When Life Changes Overnight: A Story of Faith, Family, and Resilience with Brie Bauer

How Do You Adapt When Life Changes Everything? This week, I’m honored to share one of the most unforgettable conversations I’ve ever had, with an extraordinary woman—Brie Bauer. Brie’s story isn’t just about survival; it’s about resilience, faith, and redefining what it means to show up for life. After giving birth to her third child, Bo, at just 27 weeks, Brie faced a series of life-threatening complications that resulted in a medically induced coma, multiple surgeries, and ultimately, the amputation of her limbs. But this isn’t a story of loss—it’s a story of transformation. Brie shares how she confronted the unimaginable with a mindset anchored in faith and perspective. From the moment she woke up and made the decision to move forward, she has been determined to focus on what she can do instead of what she’s lost. Her love for her family, her honesty about the hard days, and her commitment to adapting to her new reality are lessons we can all learn from. As she says, “You have to adapt. You have to change with what comes to you.” In our conversation, Brie opens up about motherhood—how her definition of being a mom has evolved and how she still shows up for her three boys every single day. She also speaks candidly about her faith journey, admitting to moments of frustration with God while remaining open to growth and connection in her relationship with Him. And through it all, her husband Reed has been a rock—showing what true partnership and love look like in the face of overwhelming odds. Key Takeaways: Adapt to Your Reality: Life doesn’t always go as planned, but your ability to adapt determines your quality of life. Perspective Is Everything: The way you frame your challenges can completely shift your experience of them. Motherhood Redefined: Being a parent isn’t about what you can physically do—it’s about being present in every way you can. Faith Isn’t Always Perfect: It’s okay to wrestle with your faith and still remain open to its growth. Love Shows Up: True partnership means being there for each other in ways you never expected. Brie’s story isn’t just about overcoming—it’s about becoming. She’s a living example of how even in the face of unthinkable challenges, we can still choose gratitude, resilience, and love. Tune in and let Brie’s courage inspire you to face your own challenges head-on. This is an episode you’ll carry with you long after it ends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Ed Mylett?

  So hey guys, listen, we're all trying to get more productive. And the question is, how do you find a way to get an edge? I'm a big believer that if you're getting mentoring or you're in an environment that causes growth, a growth-based environment, that you're much more likely to grow and you're going to grow faster. And that's why I love Growth Day. Growth Day is an app that my friend Brendan Burchard has created that I'm a big fan of. Write this down, growthday.com/ed. So if you want to be more productive, by the way, he's asked me, I post videos in there every single Monday that gets your day off to the right start. He's got about $5,000, $10,000 worth of courses that are in there that come with the app. Also, some of the top influencers in the world are all posting content in there on a regular basis, like having the Avengers of personal development and business in one app. And I'm honored that he asked me to be a part of it as well and contribute on a weekly basis, and I do.

• 0:45Ed Mylett?

  So go over there and get signed up. You're going to get a free, tuition-free voucher to go to an event with Brendan and myself and a bunch of other influencers as well. So you get a free event out of it also. So go to growthday.com/ed. That's growthday.com/ed. I hear so many small business owners say the exact same thing. They just never have enough time in the day. Well, I measure time differently. I've compressed, condensed, heck, I've bent time. My first day is 6:00 a.m. to noon. My second day starts at noon and goes till 6:00 p.m. And my third day, 6:00 p.m. to midnight. I now get 21 days a week. Stack that up over a month, over a year, over five years, and my life's completely different than it would have been otherwise.

• 1:27Ed Mylett?

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• 2:05Speaker 01

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• 2:38Speaker 02

  This is the end mile show.

• 2:43Ed Mylett?

  All right, welcome back to the show, everybody. So today will be a little bit longer introduction than I normally do because I really believe today's show is one of the most unique ones I've ever done and one you may remember for the rest of your life. And it's because of this remarkable woman that we're going to have a conversation with today. Just want to tell you all, you know, I made a decision a while ago as the show became more popular, did I just want to have actors and entertainers on every single week that are very famous like some other shows do because it's easy to get them on once you have a larger show like we do. And as I did some of those interviews, some of them were incredible, but some of them frankly are very general, a lot of platitudes. I don't think a lot of it applies to real people's lives. And I made a conscious decision that every week when I come into your car or your gym

• 3:26Ed Mylett?

  or your living room, wherever the show is, I want it to change your life every week or at least have a chance to. And so I'm very scrutinizing when I have guests on because I want them to make a difference in your life. And that doesn't mean I don't have famous people on, I do. But I want to have the right people on that can change your life. And I've just made that choice with the show. And today, this remarkable woman fits that description perfectly. So my guest name today is Brie Bauer, and most of you have never heard of Bree before. She doesn't have a million people on social media. She doesn't even have thousands of people on social media. But what she has is a heart and a spirit that. And an infectious relentless pursuit of life that I don't think most people have. And I think today's going to give you perspective on your own life.

• 4:07Ed Mylett?

  So Bree went through a pretty harrowing experience after she gave birth to her third child, Bo, a lot earlier than she expected. Bo came very, very early, 27 weeks into her pregnancy. Little Bo was born weighing just two pounds, eight ounces, and was immediately put in the NICU unit. And meanwhile, during that time, Bree's health took a traumatic turn for the worse. She suffered tremendous blood loss during labor and birth and fluid filled her lungs. She ended up with multi-organ failure. I want you to imagine this, you're delivering your third baby way earlier than you think. Organ failure, she ended up going to go into medically induced coma.

