Sign up to get updates from us
Your circumstances aren’t what defines you! It is up to you to decide how you want to define yourself! The guest on this episode shares his testimony on how and why he did not let his life situation define him.
About the Guest:
Chris Mitchell is a motivational self-published author of “it doesn’t Define Me: How I Rebuilt My Life After Surviving an Ischemic Stroke to My Spinal Cord”, freelance writer, blogger, professional virtual and in person speaker, the host of the Successful and disABLED podcast, and founder of #DefineYourself. As a Christian entrepreneur and disABLED solopreneur Chris’ mission is to empower the others in the disABLED community to create a successful life that they will love living.
Chris’ links
#DefineYourself - https://defineyourself.us/
Free eBook: disABILITY Empowers Success - https://defineyourself.us/free
The Chris Mitchell - https://thechrismitchell.com/
Discover how your disability is empowering you to succeed! Get the FREE eBook disabiltyempowerssuccess.com and start creating YOUR successful life that YOU will love living today!
Chris Mitchell - Empowering YOU to OVERCOME
and SUCCEED (636) 400-3397 https://TheChrisMitchell.com
About the Host:
I am Saylor Cooper, Owner of Real Variety Radio and host of the Hope Without Sight Podcast. I am from the Houston, Texas area and am legally blind which is one of the main reasons why I am hosting this show surrounding this topic , to inspire others by letting them know that they can live their best life and reach their highest potential.
Website:
About the Co-host:
My name is Matthew Tyler Evans and I am from the Northeast Texas area. I am blind like Saylor is and we have the same retinal condition. I decided to join Saylor‘s podcast because I have a strong interest in teaming up with him and I think together, we can inspire the world with others with disabilities.
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Leave us an Apple Podcasts review
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.
Hello, good morning, everybody. Welcome to
Saylor Cooper:another episode of hope without sight with your host Saylor
Saylor Cooper:Cooper, and
Tyler Evans:this is Tyler Evans.
Saylor Cooper:Oh, yes. Today is our last day in PBR, Mexico,
Saylor Cooper:whatever, y'all also, we've been doing lots of recordings, which
Saylor Cooper:has been great, and wonderful. I've had a good time I even
Saylor Cooper:caught a fish yesterday on a boat trip, and they just do a
Saylor Cooper:few more Bitcoins. And I'll be getting a massage today at one
Saylor Cooper:o'clock, which is nice. Uh, yeah, this episode 17, featuring
Saylor Cooper:Chris Mitchell. Now, Chris, I knew, I know, you have quite an
Saylor Cooper:exhilarating story. I read your bio. And you said, you're a
Saylor Cooper:Christian entrepreneur, I'm sure the good Lord has, has has
Saylor Cooper:guided you to get to where you are today. After having
Saylor Cooper:challenges in life, so I'm gonna let you share all that on the
Saylor Cooper:podcast today. So yeah, welcome.
Chris Mitchell:Well, thank you very much for having me today.
Chris Mitchell:And the opportunity to speak to your amazing audience, because
Chris Mitchell:I'm sure they're amazing people, if they're listening to this
Chris Mitchell:podcast, because only amazing people will listen to your
Chris Mitchell:podcast, I'm sure of that. My name is My name is Chris
Chris Mitchell:Mitchell. I'm also kind of known as the it doesn't define me guy.
Chris Mitchell:Because I've had a lot of things try to stop me from what I want
Chris Mitchell:to do in my life. And I've said no to that might sit, I'm not
Chris Mitchell:going to let anything stop me from achieving what I want to
Chris Mitchell:achieve in life. I was born with some birth defects that my mom
Chris Mitchell:was exposed to the German measles when I was when she was
Chris Mitchell:carrying me. And that resulted in the rubella syndrome, which
Chris Mitchell:is practically unheard of today, but it wasn't when I was born.
Chris Mitchell:So almost as old as a dinosaur. At least, that's what I like to
Chris Mitchell:tell people. So I was born with cataracts, which left my vision
Chris Mitchell:2200 in my left eye 23 handed in my right eye, I don't have any
Chris Mitchell:depth perception, I cannot read under my right eye at all, but
Chris Mitchell:I'm not going to stop me from anything.
Saylor Cooper:After I you get attached to that Tyler, right.
Saylor Cooper:Yep. Yeah, yeah, to there.
Chris Mitchell:And I also was born with a constricted aorta,
Chris Mitchell:which means is a little narrowing of one of the aorta
Chris Mitchell:that pumps blood through my body and I never liked it from the
Chris Mitchell:heart. Yeah, near the heart. Yeah. So I never like that
Chris Mitchell:stopped me from doing whatever I wanted to do in my life, either.
Chris Mitchell:And I hit a severe speech impediment. That was so bad. I
Chris Mitchell:had to start speech therapy before he started preschool. And
Chris Mitchell:I didn't let that stop me. I had ADHD. I was diagnosed in school
Chris Mitchell:and I got expelled from two schools and two colleges in my
Chris Mitchell:life. But that has not stopped me from any
Saylor Cooper:colleges. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. You ADHD must
Saylor Cooper:have been so severe. Like, why are you acting out hyper? Like,
Saylor Cooper:what was it?
Chris Mitchell:Well, it was acting out a little bit in K
Chris Mitchell:through 12. But in college was more being belligerent and
Chris Mitchell:stubborn and believing that the rules apply to everybody but me.
Chris Mitchell:Great way to do if you go much further than what I did, which I
Chris Mitchell:the challenges, you know, instructors and the college, you
Chris Mitchell:do that in the real world, you could be spending some time in a
Chris Mitchell:little six by eight room with bars on it with a roommate you
Chris Mitchell:may or may not want to know. So just stopped at being a jerk in
Chris Mitchell:college.
Saylor Cooper:And so you graduated college and
Saylor Cooper:eventually,
Chris Mitchell:right? No, I did not make college I spent more
Chris Mitchell:years in college than I did the K through 12. But it was harder
Chris Mitchell:and, and, you know, with ADHD, I was doing okay, but it was
Chris Mitchell:really not my thing. And after I get expelled for the second
Chris Mitchell:time, I said I'm done.
