truly inspiring. It’s this faith that has guided her and given her the strength to overcome many hurdles including a breast cancer diagnosis in 2020 right after learning she was pregnant with her 4th child. While she sought out and has been working with dedicated and talented physicians, it was her decision to truly be an advocate for her own health, which included doing research, getting 2nd opinions and ultimately trusting her heart and God, that led to the successful birth of her son. She is now helping others with her story who face cancer and pregnancy as well as just providing hope and a lift to anyone who might need it. Hope for Two is a network for women pregnant with cancer she recommends along with intentional prayer. It was through intentional prayer and community support that she battled a 13cm tumor and 41 positive lymph nodes which doctors assumed to be stage 4. Miraculously, after the birth of her son, her scans for metastasis were clear. Prayer also connected her to other sources of healing that have blessed her journey. Jessica and Matt will touch on the life of the Blessed Fr Solanus Casey, the healing she personally experienced and her efforts to help him be canonized. For more information about Bl. Fr. Solanus, check out his bio here and to pray for his cananization, go here. Lastly, for more about Jessica and her story, you can follow her on Instagram @Blessed_by_Cancer. From Sept 6-15, Jessica’s page will feature a Novena for Matt Moran. Please join us in praying for Matt over these 9 days leading up to his scans on Sept 15. We hope you enjoy this special episode with Jessica. Her story, her energy, and her desire to help others are amazing gifts!