1581: Type 1 Diabetes, Cancer, and Resilience with Paula Aldis

Paula Aldis shows how relentless medical trauma can become a path back to real happiness. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 12, she later faced gastroparesis, vision loss, thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, amputation, and over 30 surgeries. She learned to respond quickly when something felt wrong, get tests, and focus on what she could still do. After malpractice, family crises, and a collapsing marriage, her mental state hit a breaking point. In a hospital bed, she opened her phone notes and wrote her memoir in one week. Writing helped her stop retelling scattered pieces and see the full strength of her story. The most useful takeaway is to handle one crisis at a time while protecting the relationships and places that make life worth living.