Saylor Cooper:It's not for everybody, because no see, I I
Saylor Cooper:have had some degree of ADHD myself. I mean, I would say it's
Saylor Cooper:probably not as severe as what you've had. But like, it's a
Saylor Cooper:typical stuff. Like, I have trouble concentrating and, and
Saylor Cooper:just focusing on different tasks and you know, especially college
Saylor Cooper:was it's yeah, it's it's a different ballgame in high
Saylor Cooper:school. And I, I just found that I just tried the courses too
Saylor Cooper:much. Just to sum up, you know,
Chris Mitchell:it was it's hard for me to take a course I have
Chris Mitchell:no interested I don't Oh no absolute about about you know,
Chris Mitchell:in science, you know, like, I don't care about biology. I
Chris Mitchell:mean, when am I going to use that in my life? Right that's a
Chris Mitchell:map my my real goal was radio bro. Broadcasting or computer
Chris Mitchell:science? That's, yeah, I worked in radio.
Saylor Cooper:And in fact, I want to use this time now. Cuz
Saylor Cooper:after I published the episode, and I'm gonna send you some
Saylor Cooper:additional stuff. Tyler, I like stuff attached to this please.
Saylor Cooper:paga Palooza is get out an epic event, isn't it?
Tyler Evans:Oh yes,
Saylor Cooper:you need to come. You need to come to power
Saylor Cooper:Palooza in January. It's a big event where Andrew the
Saylor Cooper:podcasters get on Zoom. And they interviewed Shaveh is epic. And
Saylor Cooper:you can even be a speaker.
Chris Mitchell:Oh, I like speaking. Yeah. Yeah. Are
Chris Mitchell:things. Yeah.
Tyler Evans:And, and also we've been talking to someone working
Tyler Evans:with us, her name's Michelle. And we're going to hopefully
Tyler Evans:start creating a Patreon account. And maybe people in the
Tyler Evans:future can can contribute, you know, to our podcasts. Yeah.
Tyler Evans:Yeah. Contribute monetarily to be on the podcasts. Does that
Tyler Evans:make sense? Yeah. Yeah, they can contribute like 10 bucks or, or
Tyler Evans:whatever, whatever. Their whatever they can give.
Saylor Cooper:Yeah, and of course, we have an internet
Saylor Cooper:radio station and found near 24/7. Yeah, plays all sorts of
Saylor Cooper:music pop country. Great. And that show? Yeah. When I knew
Saylor Cooper:Tyler, you and I were gonna meet with Michelle again this
Saylor Cooper:afternoon. Right. And then I was Scott. Oh, when the MA right.
Tyler Evans:Yeah, he and another guy named Kevin. They
Tyler Evans:were the ones who actually helped start up the business
Tyler Evans:with funds. So yeah. Yeah. So just be in prayer for that,
Tyler Evans:folks. If you're listening, just pray for success. Xander. Yeah.
Tyler Evans:So I just had a quick question for you, Chris.
Saylor Cooper:Let's get let's go deeper into your story. So
Saylor Cooper:yeah, you're Italian asked that question. Before we go. Yeah.
Tyler Evans:So did you ever feel that you couldn't go on in
Tyler Evans:life?
Chris Mitchell:No, no, no, I never have I know that sounds
Chris Mitchell:arrogant and cocky to some people? Because a lot do you
Chris Mitchell:struggle with that? I have not. Because, you know, I've been a
Chris Mitchell:fighter since I was born. I was not supposed to ever run, walk
Chris Mitchell:or even talk. And I fought through all of that. So it was
Chris Mitchell:rubella syndrome, that in some cases, that does lead to mental
Chris Mitchell:retardation. And I was very fortunate. It did not in my
Chris Mitchell:case. But no, I've never felt like I could not go on. I mean,
Chris Mitchell:I just look at everything is not as an obstacle, but a challenge
Chris Mitchell:to overcome in knowing that when I overcome that challenge, I'm
Chris Mitchell:going to be a stronger person for it. So I don't see
Chris Mitchell:obstacles, I see challenges to take on.
Tyler Evans:Exactly. Well, you know, I've had my set of
Tyler Evans:challenges because me and Sailor were both born premature. We
Tyler Evans:were both born blind at fly. We were both we were both born
Tyler Evans:three months premature. And we're not supposed to be here.
Tyler Evans:Now at least I'm not. Because when I was a baby, my lungs
Tyler Evans:collapsed. 92 Yep. And I think my brothers did too. But I think
Tyler Evans:he was fortunate enough to have enough oxygen to where the
Tyler Evans:retina attached itself, right? Because this as your virus does
Tyler Evans:a baby wear and also sailors, twin sister, her eyes reversed
Tyler Evans:as a baby as well. So yeah, it's pretty amazing. We've and there
Tyler Evans:were times in life where I kind of felt like giving up a little
Tyler Evans:like on a task. But I never felt like giving up on life. Right?
Tyler Evans:Yeah. But in the end, I was successful in the tests, even.
Tyler Evans:Maybe not fully 100% successful because whenever I was in high
Tyler Evans:school, I tried out for all state choir three times, and I
Tyler Evans:never made it. But I came very, very close my senior year of
Tyler Evans:making all state. So yeah, I view that as a success. So yeah,
Tyler Evans:okay, you never know what you can do until you try. Exactly.
Tyler Evans:The county is continuing to always thrive for success and
Tyler Evans:you're gonna have failure and that's part of success. But part
Tyler Evans:of success is you keep going even when you fail. Very true.
Tyler Evans:The true the true failure in life is not trying anymore.
Tyler Evans:That's really fun.
Saylor Cooper:Exactly. Yeah. So you're having a plug I realized
Saylor Cooper:that computer was unplugged. I'm gonna plug the plug in into this
Saylor Cooper:battery Wolf. Gosh
Tyler Evans:You You know, it just amazes me how there's so
Tyler Evans:many people in life who think they can't do something, when in
Tyler Evans:fact, then they can.
