What happens to the people who spend their careers showing up for everyone else’s worst moments? In this episode of 8158 Podcast: Stories of Sacrifice, Rico sits down with Kristen Tosaw, MSN, RN, FNP, a nurse practitioner, former flight nurse, educator, frontline professional, and founder of Heal the Help. Kristen’s career has taken her through ICU, emergency medicine, critical-care transport, flight nursing, labor and delivery, palliative care, hospice, and education. During her years in flight medicine alone, she transported approximately 700 patients. But even after the shift ends, some calls stay with you. Kristen shares how trauma from one of the worst calls of her career resurfaced years later, reinforcing something many frontline professionals know all too well: trauma doesn’t always show up immediately. She also shares the encounter that helped solidify her mission. While working in hospice and palliative care, Kristen met a retired pediatric nurse in her 90s who was still carrying the memory of a child she couldn’t save decades earlier. Kristen knew we had to do better for the people who spend their lives helping others. That mission became Heal the Help. Through trauma-integrated coaching, Kristen works with frontline professionals—including nurses, EMS, firefighters, law enforcement, dispatchers, respiratory therapists, coroners, tow operators, and others exposed to difficult and traumatic situations through their work. Rico and Kristen discuss post-traumatic stress, stigma, delayed trauma, mental health resources, supporting spouses and families, the importance of talking with someone who understands the job, and why asking for help should never be viewed as weakness. Because you may have witnessed someone else’s worst moment—but you don’t have to carry that moment for the rest of your life. 🌿 Connect with Kristen & Heal the HelpLearn more about Kristen’s work, trauma-integrated coaching, and resources for frontline professionals: Heal the Help — healthehelp.care 🎙️ Connect with 8158🌐 8158podcast.com 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts 💙 Support the 8158 Mission 📩 8158podcast@gmail.com #8158Podcast #StoriesOfSacrifice #FirstResponders #MentalHealthMatters #fyp
