Shows
Surviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsGetting an AICD: What the Surgery Felt Like From the Hospital BedGetting an AICD implanted is not just a procedure. It is the moment heart failure stops sounding like a diagnosis on paper and starts feeling real in your body. In this episode, I share what it was actually like to hear I needed an implantable defibrillator, wait in fear, go under the operating lights, feel the strange sensations no brochure mentions, and wake up with emergency hardware in my chest. This is not the polished hospital version. It is the patient version, the human version, for anyone facing an AICD implant and wanting the truth in plain language from...
2026-05-0120 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Day the Hospital Treated Me Like a Human BeingHospital visits can start to feel like rehearsed disappointment when you live with sarcoidosis, heart failure, and the long, exhausting reality of chronic illness. I know that feeling well. So when I went to Westchester Medical Center for a right heart catheterization and was met with kindness, answers, eye contact, and actual respect, it caught me completely off guard. In this episode, I talk about why simple human decency can change the emotional weight of a procedure, why bad attitudes linger in the body, and why compassion in healthcare is not some deluxe extra. Sometimes good care is not...
2026-04-2820 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsMiniCast: Stop Saying You’re Allergic to Bees (When You’re Really Just Terrified of Nature)Ever wonder why everyone suddenly claims they’re “allergic to bees”? In this cheeky yet heartfelt take from a chef living with chronic illness, I explore what our bee phobia really says about fear, faith, and city folks who panic at pollen. Spoiler: the bees aren’t the problem.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the...
2026-04-2504 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I Don’t Say I Suffer From SarcoidosisThe words we use for chronic illness matter more than most people realize. In this episode, I reflect on a question my wife asked back in 2011, a question that changed the way I talk about sarcoidosis, heart failure, and illness itself. I share why I’ve never been comfortable saying I “suffer from” my diagnoses, and why that distinction became about more than language. It became about dignity, identity, and survival. Chronic illness is exhausting, frightening, and sometimes brutal, but the words we repeat to ourselves can shape how we carry it, and whether we let it become the whole...
2026-04-2420 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Spring Returns to a Chronically Ill BodySpring has a way of looking hopeful while also trying to crawl directly into your sinuses. In this episode, I talk about what it means to live with sarcoidosis, heart issues, and the shifting realities of chronic illness through the seasons. This is about pollen, fatigue, beauty, grief, adaptation, and those quiet moments that still manage to feel like life. If you live with sarcoidosis, chronic illness, or love someone who does, this episode is a grounded look at how the body negotiates change while the world keeps blooming anyway.Send A Text To Tate...
2026-04-2115 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsMiniCast: The Day I Danced with a Monarch: A Reminder That Nature Still WinsAfter a week of rain and gray skies, I stepped outside and found myself face-to-face with a monarch butterfly—a rare, breathtaking sight that reminded me why we let dandelions grow and bees buzz in our yard. Here's why moments like these mean everything when you're living with chronic illness and still trying to find joy in the little things.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a qu...
2026-04-1803 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsCAR-T, Autoimmune Disease, and the Strange Hope of a One-Time TreatmentA treatment built for cancer is now doing something that sounds almost unreal in autoimmune disease. In this episode, I talk through a story about CAR-T cell therapy, a woman whose body had been attacking her from multiple directions, and the uneasy hope that comes with hearing the words remission, reset, and maybe even recovery. This isn’t a miracle story, because real bodies are messier than that. But it is a story about what it means when medicine stops just managing suffering and starts asking whether the whole system can be rebooted. And for people who live inside un...
2026-04-1714 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsYou Didn’t Deserve This: Sarcoidosis, Shame, and Letting Go of GuiltWhat happens when chronic illness shows up and your first instinct is to blame yourself? In this episode of Thoughts While Surviving Chronic Illness, Tate reflects on growing up with guilt, being taught to question himself, and how that old wiring followed him into life with sarcoidosis. This is a quiet, honest conversation about shame, fear, faith, and the heavy stories we attach to illness. If you have ever wondered whether you caused your condition, deserved your suffering, or somehow failed your own body, this episode is a reminder that illness is not punishment, and guilt is not something...
