50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD

HVMMINGBYRD
  • 5.0 (1)
  • SELF-IMPROVEMENT

🎙 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD I was a lifestyle and wedding photographer—then brain surgery changed everything. Now, with aphasia and memory loss, every day feels like a first date. This podcast is a space for healing, humor, and heart. I’ll share my recovery journey and invite others to tell their stories too. We’re building a community of love, laughter, and second chances—one first date at a time.

Episodes

  1. 1D AGO

    Remember Being a Kid, So We Don’t Become Mean Adults

    In this episode, we talk about remembering what it felt like to be a kid — so we don’t grow into mean adults. We explore the lived experience of being on the autism spectrum without clarity or confirmation, and how not knowing, being misunderstood, and misreading the world can quietly turn into trauma. For many autistic adults, the absence of language, diagnosis, or understanding isn’t neutral — it becomes its own form of PTSD. This conversation moves through autism, PTSD, late-identified neurodivergence, and the emotional weight of growing up misunderstood. We reflect on childhood sensitivity, adult survival, and how staying connected to our younger selves can protect empathy, curiosity, and kindness — even after trauma. This episode is for autistic adults, trauma survivors, late-diagnosed or self-identified individuals, and anyone who has ever felt out of sync with the world but still chose compassion. https://www.abacenters.com/autism-and-ptsd-overlapping-symptoms/?utm_source=chatgpt.com In the U.S.: Call or text 988 — the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (24/7 free support) https://www.autismspeaks.org/mental-health-resources?utm_source=chatgpt.com #Autism #PTSD #Neurodivergent #MentalHealth #TraumaHealing #AutisticAdults #MentalHealthPodcast #NeurodivergentPodcast #PodcastCommunity #StorytellingForHealing #CreativeHealing

    1h 31m

  2. JAN 8

    Made Out of Titanium (Well… At Least Part of My Skull Is)

    In this reflection, I talk about discovering another unexpected chapter in my healing story — an ischemic stroke I didn’t even know I had until last month. It was terrifying to learn about something I had already lived through without understanding it at the time. I felt the symptoms. I experienced the confusion, the fear, the disconnect — but I believed it was all part of the brain abscess. Something still didn’t make sense. There was a missing puzzle piece. This was it. I share what it feels like to find out, long after the fact, that I am also a stroke survivor — and how naming it brought clarity, grief, validation, and a deeper understanding of my body and brain. This episode is about: • Living through medical trauma without full answers • Finding truth after confusion • Humor as survival (yes… Dumbo energy) • Learning that I am not just one diagnosis — I am many things, and I am still here This reflection is part of my commitment to bringing awareness to stroke symptoms, brain injury, and the quiet realities survivors carry — especially when those experiences go unseen or unnamed. If you’ve ever felt like something didn’t add up in your body or your story — this one is for you. ischemic stroke stroke survivor story brain injury recovery medical trauma awareness brain abscess recovery stroke symptoms invisible illness neuro recovery journey healing after stroke patient advocacy #StrokeSurvivor #IschemicStroke #BrainInjuryAwareness #MedicalTrauma #HealingOutLoud #PatientVoice #NeuroRecovery #DisabilityAwareness #SurvivorStory #50FirstReflections 🐦‍🔥

    52 min

  3. 12/14/2025

    When the Rose Petals Fall

    In this episode of 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD I reflect on illness, healing, boundaries, and the people who show up — and the ones who don’t. After surviving a stroke and brain surgery, I learned that time becomes sacred, conversations deepen, and tolerance for emotional weight disappears. This episode explores gratitude without obligation, detachment as protection, and the quiet grief of realizing who only stays for the good moments. It’s a reflection on choosing your environment, honoring the beauty of pain, and returning to purpose — even after life changes everything. If you’re navigating recovery, grief, friendship shifts, or redefining your boundaries, this episode is for you. stroke recovery podcast brain surgery healing journey setting boundaries during illness friendship and healing gratitude without obligation emotional boundaries photographer recovery story trauma healing reflections chronic illness and relationships personal growth podcast #50FirstReflections #HealingJourney #StrokeRecovery #BrainSurgerySurvivor #BoundariesAreNecessary #ChoosingMyWorld #EmotionalHealing #FriendshipAndHealing #GratitudeWithoutObligation #CreativeResilience #PhotographerLife #LifeAfterTrauma #PersonalGrowthPodcast #RealConversations

