Support during pediatric cancer and blood disorders rarely looks like a grand gesture; it looks like someone quietly showing up. In this episode of TayTalks, Taymeyah sits down with Sharin Nelson, a longtime leader at a family support center in Tampa, to talk about 25 years of walking alongside families through diagnoses, holidays, and everything in between. Sharin shares how their team creates moments of normalcy, a Thanksgiving scarecrow party, gingerbread “jamborees,” chair massages for exhausted parents, while also running a holiday adoption program that now serves more than 150 families with gifts, grocery cards, and practical help at home.

They explore what has changed over the decades, from more kids being diagnosed and families pushed farther away by housing costs, to the way parents talk about the “C word” with their children. Sharin reflects on the shift from secrecy to honest conversations, and the heartbreak of watching a little girl go into surgery terrified because her parents refused to use the word cancer. She shares what families actually need from their communities, gift cards slipped into a mailbox, a lawn mowed without being asked, someone taking siblings out for an afternoon, and why “just do it” is often the most loving response when families don’t know what to ask for.

The conversation also turns toward the hidden cost of caring: long weeks, weekend events, and the emotional weight of staying available to so many people in crisis. Sharin talks candidly about learning to practice what she preaches: therapy, sleep, walks, water, the grounding pull of the beach, audiobooks in the car, and time with her now‑grown kids as they build lives of their own. You’ll hear how it takes her days to truly unwind after the holidays, why her center closes for two full weeks so staff can actually reset, and how she keeps coming back year after year with an open heart.

Why Listen

• You’ll get a behind‑the‑scenes look at what long‑term support for pediatric oncology and blood disorder families really looks like, beyond hospital walls and treatment days.
• You’ll learn what actually helps in the first months after a diagnosis and why waiting for families to “tell you what they need” often means they get nothing.
• You’ll hear how communication around cancer has changed over the past 25 years, and why honest, age‑appropriate conversations with kids matter.
• You’ll see how geography, gas money, and time make accessing support harder, and how creative community care can bridge some of those gaps.
• You’ll walk away with concrete ways to show up for families in crisis, plus a more compassionate view of the people who hold space for them week after week.

If this episode resonated

• Share it with someone supporting a family through serious illness, a hospital social worker, or anyone dreaming of building a support space like Sharin’s.
• Tag @taytalks_pod with your favorite quote or moment so we can see what landed and share it forward.
• Leave a quick rating or review—your words help thoughtful, heart‑minded listeners find the show and join these conversations.
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app for more TayTalks episodes on nonlinear growth, evolving identities, and the people behind the care we receive.

Caring differently doesn’t always look soft or conventional, and sometimes it starts with soy milk and Santa. In this episode of TayTalks, Taymeyah sits down with Patryk Mikucki, a rare disease leader, “punk guy” in clinical research, and early‑rising black‑coffee loyalist, to talk about friendship, challenge, and choosing learning over doing.

They explore what it means to be described as dynamic, intelligent, and sometimes “mean,” and how sarcasm, honesty, and emotional intensity show up at work and at home. From his daughter once believing he “employs Santa Claus” to the infamous soy‑milk request at the office, Patryk shares how small, specific asks can reveal your leadership instincts, and why he believes every individual deserves to be taken seriously, even when they’re not the majority.

The conversation moves through what friendship actually looks like in adulthood, why “I’m here when you need me and you’re here when I need you” matters more than keeping score, and how you can care deeply about people you don’t always like in every season of their life. Patryk also reflects on why rare disease work feels like the right place for him, the tension between being told to “behave like a senior” and staying true to his own energy, and how routines, discipline, and a motorbike in the garage all fit into his version of a good life.

Rapid‑fire, you’ll hear his go‑to coffee order, the cities and homes that ground him, the movie he recommends to everyone, and the small luxury he refuses to give up. He closes the episode with a question he hopes listeners carry into their day: not “What do I need to do?” but “What do I want to learn today?”—a quiet reframing that can change how you move through work, relationships, and your own growth.

Why Listen

• You’ll hear an unfiltered look at what it’s like to be seen as “too much” or “too challenging” at work, and how to turn that intensity into care, advocacy, and better leadership instead of shrinking yourself.
• You’ll learn a grounded, non‑transactional way to think about friendship, one that makes room for conflict, distance, and change without abandoning the people who matter.
• You’ll see how a single complaint about soy milk turned into a story about power, listening, and why it’s worth fighting for the needs of the “rare” individual in both offices and healthcare.
• You’ll hear how discipline, punk energy, and sharp sarcasm can coexist, and what it looks like to navigate feedback like “be more senior” while staying honest about who you are.
• You’ll walk away with a simple daily question—“What do I want to learn today?”—that can shift your to‑do list from pure output to genuine growth.

If this episode resonated

• Share it with a friend who’s been told they’re “too intense,” a leader in rare disease or healthcare, or someone rethinking what real friendship and care look like as an adult.
• Tag @taytalks_pod with your favorite quote or moment so we can see what landed and share it forward.
• Leave a quick rating or review. Your words help thoughtful, growth‑minded listeners find the show.

🎙️ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app for more TayTalks conversations on nonlinear growth, evolving identities, and the people behind the paths we take.

Leaving home doesn’t mean leaving yourself, but it does mean reintroducing yourself again and again. In this episode of TayTalks, Taymeyah sits down with Urmi, a Milan-raised, Montreal-based finance professional, author, and mentor, to talk about third culture kid identity, building a life across continents, and redefining success beyond titles and timelines.

We explore what it’s like to grow up between cultures, fall in love with finance in a male‑dominated industry, and turn lived experience into advocacy for women and South Asian communities. From squirrels and skunks in snowy Canada to the comfort of Italian coffee bars, this conversation moves through culture shock, home, mentorship, and what it really means to wear “many hats” without losing yourself.

Why Listen

• You’ll hear how Urmi went from “hating” her original major to discovering finance as a long-term love story, and why she sees numbers as narratives, not just spreadsheets.
• You’ll learn how being a third culture kid shaped her sense of home, belonging, and the decision to still say “I’m from Italy” even with Canadian citizenship.
• You’ll get an honest look at what it feels like to be one of the few women in finance, and how self-talk, boundaries, and advocacy help her stay in rooms that weren’t built for her.
• You’ll hear tangible examples of cultural shock, from tipping culture and frozen bus stops to $6 cappuccinos, and how travel softens the transition between worlds.
• You’ll see how mentorship can be informal and human first, and why Urmi decided to become the mentor she never had for young women considering finance.
• You’ll walk away with a more spacious, personal definition of success rooted in internal growth, not external checklists.

If this episode resonated

• Share it with a third culture friend, an aspiring woman in finance, or someone navigating life between countries.
• Tag @taytalks_pod with your favorite quote or takeaway so we can repost you.
• Leave a quick rating or review. Your words help thoughtful, growth‑minded listeners find the show.

🎙️ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite app for more TayTalks conversations on nonlinear growth, evolving identities, and the people behind the paths we take.