2026-04-1412 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Insurance Says No: A Sarcoidosis Story About Unexpected HelpChronic illness teaches you that control is often an illusion. Tests, insurance approvals, medications, and diagnoses can feel like they belong to systems far bigger than the person living inside the body.For someone living with sarcoidosis and heart complications, routine medical tests are never really routine. They can determine whether the disease is quiet… or quietly returning.But every once in a while something unexpected happens.A phone call.A decision made by someone behind the scenes.A moment where the system that usually feels rigid suddenly bends in...
2026-04-1013 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsChronic Illness, Sarcoidosis, and the Absurdity of Racial AssumptionsAfter writing about winter tearing up my hands and posting a photo of my cracked, bleeding knuckles, I got an email that was less compassionate and more confused that I was not the race the sender expected. This episode is about sarcoidosis, chronic illness, medical stereotypes, and the exhausting way people reduce human beings to categories instead of meeting them with empathy. It is about what happens when statistics stop being information and start becoming assumptions, and why people living with rare disease deserve to be seen as people first, not demographic surprises. Because pain is pain, illness is...
2026-04-0711 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen the New Pulmonologist Asked About a Lung Transplant, I Already Knew My AnswerAfter insurance forced me to leave the pulmonologist who had known my lungs for twenty years, a brand-new doctor asked a question that hit me like a dropped skillet: had anyone discussed putting me on the transplant list? If you live long enough with sarcoidosis and serious lung disease, transplant eventually enters the room. But hearing the question and wanting the answer to be yes are not the same thing. This episode is about that first appointment, the shock of being asked so bluntly, and why my answer was already there, waiting.Send A Text To Tate
2026-04-0319 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsRaised By Women, Tempered In Kitchens:How Respect Became My Quiet Rebellion (and Why I’m Done Laughing Along)I learned respect the slow way—by watching what happened when women spoke and men decided they were “too much.” By listening in kitchens where the food mattered more than the people making it. And by living long enough with sarcoidosis and heart failure to realize time is expensive, energy is limited, and “just ignore it” is the laziest advice on earth. This isn’t a victory speech or a halo-polishing session. It’s the story of how a kid who stayed quiet learned when silence starts sounding like agreement… and what finally made me stop swallowing my words....
2026-03-3113 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Dad Who Showed Up: Grief, Sarcoidosis, and the Inheritance of Dark HumorWhen you grow up learning who doesn’t show up, you start measuring love in smaller, sharper ways—like footsteps on a porch, a hand on your forehead at the school nurse’s office, or the kind of laughter that keeps you upright when your body (hello, sarcoidosis) is acting like it pays rent. This is about the dad I lost too soon—the one who earned the title—and the strange little lessons that followed me into adulthood… right up to cardiology appointments and the moments I have to decide whether I’m going to fold or make a joke...
2026-03-2715 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen My Heart Rebelled for Two Minutes—and My AICD Decided to Stay EmployedSome people collect souvenirs when they travel. I collect medical printouts. One routine cardiology visit handed me a neat little report, the kind that looks boring until you realize it’s basically a receipt for a moment your body tried to freestyle without permission. If you live with sarcoidosis and heart failure, you already know the feeling: you can be doing something painfully normal, and then your insides decide to audition for a disaster movie. This is the story of the day my heart tested the emergency system—and what it taught me about limits, denial, and why “I’m fine”...
2026-03-2417 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsVitamin D and Sarcoidosis: Why “Low Vitamin D Causes Inflammation” Headlines Don’t Tell the Whole StoryA new study claims low vitamin D may drive inflammation—but if you live with sarcoidosis, the story gets more complicated. Before reaching for supplements, there’s something important many headlines leave out.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply...