    1h 25m

  4. 12/04/2025

    Like the First Time

    Today’s episode is stitched with memory — dance floors, college hallways, and the wild way life circles us back to our people. We met at eighteen, two kids in a dance class who had no idea the world would bend and twist us into who we are now. Years passed, and somehow she found her way back into my orbit — right into the studio where I was teaching my own class… just two days before my stroke. And then the hospital. The silence. The fear. The soft grounding of someone who didn’t flinch. While some friendships disappeared, she stayed — not out of duty but out of a kind of loyalty that feels rare in this lifetime. She witnessed the recovery, the regressions, the laughter in the middle of crisis, and the strange moments where it felt like nothing had changed at all. Today, we dive into what real friendship looks like: communication that saves you, presence that steadies you, and laughter that reminds you you’re still here. Let’s step into this reflection together. brighter days are coming #FriendshipMatters #HealingJourney #StrokeSurvivor #AphasiaAwareness #RealConnection #WitnessingEachOther #EmotionalHealing #PodcastHealing #BrainSurgeryRecovery #SurvivorVoice #HVMMINGBYRD

    1h 59m

  5. 11/22/2025

    Dance Like You’ll Never Get to Dance Again

    Today I sit with one of my students — someone who first met me through movement and the way dance lets the body speak before words do. We talk about the connection we found in class, how she felt in my rhythm, and the surprise twist that she’s also a speech pathologist. Together, we explore how dance and speech mirror each other, how life becomes its own choreography, and why we should all dance like we’ll never get to dance again. 🐦‍🔥 #HVMMINGBYRD #DanceHealing #MovementTherapy #SpeechPathologistLife #ChoreographyOfLife #MindBodyConnection #HealingJourney #NeurodivergentVoices #BrainInjuryRecovery #WarriorEnergy #SurvivorStrength #AphasiaAwareness #DanceLikeYoullNeverGetToDanceAgain

    49 min

  6. 11/10/2025

    The Day I Woke Up Different

    Hi, I’m Chris — and this is 50 First Reflections; Chris’s Diary. Six months ago, I went through brain surgery that changed everything — the way I speak, the way I see the world, even how I understand myself. Somewhere along this journey, I also discovered that I’m autistic… and it felt like finally finding a missing piece of me that was there all along. This space is my diary — my safe place to reflect, to breathe, and to remember who I am becoming. Each episode feels like writing in the quiet hours after healing, when the world slows down and honesty starts to speak. Here, I talk about recovery, identity, gratitude, and all the beautiful, messy in-betweens of starting over.If you’ve ever had to rebuild yourself from the inside out — you’ll feel at home here. brighter days are coming 🐦‍🔥 Helpful links http://autismspeaks.com/

    1h 5m

  7. 10/12/2025

    Rebuilding Our Hearts After Brain Surgery

    This week’s episode is a little different — it’s raw, it’s tender, it’s love after survival. 🐦‍🔥I sit down with my partner to talk about what it means to rebuild a life together after brain surgery.we dive into: ​how our love story evolved through trauma and healing​the unseen emotional work behind recovery​advice for partners supporting someone through brain surgery or PTSD​finding beauty again after everything breaksthis conversation is for the survivors, the caregivers, the dreamers — anyone who’s ever had to rebuild love from the ashes.we talk about boundaries, forgiveness, and learning how to hold each other through the storm and into the sunrise. press play if you’ve ever wanted to believe in brighter days again. *Not a paid advertisement https://a.co/d/8M5NAUA

    59 min

  8. 09/02/2025

    ✨ Reflection 1: Healing Takes Time – 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD

    In this episode of 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD, I reflect on the truth that healing takes time. From surviving brain surgery to navigating aphasia and all others, I share a heartfelt perspective on patience, resilience, and the courage to embrace each day as part of the journey. With flirty humor and poetic honesty, I invite you to see recovery not as a race, but as a love story with yourself.

    7 min

  9. 09/01/2025

    ✨ Welcome to 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD – A Journey Through Love, Healing & New Beginnings

    Step into the very first moments of 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD, a podcast that blends love, resilience, and rediscovery. After surviving brain surgery and living with aphasia, Chris shares what it means to embrace life like every encounter is a first date — full of gratitude, curiosity, and hope. Expect flirty conversations, poetic reflections, and inspiring stories that will remind you: brighter days are coming.

    2 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

🎙 50 First Dates with Chris HVMMINGBYRD I was a lifestyle and wedding photographer—then brain surgery changed everything. Now, with aphasia and memory loss, every day feels like a first date. This podcast is a space for healing, humor, and heart. I’ll share my recovery journey and invite others to tell their stories too. We’re building a community of love, laughter, and second chances—one first date at a time.

Information