Saylor Cooper:Anyway. Okay, so Tyler, you said you were you
Saylor Cooper:were born premature your meat Your lungs will collapse in your
Saylor Cooper:Glover's eyes. voce, right?
Tyler Evans:Yes, indeed. You know, I was just gonna say a lot
Tyler Evans:of people in life think they can't do something. And so they
Tyler Evans:just give up. But the true success, what separates true
Tyler Evans:success from true failure? is a willingness to try or not.
Saylor Cooper:Yeah, if you do, if you
Tyler Evans:go through life, trying, and you have a mindset
Tyler Evans:of I can do this, even if you fail, you're still successful,
Tyler Evans:even if you don't achieve exactly what you want it
Saylor Cooper:as long as you give it your all, you know?
Saylor Cooper:Exactly. But if
Tyler Evans:you give up and stop trying, you will truly
Tyler Evans:fail. Yeah,
Saylor Cooper:yeah, exactly. Because even my mom wants to
Saylor Cooper:told me back in college, you know, before I went is, you
Saylor Cooper:know, if, as long as you know, you give it all your 100%. And
Saylor Cooper:you find, you know, and I mean, I won't go into the details, but
Saylor Cooper:I had a lot of anxiety in college, too, because I was
Saylor Cooper:going through some personal family stuff within my immediate
Saylor Cooper:family. And now Tyler, you were kind of too late. Yeah, a little
Saylor Cooper:bit. Yeah. But don't let
Tyler Evans:that stop me from getting my degree. Yeah. So I
Tyler Evans:just wanted to ask Chris. You, I heard from Sailor that you, you
Tyler Evans:suffered from a stroke? Is that right?
Chris Mitchell:Yes, you lay people is a stroke to the
Chris Mitchell:medical community is an incomplete spinal cord injury.
Saylor Cooper:Let's go to that. Tell us about that.
Chris Mitchell:All right. Well, I, as I mentioned, when I was
Chris Mitchell:born, I had a constricted aorta. And as an adult, I had to have
Chris Mitchell:surgery to correct the constricted aorta, they were
Chris Mitchell:going to do an ascending to descending aortic bypass. And
Chris Mitchell:during that surgery, something went wrong. We don't know what
Chris Mitchell:they're not going to tell me because the hospital did not
Chris Mitchell:want to get sued. I survived an ischemic stroke to my spinal
Chris Mitchell:cord. And that robbed me of my ability to run, walk or even
Chris Mitchell:stand without any assistance. And the time I was engaged when
Chris Mitchell:it happened, and it really rocked my world because I was
Chris Mitchell:gonna get married about 10 months. And this was not the
Chris Mitchell:happily ever after. Neither my fiance or myself had envisioned
Chris Mitchell:this happening. So it changed everything for me.
Saylor Cooper:Wow. And so I see this happened, like, during your
Saylor Cooper:adult life?
Chris Mitchell:Yes. Yeah. The excusing sort of my spinal cord
Chris Mitchell:happened in May 30. She has
Saylor Cooper:various annual news. How do you know your news?
Chris Mitchell:Hello, depending on when this drops because my
Chris Mitchell:birthday is not that far away. I'm 56. On the day we're taping
Chris Mitchell:this,
Saylor Cooper:could you fix yet? It's gonna drop in about
Saylor Cooper:four weeks. So
Chris Mitchell:four weeks? Okay. Well, my birthday is
Chris Mitchell:actually in four weeks.
Saylor Cooper:So maybe it'd be a good birthday.
Chris Mitchell:Yeah, December 17. And if anyone wants to send
Chris Mitchell:me gifts, my favorite color is green. My favorite shape is
Chris Mitchell:rectangle. And I love pictures of presidents on themselves. I
Chris Mitchell:like cash. So yeah, yes.
Tyler Evans:Speaking of stroke, speaking of stroke, Woodrow
Tyler Evans:Wilson had one. Yeah, I think it was right. Before he left. And,
Tyler Evans:you know, I didn't like him. I didn't like Roosevelt. I didn't
Tyler Evans:like you know, you know, but anyway.
Saylor Cooper:So now, even though you have a spinal cord
Saylor Cooper:injury, just what has it says in your bio, what did what did not
Saylor Cooper:allow you to stop and only just keep going? So like, what
Saylor Cooper:happened during the spinal cord injury? Like, was your was your
Saylor Cooper:was your speech altered again? Or what?
Chris Mitchell:No, not really, there was a little bit of
Chris Mitchell:slurring and trouble finding the right word when I wanted to talk
Chris Mitchell:for a while, but that's pretty much in my past. But it did put
Chris Mitchell:me in a wheelchair and I had to be in a rehabilitation hospital
Chris Mitchell:for about a month before I came home. And then I did outpatient
Chris Mitchell:therapy. But what really motivated me was when I came
Chris Mitchell:home, and I started seeing that people who knew me before my
Chris Mitchell:stroke, my spinal cord injury, they would have a look at a tone
Chris Mitchell:in the voice of like, shock and pity and I hated that. So I
Chris Mitchell:decided one day I was sitting next to my wheelchair and I
Chris Mitchell:pointed at it and I said, it doesn't define me and that meant
Chris Mitchell:that wheelchair I'm not going to define who I am or who I can be.
Chris Mitchell:So I made it my mission. At that time I was selling on eBay and
Chris Mitchell:and I'm very active in the eBay community, I wanted people to
Chris Mitchell:mention that I'm accessible seller and eBay, I do A, B, C,
Chris Mitchell:D, whatever else I'm doing, I was engaged, I eventually got
Chris Mitchell:married to the, to the woman who I was engaged with during the
Chris Mitchell:stroke. And then the last thing they mentioned, oh, and by the
Chris Mitchell:way, he's disabled or he's in a wheelchair, if they even
Chris Mitchell:mentioned that at all. So that was my motivation to change my
Chris Mitchell:own internal narrative on having a spinal cord injury, and
Chris Mitchell:changing other's perception of what somebody can do, who is
Chris Mitchell:physically disabled. So I made that my mission and my journey
Chris Mitchell:that I went through is in my self published book, it doesn't
Chris Mitchell:define me how I rebuilt my life after surviving ischemic stroke
Chris Mitchell:to my spinal cord. And it's available on Amazon and Kindle
Chris Mitchell:and paperback.