• 4:47Ed Mylett?

  And she was diagnosed with a chance, prognosis was 10% chance of living. And she ended up with streptococcal type A, toxic shock syndrome, and a thing called intravascular coagulation, which I know a little bit about because I had a sister suffer with that. And so she had to have an emergency hysterectomy, later surgery on her colon. And unfortunately, the medications that were crucial for her survival led to a reduction in blood flow to her extremities, to her limbs. And that caused those limbs to be amputated. When she finally awoke from this experience, life was very different. And I want to discuss this journey because this is a woman in the middle of this journey.

• 5:30Ed Mylett?

  As I interview her today, she is doing dialysis as we're talking today. This is going to give you perspective, it's going to change your life, and that's why I do the show. So Brie Bauer, welcome to the show and thank you so much for being here.

• 5:42Speaker 03

  Thank you so much, Ed, for having me.

• 5:44Ed Mylett?

  You are amazing. Well, let's go to the obvious question, what did I mess up there? What took place? And walk us through the birth and also just the, you wake up and discover, I assume you got a conscious choice to have your limbs amputated? Or did you wake up and this was done while you're in a coma?

• 6:03Speaker 03

  That was one thing my family made sure of is they wanted to hear from, from me about saying yes to amputation. So they did keep everything until I kind of came to. But I think you really did a wonderful job, especially pronouncing all of the.

• 6:24Speaker 03

  Issues that were going on. I do want to point out that February seventeenth is how this all happened and I went in actually to an urgent care with my primary care first uh for my shoulders just like felt kind of sore like as like when you have the flu or something.

• 6:46Ed Mylett?

  Okay.

• 6:46Speaker 03

  And when you're pregnant, you know, I was like, oh, I probably should check this out. So went to my primary care, but there was like maybe seven or eight people in front of me. And so I was like, I don't want to wait. And uh then I decided to go to my OB urgent care. And luckily, when we got there, they're able to put those ultrasounds on your on your stomach to see contractions and how the baby's doing. And my mom and I look over at the monitor and it's just like

• 7:16Speaker 03

  beep beep beep like just like constant hills going up and down. We're like, are those contractions? Um, and I was just having back to back contractions. I had no idea. That's when Beau pretty much changed both of our lives. Uh, not really knowing at the time, but he was in distress and the doctor's like, we gotta do emergency C section. So I get, let's do it. Let's, let's go. Um, and then as uh they put the mask on me uh for the emergency C section. That's the last I got remember. Unfortunately, when they opened me up, you know, the baby was delivered. He looks great, little tiny guy.

• 8:00Speaker 03

  But uh, they couldn't stop the bleeding. Uh, and I had a placental abruption and they uh they still needed to go to my family and discuss the next steps, which was to do a hysterectomy. When all this went down, like blood pressure's going down, they're putting me on pressers, being in DIC and uh at the time as well, which means your blood is clotting when it shouldn't. And it is not clotting where it should. Uh, so it's kind of backwards, but during that time, the doctor came to my family and said, you know, we have to do this hysterectomy.

• 8:42Speaker 03

  She will uh probably, you know, like pass during surgery, uh but she most definitely will die if we don't do it. Uh, and my poor husband, you know, he was having these thoughts of of what to do. And at the same time, you know, we're handing this certificate to name the baby. Um, having both like losing his wife and then having a baby at the same time. We ended up choosing Bo. That was the only name we really agreed upon at that time. Uh, and so he went along and uh wrote that down, but they of course said yes, the surgery for me.

• 9:21Speaker 03

  And they did the hysterectomy. When they were in there, they found that uh my colon had blackened too. Because this whole process of trying to save my life, the focus was to provide blood flow to the major organs.

• 9:37Ed Mylett?

  Yep.

• 9:39Speaker 03

  So like, just like the, you think of like a triangle almost of your chest and and below. But that that colon just wasn't getting the uh blood flow. And so uh they had to do a third surgery to uh take that colon out and do a ostomy. But um it's just crazy what they found. So three surgeries within twenty four to forty eight hours.

• 10:04Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 10:05Speaker 03

  Then it was like this ti- ten day span where they put me in the medically induced coma. And uh slowly, my family was watching my fingers start to blue, turn blue and and black. And the doctors were saying at first, she'll probably lose her fingers and her toes. And then it seemed like, you know, with hours, they were like, she'll probably use her hands and her feet. But they just kept seeing the the blue creep up, even on the back of my head.

• 10:36Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 10:37Speaker 03

  It was, it became necrotic. Uh, I think there's other terms to to use for this kind of issue, but yeah, like my my limbs, they just weren't getting that blood flow.

• 10:47Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 10:48Speaker 03

  So uh when I woke up, my family and the team of doctors did a wonderful job explaining to me kind of what happened. And that uh, you know, they they took up the advantages um to show.

• 11:03Speaker 03

  What my limbs looked like, which I greatly appreciated, especially as a nurse to to uh to view what and why they need to amputate.

• 11:16Ed Mylett?

  Ree, can I ask you, I just want to interject, I just want to ask you something. By the way, this is such a, it's, it's, I'm short of breath a little bit, um, just picturing this. Um, but I want to ask you, just because everyone listening to this is going to go through something in their life, probably nowhere near like this, where they're almost in shock that something's happening to them, whatever it is. It's someone walks in and says, I'm leaving you in a marriage, or it could be a number of things, or you're fired. And that is nowhere near like what you, but you understand the, I'm curious is you, you're about to have this beautiful experience giving birth to your third child. All of these things happen. You wake up and now you're looking at your own purplish blue limp.

