Speaker 1: Hi everybody, and welcome to the Kylie Cast. I'm Kylie Griswold,
Managing editor at The Federalist. Please like and subscribe wherever
you get your podcasts. In fact, we have a brand
new channel just for the Kylie Cast on Spotify and
Apple Podcasts. So if you are only subscribed to The
Federalist Radio Hour, or you're wrong with Molly Hemingway and
David Harsani, two of our other great podcasts at the Federalist,
be sure to also subscribe to the Kylie Cast so
you never miss an episode. And even better yet, if
you're just listening to the show, be sure to go
check out the full video version on my personal YouTube
channel or the Federalist channel on Rumble, and then of
course like and subscribe there too. If you'd like to
email the show, you can do so at radio at
the Federalist dot com. I would love to hear from
you this week. I am so excited to be joined
by my dear friend, Susanna Haik. Susanna is a Christian,
a wife, a boy mom. She's a political activist and
an entrepreneur, and she has such an incredible and powerful
story to tell. In fact, she has such an incredible
story to tell that it's going to take two parts
to tell it, so be sure to tune in next
week for part two of the interview with Susanna Haik,
where we will talk about holistic health and her cancer journey,
and entrepreneurship and her favorite conspiracy theory and plenty of
other things. But this week we talk about what it's
like for her to be a boy mom. She tells
the story of her faith and how she was raised
and how she eventually deconstructed from her faith and then
came back to faith, and she also tells about two
medical miracles in her family. You will not want to
miss it all of that and more on the Kylie Cast. Susannah,
let's start from the very beginning. First of all, thanks
so much for joining me. It's awesome to have you here. Yes,
but Susanna and I talk all the time, so this
is basically just having a normal conversation in front of
whoever wants to listen. So let's just rewind to like
early on in your story. I want to hear basically
your whole testimony throughout the course of the Kylie Cast,
but let's just start with, like how you were raised
where you come from, kind of what your upbringing was like.
Speaker 2: Okay, so I grew up in the Chicago suburbs. I
have five brothers and sisters. I would say I grew
up in a very strict, somewhat legalistic home. From a
religious standpoint, I felt.
Speaker 1: Loved, had lots of fun.
Speaker 2: We had ten acres, and we spent a lot of
time outside, and I was very close.
Speaker 1: To my siblings.
Speaker 2: We have quite a big span, so I was in
the middle, so I had a little bit of every
one of them.
Speaker 1: How many of you are there, They're six? Okay, yeah, yeah,
So loved having a big family.
Speaker 2: We went to church every Sunday, Bible studies sometimes twice
a week.
Speaker 1: In the evenings.
Speaker 2: We were very involved in our church. And you know,
when I was young, I didn't have an issue with
it because it was just what we did as a family.
But you know, as I got older, it was definitely
more of a struggle. And I think looking back, my
parents did the absolute best that they could, and I
really believe that their intentions were good. But there was
really no discussions ever.
Speaker 1: It was like this is what you do.
Speaker 2: You know, do what you're told, and don't ask questions
and don't complain.
Speaker 1: And so you know, if you.
Speaker 2: Have a personality like mine, a little bit more edgy
or you know, liking to push the limits, you just
find ways to get around doing all the things that
they're telling you not to do.
Speaker 1: So, you know, growing up with like a lot of.
Speaker 2: Shame, but just it was easy to push that aside
and not really think about it until you can't push
it aside anymore, right.
Speaker 1: Right, So you talk about the legalism and that strict environment,
like what specific dominational leaning was all of it?
Speaker 2: We were a non denomination at Christian Church, I would
say from the looks of it, you might have called
it Lutheran, you know, hymns.
Speaker 3: I was a piano.
Speaker 2: Player at a very very young age, so that was
kind of my role that I filled. Never really was
asked if that was something I wanted to do, and
I always resented that as well.
Speaker 1: Ah got it, Yes, Okay, So was your environment? Did
you hear the gospel a lot? Like? Was that a
big part of it? But it was just overshadowed by
a lot of the legalism or was that even not
really explicit? It was more just kind of a rules
based environment where the real gospel wasn't even really a
part of it. I have asked my mom this question.
Speaker 2: I've talked to some of my siblings, but I honestly
don't remember hearing.
Speaker 1: The word Jesus very often.
Speaker 2: I feel like it was very old Testament teaching and
fire and brimstone and you know, do this and you're
going to hell.
Speaker 1: You know, I don't know how.
Speaker 2: That's supposed to be very inviting to a young person
when all of your friends are doing whatever they want,
and you know, you just see the parts of it
that you're missing out on.
Speaker 1: So, yeah, Jesus wasn't really discussed.
Speaker 2: My parents might disagree with that, but it's at least
what I remember.
Speaker 1: Sure, and maybe some at home, but like not in
the church that you could, right, okay, right, And I
think you know, my dad was worked.
Speaker 2: A ton, you know, there were so many of us
we could kind of stay under the radar if we
needed to.
Speaker 1: But we we had land, we had animals.
Speaker 2: Like, there were chores galore, and so we were always
doing something.
Speaker 1: There wasn't a lot of time to just you know,
sit around and be lazy, right, right, right, So do
you remember a particular point where you were just like,
I'm not into this or was it a gradual just
kind of rebellious streak that ended in sort of a
not very Christian way of bs.
Speaker 2: I would say it was more of a gradual. I
was kind of so. I had an older sister who
was not a good influence.
Speaker 1: Okay, she was ten.
Speaker 2: Years older than me, and I was kind of her
little baby. You know, when I was five and six,
I'm very much a tomboy, and she would do my hair,
I'd go to school.
Speaker 3: It was very much a dichotomy.
Speaker 2: I looked like I was going to walk down the runway,
but I was dressed. My dirt under my fingernails was
quite odd.
Speaker 1: But she was.
Speaker 2: Participating in some things that were not great in high school.
And so I was little. I was six seven years old.
She used to have me watch soap.
Speaker 3: Operas with her.
Speaker 2: Okay, probably not a good idea. And of course I
looked up to her. I loved her and she was
so fun, and I think my dad was working all
the time, my mom was running the house and just
kind of not really paying attention to.