Saylor Cooper:Wow. So what's the book called again?
Chris Mitchell:It doesn't define me. Oh, yeah, that's
Chris Mitchell:right. It's in your bio. And your listeners can't read that.
Chris Mitchell:So anyways, good desk is
Saylor Cooper:available on Audible, or just Amazon just
Saylor Cooper:text
Chris Mitchell:is available and printed format and in Kindle,
Chris Mitchell:but it's not an audible at this point. And it's also available
Chris Mitchell:from my website. And if you order it through my website, I
Chris Mitchell:do personally autographed themselves. The paperback, I
Chris Mitchell:don't autograph Kindles, because people get really upset when you
Chris Mitchell:take a sharpie and write on the Kindle screen. So I don't do
Chris Mitchell:that.
Saylor Cooper:And so you went through rehabilitation you
Saylor Cooper:covered, you got married, what do life have in store after
Saylor Cooper:that?
Chris Mitchell:It's been a wonderful 20 years of marriage
Chris Mitchell:of my life 90 thinking it will be 20 next year. So I like
Chris Mitchell:rounding up. It's a good thing. So it's been wonderful I went on
Chris Mitchell:with by working on eBay, I was featured in a Entrepreneur
Chris Mitchell:Magazine Special Edition about eBay sellers. I went and taught
Chris Mitchell:a very successful eBay course at the same college who had
Chris Mitchell:expelled me. So that was, that was amazing. They expired expel
Chris Mitchell:me a totally successful class. That was one of their more
Chris Mitchell:popular courses in the community education or Continuing
Chris Mitchell:Education Department, depending on how you what you call it,
Chris Mitchell:where you live. And I left eBay, I started writing a book, which
Chris Mitchell:had been published, I mentioned that a moment ago. And I've
Chris Mitchell:started my own business called hashtag define yourself for I
Chris Mitchell:want to empower others who are disabled, to create successful
Chris Mitchell:life that they love living, I have a podcast of my own. So I
Chris Mitchell:do a lot out there. And I do a lot of virtual speaking and
Chris Mitchell:presenting to empower not only the disabled community, everyone
Chris Mitchell:because a disability is a challenge. And every one of us
Chris Mitchell:whether we're disabled or not, has challenges in our lives. And
Chris Mitchell:those challenges. And the choice we can eat, they can either
Chris Mitchell:define who we are, or we can overcome that challenge and
Chris Mitchell:define ourselves. And as best if we do it ourselves, and don't
Chris Mitchell:let anyone or anything. define who you are. That's up to you.
Saylor Cooper:Yeah, that's so good. So are you an entrepreneur
Saylor Cooper:with eBay? eBay? Wow. And then tell me how is how's marriage,
Saylor Cooper:then? Why is your wife disabled himself? Oh, no,
Chris Mitchell:no, no, no, not until recently. And she has been
Chris Mitchell:diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. So that does fall in
Chris Mitchell:some of the ADA umbrellas, but, and she's doing fine. She's
Chris Mitchell:responding well at this point to a medication, but she was
Chris Mitchell:diagnosed with that. April of 2021. And up until that point, I
Chris Mitchell:mean, we have a good marriage and on and she would take care
Chris Mitchell:of me and help me with a lot of my issues. I am now taking care
Chris Mitchell:of her. I learned how to cook. I'm a pretty good cook. Now. We
Chris Mitchell:haven't burned down the house. So that's a good thing. And we
Chris Mitchell:know when did we no longer know when dinner's ready by the smoke
Chris Mitchell:detector going off. That used to be the sign that food was ready.
Chris Mitchell:So I've gotten better at cooking. I accompany her every
Chris Mitchell:single doctor appointment that she has, and every single test
Chris Mitchell:or procedure that she goes through. I'm right there by her
Chris Mitchell:side. And that's one of the benefits I have. being self
Chris Mitchell:employed. I can set my own hours.
Saylor Cooper:That's right. 71 that you can work for yourself.
Saylor Cooper:It's because that's what we're hoping to do. And Tyler's tell
Saylor Cooper:Chris about your family struggles with cancer. In fact,
Saylor Cooper:yesterday was a very special day for you. So you have the floor.
Saylor Cooper:Sure.
Tyler Evans:Yeah. Two years ago yesterday, my mom passed away
Tyler Evans:from breast cancer. Sorry. Yeah. She had a long, long battle she
Tyler Evans:ended up getting pneumonia toward the end of her life. Of
Tyler Evans:course, she had pneumonia before that too, earlier in the year of
Tyler Evans:2020. mean, and she overcame it for a little bit, and then it
Tyler Evans:came. I guess the cancer just spread to the point where it,
Tyler Evans:you know, dried up her blood caused, you know, sepsis, you
Tyler Evans:know, septic shock, because her blood pressure was way low and
Tyler Evans:stuff. And you know, what's interesting is in 2016, she was
Tyler Evans:diagnosed with stage three. Yeah, it went into remission. It
Tyler Evans:came back in three different places, again, in 2018 2019. And
Tyler Evans:then she beat that, and then it came back in her brain, and
Tyler Evans:2020. And then she beat that. And then, you know, she finally
Tyler Evans:succumb to it. And I think that it was just due to, you know, a
Tyler Evans:lot of chemo that just damaged her immune system to the point
Tyler Evans:where it couldn't fight that money anymore. And I think, I
Tyler Evans:think that cancer, I think cancer may have also played a
Tyler Evans:role too. Yeah. But she told us that she didn't want us grieving
Tyler Evans:like she did when her mom died of lung cancer because whenever
Tyler Evans:her mom died, it she was just a total wreck. Right? She actually
Tyler Evans:got pneumonia, because of like, she grieved so much that she had
Tyler Evans:pneumonia. In the Mandy's, this was in 1997. And what's
Tyler Evans:interesting, we celebrated her funeral exactly 23 years after
Tyler Evans:her mom, dad. Wow, it happened to be that exact date. 23 years
Tyler Evans:later. And me and him, me and him. We're gonna do a special
Tyler Evans:show about her again. And your favorite
Saylor Cooper:and your mom's favorite song is what allowed by
Saylor Cooper:Holland. Cindy, that's the song. I know you mentioned also close
Saylor Cooper:it your true Christian at can you attest? Your God has helped
Saylor Cooper:you. Your walk of life, right?