2026-03-2011 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Forgotten Days: What Living With Sarcoidosis Taught Me About the Ordinary Moments Between the MilestonesWe remember diagnoses, heartbreaks, and miracles—but what about the quiet days that carry us between them? Living with sarcoidosis has made me realize the most important parts of life might be the ones our memory quietly skips over.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read...
2026-03-1710 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsChasing Time: A Story From My Earlier Podcast, Pan to PenWelcome to nother bonus episode of short stories from my now closed podcast, "Pan to Pen."Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked to protect your privacy.If you’d like a repl...
2026-03-1405 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Feather Pillow Lesson: What an Old Story Teaches Us About Words, Reputation, and Living with SarcoidosisA simple story about a pillow full of feathers has been told for centuries by rabbis, monks, and priests. I heard it once on the radio and it stuck with me—especially as someone living with sarcoidosis, where words from doctors, strangers, and even ourselves can linger longer than we realize. But the real lesson in the story isn’t what you think.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like t...
2026-03-1209 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsCardiac Sarcoidosis and Sudden Death: The Disease That Can Hide in Plain SightSometimes sarcoidosis whispers instead of shouts. Someone can appear perfectly healthy, living their life, planning tomorrow… while something dangerous quietly hides in the heart. This episode reflects on a recent tragedy, a strange twist of fate, and the thin line between what doctors find… and what they don’t.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can...
2026-03-1008 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsFrom Pan To Pen: "Chasing Raindrops"This bonus short story is from my now closed podcast, "Pan to Pen: A Storytelling Podcast."Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked to protect your privacy.If you’d like a repl...
2026-03-0707 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Faith Turns Into a Shortcut: Why “Thank You, Jesus” Isn’t Always Enough for Chronic Illness.I read a lot of chronic illness blogs—part coping strategy, part writerly snooping—and I keep running into the same pattern: the urge to turn suffering into a spiritual trophy. Living with sarcoidosis has taught me faith can be a lifeline, but it can also become a convenient little crutch… the kind that looks holy while quietly stealing your agency. This one might make you laugh, sigh, or clutch your pearls—possibly all three.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The word...
2026-03-0514 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsSo You Still Think Covid Is Just a Bad Flu? Think Again: Why This Chef With Sarcoidosis Still Wears a MaskYou think Covid was just a bad flu and “done with”? Let me tell you why that belief didn’t exactly age well — especially if you’re someone living with sarcoidosis or any chronic illness where every breath matters. I’ll get personal, a little sarcastic, and explain why I still mask up even when the world says “move along.”Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought ab...
2026-03-0306 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsFrom Pan To Pen: Be Patient CruiseA Bonus story episode from my now closed podcast, "Pan To Pen: A Storytelling Podcast."Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked to protect your privacy.If you’d like a reply...
2026-02-2808 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe High Price of Staying Alive: Sarcoidosis, Chronic Illness, Insurance, and America’s Health Care Circus.Ever notice how sarcoidosis doesn’t just come for your lungs (or your heart, if it’s feeling ambitious)—it comes for your calendar, your energy, and your bank account too? This is the story of what “good insurance” looks like when the bills have six digits, the premiums creep up like a horror-movie soundtrack, and you realize staying alive in America is a subscription plan you never asked for… but can’t cancel.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived expe...
2026-02-2616 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen an Editor is A CROOK: A Cautionary Tale for WritersWhen you’re a writer with chronic illness juggling deadlines, the last thing you expect is your editor ghosting you mid-contract. This cautionary tale dives into how one “faith-filled” editor turned out to be a crook—and what every writer, especially those managing sarcoidosis or other chronic conditions, can learn about protecting themselves (and their wallet).Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thou...
2026-02-2404 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsBONUS EPISODE: From Pan To Pen: A Chunky Monkey FriendshipThis is a bonus episode. A Story from my now closed "Pan to Pen: A Storytelling Podcast"Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked to protect your privacy.If you’d like a...