Speaker 3: Some of that.
Speaker 2: So when she moved out, now I'm getting into like
middle school.
Speaker 3: And then once I got in high school.
Speaker 2: I mean, I just like, I'm I still want to
do all these things.
Speaker 3: And I was very convincing.
Speaker 2: I was very good at manipulating my parents to think
I would never do those things.
Speaker 1: Sure, and get really good in those environments, at talking
to talk, oh my, walking the walk when people are
looking at you. H.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's really like leading a double life. Yeah,
and it it isn't good. It isn't good.
Speaker 1: And I think fast forward to when we started to
have kids.
Speaker 2: I swore I would never ever do that to my kids.
But it you know, it's a whole nother story. But
it became like the opposite. So for me, I just
I turned eighteen and could not go I mean I
would have gone to a school, you know, eight hours away,
but I went to Cincinnati, so it was far enough
away where they wouldn't just you know, pop in. And honestly,
I really I didn't even come home for Thanksgiving a
couple of years. I made excuses up why and that
to me, it just is so sagas my kids that
to me, I would be crushed. But yeah, so that
was kind of the nail and the coffin per se
of like leaving. But then I graduated from college, wasn't
ready to move back home yet. I started my master's,
stayed in Ohio, and then I finally, you know, was
pretty much cut off, like I needed to get a job.
Speaker 1: So I move home. I think I'm twenty three at
this point, twenty.
Speaker 2: Three, and I meet my husband and he's amazing, He's
you know, instantly we pretty much knew this was he
was the one, and I was his you know, and
he wasn't. He was raised Catholic, was had gone since
he was eighteen. So I'm like, oh, this is perfect.
We don't have to go to church, like this is
this is going to be great. And my parents, i
think our second date, they were like, when are you
bringing him to church?
Speaker 3: And I thought, I need, I need to get out
of here.
Speaker 2: And so I told him, listen, I'm going to move
out and my parents are going.
Speaker 3: To be really upset. And he's like, you're twenty three.
Speaker 1: I'm like, you just.
Speaker 3: Don't get it.
Speaker 2: You don't understand. I'm just warning you. And so I
like literally packed up my stuff. My friend came with
her white van with no windows. We threw my mattress.
It's really quite a story. I moved in with her,
and I had a full time job at that point,
and my parents were basically calling me telling me to
get home, and I just felt so free. And that's
so sad, but I did. I felt so free, and
they didn't talk to me for a couple of years.
They weren't invited to my wedding.
Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah, yeah, wow, that's pretty like dramatic and drastic.
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they were not happy with my decision and I
didn't care. I didn't care at the time. Of course,
we've made amends and everything turned out okay, but it
took a couple of years.
Speaker 1: So yeah, stories are long, Thank goodness, because yeah, we'll
get back to the retention art on that for sure.
I actually remember when I first met you, because we
met through a mutual friend. I was at coffee with
said friend and she was like, oh, can I bring
my friend Susannah, And I was like, of course, I
knew of you through the like County political activism scene
a little bit, and when we first met, I just
we clicked instantly. But the part of your story, I
think at that point you weren't really fully like going
back to church yet, which is so interesting to me
now because so much of our friendship now is so
centered on the Gospel, and it's so funny that that's
not really how I met you. And where was I
going with this?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 1: I clicked with you right away, And part of it
was when I was asking you about your story and
you were sharing this whole legalism background. I'm like, oh,
my word, I totally get that. And I didn't experience
it as much at home, but it was the small town.
Either you go to the Baptist church, or you go
to the Catholic church, or you go to the Lutheran church.
And you know, I was there, raised in this legalistic
Baptist church where we went there, and my grandparents went
there and my great grandparents went there, and you just
kind of do it. And you know, again, my parents
did the best that they could. And then you know,
reinforce way better messaging than the legalism at home. But
it's so stifling and it's so exhausting, and just even
if you understand the gospel, your motivation is far more
about performance and not getting in trouble than it is
about an actual heart motivation that's based on love of
the Lord and you know, all the actual good stuff.
So Anyway, when I heard your story, I was like, oh,
we're going to be friends. I know it. And it's
just so funny that all the redemption arts. So okay.
So you meet your husband, you marry him, you leave
your parents, you're like, I'm done with all of this.
Let's talk through like early years of marriage, how that
was without having faith to lean on, Like, marriage is hard,
and especially when you're adapting to those first the first
year or two or I mean maybe a lot longer
than that too, and also just your decision to have
kids to not raise them the way that you were, like,
walk me through a lot of that.
Speaker 2: Gosh, we just celebrated our thirtieth went anniversary.
Speaker 1: Yes, congratulations, we made it. You made it through those
two years.
Speaker 2: You know I would I would say our first couple
of years were blissful. We I think for me, I
felt so free to be who I mean. You know,
I wasn't this horrible person like I was. I had
strong values and moral well you know, after I realized
like you need to grow up, but you know, you
realize that this isn't the lifestyle that you want to live.
You want to I wanted to be a mom since
I was five years old and so and I was
a teacher, so I had a lot of these nurturing
motherly characteristics, and so, you know, his family was amazing,
and so I instantly was like, oh, I just replaced
my family kind of cold.
Speaker 1: Okay, so had they They had kind of walked away
from the rigid Catholic.
Speaker 2: Oh, yipe way, Okay, Yes, yeah, I think it was
more of a formality for him. I mean they still
his mom was very devout, but yeah, they were just
this very accepting, loving family, and I fit right in.
You know, all athletes, like we loved a lot of
the same things big sports fans. So I think early
on it was it was great. I'm pretty easy to
get along with. I'm like low drama, just go with
the flow, always up for having fun. And I can
attest all of this.
Speaker 1: Yes, it's all true.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I probably was really should be a guy. That's
what my friends I said, You're kind of like a guy.
Speaker 3: I don't know if that's a good thing.
Speaker 2: So when Chris and I, he was working, he had
a couple of jobs in like the engineering field, not
as an engineer, but he really wanted to be an entrepreneur,
and I was like, go for it, like I have
no desire. My dad was one and I just wanted
to be a teacher. I wanted to be a teacher.
