Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano

Lyndsay Soprano
  • 4.9 (36)
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Giving Pain Purpose (formerly known as The Pain Game Podcast) is where raw truth, real trauma, and relentless healing collide. Hosted by Lyndsay Soprano, the show dives deep into the lived experience of chronic pain, trauma, disability, and the messy, beautiful process of rebuilding your life when everything hurts. Each week, Lyndsay sits down with survivors, experts, and everyday humans who’ve walked through hell — and chose to rise anyway. These are the conversations most people are too afraid to have: the kind that rip the bandages, challenge the system, and give pain a purpose. If you’re living with chronic pain, navigating trauma recovery, healing from medical gaslighting, or searching for community in the chaos, you’re in the right place. This podcast was built for the fighters, the feelers, and anyone who refuses to stay silent about what hurts. You’re not alone in this fight — and you don’t have to heal quietly.

  1. 1d ago

    The Black-Market Baby on the Curb Part 2 with Patricia Knight Meyer

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of child trafficking, black-market adoption, childhood abuse, sexual assault, addiction, abandonment, and trauma. Some topics may be difficult to hear. Please listen with care. She spent decades searching for the truth about where she came from. Finding it only gave her more questions. In Part Two of Patricia Knight Meyer’s story, the search that began with no birth certificate, no adoption records, and almost nothing to go on finally leads her to the woman whose face looks almost exactly like her own. But meeting her birth mother doesn’t deliver the reunion Patricia had imagined her entire life. Instead, it forces her to confront another complicated truth: finding where you came from doesn’t automatically tell you who you are. Patricia and Lyndsay explore the expectations we place on reunion, people-pleasing and fear of being abandoned again, learning to set boundaries, and grieving the mother-daughter relationship Patricia could never get back. Then, an unexpected discovery leads Patricia to her biological father—and a relationship that begins to change the way she understands herself, her childhood, and her story. The conversation comes full circle with Wonderland: Memoir of Black Market Adoption, the memoir born from those discoveries, devastating loss, and Patricia’s determination to make meaning from everything she survived.  Sometimes the answers you spend your whole life searching for don’t complete your story. They finally permit you to write it for yourself. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction and overview of Patricia's story (03:30) The search begins: challenges of missing records (05:53) Using DNA and digitized records to find her birth mother (09:08) The emotional first meeting and initial revelations (12:45) Uncovering the true story behind her relinquishment (15:15) The dissonance and expectations versus reality (19:58) The complexities of reunion and boundary setting (22:30) The family gathering and its aftermath (27:50) Healing from the loss of the natural mother (33:06) Meeting her birth father and the surprising revelations (37:49) The impact of trauma and the importance of boundaries (43:52) Writing as a tool for healing and self-discovery (51:45) The power of storytelling and memoir in healing (55:15) Closing thoughts and encouragement for adoptees and families Find Patricia Knight Meyer Here: Website: www.wonderlandthememoir.com Instagram: @patriciaknightmeyer Instagram: @wonderlandthememoir Instagram: @somebodys__baby Facebook:  Patricia Knight Meyer LinkedIn: Patricia Knight Meyer TikTok: @myadoptedlife YouTube: @myadoptedlife Book: Wonderland: Memoir of Black Market Adoption Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano TikTok: @givingpainpurpose YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  2. Oct 13