2026-02-2108 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsLiving With Heart Failure And An AICDIn 2007, a routine heart procedure turned into a life-changing diagnosis: heart failure. Nineteen years later, I’m still here—living with sarcoidosis, a defibrillator in my chest, and the constant awareness that my next heartbeat might depend on a tiny piece of metal and code. This is what surviving with an AICD really feels like—equal parts miracle, nuisance, and reminder to keep going.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like t...
2026-02-1913 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsCOMING SOON: Stories From "Pan To Pen"I am sharing stories from my other podcast on this platform soon.Send a textConnect with me via BlueSky Social or at https://tatebasildon.com
2026-02-1800 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Real Cost of Breathing: Portable Oxygen, Inogen, and the “Pay-to-Inhale” Price Tag.Living with sarcoidosis taught me a weird truth: the harder you work to keep your life normal, the more the system charges you for it. Portable oxygen was supposed to mean freedom—walks, errands, road trips, maybe even a little joy—until I met the fine print, the upsells, and the “special charger” that costs more than my first apartment’s microwave. If you’ve ever felt like breathing comes with a subscription fee, this one’s for you.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI vo...
2026-02-1713 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen the Bank Meeting Ended in a Truck BedEver wondered what happens when an 18-year-old bank manager gets peer-pressured into a “mandatory meeting” that turns out to be rum shots and card games? Here’s the messy, hilarious, and surprisingly life-defining story of my first and only time getting drunk—complete with spinning rooms, questionable decisions, and one disgusted girlfriend (now wife).Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can te...
2026-02-1216 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsGratitude Beats Complaining When Your ICD Is Busy Keeping You Alive (Yes, I Said It)Living with sarcoidosis and an ICD means my chest has a tiny, judgmental hall monitor clocking my heart 24/7—so I’m fascinated (and slightly alarmed) by how many of us still choose to spend our limited energy angrily shaking our fists at modern medicine. If you’ve ever felt tempted to make complaining your full-time job, this is your gentle, sarcastic nudge to look at what’s actually keeping you here.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my o...
2026-02-1015 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy My Kindle Will Always Win Over Physical BooksAs a chef, writer, and lifelong bookworm living with chronic illness, I’ve discovered that my Kindle isn’t just a gadget—it’s freedom. Between hospital visits, late-night writing sessions, and lazy Sundays with my pets, it lets me carry an entire library in my pocket without the weight or the guilt of unread stacks. Here’s why I’ll always choose my Kindle over physical books and why e-readers might be the best invention since espresso.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI...
2026-02-0604 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy Cooking Shows Might Be Ruining Dinner (and Your Sanity)If you’ve ever tried to recreate a TV chef’s “simple” dinner and ended up wondering if you accidentally auditioned for a survival show, you’re not alone. As someone juggling sarcoidosis, heart failure, and a full-time chef life, let’s just say I’ve learned exactly how misleading those glossy cooking programs can be. And no—I’m still not over the raw chicken incident.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to...
2026-02-0307 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy Self-Worth Isn’t Measured in Dollars: Finding True Value Beyond the Bank AccountIn a world obsessed with celebrity net worths and Instagram wealth, it’s easy to forget that our true value isn’t tied to money but to character, compassion, and integrity. As someone living with chronic illness, I’ve learned that self-worth has nothing to do with how much you earn—and everything to do with how deeply you live.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to sh...
2026-01-3004 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Faith Becomes a Wall: Choosing Peace Over Painful Family ReunionsWhen religion divides families, sometimes the kindest thing you can do is stop trying to fix what faith has fractured. As a chef living with chronic illness and a full plate of chaos, I’ve learned that peace is sacred—and you can’t pray someone into respecting your boundaries.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text...