• 11:58Ed Mylett?

  What, what happened in, do you remember what happened in your mind? Was it shock? Was it sadness? What, what, or was it like, let's just make a decision here and move on? What, did you remember processing something then?

• 12:11Speaker 03

  I do. I, I remember the exact moment that they were undoing all these bandages and again, this is probably like two or three days after I truly came to. And that's, you know, still I was on a lot of medication. But I, uh, the room, you know, uh, a lot of people came into that room that day to, to see what I would do. So first there's just a lot of eyes on me, which I'm not one to enjoy that. But uh, either way, it's, it's a learning experience and, you know, again, as a nurse,

• 12:47Speaker 03

  and I worked for that same hospital too. And um, I can understand when people need to come in to get uh educated, but I first saw my hand and it looked like a mummified hand.

• 13:02Speaker 03

  And it was just curled up. You can kind of, you can still see my fingernails and then up my arm. Uh, you can tell like it, it, you know, got blue and black. And then they just the other arm dressing off and then my legs. The legs were the craziest because I was five, 10, you know, or five, nine and a half. But, uh, I, I had pretty long legs and to see all of that gone. Uh, but honestly, I was like, okay, let's get them off.

• 13:35Ed Mylett?

  Really?

• 13:36Speaker 03

  I want to start rehab. Yeah.

• 13:37Ed Mylett?

  Wow.

• 13:38Speaker 03

  There's, there's no way. Nothing could be done, you know?

• 13:43Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 13:43Speaker 03

  You can't save a hand that looked like that. Um, and if you keep your limbs like that, it'll get infected, you know? And then you go subject again. So.

• 13:55Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 13:56Speaker 03

  I was like, let's do this now.

• 13:59Ed Mylett?

  So, hey guys, I want to jump in here for a second and talk about change and growth. And you know, by the way, it's no secret how people get ahead in life or how they grow. And also taking a look at the future. If you want to change your future, you got to change the things you're doing. If you continue to do the same things, you're probably going to produce the same results. But if you get into a new environment where you're learning new things and you're around other people that are growth oriented, you're much more likely to do that yourself. And that's why I love Growth Day. Write this down for a second. Growth day.com forward slash ed. My friend Brendon Burchard has created the most incredible personal development and business app that I've ever seen in my life. Everything from goal setting software to personal accountability, journaling, courses, thousands of dollars worth of courses in there as well.

• 14:39Ed Mylett?

  I create content in there on Mondays where I contribute as do a whole bunch of other influencers, like the Avengers of influencers and business minds in there. It's the Netflix for high achievers or people that want to be high achievers. So go check it out. My friend Brennan's made it very affordable, very easy to get involved. Go to growthday.com forward slash ed. That's growthday.com forward slash ed.

• 15:00Ed Mylett?

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• 15:43Ed Mylett?

  Go to ro.co/mylet to see if you qualify. That's R-O dot C-O slash my let to get started on Ro. For side effects of GLP-1 medications, including boxed warning, go to ro.co/safety. R-O dot C-O slash safety. So when I ended up buying the island, we had to do all of our outdoor decorating, and I spent a fortune in the first half of the place. And I'm like, I don't want to do this anymore, but I want the best stuff. And that's where Wayfair came in. My wife wanted to get this new garden bed, and Wayfair was the place that offered the perfect solution. Wayfair also helps you create a home that stands up to real life with quality products, great value, and trusted reviews. Wayfair verified products are hand-vetted by product specialists that use a 10-point quality inspection system. Here's all I can tell you. The stuff has lasted over time.

• 16:28Ed Mylett?

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• 17:04Ed Mylett?

  Can I tell you one thing about you that's remarkable? You don't even know this about yourself, but I'm just gonna point a couple of things out to you and to everybody listening. The first thing that you said and the way that you frame this and that you look at it is, "Bo saved our lives." It's one of the first things you said.

• 17:22Speaker 03

  And who?

• 17:23Ed Mylett?

  And to me, that's a beautiful perspective and it's true. And it also goes to, I think, one of the keys. I'm trying to figure out how a person like you, that's going through dialysis as I'm speaking to her, is smiling and giggling and laughing even though I know this has been... And by the way, this is recent, everybody. This is not a long time ago. And it is all in the way you've decided to frame this and look at it. So the first thing you said was that "Bo saved our lives." As opposed to, you know, "I had this harrowing experience and because I gave birth to Bo, these things happened to me." It's completely different. And then the second thing you did is you talked about Reed, your husband,

• 18:07Ed Mylett?

  and what he was going through, looking at his wife sitting there and having this new baby, as opposed to what you were going through, actually experiencing this pain and the agony of the discomfort. I just want to point that out to you. You're smiling when I say it. But perspective drives everything in life. And I just think you're amazing that that's... And that's truly the way you see it, isn't it?

• 18:30Speaker 03

  Yep. I think even before this happened, I was... I don't think my personality or who I am has ever changed. Just physically, things have changed. And time, time is incredible. If I were to have been seen at my, you know, primary care, doctor, urgent care, I don't think they have those ultrasound things. They may have tested me for the flu and then sent me with an antibiotic, just not knowing because I had no other pain, just, you know, shoulder soreness. I would have died that night, you know?

