Medical Trauma and Recovery with Kevin Mertz and Dom Leventini

Today we welcome Dom Leventini and Kevin Mertz.  These two friends went to high school together, but that isn’t their only common thread.  Both Dom and Kevin underwent life threatening medical conditions. Kevin was diagnosed with Diffuse large B cell lymphoma in August of 2021 and began chemotherapy weeks later. Dom was hit by a cement truck in January of 2022 while biking and woke up 6 weeks later. While the cause of their trauma was very different, their struggles and the takeaways they carry with them now are very similar.

While they have been close since sophomore year of high school, their relationship deepend over the past year.  After looking death in the face, it can be challenging to feel as if others can relate to what you’re going through.  What they found in each other was understanding. The two would take walks together, and discuss how their lives had changed and what they wanted to accomplish going forward.  They realized it was much easier to open up when doing an activity – shoulder to shoulder.  

Both are here today to tell their individual stories of recovery and how it impacted their lives, relationships, and outlook on life.  In this episode, they discuss some of the takeaways of those conversations. They share helpful tips for supporting a loved one and how their perspective on life has drastically changed.

Follow our hosts Claire & Howard on IG:
@clairecalfo
@howardcooke