    The Black-Market Baby on the Curb Part 1 with Patricia Knight Meyer

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of child trafficking, black-market adoption, childhood abuse, sexual assault, addiction, abandonment, and trauma. Some topics may be difficult to hear. Please listen with care. She was sold as a newborn on a Texas hospital curb. No legal adoption. No official paperwork. And a lifetime of questions about who she really was. Author, adoption reform advocate, and founder of My Adopted Life, Patricia Knight Meyer, joins Giving Pain Purpose for Part One of a deeply personal conversation about black-market adoption, identity, abandonment, and the lifelong impact of childhood trauma. Her story, told in her memoir Wonderland, began in 1970 when an attorney arranged her adoption through an illegal transaction that left her family living in secrecy and Patricia growing up without the truth of her origins. Together, Patricia and Lyndsay explore the hidden realities of the adoption industry, the emotional toll of growing up in a dysfunctional home, and how abandonment trauma can shape our relationships, sense of belonging, and connection to our own bodies. They talk about addiction, childhood sexual trauma, chronic illness, and the painful ways we learn to seek love and acceptance when we have never truly felt safe. But beneath the secrets and unanswered questions is a little girl who spent her life trying to save the people who were supposed to protect her. Patricia shares how writing, therapy, and learning to care for her younger self became part of her healing journey—and what finally pushed her to begin searching for her biological family. Finding out where you came from is only the beginning of discovering who you really are. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction and Content Overview (03:43) Meet Patricia Knightmeyer and Her Story (04:52) The Dark World of Black Market Adoption (07:25) The Baby Scoop Era and Its Consequences (09:45) Secrecy, Corruption, and the Market for Babies (12:37) Current Adoption Practices and Challenges (13:23) The Impact of Adoption Trauma on Health (22:47) Personal Experiences with Dysfunction and Addiction (28:33) Trauma, Sexual Abuse, and Body Connection (36:51) Deciding to Search for Biological Family (39:51) Upcoming: The Search, Reunion, and Advocacy (40:13) Closing Remarks and Next Steps Find Patricia Knight Meyer Here: Website: www.wonderlandthememoir.com Instagram: @patriciaknightmeyer Instagram: @wonderlandthememoir Instagram: @somebodys__baby Facebook:  Patricia Knight Meyer LinkedIn: Patricia Knight Meyer TikTok: @myadoptedlife YouTube: @myadoptedlife Book: Wonderland: Memoir of Black Market Adoption Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano TikTok: @givingpainpurpose YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  3. Oct 6

    The Hairy Chin: Women’s Health Education + Advocacy with Spencer Moore

    Being told to advocate for yourself sounds empowering—until you realize no one ever taught you how. Women’s health advocate, certified health coach, breast health educator, and The Hairy Chin podcast host Spencer Moore joins Giving Pain Purpose to talk about what it really takes to navigate a complicated health journey and learn to become an advocate for your own body. After more than 30 years of overlapping physical and mental health challenges, Spencer was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at 40, caught on her first mammogram, adding another chapter to a lifetime spent inside the healthcare system. Together, Spencer and Lyndsay get into the exhaustion of managing chronic illness, bouncing between specialists, repeating your medical history, grieving the body and life you thought you’d have, and questioning yourself when symptoms don’t fit neatly into one diagnosis. They also talk about the strain illness can place on relationships and caregivers, and the importance of finding people who allow you to be honest about what life actually looks like. Most importantly, they unpack what health advocacy actually looks like: tracking your history, asking better questions, researching your providers, knowing when a doctor isn’t the right fit, seeking another opinion, and building the confidence to participate in your own care. Because knowing your body is one thing. Learning how to make yourself heard when something isn’t right is another. And that’s a muscle worth learning to flex. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction to the episode and guest Spencer Moore (04:14) The challenge of advocating for health from a young age (08:09) The importance of organized health records and advocacy skills (14:04) The emotional toll and grief of chronic illness (16:07) The impact of trauma and stress on health (18:00) The mental health aspects of living with chronic pain (20:01) The widening gap in women's health issues and advocacy (21:47) The role of environment and autoimmune diseases (23:59) Building relationships with healthcare providers and choosing the right doctors (26:03) The importance of boundaries and support systems (28:02) Travelling and living with chronic illness (30:06) Advocacy work, podcasting, and community engagement (33:59) The need for clarity and self-education in healthcare (37:50) The importance of self-connection and recognizing changes in the body (43:55) Closing thoughts and upcoming projects Find Spencer Moore Here: Website: www.thehairychin.com Instagram: @the.hairy.chin LinkedIn: Spencer Moore YouTube: @thehairychin Substack: www.thehairychin.substack.com Podcast: The Hair Chin Podcast Shop: The Hairy Chin Shop App: Know Your Lemons Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano TikTok: @givingpainpurpose YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  4. Sep 29