• 19:10Speaker 03

  They wouldn't have been able to save me if I would have come in for, you know, pain or something. I'm not sure what it would have been. But just like, I think all the time about how, just the steps I took. And and immediately being like, no, there's seven people in front of me. I I'm gonna go somewhere else to see if I can be seen a little bit sooner, just like that in intuition. And and um, uh, yeah, if the doctors had had um, moved as quickly as I did when I got there. Uh, or, you know, Bo didn't show those signs of distress, you know? It was just a couple of uh, decelerated, uh, I think they looked for the baby's heart rate.

• 19:55Speaker 03

  And if it goes down, uh,

• 19:58Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 19:58Speaker 03

  And that had happened.

• 20:00Ed Mylett?

  This is a little bit, I have to tell you, Bree, it's a little personal for me for two reasons. And then I'm gonna ask you some really hard stuff here in a second.

• 20:07Speaker 03

  Okay. Deal.

• 20:09Ed Mylett?

  I uh, it's personal for me for two reasons. One, the birth of my son, he was going through distress with a cord wrapped around his neck. And we thought we were losing him. So very different blessings came from that than what you had to go through. But I I a little 1% understand. And then I have a sister, my middle sister Andrea, who's diabetic, um, had very similar issues uh, during her C-section that you had. The she couldn't coagulate. She was given her last rites twice.

• 20:38Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 20:39Ed Mylett?

  Very similar to to your situation. And um, I only say that to you to say that I just have such a heart for you and what you've gone through. I'm curious, and please be honest about this. How has this changed your perspective on life overall? And even if there's dark times, even if it's, hey, you know, three days a week, I'm terrible. And four days a week, I'm good, whatever it is, just take us through, if you would, because you're changing lives right now, Bree. See, not only did you save your own life, but right now there are millions of people are going through. What I'm going through is not so bad. This precious woman's gone through something different. Or if I do go through something horrific.

• 21:21Ed Mylett?

  Her wisdom, having been in the middle of it right now, will save me. So what? How did it change your perspective just on life overall? I'm curious.

• 21:29Speaker 03

  I, I really don't think my perspective on life has changed from what it was like before. I was a palliative care nurse for a bit. And so, you know, just the thought of death and how people decline when you get older and diseases get worse. I'm a clinical research nurse for the VA and I was a part of a study that focused on improving quality life. And so, you know, there's so many different measuring tools, but just the, what I gained from it was that in order to have a quality, a good quality of life,

• 22:11Speaker 03

  you have to adapt, you have to change with what comes to you. If you don't, if you keep things weighing on your shoulders of what you can't do, or what, what it used to be like in life, then, I mean, you're just gonna be

• 22:30Speaker 03

  pulled down by that for the rest of your life. And you don't, that's heavy. And so for me, my perspective has always been adapting, just changing, things that are in your control and then are not in your control. But with that said, the thing that truly weighs me down, even like till this day, is my definition of how to be a mother has significantly changed. And it, it breaks my heart that I can't pick up my baby because my limbs, I just can't do it.

• 23:13Speaker 03

  I can't uh get up the stairs to his room when he's crying. Um, I can't, uh, there was, it was a long time before we figured out how to position pillows and, and other tools to, to feed him. Um, you know, those things that I, that meant so much to me as a mother for my other two boys, I just, I can't do.

• 23:39Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 23:39Speaker 03

  So when I'm, you know, in pain and laying in bed, I'll hear my baby cry and I, it just kills me that I can't stand up and, and get to him.

• 23:50Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 23:51Speaker 03

  I have the love and support of family and friends to be there for him. That, that's what breaks me. Uh, but then again, what grounds me is that I'm here.

• 24:04Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 24:04Speaker 03

  I'm, I'm here to, I'm here to see them grow up.

• 24:13Speaker 03

  Although, you know, other people are around caring for him. That still doesn't mean I'm not his mother.

• 24:23Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 24:24Speaker 03

  I, uh, I have to remind myself of that, that I'm here. Uh, I get to hear those cries.

• 24:33Ed Mylett?

  Hmm. Hmm. Bree, I love you. I'm just watching you get so much. I just met you and I love you. I, uh, shoot, you got to get me here, Bree.

• 24:44Speaker 03

  Um. Yeah.

• 24:46Ed Mylett?

  These three boys are so blessed to have you. I think, think a lot of things as a parent, I'm sorry, gosh, you got me there, girl.

• 24:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:55Ed Mylett?

  Um, you know, a lot of things is, as parents with kids, I think are caught, not taught. And these three boys are going to catch some darn toughness away from you, some resiliency.

• 25:08Speaker 03

  And it's interesting because that's what people say.

• 25:11Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 25:12Speaker 03

  Uh, that like, you know, your boys are going to be so proud of you. Um, but they are just.

• 25:21Speaker 03

  They're not phased by it at all.

• 25:24Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 25:24Speaker 03

  So there's a five, a three, and then the baby.

• 25:27Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 25:27Speaker 03

  Uh, year old and, and uh, they just, they're like, there's times where my five year old kind of catches on. Like the other day, he said,

• 25:38Speaker 03

  he's just looking at me and kind of touched my left arm and said, Mom, you know, I wish, I wish you had your arm back. It was so beautiful.

• 25:45Ed Mylett?

  Oh, gosh.

• 25:46Speaker 03

  And I was like, dude.

