We're Not Stumped | Survival Stories, Disability Stories & Recovery Journeys Podcast

Neomi Flores joins Mike Bolland on We’re Not Stumped for a conversation about traveling and EmpowerFest. 

Recorded in person, this episode brings you a conversation about experiences on the road and the connections made through events like EmpowerFest. 

We’re Not Stumped shares stories and conversations from the limb loss, limb difference, and broader disability communities. 

💬 Have you attended EmpowerFest...

Everyone has a story worth sharing—and at the 2027 Amputee Coalition National Conference, those stories will take center stage.

“Story Slam: Where Every Story Finds Its Light” brings the community together for an evening of laughter, connection, and five-minute stories. Twenty storytellers will be selected at random to share a moment from their lives. There’s no competition, no judging, and no expectation tha...

Dr. Carmen Elliott, the new President and CEO of the Amputee Coalition, joins Mike Bolland for a conversation about community, advocacy, and helping people with limb loss and limb difference find the support they need.

Carmen shares how her family’s experiences with healthcare access and limb loss shaped her commitment to this work. Together, they explore the value of peer support, access to prosthetics, and including families...

How do you move forward when vision loss changes your career, independence, and plans for the future?

In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland speaks with Jennifer Frederick about living with permanent vision loss and learning to advocate for herself along the way.

Jennifer explains how changes in her vision eventually forced her to leave a career in crisis management. She also discusses the challenges she now faces w...

Mike Bolland and Kim Ousley reflect on their experiences at EmpowerFest, an event that brings together people with limb loss and limb difference for adaptive activities, education, encouragement, and community.

Kim shares her experiences trying yoga and diamond painting, while Mike discusses the confidence participants gain from attempting activities in a supportive environment. They also explore the importance of connecting with pe...

What happens when we stop deciding what someone is capable of—and give them the opportunity to lead?

In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland welcomes Nathan Kennedy of Upstream Fitness, Chris Kocurek, and Chris’s son, Cameron 'Coach Cam' Kocurek.

Cameron, who has Down syndrome, began gymnastics as a child and later competed in Special Olympics and unified gymnastics. Today, he is using the confidence, com...

After losing control on an icy road in Calgary, Reid Robinson crashed into a tree and suffered devastating injuries to his lower leg. What followed were two and a half years of recovery, 13 surgeries, broken surgical hardware, bone infections, and a difficult decision between amputation and trying once more to save his leg.

While recovering, Reid realized that none of the available mobility devices gave him the freedom he needed. So...

Angie Sandow was born with one hand and Poland syndrome—but that hasn't stopped her from riding motorcycles, playing guitar, performing onstage, and finding plenty of reasons to laugh along the way.

In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland reconnects with Angie for a candid and often funny conversation about growing up with a limb difference, dealing with bullying and unwanted attention, and learning to turn di...

Vincent Van de Broeck was given just a 10% chance of survival after a devastating e-scooter accident left him with a severe traumatic brain injury. After spending three weeks in a coma, surviving was only the beginning.

In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, host Mike Bolland talks with Vincent about his extraordinary recovery—relearning how to walk, talk, eat, and handle everyday tasks most of us take for granted.

Vincent...

What happens when the limb loss community, prosthetics professionals, nonprofits, and supporters come together for a weekend built around giving back?

In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland talks with Rob Pittman of Hanger, Chairman of the Hanger Foundation’s Night to Inspire, about the upcoming 2026 Night to Inspire in Nashville, Tennessee.

Now in its third year, Night to Inspire is expanding into a full week...

When should a limb be saved—and when might amputation provide a better quality of life?

On this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland talks with podiatric surgeon Dr. Danny Ghannoum about limb salvage, diabetic foot complications, Charcot neuroarthropathy, bone infections, and the difficult decisions that can lead to lower-limb amputation.

Dr. Ghannoum explains how diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, poor circulation, f...

What are you actually allowed to ask someone with a service dog? Do service dogs need paperwork? And what happens when businesses get the rules wrong?

In this episode of We’re Not Stumped, Mike Bolland talks with upper-limb amputee Stevia Walker about service animals, disability, prosthetics, self-advocacy, and life after limb loss.

Stevia shares an encounter at a hotel where employees demanded documentation for her service dog...

What does it take to overcome a challenge you've faced since birth?

In this episode of We're Not Stumped, Mike Bolland welcomes Nathan Winston, who was born with Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD), a rare limb difference that led to the amputation of his left leg at the age of four.

Nathan shares his incredible journey from adapting to life with a prosthetic to excelling in football, basketball, and baseball. His determination ...

In this solo episode of We're Not Stumped, I take you behind the scenes of the podcast and share what it really takes to create a show from the ground up.

After producing more than 200 episodes featuring inspiring guests from the limb loss, disability, healthcare, and advocacy communities, I've learned a lot—both about podcasting and about telling meaningful stories.

In this episode, I discuss:

•  Why I started We're Not ...

What happens when a life-changing injury becomes the catalyst for changing thousands of lives?

In this episode of We're Not Stumped, Mike Bolland welcomes entrepreneur and NextStep founder Janne Kouri. After a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed in 2006, Janne discovered activity-based rehabilitation that transformed his recovery—and inspired him to create a nonprofit dedicated to helping others access the same life-changing...

Access to the resources, support, and equipment needed after limb loss can change a person's life—but for many, those essentials remain out of reach.

In this episode of We're Not Stumped, host Mike Bolland spotlights Amputee Aid and A Leg Forever, two organizations dedicated to helping people with limb loss reclaim independence, confidence, and hope. While each organization has its own unique mission, both are committed to...

What does it really take to learn to walk again after an amputation?

In this episode of We're Not Stumped, Mike Bolland welcomes physical therapist John Lottes, DPT, Clinical Supervisor at First Step Physical Therapy and an adjunct professor who specializes in prosthetic rehabilitation.

John shares how an unexpected career path led him to working with individuals with limb loss and explains why the biggest hurdle in recovery often is...

Sometimes, the biggest changes don't happen in a lab—they happen with a few carefully chosen words.

In this episode of the We're Not Stumped podcast, I want to personally thank the LN-4 Hand Project (https://ln4handproject.org/) for updating its mission statement to better reflect the entire upper limb limb loss community.

For many years, organizations have understandably focused on a specific group of individuals. But recogniz...

What happens when disability advocates from across the country come together to shape the future of independent living and accessibility?

In this solo episode of We're Not Stumped, I share my personal reflections after attending the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., where I represented Ability360 as a member of its Board of Directors.

 Learn More: https://ncil.org/ 

From cel...