    The Door You're Scared to Walk Through with Dr. Lisha Antiqua

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, rape, grooming, physical and emotional abuse, self-harm/suicidal behaviour, and trauma. Some details may be difficult to hear. Please listen with care.  Survival can teach you how to hide so well that eventually, you lose sight of who you were before the pain. Transformational healer, author, speaker, and identity architect Dr. Lisha Antiqua joins Giving Pain Purpose for an incredibly vulnerable conversation about childhood abuse, trauma, identity, and what it takes to reclaim the parts of yourself you learned to abandon in order to survive. Dr. Antiqua shares her own story of surviving years of abuse and the moment that ultimately led her to speak up and begin a lifelong journey of coming home to herself. Together, she and Lyndsay explore the complicated ways trauma can shape our sense of worth, intimacy, trust, identity, and even our ability to believe our own stories. They talk about people-pleasing, giving away our power, living behind masks, and why healing doesn’t require remembering every detail of what happened to you. The conversation also turns toward rebuilding a relationship with your body, recognizing where old survival patterns are still running the show, and learning to choose how you speak to yourself, where you give your energy, and who you want to become.  Because healing isn’t about erasing what happened, it’s about no longer abandoning yourself because of it. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction and episode overview (03:29) Meet Dr. Antiqua: Transformational healer and author (07:35) The grooming process and sexual abuse at age 11 (11:26) Reporting abuse and family reactions (16:17) Doubt, trust, and the impact of silence (17:40) The significance of the weapon as a symbol (19:02) The importance of self-worth and stories of love and betrayal (21:22) Understanding the effects of sexual abuse on identity (24:01) Healing the fragmented self and reclaiming authority (27:12) The process of trauma reprogramming and consciousness shifts (30:36) The three brains and emotional regulation (33:05) The energetic and vibrational aspects of healing (35:05) Moving from survival to thriving (37:14) Practical tools: The SSS method and identity blueprint (43:01) The importance of witnessing and releasing emotional pain (47:49) Resources for healing and transformation (52:20) Closing thoughts and gratitude Find Dr. Lisha Antiqua Online Here: Website: www.identity-shift-bluep.vibepreview.com Website: www.lishaantiqua.com/amazingyoumethod Website: www.yourownuniversity.com Instagram: @drlishaantiqua Facebook: Dr. Lisha Antiqua LinkedIn: Dr. Lisha Antiqua X: @LAntiqua TikTok: @drlishaantiqua YouTube: @DrLishaAntiqua Podcast: More Than Sex and Secrets Book: In To Me SEE Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano TikTok: @givingpainpurpose YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  5. Sep 22

    The Insomnia Club Drop-out with Dr. Tara Youngblood

    What if insomnia isn’t the problem—but a signal that something deeper needs your attention? Sleep scientist, functional medicine practitioner, entrepreneur, and self-proclaimed “sleep geek” Dr. Tara Youngblood has spent thousands of hours studying sleep. But after the devastating loss of her six-month-old son, Benjamin, grief, depression, and anxiety made the science deeply personal and pushed her to understand why so many of us struggle to rest. In this episode of Giving Pain Purpose, Tara and Lyndsay explore the complicated relationship between sleep, chronic pain, trauma, anxiety, and the nervous system. They get into the “busy brain” that refuses to shut off, how our sleep environment and nighttime habits can work against us, the role of temperature and deep sleep, prescription sleep aids, and why there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for better rest. For Lyndsay, who has lived with insomnia since childhood and now navigates CRPS and chronic pain, the question becomes deeply personal: how can a body heal when it never gets the chance to truly rest? This isn’t another list of sleep hacks. It’s a conversation about understanding your body, challenging the stories you’ve built around sleep, and believing that better rest might actually be possible. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction to the episode and guest Dr. Tara Youngblood (03:06) Dr. Youngblood's background and expertise in sleep science (06:27) Effects of trauma, anxiety, and personality on sleep (07:29) The concept of sleep buckets and environment optimization (09:23) Electromagnetic fields and their impact on sleep quality (11:10) The importance of sleep space and environment (16:19) The role of temperature and light in sleep regulation (21:23) The different stages of sleep and their functions (22:33) Sleep and its connection to autoimmune disease and mental health (24:18) The impact of pain, stress, and inflammation on sleep (29:36) The risks of prescription sleep aids and addiction (36:30) The importance of sleep advocacy and systemic issues (37:45) Innovations in sleep technology and Geli Sleep mattress (47:24) Closing remarks and how to connect with Dr. Youngblood Find Dr. Tara Youngblood Online Here: Website: www.gelisleep.com Instagram: @dr_youngblood Facebook: Dr. Youngblood LinkedIn: Tara Youngblood Book: The Sleep Recipe That Works: Reprogram Your Sleep Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano TikTok: @givingpainpurpose YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  6. Sep 15