• 25:47Ed Mylett?

  Mm hmm.

• 25:48Speaker 03

  But and then I, I say, I wish I had it too. Um, but you know, we got sick and, and then they're just like, oh, something shiny, you know, like they, and then they run away.

• 26:00Ed Mylett?

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• 28:02Ed Mylett?

  You said something so powerful about adapting earlier. And the other thing you said is not romanticizing or reminiscing about what used to be. I think so many of us, you know, comparison's the thief of joy, but really the worst comparison I think can be to a previous time or what could have been. It's one of the most painful. But I'm curious, I'm sure that there's gotta be a morning, I imagine you might even have a dream where you still have all of your limbs. And then you wake up.

• 28:32Speaker 03

  Every dream I have.

• 28:34Ed Mylett?

  Do you, every dream you have, is that right?

• 28:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 28:37Ed Mylett?

  And so when you wake up, and this is some of the hard things I want to ask you, because you know, sometimes people have a dream that they're still in a relationship they're no longer in, or at a job, or look away they used to. You'll wake up and realize, oh, my gosh, I don't. What do you do? Because I have to imagine you're flooded with sadness when that happens. Is there something you do? Do you pray? Do you look at your boys and be grateful for them? Is there something you do to change that state, so to speak, in you when you hit those moments of comparison to what used to be?

• 29:10Speaker 03

  Yeah, not so much when I wake up. I, uh, it's hard to explain, kind of like the transition from a dream to being awake, having something you don't have anymore. But, uh,

• 29:28Speaker 03

  You just, I just keep going. Um, but what goes through my mind a lot is that I'm not doing enough. I'm not there for my boys enough and that I, I, even though, so like just sitting on the floor can be kind of painful for me. Um, you know, I don't have a, a bone anymore on my right side, on my right, where my femur used to be, they had to take that out. And so pain on that side can, can increase, but, um, then I regret, regret not going the floor to, to play with a baby or I, I, I used to do so many different activities with my boys that I can't now, like build forts, you know?

• 30:13Speaker 03

  Play outside, go into my backyard. Uh, I'm so limited, but I just, I try to just be in the moment. I try to just, you know, even though I'm not physically, you know, kind of playing around, uh, I'm there to see. I'm there to use my voice. It's really hard if one of them, you know, needs to go to timeout.

• 30:36Speaker 03

  The middle one, he's ordering like that where I'll say, you need to go and tell him out buddy. And he's like, no. And I'm like, I can't, I can't do anything about it.

• 30:43Ed Mylett?

  He's going to figure out you can't do anything about it. What do you hope they learn from you, Bree? Have you thought about that yet? You're just all about other people. And, and so everything you say is other people's experience with you, not your own. I just want you to understand that's why your frame is so beautiful. But I'm curious, since you are so focused on everybody else, and we'll talk about you and Reed in a minute, but um, what do you hope the boys are learning from you, that we can learn from you? Like, don't be humble, just for once in your life, for a minute here. Like what, what, what should we be learning from you and what, what will your boys be learning from you?

• 31:20Speaker 03

  That you can, you can do more, you can accomplish more than you could ever imagine.

• 31:30Speaker 03

  When you doubt yourself, you're gonna let that doubt weigh on you.

• 31:36Speaker 03

  You know, and just another

• 31:40Speaker 03

  part of my life, just a few months before everything happened, my dad died. And he, he was just the best. That's all I could say. He was just the best.

• 31:56Speaker 03

  And I don't, I'm always curious of what he would think

• 32:02Speaker 03

  of today. And I know, I know it would break him.

• 32:07Speaker 03

  But he also taught me

• 32:11Speaker 03

  the fact that you don't, you don't dwell.

• 32:14Speaker 03

  But you always try to stay humble. And that family's everything.

• 32:21Speaker 03

  So I hope I kind of teach my boys the same. Especially the family aspect. Family's everything.

• 32:32Ed Mylett?

  He's very proud of you. I could tell you that, girl. Very proud of you. God bless you. You know,

• 32:40Ed Mylett?

  you got me twice now, Bree. Don't talk about dads.

• 32:43Speaker 03

  I know, right?

• 32:44Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, I, uh, yeah, okay. You know, everybody just have to say some, this is literally why I do the show. Right here. And it's why I'm so honored to bring particular people into your lives. And I love that I get to share this remarkable person with you all. How's it affected your faith? If you don't mind me asking, did you have faith prior? Has it weakened it, strengthened it? Changed it?

• 33:09Speaker 03

  Oh goodness. Growing up, I grew up Catholic, growing up high school, college. Faith was not a big part of my life. It wasn't until I became a bedside nurse and I recognized the difference in care or the difference in improvement. They provided patients. And so I would see their family prayer. I'd see them do a ritual or something that, that would help them. And it worked, you know? And even when someone is passing.

• 33:49Speaker 03

  Faith is huge and allowing them to pass, I think, more gently.

• 34:01Speaker 03

  And so during that time, it improved.

• 34:05Speaker 03

  I was, my dad was really big

• 34:11Speaker 03

  with his faith and in the Bible and trying to teach us. I come from a family of work kids and teaches us the ways of the Bible and, and of course, you know, we, we agree with those facts of, you know, how to be

• 34:31Speaker 03

  a good person, you know. And morals and ethics today. I

• 34:41Speaker 03

  hands down believe that my father

• 34:47Speaker 03

  saved me and the baby.

