Living With Chronic Pain and Refusing to Stop with Denise Howell

Denise Howell was told she'd never walk the same again. She became a fitness trainer anyway. After shattering her ankle in 2007 and being diagnosed with a rare genetic disease, one that only 1 in 1.7 million people have ever had, Denise built Bodies by Design, launched a podcast called The Grit of the Matter, and now goes live on 5 platforms simultaneously, 5 days a week at 7AM Central. She does it all while managing daily pain, a progressive disease that keeps moving to new parts of her body, and doctors who told her it was in her head. This episode is for anyone who's been gaslit by a doctor, dismissed because of their limitations, or told there's a ceiling on what their body can do. Denise doesn't push through pain because she ignores it. She pushes through it because she refuses to let it define her, and she'll show you how to do the same. In this episode: 🔥 The Preview: "Don't Apologize For Your Limitations" - Always be your own advocate. You know your body. If you feel something, keep pushing for the right answers. Denise opens the episode with the words she wishes someone had said to her years ago. 💪 Bodies by Design Origin Story: From a shattered ankle in 2007 to a rare disease diagnosis in 2014 to an ankle replacement in 2023. How Denise went from barely walking to becoming a certified fitness trainer, not to build a brand, but to save her own body. 🌐 Going Online & Launching The Grit of the Matter: Why Denise left in-person training after her replacement surgery, what she found when she moved everything online, and how this podcast was born. ⚖️ Push Through or Rest? How to Actually Know: The trainer's framework for when to keep going and when to back off, especially when you live with chronic pain and your baseline is different from everyone else's. 📱 Why She Goes Live 5 Days a Week: The real reason Denise shows up every morning on 5 platforms at once, what she's actually doing when she works out with strangers on the internet, and what a quadriplegic client once told her that changed everything. 🏥 Medical Gaslighting Is Real: An autopsy found decades of severe endometriosis labeled as "medical anxiety." Denise has been told it's in her head more times than she can count. What to do when doctors don't believe you. 🔤 What GRIT Actually Stands For: Grace. Resilience. Intentional. Trust. Thrive. The acronym behind her brand, and why one step forward counts as thriving. 🛡️ How to Advocate for Yourself When Doctors Dismiss You: Don't let it defeat you. Find your people. Keep pushing for answers. Denise shares exactly what kept her going when the medical system failed her repeatedly. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What Her Kids and Husband See: "I just don't let them see me stop." Her son and daughter call her one of the strongest people they know. Her husband of 30 years is her rock. How the people closest to her experience living alongside her rare disease. 🚀 Living Day to Day When the Future Is Uncertain: Why Denise doesn't plan 10 years ahead, what keeps her going when surgery can come out of nowhere, and why presence is the most powerful strategy she has. 🏆 What She'll Never Apologize For: She limps. She's not always mobile. She pushes hard. And she's done apologizing for any of it. 📲 Find Denise & Work With Her: Bodies by Design Denise. Live every weekday at 7AM Central on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and more. Replays available. Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday, plus Intentionally Ianthe on Mondays and Unhinged Out Loud with Kim Staples on Fridays. 💬 Have you ever been told your pain was in your head? Have you pushed through something that everyone said would stop you? DM us. We actually read them and we actually respond. 0:00 - Preview: "Always Be Your Own Advocate"2:12 - Welcome + Introducing Denise Howell, Bodies by Design3:06 - Bodies by Design Origin: Shattered Ankle, Rare Disease Diagnosis4:14 - "I'm Gonna Show You": Going Back to School as a Trainer5:36 - Ankle Replacement 2023 & Disease Progression9:38 - Push Through or Scale Back? The Trainer's Framework12:28 - Going Live 5 Days a Week: Why She Does It16:22 - The Quadriplegic Client: "You Make Me Feel Human"16:20 - Medical Gaslighting: What the Autopsy Revealed24:38 - G.R.I.T.: Grace, Resilience, Intentional, Trust, Thrive26:01 - How to Advocate for Yourself When Doctors Dismiss You30:17 - What Her Kids Think of Everything She Manages31:17 - Her Husband of 30 Years: "He's 100% My Rock"34:10 - Living Day to Day When the Future Is Uncertain34:10 - The Rare Disease: 1 in 1.7 Million, Golf Ball Mass, Amputation Risk44:30 - What Denise Will Never Apologize For46:17 - How to Find Denise & Work With Her Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices