Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected

About Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected

Well, That Got Medical™: A Holyoaks Rise™ Podcast When life gets medical, families are often left trying to understand a world they never expected to enter. Hosted by Amanda Holyoak, BSN, RNC-NIC, CNBE-H—a NICU nurse, medical mom, and mother of five—Well, That Got Medical™ brings together honest stories from people who have lived it, helpful answers from people who know it, and practical conversations about figuring it out along the way. From the NICU and medically complex parenting to rare diagnoses, chronic illness, disability, caregiving, advocacy, family relationships, and life after crisis, this podcast explores both the medical realities and the deeply human experience behind them. You’ll hear: • Lived It — honest stories from patients, parents, siblings, and caregivers
• Know It — approachable guidance from healthcare professionals and experts
• Figure It Out — practical help for navigating appointments, decisions, resources, relationships, and everyday medical-family life
• Rise — meaningful stories of resilience, identity, purpose, and rebuilding after the unexpected This is not about pretending hard things are easy or wrapping every story in a perfect ending. It is about helping medical families feel informed, understood, and less alone. Stories from people who’ve lived it. Answers from people who know it. Let’s figure it out together. Well, That Got Medical™ is part of Holyoaks Rise™—Medical Families Rising Together. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday.

Publisher

Amanda Holyoak

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Feb 2026

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

33 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   33) Diamond-Blackfan Anemia, CVID & a Bone Marrow Transplant | McKindree’s Story of Hope, Part 1

   Mckindree is a BEAUTIFUL soul! Such hope and strength that I hope touches the hearts of those who need it. McKindree and her family traveled across the country looking for answers. Living with Diamond-Blackfan anemia and common variable immune deficiency (CVID), meant blood transfusions every three weeks and another treatment every month starting at age 11. Eventually, she needed a bone marrow transplant. What followed was harrowing: a ten-month hospital stay, three months she remembers very little of, and several times when she nearly died. In her words, just about everything that could go wrong did. McKindree was a teenager—old enough to understand that what was happening was serious, but still young enough to struggle with what it could mean for the rest of her life. In Part 1, she shares the trauma of that experience, what she and her family endured, and what it was like to grow up afterward. She also talks about having her eggs harvested in the hope of building a family someday. Part 2 picks up as McKindree and her husband begin planning that future together next week on “Well, That Got Medical.” TM Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

2. 

   23 Sept 2026

   32) Well, That Got Medical: A New Chapter for Medical Families

   There’s a new name and new artwork in your podcast feed: Holyoaks Rise is becoming Well, That Got Medical: A Holyoaks Rise Podcast. Why the change? After talking with medical families and experts—and living on both sides of the bedside as a NICU nurse and medical mom—I’ve gotten clearer about who this show is here to serve. In this episode, I share what “Well, That Got Medical” means, why a diagnosis or medical event can change life for an entire family, and why Holyoaks Rise remains the heart behind the podcast. Medical families come in all varieties. You might be navigating the NICU, chronic illness, disability, rare disease, mental health needs, complex care, or caregiving. Whatever brought you here, I want this to be a place where you can bring the questions you’re trying to figure out. Going forward, you’ll hear stories from people who’ve lived it, answers from people who know it, and conversations that help us figure things out together. There’s still room for resilience, humor, hope, and the many ways families rise through the unexpected. If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been listening since Holyoaks Rise began, I’m glad you’re coming with me. Follow for more rise stories. Warm Memories - Emotional Inspiring Piano by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

3. 

   8 Sept 2026

   31) When the Crisis Is Over..but You’re Not: The Aftermath of Hard Things

   What happens when the crisis is finally over… but you don’t feel okay yet? We spend so much time talking about how to survive hard things that we rarely talk about what happens afterward. The hospital stay ends. The baby comes home. Treatment is finished. The divorce is final. The caregiving season changes. You make it through burnout, grief, job loss, financial hardship, a major life transition, or simply a season that took more out of you than you expected. Everyone else moves on—but sometimes you’re still living in the aftermath. In this episode of Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected, Amanda explores the emotional and practical aftermath of difficult seasons: delayed emotions, exhaustion, unexpected triggers, changed relationships, lingering responsibilities, and the strange realization that surviving something and recovering from it are two very different things. We talk about why you can be grateful and still struggle, why emotions sometimes show up after the emergency has passed, why “getting back to normal” isn’t always the goal, and what it can actually look like to rebuild after life doesn’t go according to plan. This episode also marks a broader chapter for Holyoaks Rise. While Amanda’s experiences as a NICU nurse, medical mom, adoptive mom, and caregiver will always be part of the show, Holyoaks Rise is about something bigger: resilience in all its forms. Going forward, we’ll explore inspiring true stories, remarkable people from history, the science and psychology of resilience, medical and caregiving experiences, family and relationships, failure and starting over, unexpected life transitions, and conversations with people who have faced something they never planned for—and found a way forward. Because the unexpected isn’t only medical. It can be losing something you thought was permanent. Starting over when you thought you’d have life figured out by now. Facing a fear. Caring for someone you love. Watching a dream change. Failing. Rebuilding. Discovering a strength you didn’t know you had. Or simply waking up one day and realizing: This is not how I thought my life was going to go. The circumstances may be different, but the question at the heart of Holyoaks Rise remains the same: What happened when life didn’t go according to plan—and how did you rise? If you’re navigating the aftermath of a hard season, recovering from burnout or a crisis, adjusting to a major life change, supporting someone you love, or simply looking for stories of hope and human resilience, this episode is for you. Because sometimes the rise doesn’t happen during the crisis. Sometimes the crisis ends, everyone goes home—and that’s where the rise begins. 🎙️ Holyoaks Rise: Stories of Rising Through the Unexpected Hosted by Amanda Holyoak

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

14 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.