In this deeply personal episode of the Thrive x Strive Musician Podcast, our host, Amy, shares her recent journey through the complexities of the healthcare system. After undergoing surgery for a tethered spinal cord and facing numerous challenges, Amy opens up about her struggles with self-doubt, the relief of validation, and the ongoing journey toward understanding and managing their health condition. And how musicians can also benefit from those lessons.

Key Highlights: Personal Life Update, navigating Healthcare, and the Power of Self-Validation.

Transcription for the episode:

Today’s guest Adrian Anantawan is a Canadian violinist who holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also the founder of the Music Inclusion Program, which aims to help children with disabilities learn instrumental music with other typical peers.

 In this episode, We discuss the diversity needs in the current classical world, technical adaptation in music performance, and how to see strength through our disabilities. 

This interview in video format is available on the Thrive x Strive YouTube Channel.

Please leave valuable reviews on the forum you are listening on and share your takeaway from today’s episode. More details will be in the show notes on my website, amywangviolin.com/podcast. 

Today’s guest Adrian Anantawan is a Canadian violinist who holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Yale University, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is also the founder of the Music Inclusion Program, which aims to help children with disabilities learn instrumental music with other typical peers.

 In this episode, We discuss the diversity needs in the current classical world, technical adaptation in music performance, and how to see strength through our disabilities. 

This interview in video format is available on the Thrive x Strive YouTube Channel.

Please leave valuable reviews on the forum you are listening on and share your takeaway from today’s episode. More details will be in the show notes on my website, amywangviolin.com/podcast. 

In this episode, I shared my medical story, part 2, about how I experienced traumatic experiences with progressive paralysis while staying in the moment and continuing my performance career.
I want to share my stories now, right before my surgery next week, on the podcast to raise awareness of the rare disease and let everyone know that it’s okay not to know the answer or find your diagnosis yet but still be validated for your symptoms.

Living in the present is the ONE thing that helps me through each traumatic experience with paralysis, still enjoy each of my performances, and cherish each performance opportunity.

As a musician podcast, I want to encourage disabled musicians to come out and talk about their experiences with accessibility at work, inclusivity in different work settings - orchestras, chamber music, composition, conducting - of course, not limited to these.; and what do you think are the obstacles for the disabled musicians to shine… list literally can go on. So, if you are a disabled musician and love to talk about your story and experiences, you can reach out to thrivexstrive@gmail.com; or fill out the contact form on my website amywangviolin.com.

For this episode, I share my medical journey for the last two and half years being absent on my podcast, how I got my diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and other comorbidities, and what it is like to be a full-time patient advocate for myself. 

I hope this will lead us in a new direction as I will bring more guests who are musicians with disabilities. I want to bring awareness to the music community to see this minority group of equally talented people, what issues we have encountered in terms of accessibilities, inclusivity, and how we manage our disability as each individuals to accommodate our music career.