Our faith tells us we are not alone and that we travel together with OUR GOD through difficult times
—Monsignor James C. Vlaun
This past season of Family Comes First™ has been inspirational and filled with stories of hardship and triumph. On this show, “The Best of Season 10”, we will take look back on the families and valuable resources presented during this season.
Our guests on these past 5 shows are so courageous. They remind us that there is a silver lining to every cloud.
Drug abuse and addiction is a chronic, compulsive, relapsing disorder that almost always requires formal treatment. Drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death of Americans under age 50. In 2016, 62,000 Americans died from overdoses. By comparison, the figure was 4,000 in 1999.
During this episode of Family Comes First™, “Fighting Addiction (Part Two)”, we hear from Linda Ventura and Teri Kroll who both lost their son’s due to addiction. Since then, they have both become fierce advocates against drugs.
Resources
In 2014, over 21 million Americans age 12 and older battled substance abuse. Tragically, only 1 in 10 with a substance abuse problem receives the help that they need. There’s clearly a drug epidemic in this country. Families are being devastated by the opioid and heroin addiction, but there is hope!
On this episode of Family Comes First, “Fighting Addiction: Part 1”, we hear from a parent, Eileen Boyle whose son, Timothy is fighting addiction, and her friend and advocate against drugs, Teri Kroll. Also on the show, we learn about Talbot House, a resource for those struggling with addiction from the program coordinator, Toni DeFelice.
We all respond differently to the loss of a loved one. How does someone take a truly tragic situation and turn it into a lifelong crusade of good and of love?
On this new episode of Family Comes First™, “In Sickness and in Health”, we hear about a love story that continues and inspires teenagers heading to college who have experienced the tragedy of cancer.
When Joe Satriano lost his wife, Susan to cancer, he decided to document their story. His book, “In Sickness and in Health” shares their love story. The proceeds from the book along with his own funds are used to provide scholarships for children who have either lost a parent to cancer or have a parent who is battling cancer through the Susan Satriano Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
Resources
In today’s world, there’s often a stigma that the world of sports is closed to people with disabilities, but that is not the case. There are many organizations that support athletes with disabilities, such as USA Volleyball.
During this brand new episode of Family Comes First™, “Going for Gold”, we hear from Paralympic gold medalist, Lora Webster. Lora won her gold medal in Rio at the 2016 games for sitting volleyball.
Lora experienced some knee pain when she was younger and soon after, found out she had a tumor. At 11 years old, the doctors gave her the choice of which surgery she would like to get rid of the tumor and live with for the rest of her life.
Lora being an active child, never gave up on sports, even after the surgery. When she was scouted for sitting volleyball in high school, Lora was weary at first, then she realized how challenging the sport was and decided she was up for the task. “…people believe that it’s a watered-down version of the regular able-bodied sport when in fact, most adaptive sports are much harder than able-bodied sports.”
Bullying happens far too often.
Oftentimes when someone, often a child, is perceived as different or weak, they can too often become a target for bullies. While most bullying occurs in school and in the community when children gather, cyberbullying is also becoming more prevalent as cell phones and social media become more popular amongst younger children.
During this brand new episode of Family Comes First™, “No Laughing Matter”, we hear firsthand from Presley Mahos and her father, Paul about Presley’s experience with bullying and how she was able to overcome the negative attention. Later on the show, Katie Schumacher, author of Don’t Press Send joins us to share how we can be proactive and take a stand against bullying.