I wanted to change the world. I wanted to be
a teacher in a mom and so I was pursuing
that and Chris was starting this whole.
Speaker 1: You know, crazy like and getting into real estate. And
then we.
Speaker 2: Had our first son, and Tyler liked changed everything. Obviously.
I instantly was like, I don't want to go to work.
I don't want to take care of other people's kids.
I want to take care of mine. But I still
kept teaching, but I was able to go a part
time and we just started everything changed. Our focus changed
to raising this family. We weren't going to church. I
think we tried, we shopped around, we called it, but literally,
when I tell you, sitting in a pew, I had
like a visceral reaction.
Speaker 1: It was not good, it was not healthy, and that
was all me. I was trying to control the situation.
I was not open deep down.
Speaker 2: I just didn't want to go to church, and so
I could only see the things that bothered me.
Speaker 3: I was not open minded at all about it.
Speaker 2: And he didn't really care so it was or made
in heaven, right, we just you know, didn't have to
worry about that. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And do you think I mean, we can come back
to this and talk more more broadly about like deconstruction
and kind of what that looks like. But do you
think it was because you didn't believe it anymore or
just because you didn't like it?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Sadly, I did believe it, okay, which is a good thing.
Speaker 1: I just didn't like it.
Speaker 2: And I think like being asked of you, yes, I
mean thank God for mercy and grace, because.
Speaker 1: I mean, seeing those words.
Speaker 2: Out loud, I'm like, oh, that's so bad, so bad.
So yeah, I just didn't I didn't want to do it.
Speaker 1: I didn't like it.
Speaker 2: I didn't want to be in a you know, in
a box. I didn't want to be told what to
do and how to behave because I was a good
person and you know, we really we had three healthy kids.
We didn't really have any reason to need a faith. Again,
I still believed. If you said, are you a Christian?
Do you believe in God? Absolutely I would have said yes.
And I mean I would pray, but not consistently. Yeah,
it just it was very kind of watered down when
I needed it, then I knew it was there, and
then you know, things start to become a little more challenging.
We weren't the best communicators, like I am a very
we need to talk about it now. Chris is like
any two days, I didn't like that. So then there's
you know, behaviors like well then I'm just going to
make the decision for us because you're not making it
fast enough, or the silent treatment.
Speaker 1: Or but overall, it was still we were fine.
Speaker 3: You know, we were fine, and you're.
Speaker 2: So busy when you've got little kids. You just the
next day starts over and you're like, all right, we're
all right, We're all right. So yeah, that was kind
of how we started. Chris became a full time entrepreneur,
and you know, as a spouse of an entrepreneur, I
have friends that have said, I don't know how you
have done it, and I'm like, well, I don't know
anything different. I mean for our entire thirty years and
for the last twenty five I've been an entrepreneur as well.
So there's no regular paychecks, there's no you know, insurance,
like we have to figure that all out ourselves. So
I wouldn't change any of that, but that just brought
on some new challenges. But we still thought we could
just power through and figure.
Speaker 3: It all out on our own.
Speaker 2: And I look back at some of those times when
finances were tough, and when the real estate market crashed
in two thousand and eight, which was a nightmare disaster,
I think it was God he was really.
Speaker 3: Kind of pursuing us all those years.
Speaker 2: And right he would probably be saying this is going
this is going to do it for them, and we
would get through it and move on to the next thing,
and he was like, okay. So several things happened in
the third last thirty years where you know, it just
we were like.
Speaker 1: Thick headed, yeah, yeah, so we can We're going to
get to some of those things. What was the final
breaking point, Like when did you feel that softening of okay,
I actually do need this and the you know, the
walls coming down and the feeling of, you know, not
that visceral reaction when you walk into church and actually
being pulled and drawn back to the Lord. I would
I mean, I think.
Speaker 2: There were little things along the way, but without doubt
it was during COVID and a lot of things changed
in my mind. I was just so angry and I
was looking for a fight, just to prove people wrong.
And my way is the right way, which I do think,
you know, that's on the right side of a lot
of the things. But I just was I did not
know what to do with myself. I was like, how
can people not see what is happening? And then I
felt like it was my mission to make people under stand,
and so that was really starting to just kind of
eat up, eat me, at me, And.
Speaker 1: Then you're talking about COVID policies of all of that. Yeah, yeah,
that's actually how we met basically, because we were both
at like a mask hearing for the county and that's
how we became friends on Facebook and that eventually met
in real life. Oh that's so funny. We can hang out. Yeah, yeah,
which is crazy.
Speaker 2: I mean, some of my very closest friends now I
met through that whole mess.
Speaker 1: What a wild time, wild yep wild.
Speaker 2: So during COVID we had some health stuff happen, and
I don't know if you want to get into that yet,
but I feel like this these opportunities happened. My friend
that you referenced before we were at a coffee shop,
trying to find a place to work that we didn't
have to wear masks, and we were just having our
coffee and this adorable young gentleman sat at the table
next to us, and he was with his sister and
a little baby, and we struck up a conversation with him,
and within two minutes he said we had a Bible
with him, and we commented and he.
Speaker 3: Said, do you go to church? And we were kind
of like, well, you know.
Speaker 1: She said yes.
Speaker 2: I was like, well, not really, and he invited us
to come to this church so and literally the reason
why I said yes was because they didn't require masks,
so high standards here. So when the next Sunday and
I sat in the seat and I was changed, I
mean it was.
Speaker 3: You just can't explain it. I don't even remember what
the message was that day.
Speaker 2: I think some of it was just the words of
this pastor who we adore, obviously, and I felt like,
this is exactly what.
Speaker 3: I've been missing in my life.
Speaker 2: And at the same time that that was happening, my
husband was having some terrible health issues, which I was
just desperate for something to come into my life, and
so I think all of these were stacked that it
was going to be so obvious for me that I
could not say no. So yeah, yeah, I mean that's
not even that long ago. No, I can't even believe
who like who I am now. I have a long
way to go, but it's crazy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the transformation is truly wild. And all of the
ways that I have seen the Lord work in your
life in the past five years is just truly insane,
and like only God can do that, and it's so cool. Okay,
So let's get into the Chris health stuff, because there's
so much here and it truly like the type of
story that gives me chills when I think about it.
