31 Years of Support: Why Jeff Parker Says ‘You Don’t Have to Do It Alone’
SUMMARY At 25, Jeff Parker was a weightlifter in country New South Wales. A week later, he was paralysed from the waist down by a tumour in his spinal cord no doctor had seen coming. In this episode of Golden Threads, host Daniel Dougherty sits down with Jeff — now 61, blind, an NDIS advocate, […]
My sister’s disability changed everything I thought I wanted
Alyssa Chhim-Michelle grew up in a Cambodian Australian family shaped by her parents’ escape from genocide. When she learned her father carried a rare genetic condition, she faced an impossible choice about her own future. Now as her sister’s caregiver, she confronts the gap between family duty and the life she wants to build. Alyssa […]
One page, one person: Cathy Hockey on disability inclusion and what it really takes to lead
The one-page profile that changed everything ⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief, which some listeners may find distressing. If you need support, you’re not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au Eighteen years ago, Cathy took a job leading a small employment program for people with intellectual […]
Just Say Hello First | Leanne Watson | Kintsugi Heroes Shorts
The most inclusive thing you can do for someone with a disability is also the simplest — just say hello. Leanne Watson lives with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and has spent years navigating well-meaning but unhelpful interactions. In this clip she breaks down the practical, everyday ways you can include someone — without assumptions, without […]
I Didn’t Ask for Your Prayers | Leanne Watson | Kintsugi Heroes Shorts
A stranger walked up and started praying over her — without asking, without warning. Leanne Watson lives with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and has experienced her share of well-intentioned but deeply awkward moments in public. This clip captures one of the most striking: being approached in a hotel foyer and having someone pray over her […]
The weight of letting go | Naomi O’Byrne | Golden Threads
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief, which some listeners may find distressing. If you need support, you’re not alone — help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au Naomi O’Byrne’s story spans 27 years of motherhood shaped by her daughter Sarah’s complex disabilities. What began as discovering developmental delays […]
Sally Pymer on Learning to See the Person
The person, not the disability ⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses addiction, grief, which some listeners may find distressing. If you need support, you’re not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au Raised in a family where her brother Jeffrey had severe disabilities, Sally learned early to see […]
A Life in Three Acts with Muscular Dystrophy | Leanne Watson | Golden Threads | Kintsugi Heroes
In this moving episode of Golden Threads: Stories of Disability and Resilience, host Daniel Dougherty shares an intimate conversation with Leanne Watson, a remarkable woman living with limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). Leanne opens up about her life journey, from a privileged upbringing in Melbourne to the gradual physical challenges posed by her diagnosis. This […]
Julie Fisher: A Mother’s Advocacy, Down Syndrome, and the Glue That Holds a Family Together
Two years before Julie Fisher fell pregnant with her third child, the universe set her up. She’d just become friends with a woman named Tina, whose daughter Amy had Down syndrome. Julie had never met anyone with Down syndrome before. She watched Amy in the playground. She asked questions. And one of the answers — […]
Golden Threads: Stories of Disability & Resilience @kintsugiheroes Coming Soon
New Podcast Series Coming Soon ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎙️ ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit Australian podcast network sharing real stories of resilience, disability, and transformation. Named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — the philosophy that what’s been broken can become more beautiful for the mending — every episode […]