2026-01-2704 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsRoller Skating With Sarcoidosis: Grieving My Old Body (Without Turning It Into a Life SentencI saw a guy land a ridiculous roller-skating trick in a beach town and my brain immediately volunteered my body for a stunt it absolutely did not agree to. Living with sarcoidosis has taught me that nostalgia can be sweet, savage, and weirdly funny—and sometimes the bravest move is not proving anything at all.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the epis...
2026-01-2312 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Strangers Grab Your Phone, And Take A Piece Of Your Life With ItEver had someone snatch your phone while you were just trying to show them a picture? Twice in one day, it hit me how much of my entire life—accounts, passwords, memories, even my brain power—now lives inside this little iPhone. As a chef with sarcoidosis and heart failure who once memorized entire bank account numbers and directions without GPS, I’m wrestling with the good, bad, and ridiculous sides of tech dependence.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and li...
2026-01-2006 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsHow Quitting the News Saved My Sanity (and Why You Might Want to Try It Too)After years of drowning in headlines, outrage, and “breaking news” pings, I finally unplugged—and discovered that peace, calm, and mental clarity are a lot more satisfying than doomscrolling. Here’s how quitting the news improved my mental health, lowered my stress, and helped me start living again.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link i...
2026-01-1604 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I Stopped Watching The Last of Us on MaxSend A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked to protect your privacy.If you’d like a reply, or want to share more about your experience with sarcoidosis or chronic illness, please use the contac...
2026-01-1302 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Life Cancels Your Walk and Sends a Rainbow Instead.A chef living with chronic illness discovers that sometimes life’s soggy disappointments lead to unexpected beauty—like when a canceled dog walk turns into a rainbow moment that slaps you with perspective. A story about resilience, humor, and finding color in the drizzle.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episod...
2026-01-0903 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsSwimming with Jellyfish: A Childhood Memory of Risk, Wonder, and the SeaAs a child, I dove into a jellyfish-filled cove off the Atlantic coast, defying fear and instinct. In this personal mini memoir, I explore the unforgettable day the ocean chose not to sting me—blending themes of childhood courage, memory, and our mystical bond with nature.To Comment, please visit https://tatebasildon.com/2025/05/21/swimming-with-danger/Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the...
2026-01-0606 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsStop Saying These “Compliments” — They’re Not Kind, They’re Just LoudSome of the most painful moments don’t come from cruelty, but from “kindness” said out loud without a second thought. Living with sarcoidosis has taught me that certain compliments land more like paper cuts than comfort—and once you hear them, you can’t un-hear them.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the...
2026-01-0107 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsLearning to Sit With the Quiet: How Silence Became My Survival Skill While Living With SarcoidosisLiving with sarcoidosis has a way of changing how you hear the world. When your body is already loud with symptoms, appointments, and internal negotiations, silence stops feeling empty and starts feeling necessary. This reflection explores how quiet moments—unexpected, unplanned, and deeply human—became one of my most reliable survival tools.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text t...
2025-12-3007 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen TikTok “Doctors” Go Rogue: Real Healing Isn’t a TrendHerbal and homeopathic medicine can absolutely help chronic illness like sarcoidosis and heart failure—but TikTok wellness hacks and unverified “miracle cures” are another story. In a world where influencers push detoxes, conspiracies, and half-baked science, it’s time to talk about what real healing looks like—and why you should trust research, not ring lights.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick though...
2025-12-2604 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsDear Prudence, Who Hurt You? When Online Advice Goes Off the Rails and Lands in a Pot of MushSome days, while easing into the morning and pretending the world makes sense, I stumble across online advice so astonishing it makes sarcoidosis feel like the most logical part of my life. And recently, “Dear Prudence” delivered guidance so unhinged—I had to sit there blinking like a confused owl, wondering who exactly we’ve trusted with our emotional emergencies.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick th...