So why don't you just share? Okay, kind of how
it started and so it happened.
Speaker 2: We get COVID like everybody did early on, and I
get it, have it, no, you know, no symptoms, really
accept lost my taste and smell and just assumed that
I had it. I didn't need proof, but I just
assume that I had it. He gets it as well
and has a little bit worse symptoms. But then like
a month later, he started having some very bizarre symptoms
and he already has some ear issues like some hearing
issues and some ringing, but it was accentuated, and I
just kept thinking, Okay, this has to be like an
ear infection or something. So we start going to some
different doctors and nobody can figure out anything. So it's like, oh,
you know, it might be this, it might be this.
It'd send you to somebody else, and now you're waiting
for a month to get into another appointment. And we
were already you know, eating clean and you know, doing
some supplements, but we just really upped everything and he's
progressively getting worse.
Speaker 1: And what he was diagnosed.
Speaker 2: With was called hyperacousticis, which is a very sensitive hearing.
So when I say sensitive, I mean his own voice
was too loud and it was painful. So imagine your
dog barking, getting ice in a glass, your doorbell ringing,
driving TV radio.
Speaker 3: Radio, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: So all of these things, he can't do anything that
you would normally do. So even when you're sick, you
can go watch a movie. He couldn't do anything, and
it was becoming very isolating and actually very scary, and
so a friend of mine who was a chiropractor, I
was like, can you see him.
Speaker 1: Can you I don't know, we need to do something.
Speaker 2: And she ended up and I was already going to
church at this point because I was just like desperate,
you know, and I was feeling the Holy Spirit there.
Speaker 1: So it was like my.
Speaker 2: Joy and it was like the one time in the
week where I was like, oh, I feel normal.
Speaker 1: Is this in twenty twenty This was.
Speaker 2: In twenty twenty one into twenty twenty two, But I
was already had already been going to church for a while.
So we go and take him to this chiropractor friend
who does something called my official work, and she basically said, okay, wow,
there's some spiritual warfare happening here. She and I'm not
in the room, I'm out in the lobby, and she
asks him if he would like to have some like scripture,
healing scripture, and he of course said yes. You didn't
even have a Bible, didn't even own a Bible, And
so she was the first person who said I think
this could be spiritual and I think you should start
reading the Bible. And he was looked at her like what,
I don't even know what, I don't even know.
Speaker 1: Where to start.
Speaker 2: So he I think she may have even given him
a Bible and he literally started just opening up and
reading the words. And because he couldn't talk, he couldn't work,
he couldn't drive, he couldn't watch TV.
Speaker 1: Which is just to stop and think about that for
a second. I mean, that is that's like hell on her.
That is like solitary confinement. I mean, that is the
worst thing you can imagine. I mean, it's torture.
Speaker 2: Well, and the rest of us are walking around the
house literally in silence. So whenever he he was around,
we just didn't talk. House full of boys, right, list
was already moved out, It's.
Speaker 1: Just the two.
Speaker 2: But like I stopped doing the dishes. I wouldn't make
any food. It was just like and then you know,
he felt like, Okay, well now nobody can do anything,
so I'm just going to go back into the basement
or into the bedroom.
Speaker 1: And so solitary, I mean totally.
Speaker 2: And I know he would not care if I shared
this because it's it's really part of the story. But
I mean there were times where I was like, are
you okay? I know you're not okay, but I think
I worded it should I be worried about you? And
he swore to me, no, we have you know, we
believe in the Second Amendment.
Speaker 3: So I've said.
Speaker 2: I didn't think you would ever do anything, but I
still would ask. And that is the hardest thing to
ask your husband. Yeah, I mean, nobody wants to ask
their husband. There was one time he was in the
bedroom and he was laying down and he texted me.
I was in the kitchen and he said, please don't
come in here. He said, I am not doing well.
And of course I go in there. You don't do that.
And he just said, I feel like the devil is
taking over my body. And of course, you know, that
was just terrifying, and I you know, would reach out
to my people like please pray, this is not good.
And I'm sure he wanted to end his life. I
mean he never said that to me, but he has
told me that since he just wanted to be done
and this.
Speaker 1: Is people want to be done for far less like
And that was a prolonged thing.
Speaker 3: And that's just it was two and a half years,
it was and mental torment.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So all in the process of this, we had just
built our dream home. So now we've been in our
dream home for two years. You know, beautiful ranch on
an acre. I mean, it was just we loved it.
We designed it and built it and it was amazing.
Sorrying to think, Okay, are you ever going to work again?
We really need to talk about what we're doing. And
the market is insane at the time, and we had
actually had people stop by a knock on our door
and ask if we would sell our house because they
loved the look of it and the lot, and I
was like no, and then the third person, I'm thinking, Okay,
maybe this is something we should consider.
Speaker 3: YEP.
Speaker 2: So we ended up listing it. We sold it in
five days while over asking it.
Speaker 3: It was insane.
Speaker 2: So we sold our house and now we've nowhere to go,
and he's super sick. I also am dealing with something,
which is another story. So we find a cute little
house to rent, and we're still in that house because
we can't figure out what.
Speaker 1: We want to do when we grow up.
Speaker 2: But we now are in this new place. And I'll
skip to the end of the miracle in it because
it's literally two and a half years of just drawn
out horribleness.
Speaker 1: So it's my birthday.
Speaker 2: This is a Saturday, and we're getting together with a
bunch of friends and he would try to go to
things and we would make all these accommodations. He'd come with,
like these big lawnmowing you know, Jackhammers.
Speaker 1: On newborns at a concert. Yeah.
Speaker 3: It's really sad.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but you know he wanted to be there in
the effort. So I was just having a bad day,
total pity party, and I just said to him, I
don't want you to come, Like I'm sorry, I don't
want you to come.
Speaker 1: I I don't even want to go, but they're going
to make me go.