Chris Mitchell:My favorite Bible verse is, I can do all
Chris Mitchell:things through Him who strengthens me Philippians one
Chris Mitchell:to say 413 12. But I always get mixed up because you reverse 413
Chris Mitchell:that three one for this the St. Louis area program from this way
Chris Mitchell:I do that. And I believe that that my favorite verse. And my
Chris Mitchell:other one is, I don't know where it is in the Bible off the top
Chris Mitchell:of my head, but I heard it from me. Christian gospel singer and
Chris Mitchell:comedian Mark Lowry. It came to pass and that's true. Nothing in
Chris Mitchell:our life comes to stay. And we should enjoy it. He was doing a
Chris Mitchell:Senate routinely showing the audience if you if you're young
Chris Mitchell:18 year olds new jobs he got muscles everywhere including
Chris Mitchell:your ears enjoy them, they will pass and if you're old and you
Chris Mitchell:have arthritis enjoy it, that arthritis will pass or you a
Chris Mitchell:pass can nothing is care to stay though things that I know about.
Chris Mitchell:And I believe in I'm enjoying my my limited mobility because it's
Chris Mitchell:going to pass I'm going to be able to be in a place where I
Chris Mitchell:don't have that issue. Am I in a hurry to get there? Go. And so
Chris Mitchell:don't worry about a suicide watch on me. But you know, I
Chris Mitchell:know it's coming.
Saylor Cooper:And it's the same first I like I mean, no, we're
Saylor Cooper:happy looks like and we don't just see but we know it's
Saylor Cooper:temporary. Right?
Tyler Evans:Exactly. Yeah, yeah. One day blindness will no
Tyler Evans:longer exist and heaven. It'll be amazing. You know, I really
Tyler Evans:really liked the band creed. I liked the song. Can you take me
Tyler Evans:higher? With arms wide open. That's another good one. Those
Tyler Evans:are the top two songs that really stood out to me. And then
Tyler Evans:six feet from the edge. You know what I mean? All these songs
Tyler Evans:from creed. I don't know if you were a fan of curry, but I
Tyler Evans:certainly was. I am. Yeah. Yeah. I love training camp and I loved
Tyler Evans:in sync I Love You know, I mean, obviously I'm not a Christian
Tyler Evans:band. But yeah. It was.
Chris Mitchell:Yeah, love 80s music and I love Yankovic. Oh,
Chris Mitchell:he's one of my favorite artists in the Christian genre is a
Chris Mitchell:Matthew West. Oh, he's good. is day one, which is true every day
Chris Mitchell:is day one of the rest of your life and you can make a change
Chris Mitchell:at that point. And do something. I mean, I love the message in
Chris Mitchell:that song, the one that he put in there. And I also like the
Chris Mitchell:fact that if you have a disability or challenge, don't
Chris Mitchell:just sit and complain about it. Do something about it. Yeah,
Chris Mitchell:exactly. Yeah, go.
Tyler Evans:That's the way to do it. Don't just
Chris Mitchell:don't this is Nike did that as well.
Tyler Evans:Don't just talk at you know, yeah. You know, you
Tyler Evans:know, our last. I mean, I know this is political. But our last
Tyler Evans:president would always say They're no talk. They're all
Tyler Evans:talk. No action.
Saylor Cooper:Donald Trump. I
Tyler Evans:love. I love how he says it like he's all talk. No
Tyler Evans:action.
Saylor Cooper:And I don't know about you, Chris. We won't get
Saylor Cooper:too deep into this because it's not. It's not what the podcast
Saylor Cooper:is for that. I'm excited for him to run again in 2020. Oh,
Tyler Evans:yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, I want him. You know, you
Tyler Evans:know, as odd as it may seem, I truly believe that God has
Tyler Evans:called him into the arena of service. And yes, he's been
Tyler Evans:boosted go, whatever you wanna call that? Is very, just seems
Tyler Evans:arrogant. He seems braggadocious a lot. But you know what? That's
Tyler Evans:okay. Yeah, I don't care. I really don't. I mean, as long as
Tyler Evans:they're uploading our laws, constitution, whatever. I don't
Tyler Evans:care. Yeah. And as long as they they don't necessarily have to
Tyler Evans:be a Christian, but as long as they uphold the the Christian
Tyler Evans:ethic, the what we were founded on. Great. Exactly. So that's
Tyler Evans:how I feel about it. Obviously, I'm gonna agree to disagree on
Tyler Evans:stuff. But yeah, but anyway. So yeah.
Saylor Cooper:So you're still with wheelchair today?