2025-12-2308 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe “What If” Game and the Man Who Didn’t Know He Was Sick YetThere was a version of me in 2002—forty years old, a working chef, exhausted in ways that made no logical sense, and listening to doctors insist that every alarming symptom was “stress.” Now that sarcoidosis is a familiar part of my vocabulary, looking back on that time feels like watching a movie where you want to yell at the character to turn around. Revisiting that moment made me rethink the “what if” game entirely and wonder how differently life looks when you finally know what your body was trying to tell you.Send A Text To Ta...
2025-12-1906 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Vacation That Tried to Break Me (But I’m Still Here, Sarcoidosis and All)Living with sarcoidosis can feel like starring in a long-running medical sitcom where the plot twists pop up at the most inconvenient times, including when you’re on vacation trying to rest. Without giving too much away, let’s just say my quiet beach getaway took an unexpected turn—and you’ll have to read the full post to see how a simple trip turned into something far stranger.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own....
2025-12-1608 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhat You Don’t See: A Chef’s Reflection on Living With SarcoidosisLiving with sarcoidosis is like starring in a medical drama no one else can see—one where you look perfectly fine on the outside while your organs do the cha-cha backstage. Back in 2011, when all of this felt new and terrifying, I kept most of it to myself. Now, looking back from 2025, I can’t help but revisit how invisible everything looked… especially to everyone who insisted I “didn’t look sick.” There’s a lot more to the story, but you’ll have to come inside for the rest.Send A Text To TateSupport the show...
2025-12-1204 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsMaybe Your Life’s Purpose Isn’t Huge—But It’s Still EnoughBetween the dishes, the meds, and the chaos of chronic illness, it’s easy to wonder if you were meant for something bigger. But what if your true purpose isn’t grand at all—just one quiet, human act that changes everything? This heartfelt reflection explores finding meaning in small kindnesses while living with sarcoidosis and all of life’s messy imperfections.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a...
2025-12-0905 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I Don’t Complain: A Chef’s Guide to Surviving Chronic Illness Without Losing My Mind (or My Manners).Living with chronic illness and heart failure has taught me one thing—complaining doesn’t fix a damn thing. As a chef juggling sarcoidosis, a leaky heart, and life’s general nonsense, I’ve learned that silence isn’t denial—it’s survival. Here’s how I stopped whining, started adapting, and found a strange kind of peace in just getting on with it.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a...
2025-12-0504 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I Walked Away From Support Groups (And Found My Voice Instead)Living with sarcoidosis is already its own exhausting full-time job, so the idea of a support group sounded…promising. Or at least not disastrous. But back in the early 2010s, when my lungs and heart were misbehaving like rebellious teenagers, the search for “people like me” turned into something far stranger than comforting. I won’t spoil the whole story here, but let’s just say it involved Christmas ornaments, long train rides, and me realizing the person I actually needed to find was somewhere else entirely. Maybe someone like you.Send A Text To TateSupport...
2025-12-0205 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhen Hospital Check-In Feels Like an Interrogation: A Chef, an MRI, and Too Many Personal QuestionsBefore my MRI next week, a simple online check-in turned into a bizarre quiz about my private life, sprinkled with the usual sarcoidosis-related precautions—but what came next left me blinking at the screen and wondering who exactly was getting scanned here. Let’s just say the questions took a turn I did not see coming.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick...
2025-11-2805 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsLosing My Voice but Not My Humor: Living With Sarcoidosis, Symbicort, and a Stubborn Set of LungsSarcoidosis may steal your breath, your energy, and—if you’re lucky—your voice, but it can’t take your sense of humor. As a chef living with chronic illness and heart failure, I’ve learned to navigate breathing tests, inhalers, and vocal cord drama with sarcasm, garlic, and a pinch of grit. Here’s what happens when Symbicort and I go another round in the fight for air—and why I still keep cooking, writing, and laughing through it all.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI vo...
2025-11-2504 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe New Trend in Unhygienic: 72-Hour Deodorant and the Death of Daily ShowersSend A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked to protect your privacy.If you’d like a reply, or want to share more about your experience with sarcoidosis or chronic illness, please use the contac...
2025-11-2002 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe Night I Met My Inner Warrior: A Mini MemoirAt sixteen, a quiet walk home turned into the scariest night of my life — and the moment I found the fighter hiding inside me. What began as terror became transformation, proving that courage doesn’t wait for permission. This is the story of how I went from frozen in fear to running on pure fire.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episod...
2025-11-1702 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe $280,000 Question: Do I Change My Doctors or My Insurance?When your doctors of twenty years suddenly drop your insurance, sarcoidosis and heart failure become the least of your problems. Here’s what happens when loyalty meets bureaucracy, and why choosing between good doctors and great insurance feels like gambling with your health—and your sanity.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the...
2025-11-1303 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsThe War After the War: A Chef’s Salute to Veterans, Especially the Forgotten Ones.On Veterans Day, I find myself thinking about the soldiers who fought in wars they never chose—especially the Vietnam vets who came home to rejection instead of honor. As someone living with sarcoidosis and heart failure, I understand battles that never really end. This is a personal thank-you to those who fought for a country that didn’t always fight for them.Comment hereSend A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my o...
2025-11-1004 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I'd Rather Crawl Than Ask For Help: A Chronic Illness RealityLiving with sarcoidosis and heart failure has taught me many things—chief among them? Asking for help often leads to more stress than it’s worth. If you’re chronically ill, fiercely independent, or just tired of being disappointed by well-meaning offers gone sideways, this one’s for you.Subscribe or comment hereSend A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, y...
2025-11-0604 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsI’ll Take My Coffee With Oat milk And Zero Judgement. Thanks.Coffee snobs may insist that “real coffee lovers” drink it black, but I’m here to say flavor and joy matter more than bitterness and bravado. Whether it’s a caramel macchiato, a hazelnut oat milk latte, or a straight-up espresso shot, coffee is personal—and your morning cup doesn’t need anyone’s approval to be real.Comments: https://tatebasildon.com/2025/05/09/coffee-love-oat-milk-vs-black-coffee-debate/Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to...
2025-11-0303 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I Absolutely Can’t Stand Halloween (And What It Says About Us)As a chef battling sarcoidosis and heart failure, debris from a life that refuses to behave, I’m here to tell you why Halloween — creepy skeletons, gore-fest lawns, serial-killer mannequin dioramas and all — feels wrong in a way that psychology backs up. If you’ve ever felt alienated by the “fun” of Halloween or want to understand why it grates on your nerves (and mine), read on for a mix of sarcasm, heart, and insight into fear, ritual and chronic illness living.To leave a comment, please go to https://tatebasildon.com/?p=10824Send A Text To Tate...
2025-10-3105 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsSilence, Sass, and Self-Control: How I Learned Not to Clap Back at Every Rude ReceptionistTired of rude medical staff and customer service that feels more like combat? As a private chef living with sarcoidosis and heart failure, I’ve learned that silence and self-control—not clapbacks—are my best defense against everyday negativity. Here’s how staying calm transformed my life, my work, and even landed me a management job.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episod...
2025-10-3005 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsWhy I Ditched PillPack: The Truth About Mail-Order Pharmacies and Medication Chaos.After six months of delayed shipments, missing meds, and endless insurance headaches, I finally ditched Amazon’s PillPack and went back to my local pharmacy. If you live with chronic illness or juggle multiple prescriptions, here’s what you should know before trusting your meds to a mail-order pharmacy.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using...
2025-10-2703 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsRediscovering Joy: Why Asterix & Obelix Became My Unexpected Chronic Illness TherapyLiving with chronic illness can be exhausting—but sometimes, the best medicine isn’t in a prescription bottle. For me, it came in the form of two tiny Gauls named Asterix and Obelix. This heartfelt reflection explores how nostalgia, humor, and childhood comfort shows like Asterix & Obelix help me cope with sarcoidosis, heart failure, and the unpredictable chaos of chronic illness.Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share...