Speaker 2: So I basically uninvited him from my birthday and enter
and the kids came, and I literally tried to get
out of it.
Speaker 3: I just felt like a horrible person.
Speaker 2: So this was this was Saturday, and I remember after
I went into his office and whispered, you know, you
cannot come.
Speaker 3: I went into my bedroom and I.
Speaker 2: Got on my knees and that was the lowest point
I had felt at this point, and I was just
sobbing to God, please just bring someone into my life
that can help us. And I mean I'd prayed this
pray prayer before, but it just was different. And so
I go to church the next morning and I was
supposed to volunteer, and I said, please, just I just
need to come, you know, can you feel feel my spot?
And they did, so I purpose show up late so
I don't see anybody I know, and I can just
sit in the back corner and just be there for myself.
And my friend Miranda is walking in and she's.
Speaker 1: Like, oh my gosh, Hi, come sit with me.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, so of course, I say sure,
and I sit next to her and this other woman
and I knew this woman from fifteen years ago, and
within three minutes standing there, she says, oh, my gosh,
you know how long have you been coming? And I said,
you know, a couple of years. And I said, you know,
I normally come by myself or with my friends because
my husband he's got some ear stuff.
Speaker 3: And she goes, oh, does he have hyperacoustics?
Speaker 2: And I'm like, nobody knows what that is, right, So
I immediately look up. I'm like, thank you God. I don't
know what she's going to tell me, but just somebody
knows what he has. And she then said to me, well,
I had I had it. I had a brain tumor
and surgery and so I had it and I am healed,
and so I don't remember what happened the rest of
the service.
Speaker 1: Sure I was crying through the whole thing.
Speaker 2: And proceeded to meet with her after that day, and
there were so many reasons why she shouldn't have been
there that day, and I wasn't going to go. I mean,
we were sat next to each other for a reason.
So I go to her house and she basically talks
me through what happened to her, and then she says
to me, this is how I was healed. Obviously God
healed me, but I did it.
Speaker 1: Through this this. Oh gosh, this book.
Speaker 2: It's a book that you can get in, something you
can program, you can do, and it's called d NRS
Dynamic Neural Retraining System. And so she says it. She
pulls out this book and I'm like, we have that.
Someone had given it to him, Okay, like a month prior.
He tried it three times and every time he tried
it he had vertigo.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: And so I told her this, and she goes, you
tell him that is the devil he needs to push
through that.
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, I will tell him that, which
also vertigo another kind of hell. I mean, that's horrible,
and he'd never had but only when you open that book.
Speaker 3: So I was like, she's not into something.
Speaker 2: So I get home and I just tell him all
about her and what she recommended, and so he pulled
that book out and he started it that day. Okay,
so this is Sunday afternoon. Wednesday night, she came over.
I left so they could whisper and have a little conversation. Friday,
he was healed, gone, all his symptoms.
Speaker 1: Gray. What crazy.
Speaker 4: Should social media influencers register like lobbyists? The Watched Out
on Wall Street podcast with Chris Markowski. Every day Chris
helps unpack the connection between politics and the economy and
how it affects your wallet. Some in Congress are proposing
that paid social media influencers publicly disclose who they represent,
especially if they're being paid by foreign countries for their causes.
Whether it's happening in DC or Wall Street, it's affecting
you financially. Be informed.
Speaker 1: Check out the.
Speaker 4: Watchdot on Wall Street podcast with Christmakowski on Apples, Spotify,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2: I mean, now, he wasn't healed in forty eight hours.
He had done the work. I mean, he had been
reading the Bible and watching church online and meeting with
our pastor, and so, I mean, he had been doing
a lot of things, but I think it was he
was finally had hope that someone else he wasn't crazy,
someone else had what he has, and that combination was just.
Speaker 1: Like that, Wow, so insane. And again, only the Lord
can connect those dots and do that and crazy, just
the way that he so providentially orchestrates our path to
cross paths with other people, and like he sees and
he hears and he knows.
Speaker 3: He can not deny.
Speaker 1: No, you can't. And there are times when for two
and a half years, you are in ice and you
cannot you cannot see why or understand. And maybe you
still can't understand why. But just like the Lord is
not gone in those moments, and he does not forsake us.
And it is just so evident that his hand was
on Chris and on you the whole time. And it's
just that story is mind blowing to me.
Speaker 2: And I think the best part, besides the fact that
he's he's good now, is that so many people witness this.
I mean our friends, I mean, I was like the
worst person to be friends with during that time because
I didn't want to do anything, but they forced me,
and I'm so glad they did.
Speaker 3: And so many people were praying for me.
Speaker 2: And I'm not, like, you know, down in the dumbst person,
and so I would try to like do normal things,
but it was hard, and so I so many including
my kids, but so many people witnessed the only thing
you could call as a miracle.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, okay, so that's not the only miracle in
your family with your family's help. So yes, not to
cut the Christ story short, because I'm sure there are
so many other things you could say about it, but
let's talk about the miracle of your oldest son, Tyler,
his near death experience and how the Lord absolutely spared
his life and then ultimately gave him life in Christ later,
but let's just start with the physical life of Tyler.
Speaker 2: So I think the thing that with Tyler and what
happened to him is really when you ask me that
question before, this is what I was going to say,
But it was I didn't see it then. I didn't
see that it was changing us, but it totally did.
Speaker 1: As the thing that was kind of drawing you back
to faith.
Speaker 2: So it was but it was really the first time
I went to church and set, you know, in that seat.
Speaker 1: So this was it. It takes a thing. Obviously, the
Lord's over here with a neon sign like hey wow.
Speaker 3: So many times.
Speaker 2: So this was twenty nineteen, and so our oldest Tyler
was twenty one, and he owned his own business, and
you know, just this great kid, like typical firstborn, so loving,
he takes care of his brothers, he's.
Speaker 1: He's just such a great kid.
Speaker 2: And he very much wanted to be an entrepreneur like
his mom and dad. And so he had this business
he had started at nineteen at so window washing company,
and he was going to do a job this particular day,
and so many things happened this day that weren't normal.
He left about eleven thirty and he said he'd be
done about one one thirty. I never get sick, never,
And around one thirty I was in my kitchen. I
was supposed to speak that night at an event, and
about one thirty ish I went from feeling normal to
oh my gosh, what is happening to me? I need
to go lay down. I'm I think I'm getting the flu.
And it happened that fast. Yeah, so and when I
lay down, my kids are like, oh my, it's mom dying.
So I go lay down and maybe take a little
nap or something.
Speaker 1: And I get up.
Speaker 2: It's now three o'clock and I'm like, where, you know,
where's Tyler? Because he was living back at home for
a short period of time at this point, and it's.
Speaker 1: Just something fell off. And I, you know, we have
light through sixty even though our kids are dolls, who
still have it.
Speaker 3: It's so funny.
Speaker 1: And I checked.
Speaker 3: To see he was still at this at this property.
Speaker 2: And I'm still feeling just awful, but I keep checking,
like why.
Speaker 1: Is he still there?
Speaker 2: And so I texted or I asked my husband to
text him because he said he was going to be home,
and Tyler never says he, you know, he would have
called and checked in, hey have money later, I'm going
to go do another job, right, classic firstborn? Classic, So
now my husband's texting him and not getting to and
then my middle's texting him, and now it's.
Speaker 1: Like five point thirty and this is just weird.
Speaker 2: He's not even home for dinner or saying he's going
to be late, and so I go into the kitchen
and now we're all kind of like, all right, somebody
there needs to go over there. Someone needs to you know,
you keep calling him, you drive over there, and let's
figure out what's going on. So my husband gets in
his car, my middle son is calling him, and then
all of a sudden, the phone rings. Now, mind you,
I'm in the kitchen and I forgot that I'm I
am not sick. I have no symptoms, but I don't
even notice it. I'm like, well, it's so weird. But
it cut me from going to this meeting that night.
I had already canceled and said I couldn't be there.
So my middle answers his phone because he gets a
call back and it's Tyler, and they have a.
Speaker 1: Few words and he hangs up the phone.
Speaker 2: He goes, all right, that was Tyler. He said he's
on his way home. And I'm thinking, what the heck
why didn't he let us know? Then Tanner paused and
he goes, mom, I think you're to call him back.
He didn't sound right, okay, so it was the first
thing for another boy to even notice it, you know.
So I take my phone and I call him and
he answers and he sounds super raspy.
Speaker 1: And just not like himself.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, hey, Bud, what's up? And he goes, Mom,
I don't think I should drive. I'm not feeling very good.
And don't ask me how I knew this, but I said,
oh my god, you have carbon monoxide poisoning. So he
is like what. So Tanner calls nine to one one.
Now Chris is on his way over there. The ambulance
is now coming.
Speaker 1: I have experience with this before at all? Or what
tipped you off to that?
Speaker 2: Well, based on what he does he was, I knew
he was powerwashing, and I don't know why I said that.
Of course, looking back, I'm like, well, yeah, that would
be natural that you could get carbon monoxide poisoning from
a closed in space using a gas powered thing.
Speaker 1: So Chris gets there.
Speaker 2: And then is already there and he's in the ambulance,
and I go straight to the hospital and I'm not thinking.
I'm not thinking anything is super serious. I'm just like, Okay,
he's in the ambulance, they got him.
Speaker 3: It's all going to be good.
Speaker 2: I don't ever get like it takes a lot for
me to think of I don't think the worst ever.
So we all get there and he's I go into
his room and he's got the mask on and he's
given me the thumbs up.
Speaker 1: So I'm like, okay, great, this is you know, he's good.
Speaker 2: About fifteen minutes later, the doctor pulls Chris and I
out to the hall and he says, okay, so he's
lucky to be alive. Okay, And he says, but we're
going to MedFlight him to Milwaukee because he needs to
get his you know, body flushed of this carbon exit.
Speaker 3: And I'm like, okay, So of course that's a little
bit more serious.
Speaker 2: And my husband is definitely more of a you know,
this could be the end, right and so and he
had a super important doctor's appointment the next day for
a kidney thing that he could not I mean, it
took like four months to get into ex appointments. So
my best friend, who we've referenced twice, now tonight I'll
go with you. So she drives down. We drive to Milwaukee,
and the whole time it's like an hour and fifteen
minute drive, I can hear the helicopter taking off.
Speaker 3: I am totally.
Speaker 1: Calm, and she keeps saying to me, how are you
not freaking out?
Speaker 3: I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I just feel I feel like he's gonna be He's
gonna be okay. And they did the three rounds of
it was very fascinating. It was interesting to be watching
him in this big thing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what do they do?
Speaker 2: So basically hyperbaric is in the hospital. It's a big room,
like the size, and they you know, have this they
all have protective stuff on, so they have something over
his head, but they are flushing his body, pushing this
the carbon dioxide out of his body and like a
respiratory thing kind of it's like it's almost like taking
you down in to like what a submarine you know,
would do. And they did that three times, and you know,
they were checking in with me and you know, he's
doing well, still not thinking anything is super super life
threatening or anything. And then the next after the third one,
they came in and sat down with me and said,
you know, he should not be here. Okay, the levels, well, no,
it's a dim pre the story.
Speaker 3: I'll tell that next.
Speaker 1: But he's he's going to be great, He's going to
be okay.
Speaker 2: Now there could be liver kidney bringing a little bit
of damage, but right now we're thinking he's good and
so now I'm realizing, oh my gosh, like this was
really really, really serious. Yeah, so I'm not a huge
like post these life things on Facebook, but I knew
a lot of people knew that he was in the hospital.
So I felt like, Okay, he's good. I want everyone
to know that he's okay. I look back at that
post from that it was February seventh, and hundreds and
huns and hundreds and hundreds of comments and people reaching
out private messages and texts. I was like blown away
that this many people, you know, really cared about this
and him and our family.
Speaker 1: And so the best message was.
Speaker 2: So I taught kindergarten for quite a few years, and
you know, my students are in their forties or something else.
And so this one guy, Mike Olsen to private messaged
me and said, hey, I just read your story about
your son. Can I ask if this was the address?
And then he listed the address and I said it
was you know, how do you know? And he goes,
do you mind if I share this story. I was
the first person on the scene. Basically, I don't know
what the term is like the they had come in
their has metsuits and they're like whatever that is. They
cleaning the house out, okay, And he said, they tested
the carbonoxide levels at the front door and they said
nobody survived. That's just the readings. They said, nobody could
have survived this. They didn't know who was there, if
it was one person, five people. And so he was.
Speaker 3: So the front door at the front door, yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So that was he just said, I'm so grateful
and I can't we never have we never have good news.
Speaker 1: So can I share this.
Speaker 3: With my team?
Speaker 1: I said yes, please please, So that was cool, okay.
And then so that you know, the guy, I know,
little Mikey was there first. It's so cool that your
kindergartener rescued yourself. So okay. So then.
Speaker 2: We basically, you know, get all the news that that
he's fine. Then Tyler starts to come around and tell me,
like what actually happened, and he.
Speaker 1: Gets on the job.
Speaker 2: Yes, he was using the gas powered you know, he
was young, and clearly for Christmas, he got a carbonax
side detector to wear in his belt.
Speaker 1: He didn't crack the window. He just like, I just
didn't think about it. So he remembers feeling very woozy.
Speaker 2: Normally he sets hist his phone and his keys up
on a ledge. They were on his physical body. He
just remembers feeling.
Speaker 1: Very dizzy, and he said, I'm just going to lay down. Well,
he's in a basement.
Speaker 2: It's cold, hard concrete, and he goes to sleep.
Speaker 3: He slept for.
Speaker 1: I don't know, five hours, six hours. In the whole
time you're monitoring life sixty and he's not coming home. Yeah,
he's taking a power nap, right, fueled by so harbon monoxide,
passed out.
Speaker 2: They think that his body temperature got low enough that
that also helped because it sold his breathing, so shirk hypothermia, right.
Speaker 1: Yes, And then.
Speaker 2: He remembers, so it's it's February, so time change. It's dark,
so he wakes It gets dark at four thirty. It's
like five thirty when he wakes up and it's pitch
black and he's in a basement with no lights.
Speaker 1: And he wakes up on the stairs.
Speaker 2: So that happened, crawls his way out, he gets outside,
he falls on his.
Speaker 1: Chin. He's totally like delusional.
Speaker 2: He gets to his car, he has his phone and
his keys, his phone has power charge. I mean all
these things where he would have had to go back
into the house to try to find it.
Speaker 1: He wouldn't have known in the dark, in the carbon monoxide. Yep.
Maybe then he passes out on the front yard.
Speaker 3: Who knows.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it just he was able to He just
hit the last number that was called, and it was Tanner.
And that's how the whole thing happens.
Speaker 1: Wow, I know, so crazy, And I mean, what are
the chances. Okay, you're testing the carbon monoxide at the
front door. Nobody survived this, What are the chances not
only that somebody survives it, but survives it where it's
even more concentrated in the basement, and not only survives it,
but wakes up again, like wakes up. You know, that's
not that was what they said.
Speaker 3: Wouldn't have happened.
Speaker 1: Right right again, only the lord. Only his hand was
clearly on Tyler. So that's what y're When did this happen?
Nineteen Okay? And I was still for days. People were
texting how is he doing? And I remember, there's this
picture I have on my phone and I still share
it and he's sitting in our kitchen and he's going
like this, and he's because I was sending this to
a friend of ours.
Speaker 2: And I remember when I took that and he just said,
you know, I know God saved me for a reason.
I don't remember him ever using the word God before,
you know, and so and we were all like clearly, clearly,
So that was kind of that he knew he was saved.
Speaker 3: That was a miracle.
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, yep, so fast forward because he was saved
for a reason. Yes, can you share a little bit
about I know it's like his story to tell it,
but a little bit about like how the Lord saved. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so cool to see this happening to one
of your kids.
Speaker 3: I'm try not to cry and try to get through
this because it's just so cool.
Speaker 2: So he witnesses his own you know, health miracle and
then sees his dad get healed.
Speaker 1: And in this process we were going to church. He
was not. He actually was really resistant. He sot like me,
he was squirmy. He would be in church.
Speaker 2: He just looked, I do not want to be here,
you know, finding I don't like the music, I don't
like this. You just I'm like, oh this is me,
so I'm here for it, you know.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And the same pastor who I heard the first time,
he talked about some things that day, and I'm not
going to say what it was about, but it was
very relevant to Tyler. And so he said, Mom, do
you think I would be able to meet with Pastor?
And I said one hundred percent, he would love that.
So of course I texted.
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, you know, Tyler, did you ever
reached out to you? And he's like, all right, I
got this.
Speaker 2: And so they met and it was a profound meeting
and then I think it was the second meeting.
Speaker 3: Again, I don't want to share his story, but it's
so cool.
Speaker 2: Basically they were he was asked specifically, you know, do
you want to accept Jesus into your heart? And Tyler
said yes, and so they went out in the parking
lot and basically he prayed over him and he accepted
Jesus that day.
Speaker 1: So awesome, so cool, so awesome. Like again, stories are long.
The way that God orchestrates all of these things is
so crazy. And since then we've gotten to see him baptized,
like just it's been really awesome and he is a
wonderful person and so really truly a privilege to know
him and know of his story so well, and yeah,
just wonderful. So Okay, while we're talking about Tyler and
Tanner and the rest, Yeah, let's just talk about you
being a boy mom. So you always wanted kids, Okay.
You talked about how when you had kids everything changed
for you and you just wanted to be home with them.
You know that you were a teacher who loved teaching,
but then you would just like wanted to be home
with Tyler. Was that a I'm so overwhelmed and I
just want to be home because I I can't, I
don't want to work anymore. Or was it like a
biological change of just like I need to be with
my baby or what was that? Like?
Speaker 2: I definitely would say it was a biological thing. I
was the you know, definitely the person who's like, I
can handle it all. I can be a super mom,
a super teacher. I just it's really overrated. People don't
do it. It's really overrated. But that was just the
way I was raised. So, I, you know, I was
I felt like I was an exceptional teacher. I was
my being a mom was the most important.
Speaker 1: Job ever ever. I could handle a lot.
Speaker 2: I you know, my husband was traveling the first four
and a half years of my youngest son's life. So
I was literally a single mom for four and a
half years and then a stint of about six months
he was home, and then other year, and that was
during market crash. When you're an entrepreneur, you just got
to figured out go where the job is. And so
that's why he was gone.
Speaker 1: So he go like he wasn't coming and going. He
was gone.
Speaker 2: He was up about an hour and forty minutes away
as a realture on an amazing golf course community, and
so we would drive up there on the weekends. But like,
here's me, my three kids, wants a baby in my suburban,
packing the car, the coolers, doing all the things, grabbing
them from school, driving up living large for the weekend,
like just you know, great, we were on a lake
and we had a boat and all the things, and
then packing the car up Sunday nights, sometimes really early Monday,
taking them straight to school.
Speaker 3: I mean we did that for a long time. Wow,
long time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I never once complained because I didn't know
that that was an option. I was like, no, this
is the life that we chose, so I'm not going
to complain about it. I'm so grateful for all the
things that we have, and so that was I didn't
think anything of it. Yeah, managing the house, managing the bills,
and Chris was just.
Speaker 1: Working, Yeah, just making it work. Yeah, okay, So more
of a biological case, you think, did you want a
family of boys? I mean, of course, like it's all
wonderful and like the Lord gives me a question to
give you, But I'm just so curious, like did you
were you one of those people who's like, I'm going
to be a boy mom because I knowing your personality,
it's so fitting to you.
Speaker 3: It fits.
Speaker 1: But I'm just curious, like was there a hope or
a disappointment or anything like about about not having more
estrogen in the house. Yeah, I wanted six, okay, but
we started a little late things because you were one
of six. I think, so, okay, I.
Speaker 2: Just want a huge family because it's great. It was
just so always chaotic and it's so fun. So Chris
wanted to I wanted six. And so we have a boy,
which we want. We both said, let's let's have a boy, like.
Speaker 1: We can buy plant. It'd be great to have that
first sibling be a boy. So had boy and then we.
Speaker 2: Got pregnant, and I'm like, a second boy would be
cool because then they could be best friends, and then
we'll have a girl.
Speaker 1: Third, So we have a second boy. And then when
then we actually were.
Speaker 2: Toying with not having anymore because he was really happy
having two. And he used to say, I don't know,
we kind of broke the mole. These kids were super healthy,
they were really easy, good easy kids, and he was
kind of right, But I'm like, that is the dumbest
reason that toy kids, right, right, So we it took
us four years to get on the same page.
Speaker 1: So we have our fourth okay, and afore year age gap. Yeah,
those two.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And when I was pregnant, I said to Chris,
you know, the statistics are if you have two, you're
gonna have a boy.
Speaker 1: So I'm just letting you know we're probably gonna have
another boy.
Speaker 3: And I am totally cool with that.
Speaker 1: And I think he really wanted to have a girl. Okay,
but it's funny that he was the one who wanted
to have Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, I
would have loved to have a girl. Yeah, of course.
Speaker 2: But when I was a teacher, my favorite years, literally,
my favorite classes were when I had like seventeen boys
and five girls.
Speaker 3: I struggled with the girls.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was there's so much drama and they're five. Yeah,
I'm like, what is happening here? Yeah, So I think
deep down I was totally cool with having having all boys.
Speaker 2: So we decide to, you know, find out what we
didn't find out what we were having with the first two,
which was super exciting, and the third we decided to
find out because I really wanted to get rid of all.
Speaker 1: The boy stuff.
Speaker 3: If we were having a girl, okay, And.
Speaker 2: The boys both wanted a sister, so they said. And
the day we found out was on the way to
Thanksgiving dinner and I'm like, okay, guys, ready, we want
to find out. And they're both chanting, we want a sister.
And then put on speakerphone, she goes.
Speaker 1: You're having a a boy and they go, yay, we're
having a brother. It was like they didn't care, they
did not care. They're just excited and I.
Speaker 2: Was so excited and so yeah, and then we at
that point, I'm thirty six, and I'm like, I think
we're good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're good. Yeah. So well, and as a kindergarten teacher.
You were probably very well to raise whichever is going
to be. You know, you're not it's raising voice is
not for or to you even as a girl, because
you've kind of got it pieces and nephews, and I was, yeah, yeah,
it's experience. Yeah, okay, Well, and you know it is
really fun because you do fit that that mold so
well of being a boy mom. So I just love it.
But you also in some ways have a daughter now,
which is exciting because one of your boys is married,
which yes, how has that been just welcoming finally getting
a girl into the fold. It is really really cool.
Speaker 3: And you know, my daughter in law as well, she's lovely, she.
Speaker 2: Is amazing, and she is actually I don't know if
she would like me to say this, but I feel
like she's a lot like me in many ways. We're
both very opinionated. We have really strong feelings about certain things.
We both love fiercely. And what I love about being
a mother in law is like I love a challenge,
a good challenge. I'm not going to be like the
at least I hope not to be the traditional what
people and I think you can have a beautiful relationship
with you know, your daughter in law.
Speaker 3: You just have to know your boundaries.
Speaker 2: And yeah, you know, I'm very close to Tyler, as
you should be. It's your first and but he is,
he's really living out his dream. He wants to be
a husband and a father and hopefully that happens soon
and a business owner and he's literally doing I think
God's work, and so together, it'll be so fun to
watch them grow. I mean they've only been married since
May so, but we love her and it is fun
to have, you know, someone who I mean, I'm not
I wouldn't consider myself super girly, but I like girl things.
Speaker 3: But it's fun to have that.
Speaker 1: You know, we can go on a trip together and
you know, do do those things? Yes, fun, Yeah, so awesome. Yeah,
bring that female energy finally into the fold. Very cluse,
it's very fun.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode
of The Kai the Cast. Please like and subscribe wherever
you get your podcasts, and don't miss part two next
week of the interview with Susannah Haik. We cannot wait
to see you again. Until then, just remember the true parts.
But it won't kill you.