    Claiming Our Voices with Machan Taylor

    What happens when the voice that takes you to some of the world’s biggest stages is also the one you’re still learning to claim as your own? Singer, songwriter, educator, and author Machan Taylor has spent a lifetime navigating the space between performance and identity. Born in post-war Japan to a Japanese mother and American father, Machan was uprooted at four years old and brought to New Jersey, leaving behind her language, family, culture, and the only home she knew. Years later, she would recognize that experience as an early trauma that quietly shaped her sense of belonging. In this episode of Giving Pain Purpose, Machan and Lyndsay explore the complicated journey of finding your voice when so much of your life has been spent adapting, performing, and trying to figure out where you fit. Machan shares how music became both sanctuary and identity, eventually taking her to stages with artists including Pink Floyd, Sting, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, and George Benson, all while the woman behind the applause was still wrestling with insecurity, imposter syndrome, family trauma, and the feeling that she wasn’t enough. They talk openly about addiction, abusive relationships, the masks we wear to survive, and the long, nonlinear work of healing. Machan also shares how therapy, Buddhism, meditation, and later psychedelic-assisted therapy helped her reconnect with parts of herself she had left behind, including the little girl who left Japan all those years ago. At its core, this conversation is about more than a remarkable music career. It’s about stripping away the performance, making peace with every version of yourself, and finding the courage to tell your story—naked, out loud. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction to Machon Taylor's Journey (02:53) From Japan to the World Stage (09:51) Family Dynamics and Childhood Trauma (13:24) Music as a Path to Belonging (16:28) Touring with Major Artists and Internal Struggles (19:08) Dealing with Substance Use and Self-Protection (21:43) The Ongoing Search for Identity (27:15) Healing Through Psychedelic Therapy (35:49) Spiritual Practices and Full Circle (39:41) The Power of Sharing Our Stories (43:47) Final Reflections and Words of Encouragement Find Machan Taylor Online Here: Website: machantaylor.com Instagram: @machantaylorofficial Facebook: Machan Taylor LinkedIn: Machan Taylor YouTube: Machan Taylor Official Book: Naked Out Loud From Yokohama to Pink Floyd Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  7. Sep 8

    Don't You DARE Gaslight Us with Rachel Hayden

    Six years of symptoms. Six years of searching for answers. Six years of a body that kept speaking while no one could—or would—put the pieces together. That's where Rachel Hayden's MS journey began, and it's a story that will sound painfully familiar to anyone who has been dismissed, doubted, or told to wait a little longer. In this episode, Lyndsay Soprano sits down with Rachel, a type 1 diabetic, MS warrior, podcast host, and founder of the Spoonful of Strength community, to talk about what it really looks like to navigate invisible illness in a world that can't see what you're carrying. They go into the six-year road to diagnosis, the medical gaslighting that came with it, the undiagnosed muscle issues that still affect Rachel's breathing and mobility today, and the mental health spiral that chronic illness quietly creates when nobody is paying attention. But this conversation doesn't stay in the dark. Rachel shares how to learn to speak to yourself the way you would speak to someone you love. It sounds simple. It isn't. And it changes everything. This episode is for anyone tired of being last on their own list. Episode Highlights: (00:01) Lyndsay opens up about the spiral of dread and showing up every day (02:44) Introducing Rachel Hayden (03:37) Rachel's type 1 diabetes diagnosis at 19 (04:43) The first MS symptoms and the ER visit (06:04) Six years of being dismissed and not diagnosed (07:26) "Are they waiting for me to get worse?" (08:36) The self-doubt that medical gaslighting plants in you (09:19) The testing that finally confirmed MS (39:09) What chronic pain has cost Rachel and how she loves herself daily (41:25) Slowing down, saying no and putting yourself first (43:11) Where to find Rachel and The SpoonFulll Show (44:39) Rachel's closing message to speak kindly to yourself Find Rachel Hayden Online Here: Instagram: @spoonfullofstrength Facebook: SpoonFull of Strength YouTube: @TheSpoonFullShow TikTok: @spoonfull.of.strength Podcast: The SpoonFull Show Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