2025-10-2704 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsCooking Through the Chaos: My Life With Sarcoidosis, Heart Failure & Debut Novel DreamsI’m a chef, husband, pet-parent, and emerging novelist living with pulmonary sarcoidosis, heart failure and the wild ride of long-term prednisone treatment. If you’re juggling a chronic illness, creative ambitions and ordinary life chaos—you’re in the right place. Let’s talk survival, cooking, writing and finding hope in the hidden kitchen of chronic illness.To leave a comment, please click hereIf the link is broken, copy and paste the following address into your browser: https://tatebasildon.com/2025/03/31/cooking-through-chaos-sarcoidosis-heart-failure-writing-life/Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis...
2025-10-2704 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsNineteen Years Since Diagnosis: My Open Lung Biopsy StoryNineteen years after my sarcoidosis diagnosis, I’m finally sharing the story of my open lung biopsy—the surgery that changed everything. From failed bronchoscopy to five hours on the operating table, this brutally honest account reveals what recovery from an open lung biopsy really feels like. If you’re preparing for surgery or living with sarcoidosis, here’s the unfiltered truth doctors rarely mention.Please leave a comment hereIf the link is broken, please copy and paste this address into your browser: https://tatebasildon.com/2025/05/10/eighteen-years-since-diagnosis-my-open-lung-biopsy-story/Send A Text T...
2025-10-2704 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsTrailerIn this deeply personal and often darkly funny podcast, Tate Basildon shares stories about life, chronic illness, and the fragile art of keeping hope alive when the body doesn’t always cooperate. From hospital rooms to kitchen tables, each episode blends honesty, humor, and reflection — exploring what it really means to live fully when every breath is borrowed. Whether you’re living with chronic illness or just trying to stay human in a complicated world, you’ll find a mix of heart, resilience, and the occasional sarcastic laugh.VyF1dY4i9vcmTMeVdEjoTo contact me, please v...
2025-10-2701 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsAbout MeWelcome. Let’s get to know each other. First, I’ll tell you a little about me., and then it’s your turn to share in the comments. Send A Text To TateSupport the showThis podcast is narrated using an AI voice. The words, reflections, and lived experience are my own.If you’d like to share a quick thought about the episode, you can text the show using the link in the episode notes. I read every message, but I can’t reply by text because your number is blocked t...
2025-10-2104 minSurviving Chronic Illness: Life in a Body That RebelsTrailerIn this deeply personal and often darkly funny podcast, Tate Basildon shares stories about life, chronic illness, and the fragile art of keeping hope alive when the body doesn’t always cooperate. From hospital rooms to kitchen tables, each episode blends honesty, humor, and reflection — exploring what it really means to live fully when every breath is borrowed. Whether you’re living with chronic illness or just trying to stay human in a complicated world, you’ll find a mix of heart, resilience, and the occasional sarcastic laugh.Send A Text To TateSuppor...
2025-10-2001 min
The Luke and Pete ShowThe Beef Paste Andrew TateLuke is stunned and offended by Pete's bombshell revelation that he can no longer make their planned evening out at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon to see Kerry Katona and Katie Price in conversation. An emotional plea to the Luke and Pete Show community to step into the breach as replacements is the only logical solution.Elsewhere, there's strong opinions on the idea of pasta for lunch, the worst foods for burps, and Pete makes a strong case for being the nation's first beef paste ambassador. It's all in a day's work.Email...
2025-09-2230 min
Pan To Pen: A Storytelling PodcastBonus: Author Interview With Contessa ThorntonSend a textToday, we interview Contessa Thorton, the debut author of the audiobook "It's In The Bio." The book is available on Audible, Apple Books, Google Play, or from Contessa's Website.Contessa can be found on Facebook, Instagram, X, and BlueSky Social.The link to her YouTube page is here.To leave a review, comment, or idea, access transcripts, and communicate with Tate, please visit us at https://www.pantopen.com
2024-12-1123 min