Chris Mitchell:Right? No, I can walk around using a rollator. I
Chris Mitchell:said I could kind of No, no a rollator as a walker with four
Chris Mitchell:wheels. Oh, I can walk it through. Yeah. Because a walker
Chris Mitchell:is one that has two wheels in the front end has this. Like,
Chris Mitchell:you know, most people put a tennis ball in the back two
Chris Mitchell:poles. But a rollator is technically a walker with four
Chris Mitchell:wheels. And I taught myself how to do that. When my insurance
Chris Mitchell:company said you're not progressing anymore. In physical
Chris Mitchell:therapy, I said, you guys want to give up on me, that's, that's
Chris Mitchell:your choice. I'm not giving up on myself. And I think it was
Chris Mitchell:like 567 years after my last PT session, outpatient, I was at a
Chris Mitchell:target stone, I want to write those cool scooters they have in
Chris Mitchell:the store. So we pulled into the parking lot. And there's no
Chris Mitchell:sense of my wife unloading my wheelchair me getting in it go
Chris Mitchell:in the store, she takes her wheelchair back, we shop and
Chris Mitchell:then she brings it back for me and we go back to the car. So I
Chris Mitchell:asked to bring over that target cart. She brought it over and I
Chris Mitchell:grabbed the front of it. And it was not a pretty sight. And it
Chris Mitchell:was hard. But I pushed that cart in and got on a scooter. And
Chris Mitchell:because I did that, I kept doing that. And I taught myself how to
Chris Mitchell:use a walker. Now I'm using a rollator to get around. And in
Chris Mitchell:certain distances that my house is, is designed, where I just
Chris Mitchell:you know, grab onto the wall, and I swing around the house
Chris Mitchell:like Tarzan. But sometimes it looks like Georgia, the jungle.
Saylor Cooper:Wow. And you and I mean, your wife has really
Saylor Cooper:cared for you. And she's you know, you've had challenges now,
Saylor Cooper:where did y'all meet, because that gives us help for us. You
Saylor Cooper:know, we haven't found anybody yet. And that's a great story.
Saylor Cooper:We're not we're forever, we're just not going to kill you know,
Chris Mitchell:he says, that was my concern when I was
Chris Mitchell:dating. And when I was dating, I had a white cane because my
Chris Mitchell:vision and I probably should have one now. But they don't
Chris Mitchell:make a white cane attachment for rollator. So I do my best. So I
Chris Mitchell:was afraid with this white cane and my disability. Girls are not
Chris Mitchell:gonna be interested in me. And, and it was discouraging, but I
Chris Mitchell:wanted to have a marriage, I wanted to have a spouse in my
Chris Mitchell:life. And I did get a lot of rejections. And they did hurt.
Chris Mitchell:But my wife Her name is Kimberly did not care about my my visual
Chris Mitchell:disability. She stood beside me. And the key thing is this. I did
Chris Mitchell:not know that at the time. We started dating in 2000. And we
Chris Mitchell:got engaged in 2002. And I had my stroke that year. Because I
Chris Mitchell:believe because of that cane, God put it in my life, the right
Chris Mitchell:woman who would be by me, when I had my excuse me stroke, my
Chris Mitchell:spinal cord, because unfortunately, a lot of
Chris Mitchell:relationships, whether you're dating, engaged or married, if
Chris Mitchell:something tragic happens to one of the people like me, you know,
Chris Mitchell:I lost my ability to run, walk or even stand, I had to have
Chris Mitchell:help getting dressed, feeding myself well, while the other
Chris Mitchell:person said, You know what, this isn't what I signed up for. I'm
Chris Mitchell:out of here. I never had that fear. Because that light came
Chris Mitchell:put into by like the woman that's going to be strong enough
Chris Mitchell:to be with me through thick and thin. And it's true. So don't be
Chris Mitchell:afraid of your disability. Yes, it's going to take away some
Chris Mitchell:people, but those are the people you do not want a need in your
Chris Mitchell:life. Is that helping find the person that you need in your
Chris Mitchell:life that God wants you to have? Yeah, yeah.
Saylor Cooper:And yeah, Kimberly has been there by your
Saylor Cooper:side. Now. Of course, you're visually impaired. Do you use
Saylor Cooper:JAWS or NVDA? Or any of those programs?
Chris Mitchell:Oh, no, no, I probably I probably should. I do
Chris Mitchell:use streaming largest on the computer screen now. But when I
Chris Mitchell:was a kid, and this was way before ADA, we had the old
Chris Mitchell:rotary dial phone That tells us way before ADA. So for those
Chris Mitchell:that not familiar, it's a big black item that you put your
Chris Mitchell:finger in a hole and you dial the numbers on it. It's kind of
Chris Mitchell:cool is you can find them in museums or antiques or just
Chris Mitchell:google the for form A rotary, the phrase rotary dial phone,
Chris Mitchell:you see one, and the numbers on them are kind of small. So my
Chris Mitchell:parents got me this cardboard layout cut out, that went around
Chris Mitchell:it and put big numbers in the phone. I was like in second
Chris Mitchell:grade, third grade, maybe first. And I took that layout, overlay
Chris Mitchell:off in food and threw it away. And my parents said, Why did you
Chris Mitchell:do that? They said, The world is not going to adapt to me, I must
Chris Mitchell:adapt to it. So that's one of the things I've done my entire
Chris Mitchell:life. Yes, they probably could be easy drawers, it probably
Chris Mitchell:would help me some. But I like to do it as much as I can for as
Chris Mitchell:long as I can. As long as I'm blessed with sight that I can
Chris Mitchell:use, I'm gonna use it. But I know that there's alternatives
Chris Mitchell:out there. And I'm glad that they are because there are
Chris Mitchell:people who generally benefit from it. And I think it's great.
Chris Mitchell:And we need more of that we need prices of those to come down so
Chris Mitchell:everyone can afford that it should be standard on computers,
Chris Mitchell:by the way. Yeah. And my own opinion, well,
Tyler Evans:here's the thing. There is a built in Windows,
Tyler Evans:there is a built in screen reader for Windows called
Tyler Evans:narrator which is and it has improved vastly, it has improved
Tyler Evans:better, like, like improved more before. Whenever I use Narrator
Tyler Evans:It really was not user friendly at first. But as Windows updated
Tyler Evans:and stuff, it was user friendly. And also, ever every single
Tyler Evans:modern iPhone that we have now has voiceover built into it,
Tyler Evans:which has a screen reader built into the phone. And so two Macs,
Tyler Evans:so basically Windows computers already have a screen reader
Tyler Evans:attached, built into them. And so the Macs and sort of phones,
Tyler Evans:even the androids are getting better. So yeah, yeah. It's
Tyler Evans:really amazing how technology out of the box is already
Tyler Evans:accessible to a point, especially the iPhone, I'm
Tyler Evans:impressed. And I'm just amazed,
Saylor Cooper:I see what you tell me about your parents, how
Saylor Cooper:they like, dealt with you like growing up. As far as using
Saylor Cooper:technology, my parents like did very similar like because I do
Saylor Cooper:have a little bit of vision. They didn't have a rebel as much
Saylor Cooper:as I should have. Instead, they like having to focus more
Saylor Cooper:reading print. And because I can read plenty if it's large. But
Saylor Cooper:at the same time, it's just not efficient with the vision I
Saylor Cooper:have. Because my eyes just get too tired. So I wish I should
Saylor Cooper:have I wish I would have used well more younger in jobs. But I
Saylor Cooper:mean I do now, which is awesome. But you know, there's also a
Saylor Cooper:screen we out there called NVDA. And Tyler occasionally joke
Saylor Cooper:about you.