  8. Sep 1

    Unbroken: The Stories Our Bodies Carry with Dr. Karyn Shanks

    What if your body isn’t broken, and the symptoms you’ve been fighting are actually trying to tell you something? Physician, author, and educator Dr. Karyn Shanks joins Giving Pain Purpose for a powerful conversation about chronic illness, trauma, the nervous system, and what it means to stop seeing ourselves as problems that need to be fixed. Together, Dr. Shanks and Lyndsay explore how our experiences can shape the way our bodies respond to the world, why creating a sense of safety matters, and how curiosity and self-compassion can change the way we approach healing. They unpack the frustration of living with symptoms that don’t always come with clear answers and the emotional toll of feeling disconnected from—or even betrayed by—your own body. Dr. Shanks shares her holistic perspective on healing, bringing together science, psychology, and lived experience to challenge the belief that illness means something within us has failed. At the heart of this conversation is a powerful shift in perspective: instead of constantly asking, “What’s wrong with me?” what happens when we begin asking, “What is my body trying to tell me?” For anyone living with chronic illness, navigating trauma, or searching for answers after feeling dismissed or defeated, this episode is a reminder that you are more than your symptoms, and healing may begin when you stop fighting your body and start listening to it. Episode Highlights: (00:00) Introduction to Dr. Karyn Shanks and the show's focus (01:53) The disconnect in modern medicine and the root of trauma (04:12) Dr. Shanks' personal health journey and realization (06:53) Understanding the body's organization and response to trauma (10:59) The importance of listening to the body's messages (15:00) Pain and suffering as portals for healing (18:04) The role of safety and connection in recovery (21:55) Holistic, systemic approach to chronic illness (24:00) The significance of storytelling and safety in healing (27:49) Western medicine's limitations and the need for integration (29:58) Closing thoughts and resources Find Dr. Karyn Shanks Online Here: Website: karynshanksmd.com Instagram: @karynshanksmd Facebook: Karyn Shanks MD LinkedIn: Karen Shanks, MD Book: UnBroken: Reclaim Your Wholeness Find Giving Pain Purpose Online Here: Website: givingpainpurpose.com Instagram: @givingpainpurpose Facebook: The Giving Pain Purpose Podcast LinkedIn: Lyndsay Soprano YouTube: @givingpainpurpose Shop: thegivingpainpurposeshop.com Subscribe on YouTube | Merch Shop is OPEN!! | COMING SOON: The Pain Hub - A Women's Healing Community. Subscribe Now! Unfiltered convos. Dark humor. Real healing.  This is where pain meets purpose — and you’re not doing it alone. ++ Want to be a guest on Giving Pain Purpose with Lyndsay Soprano? Be a Guest on The Show

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Giving Pain Purpose (formerly known as The Pain Game Podcast) is where raw truth, real trauma, and relentless healing collide. Hosted by Lyndsay Soprano, the show dives deep into the lived experience of chronic pain, trauma, disability, and the messy, beautiful process of rebuilding your life when everything hurts. Each week, Lyndsay sits down with survivors, experts, and everyday humans who’ve walked through hell — and chose to rise anyway. These are the conversations most people are too afraid to have: the kind that rip the bandages, challenge the system, and give pain a purpose. If you’re living with chronic pain, navigating trauma recovery, healing from medical gaslighting, or searching for community in the chaos, you’re in the right place. This podcast was built for the fighters, the feelers, and anyone who refuses to stay silent about what hurts. You’re not alone in this fight — and you don’t have to heal quietly.

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