• 34:51Speaker 03

  I know if he had a choice, he would probably choose the baby because he just loved his, he loved his grandkids so much. That's kind of where my faith has grown is knowing that he's up there. And although I'm not very happy

• 35:08Speaker 03

  with God, you know.

• 35:12Speaker 03

  I am faced with so many, I'm meeting so many different people and a lot of them have just kind of say a line from the Bible or, or tell me how important it is, you know, to believe and to allow God to come into your life. But I'm, I'm still learning. I, I don't want to jump at anything that I really don't know that I'm just saying I do, you know, that my faith is strong. I don't, I don't want to just say that. I don't want to.

• 35:42Speaker 03

  Change anyone else's opinion about me because of my faith, but all in all, it's it's growing, they can say.

• 35:49Ed Mylett?

  Well, I think that's the all time honest answer on a podcast and not a podcast answer. That's why you're here. First off, saying that you're mad at God is actually so honest. And so many people go through times in their lives where they are and and we have a relationship with God. Now, the fact that we're mad at him indicates he exists in our heart and our spirit, and that's a beautiful thing. And and seeking to understand why or how over the time of our lives is absolutely appropriate, and it's a relationship that we have. And what a great answer, by the way, and an honest answer. Because, you know, I ask that question to 100 people on a podcast, it's just going to be the podcast answer. And that's the real

• 36:32Ed Mylett?

  answer. And that's what most people, by the way, in their life, they're struggling with the validity of it, the truth of it. If there is a loving God, why would this be happening to me? And if you do exist, I'm mad at you. And when I get there, you better explain this thing to me, you know?

• 36:46Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 36:47Ed Mylett?

  God's gonna have some explaining to do to you when you get there, and you will get there, and it will all be explained, which is the most beautiful part of it. But thank you for that answer. Guys, I told you, we're gonna, this is a deep one today. So I think when you're married to somebody, you're married to Reed, I think you think you know him, and you love him. And then I imagine when you go through something this incredible.

• 37:10Speaker 03

  Right.

• 37:11Ed Mylett?

  I mean, you learned something you didn't know, or something you thought you knew is validated, or so you can't go through something like this and it not somehow alter, change, improve, make worse a marriage. It has to. How has it changed? Or you can even give us the before and the after, whatever. How would you describe what this has done for your relationship with Reed, your husband?

• 37:35Speaker 03

  He walked into the room.

• 37:37Ed Mylett?

  Oh, really? All right, Reed, we're talking about you, dude.

• 37:42Speaker 03

  I love him more than I did before. It's, you know, completely honest answer. And he

• 37:57Speaker 03

  He keeps me alive. Uh. He makes sure I still feel beautiful. Um, and uh. He, he just does, he does everything. And like you said, you really don't know a person.

• 38:15Speaker 04

  Hmm.

• 38:15Speaker 03

  If I were told, you know, uh, we, we eloped in uh Colorado and uh. If you were to cho- like, have told me that day that this is the man I married, I don't know if I would believe it. In general, the things he does for me, not a lot of like close friends would ever do or, or uh, you know, blood relatives. But he does it without question and he makes it so I don't feel like a burden. Which I know I am. Um, gaining independence is, is something that um, I'm really hard at.

• 38:53Speaker 04

  Hmm.

• 38:54Speaker 03

  Uh, but it's hard. It's hard to uh, build that strength overnight.

• 38:58Speaker 04

  Hmm.

• 38:58Speaker 03

  Uh, but he is just incredible.

• 39:04Speaker 04

  Hmm.

• 39:04Speaker 03

  Every, everyone around us recognizes it and um. Again, yeah, he, he's now trying to find. His life again. Um, as I gain more independence, he's kind of finding his life again and what he enjoyed doing.

• 39:21Speaker 04

  Hmm.

• 39:22Speaker 03

  Uh, but three kids, including a newborn and a, and a wife that has no limbs. I mean, and to go, you know, every day, just there's. Something he's doing.

• 39:36Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 39:37Speaker 03

  Um, and he tries to make sure everyone gets a part of him and that's wonderful, but again, it's, it's weary. And so that's just another motivator for me to be like, bro, you gotta sit up by yourself. We're doing all of these crazy things, you know, with prosthetics and we're uh, there's so few surgeries I need to do. Uh, but uh.

• 40:01Speaker 03

  I hope to be standing up again and all that, all that stuff. Yeah.

• 40:06Ed Mylett?

  Well, when you do, when you do, you'll come back on. My show's very heavy audio, but I hope everybody today you'll give yourself the gift of going over to the YouTube and seeing this woman's face because it's, uh, just so you know, Bree, there is a God and the Holy Spirit's all over you. I'm just telling you, you're just a precious soul. By the way, guys, I thought it was a really interesting thing. I love the beginning of people's answers when I ask things. I listen even closer and you said he makes you feel beautiful. And I just want to remind all the dudes listening to this today, are you doing that with your lady? Are you making her feel beautiful? And ladies, is your dude doing that? It's one of the things that's, and by the way, are you making him feel handsome and beautiful? I mean, I just think that that's not ever said

• 40:51Ed Mylett?

  out loud. I feel safe. I feel loved. I trust him. Well, does he make you feel beautiful? And what a, what a, what a wonderful subtle thing you said there that stood out to me anyway.

• 41:06Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra because it's not just a superior light beer. It's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer St. Louis, Missouri.

• 41:36Ed Mylett?