Tyler Evans:Yeah, you'd like to joke about that. But really now.
Tyler Evans:I'm actually quite impressed with NVDA. And in my opinion,
Tyler Evans:it's better than Jaws because Jaws had a tendency to freeze
Tyler Evans:the computer a lot. Whereas NVDA you don't have that problem. And
Tyler Evans:I think it's due to the software. What do you call that?
Tyler Evans:The software, the software load on to the on to it onto the
Tyler Evans:computer itself. That's causing it to freeze? Yeah. Yeah.
Saylor Cooper:So um, yeah, but yeah, that's that so? Yeah.
Saylor Cooper:Chris, where do you live now?
Chris Mitchell:I live in Missouri. So first corner. Do I
Chris Mitchell:travel in Missouri? Oklahoma?
Saylor Cooper:Yeah. Oh, yeah. I know. Um, have you heard of Camp
Saylor Cooper:Barnabas? It's a Christian camp. It's an it's an inaccurate view
Saylor Cooper:of world view words. I went there when I was 1718. A
Saylor Cooper:volunteer there's a Christian camp for people with
Saylor Cooper:disabilities. And they, they don't they never say no, it's
Saylor Cooper:hard for them to say no. They'll they'll take anybody who has a
Saylor Cooper:special disability special needs all sorts of different terms and
Saylor Cooper:they they teach the Word of God it's just wonderful. It's great.
Tyler Evans:And I've been there before sailor
Saylor Cooper:Yeah, I did. Yeah. When I was 1718 I went
Saylor Cooper:through
Tyler Evans:Oh, that's really awesome. To hear about that or
Tyler Evans:whatever through your church.
Saylor Cooper:No on a TV show caller called Extreme Makeover.
Saylor Cooper:They read the show. Yeah, they actually we did the entire
Saylor Cooper:campsite down it's awesome. It's great. But yeah, I live in a I
Saylor Cooper:live in Houston Texas of course seven blog of ionic that this
Saylor Cooper:podcast camp. It's been awesome and yeah, I go home tomorrow in
Saylor Cooper:time for Thanksgiving.
Tyler Evans:I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving seeing my my
Tyler Evans:aunt, my grandma, who by the way, she had cancer twice. But
Tyler Evans:it was like real small. It wasn't like super bad or
Tyler Evans:anything. She recently had lung cancer cut out of her. But it
Tyler Evans:was so small they were they all they had to do is just cut it
Tyler Evans:out. And then she underwent some chemo. And I think she's going
Tyler Evans:to have that for a few sessions, and then she shouldn't be done.
Tyler Evans:Wow. But they want to make sure that the cancer doesn't come
Tyler Evans:back or doesn't grow again. That's why they're doing it.
Tyler Evans:Wow. And so I'll get to see her Thursday.
Saylor Cooper:Then, so I know. Yeah, Atallah you and I we have
Saylor Cooper:a number of podcasts coming up in 20 minutes. So we kind of
Saylor Cooper:short on time where to wrap things up, especially after the
Saylor Cooper:inconvenience for the power outlet. Send me Why would
Saylor Cooper:someone move that plug in the studio? Come on. It's
Saylor Cooper:inconvenient. You know?
Tyler Evans:It's okay. It's okay. Yeah, we're back. We're
Tyler Evans:back.
Saylor Cooper:We're good. Not confused. Charging. It's not
Saylor Cooper:gonna die, which is good. But, so before we wrap up a quiz, do
Saylor Cooper:you have anything else to share? If not, we'll, we'll move to
Saylor Cooper:wrap up. So it's all you.
Chris Mitchell:Let's see anything else I'd like to share.
Chris Mitchell:Christmas is coming. Don't forget do Christmas shopping.
Chris Mitchell:But most importantly, when Christmas is here, don't forget
Chris Mitchell:the real reason for the season. Is that to max out your credit
Chris Mitchell:cards, just think about that to
Saylor Cooper:celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Chris Mitchell:Yeah. My birthday is eight days before
Chris Mitchell:that. So um, the opening act. The opening act on the warm up
Chris Mitchell:act before the big day,
Saylor Cooper:you'll be 56 Right? Yeah, no, I'll
Chris Mitchell:be 57.
Saylor Cooper:Yeah. Wow. Yeah.
Chris Mitchell:So it can be a bottle of ketchup. Yeah, Heinz
Chris Mitchell:57. Yeah. Well, Oh, yeah.
Saylor Cooper:Well, awesome. Well, so if nothing else, before
Saylor Cooper:we close out the customary ending, I like to I like to ask
Saylor Cooper:is what advice would you get? Now Tyler? Adams said it, you
Saylor Cooper:ask it now? has said it lately. Now you? Okay?
Tyler Evans:So what advice would you give to someone who
Tyler Evans:just doesn't seem like there's hope at all, like, they just
Tyler Evans:want to give up?