  Let me ask you this. When, if ever, have you thought of giving up? Don't give me the podcast answer. Give me the Bree answer because you've been doing that all day today.

• 41:43Speaker 03

  Oh gosh. Yeah. I mean, there's been a few times, not,

• 41:49Speaker 03

  not as far as action, um, but the thought of what it would look like around here if I wasn't here. Um, and I feel like people, especially my husband, he, my assumption would be he would be able to thrive a little bit more. Uh, but of course he would totally disagree. And so, yeah, I have thought about just like how it, before all this happened, um,

• 42:20Speaker 03

  People pleaser, you know, just do anything to make someone else happy, make someone feel comfortable. And if I were to be gone, I feel like that might be for the best for everyone. Is to not have that worry anymore, to know that I've, I've, I've gone and, and, you know, always think of me, but I think it would be easier. But, but I tell myself, or I will remind myself what my husband told me.

• 42:48Speaker 03

  As I was in a coma and he was just praying that he just wanted the mother for his children.

• 42:57Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 42:58Speaker 03

  And so.

• 42:59Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 43:00Speaker 03

  Uh, that was, that was the biggest part is just to make sure that they had their mom back.

• 43:05Ed Mylett?

  Yes.

• 43:06Speaker 03

  And so, uh, then I kind of come to, and I'm like, yes, I'm going to be here and I'm going to be there for them.

• 43:13Ed Mylett?

  I don't know that I've done an interview this honest. Because you're, you know, everybody, this isn't one of these things where like it's 15 years later, Bree's going through this now. I, I just really appreciate you and.

• 43:26Speaker 03

  Oh.

• 43:26Ed Mylett?

  And, and by the way, the latter is the right conclusion. I can promise you that. And you said earlier about your boys, they're five, three and one, I think. Is that right?

• 43:35Speaker 03

  Uh, like eight months or so.

• 43:36Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, but five, three and then Bo. And, um, yeah, they don't know now everything, but I can promise you, like all kids, when they get into their twenties, they're going to figure out who their mom is and their dad. And they're going to have an amazing example. That's, that's the, there's always a blessing in horrible things, and this is not a good thing. Having said that, the blessing more than likely will be in these three boys. And knowing the type of mother they have, how tough, resilient, her faith will grow over time. Um, her example, her mindset, her mindset, her love, her concern, her care, her nurturing. And then to have a father who's such a real man. He's just a real man, you know, Reed's a real man.

• 44:18Ed Mylett?

  And now you're getting all emotional, but, but, and, but I gotta tell you, like, that's where the seeds will be harvested of what's going on right now. Not that you're a psychologist or anything like that, but I want to ask you maybe one or two questions left. If someone came to you right now and they said, I'm going through, and by the way, most people would be embarrassed to say, I'm going through something difficult after listening to what you're going through, right? And that's one of the other reasons I wanted you on is some form of perspective. But in our own lives, it is our life, our journey, and our hardships are our hardships. And so if someone finds this, you know, this is around the holiday season, we're doing

• 44:59Ed Mylett?

  this, maybe they just feel lonely, whatever it is, they're going through something tough. And you're like, hey, uh, over here, so am I, by the way. Would you just give them any counsel if they were your good, close girlfriend or friend? They said, what are you learning? What would you say to them?

• 45:18Speaker 03

  I would probably just listen versus saying anything specific. Cause again, like I said, it's about their journey. And I do get that a lot. Like I've, I've talked to so many different people, you know, using the Instagram. Um, and they will usually start off a message being like, nothing compared to you, but, you know, and they tell their story.

• 45:41Speaker 03

  And it is humbling, validating to hear other people's grief and what they're going through. But I am happy to be that example of, look at her, she's kind of pretty bad. Yeah. And even at like rehab, which I love rehab, cause they're helping me.

• 46:08Speaker 03

  Get stronger. And I know a lot of people there will look at me saying, I don't have it that bad. But you know, we're all there for one purpose is to get stronger and improve with whatever is rehab. There's so many different disabilities there.

• 46:22Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 46:23Speaker 03

  And um, but I'm okay to be that person. But if if anyone were to come talk to me about what they're going through, I have no judgment whatsoever.

• 46:32Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 46:32Speaker 03

  Uh, unless I was being sarcastic or something with

• 46:35Ed Mylett?

  Yeah.

• 46:36Speaker 03

  with someone. But uh, yeah, I I would, I think people just need to be listened to and recognized.

• 46:45Ed Mylett?

  What do you mean by recognize? Like, what do you mean by that? Recognize the listen part? I think I get. But what do you mean by recognize?

• 46:52Speaker 03

  Well, there's a this technique that I learned motivational interviewing.

• 46:56Ed Mylett?

  Mm hmm.

• 46:57Speaker 03

  And uh,

• 47:00Speaker 03

  a couple of the very powerful parts of that is uh,

• 47:05Speaker 03

  I think it's like the writing reflex, which as a nurse, I would do so much where I would

• 47:15Speaker 03

  tell my patients what they're doing wrong, or like, you know, you you need to do this. This is what the textbook says. You need to be taking medications regardless of what's going on at home. Like, and it it stopped me from like, writing, like, jumping in front of them saying,

• 47:30Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 47:30Speaker 03

  uh, trying to give them the right answer.

• 47:33Ed Mylett?

  Hmm.

• 47:34Speaker 03

  Uh, and so, but uh, what truly helps uh, people, I believe, is kind of like repeating what they're telling you, like verbatim, like what they said, but um, relaying it in a way that they know that they're heard. And so,

• 47:55Speaker 03

  I think that that's just a very powerful

• 47:59Speaker 03

  thing to take. Thank you. And I concern, um, you know, the this different studies I was a part of, I would talk to patients and I could just hear over the phone, uh, the difference it makes when uh, you know, you just recognize what they're saying, especially with with patients. I think they're, they feel like they're not heard because maybe their care team is just focused on. Medical side of things.

• 48:26Ed Mylett?

  Um.

• 48:28Speaker 03

  But, uh, but yeah, it just kind of recognizing what they're saying and almost repeating it back to them.

• 48:35Ed Mylett?

  By the way, so true. I have to tell you that's so true. I think most answers, but it's hard. Everyone that's difficult for, it's harder for a man, I think in general, like they want to just fix or solve or what's that? You know, but I have to tell you, I think most problems are solved within. Yet there's value to talking with another person because as long as they let you talk and validate it. You're hearing yourself put it out into the space to get it solved. I'm a big believer in what you just said. Big believer on that.

• 49:07Speaker 03

  Yes. Uh, yeah, I agree.

• 49:09Ed Mylett?

  Like, I don't seek advice very often from people, but I do seek to be listened to. And so it looks like advice. I'm sharing, hey, what do you think? But what I'm really doing is listen to myself, work this out loud outside of my own. Patterns and thoughts inside of me. I have to even think today, talking about this for you, it's just a little bit different to get outside of it for an hour or so. Right?

• 49:29Speaker 03

  For sure.

• 49:29Ed Mylett?

  Hear yourself discuss it. Last question for you. And by the way, I want to just first say thank you. I don't want to thank you just at the end. Thank you. And I want to thank you for millions of people. First, this is a perspective gainer for everybody, but two, the lessons are just. Irreplaceable. I think the biggest lesson is that you can just plug away everybody and not have it all figured out. You don't have to have it all figured out. I've got everything figured out with God. I've got everything figured out with why this happened. I've got everything figured out with my kids. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to get up the next day, one day at a time and do it again the next day. And if I get anything from you, Bree, and I get a lot, that is one of the takeaways for me.

• 50:11Ed Mylett?

  Is that it doesn't have to all come into place all the time, right away. But I'm curious for you. What does it look like now going forward? So take us a little bit about where you are. You're in dialysis as we speak. Your limbs have been removed. You're doing PT, a lot of therapy. What, what, what are we gonna see happen for you from here going forward? That you're hopeful, but can be improvements upon where you are now?

• 50:40Speaker 03

  I want to get the colostomy reversed. So it's a surgery that can be done, but it is a pretty big surgery, which I never, I didn't think that it would be too big. But for me, my abdomen's been opened up so many times. And there's a lot of scar tissue. So we have to almost expand my skin

• 51:05Speaker 03

  in order for the surgeons to open and then close me up after the colostomy. After my intestines are pretty much put back together. But it's almost also it's a surgery that you, you almost have to get it done the first time. And that terrifies me because with the last, you know, eight months or so of my life, anything that was gonna happen, it was always the bad, you know, the worst of it. And so I, I just want to get through that, just that reversal. And what will happen is I can then get a prosthetic for my right side. Where I don't have a leg.

• 51:47Speaker 03

  It's like this, it kind of wraps around your abdomen, but it would wrap right over the colostomy. So it wouldn't really work. So I need to get that reversed in order to have the right leg. And then I would stand up and start taking some steps. And then future, future kidney transplant. Because unfortunately, my kidneys, they're, they're they're not doing everything that they should. But, you know, I'm doing home dialysis and it doesn't impact life too, too much. But

• 52:23Speaker 03

  I think in a probably a year or two, uh, we're gonna start looking at, you know, candidates and hopefully someone would be a match, hopefully.

• 52:33Ed Mylett?

  I hope so.

• 52:34Speaker 03

  And do that.

• 52:36Ed Mylett?

  I, uh, I don't even know the word I have for you. I'm, uh, different because of you. I'm different because of you. And, uh,

• 52:46Speaker 03

  It means a lot.

• 52:47Ed Mylett?

  Yeah, I haven't stopped thinking about you since I saw you on John's conversation and, uh, immediately reached out and said, I need to have you on my show. I mean, immediately. And I'm so grateful that we did this today. You are, uh, you're special. You're just special.

• 53:03Speaker 03

  Thank you.

• 53:04Ed Mylett?

  You are. And everybody listening to this, you are as well. And I hope this woman's inspired you. I hope you listen to this again and again. I hope you share it with somebody that you love or needs to be inspired or needs some perspective or is going through a hard time. And, um, you're a godsend, Bree. I hope everybody sends you love. You want them to, you don't like a lot of attention. You want them to go see you on social? You want them to go to Instagram?

• 53:25Speaker 03

  Yeah, we are at Bo and Bree, um, B E A U and then, and B R I E.

• 53:33Ed Mylett?

  All right. Well, we'll put it, we'll put a link on the, on the show notes. By the way, everyone, Bo is doing great.

• 53:39Speaker 03

  Mm hmm.

• 53:40Ed Mylett?

  And so I want to make sure that you all know that Bo is doing great. I'm sure at the end everyone was like, what about Bo? So Bo's doing awesome. All right, everybody. Bree, thank you. God bless you, everybody. Max out.