Chris Mitchell:Well, first of all, don't give up. There's
Chris Mitchell:always a way out, there's always a way or something you can do
Chris Mitchell:about your situation. And you may have to face some harsh
Chris Mitchell:realities and take some responsibility for your lot in
Chris Mitchell:life. Because a lot of people when they're in a difficult
Chris Mitchell:situation may want to blame others. And then maybe some
Chris Mitchell:blame in others. But there's also some that can be in your
Chris Mitchell:own. For example, my ischemic stroke to my spinal cord, I
Chris Mitchell:believe it had to do with something with the
Chris Mitchell:anesthesiologist, we got the medical reports back. And there
Chris Mitchell:were some things that were kind of questionable in it. Now, I
Chris Mitchell:could sit here and blame him. And but how would that help me?
Chris Mitchell:It won't. Because it's going to distract me away from where I
Chris Mitchell:want to be. And I have to ask myself this. The day before the
Chris Mitchell:surgery, I did get to meet the anesthesiologist. And he was
Chris Mitchell:very condescending, and rude and I had a bad feeling about him.
Chris Mitchell:And I should have, what would have happened, if I wouldn't
Chris Mitchell:call my surgeon is that I don't like this guy. I want a
Chris Mitchell:different anesthesiologist. So I accept that responsibility that
Chris Mitchell:maybe I could have done something to prevent this. But
Chris Mitchell:not blame anyone. But more importantly, I also remember
Chris Mitchell:that there's a reason for everything happening in our
Chris Mitchell:life. God gives his toughest challenges to the people he
Chris Mitchell:knows who can handle it with him by his side with it my him wit
Chris Mitchell:by their side. It's a tongue twister, trust me it is I just
Chris Mitchell:proved that. So there's a reason for it to happen. And if he
Chris Mitchell:brought you to it, he can bring you through it. So you know
Chris Mitchell:don't give up hope God is gonna be there with you just reach out
Chris Mitchell:to him. He's got the phonebook as a direct dial by through
Chris Mitchell:prayers. No app required, though. No, no worry about the
Chris Mitchell:battery in your cell phone dying or on your laptop dies we've had
Chris Mitchell:happen here today. So yeah, this isn't reached out and either a
Chris Mitchell:available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there's no operator
Chris Mitchell:standing by you don't have to go through a security system or you
Chris Mitchell:know, his people. You get direct connection to him through
Chris Mitchell:Christ. So.
Saylor Cooper:So real quick, you got to anesthesia, I guess
Saylor Cooper:extends to anesthesiologist since writing him was it the
Saylor Cooper:anesthesia itself that caused you a spinal cord? injury? No,
Chris Mitchell:I'm not gonna say what caused it. I don't know
Chris Mitchell:for sure. But I do believe that there was some medicine given to
Chris Mitchell:me when my blood pressure dropped a little bit, that may
Chris Mitchell:have spiked it up and sent something into my spine to cause
Chris Mitchell:the problem. I'm not a doctor, I didn't want to make accusations.
Chris Mitchell:But I just feel that looking at that record, I think other
Chris Mitchell:things may have contributed to to give when I go through the
Chris Mitchell:record, my birthday and age changed a couple of times during
Chris Mitchell:the surgery, and where I lived at the time, there is another
Chris Mitchell:person who had my name that also has cardiac issues that
Chris Mitchell:accidentally ran into him in a outpatient procedure for people
Chris Mitchell:with a cardiac issues. That is spooky. And I wonder if the
Chris Mitchell:records got crossed? I don't know for sure. But the point is,
Chris Mitchell:I was uneasy with the anesthesiologist, and maybe he
Chris Mitchell:he was not the best that he was cocky, he was arrogant. And what
Chris Mitchell:would have happened if I would have called and said, I don't
Chris Mitchell:like this guy. Let's get a different anesthesiologist.
Chris Mitchell:Maybe I didn't have my stroke. But because I had a stroke. I'm
Chris Mitchell:able to be on podcasts like this and reach people and others. So
Chris Mitchell:it's been a blessing and there's no blessings. And there's
Saylor Cooper:no need to go back. You know, you can't change
Saylor Cooper:the past only only going like to the future. You know,
Chris Mitchell:you can't change the past. You can only hope to
Chris Mitchell:influence the future for the better. Yeah.
Tyler Evans:Even though you can't even though you can't
Tyler Evans:change the past. You can learn from it. That's right. Yes.
Saylor Cooper:Right. All right. All right. Well,
Tyler Evans:it was good having you here today. Yeah.
Saylor Cooper:Thank you for having me. It was so yeah. All
Saylor Cooper:right. You know when the episode drops, also, I wouldn't normally
Saylor Cooper:just a part of Palooza I know. This photo says Thanksgiving. I
Saylor Cooper:don't know. If I'm sure you're gonna be busy, but if you can't
Saylor Cooper:dispose, it's fine. But every Thursday, Kimberly Crowe, she is
Saylor Cooper:one of my best friends. Now she is here with me on this trip.
Saylor Cooper:She hosts what's called speakers play house. Hashtag for that 90
Saylor Cooper:minutes of your life where you can get on Zoom and speak it
Saylor Cooper:tell people about your talk title. It's great. Like fun.
Saylor Cooper:Yeah, yeah. And but yeah, Chris, it was. It was a pleasure having
Saylor Cooper:you on the show.
Chris Mitchell:But thank you for having me. And people can
Chris Mitchell:connect with me at my website. The Chris mitchell.com Th e Chr.
Chris Mitchell:Is MIT ch e ll dot c o m. And I bet these wonderful people if I
Chris Mitchell:asked him real nicely, we'll put that in the show notes while you
Chris Mitchell:guys
Saylor Cooper:show you definitely yeah.
Tyler Evans:We know we can do we can we can put it in in we
Tyler Evans:can put put the link in there in the in the show like either on
Tyler Evans:our liberty radio page or, or this one or both? Right. Yeah.
Saylor Cooper:Well, yeah, Chris. Yeah. Also, thanks for
Saylor Cooper:giving your contact information. And of course I do have the
Saylor Cooper:headshots and all that. So it's awesome. So good. But yeah,
Saylor Cooper:thanks for being on the show. Give it up for Christmas to
Saylor Cooper:everybody on
Chris Mitchell:it's been an honor to be here today. Thank
