E79: Employment Resources for the Chronically Ill with ChronicallyCapable CEO and co-Founder Hannah Olson

[Transcriber’s note: Dear transcript readers, I sincerely apologize for the unedited transcript for this week’s episode of the POTScast. Unfortunately, I will be unable to prepare edited transcripts for the next two weeks but will still make the unedited transcript available. Once I return, I am happy to edit transcripts for the missed episodes. Please feel free to contact me at volunteer@standinguptopots.org to request a specific transcript. Additionally, if you would like to help prepare these transcripts, or if you have suggestions on how I can improve these transcripts, please email me at the address above.]

00:00:01 Announcer: Welcome to the Standing Up to POTS podcast, otherwise known as the POTScast. This podcast is dedicated to educating and empowering the community about postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, commonly referred to as POTS. This invisible illness impacts millions and we are committed to explaining the basics, raising awareness, exploring the research, and empowering patients to not only survive, but thrive. This is the Standing Up to POTS podcast.

00:00:29 Jill (Host): Hello, fellow POTS patients and people who care about POTS patients. I'm Jill Brook, your hyperadrenergic host, and today we have an episode of POTS Matters where we are going to talk with Hannah Olson, who used her own experience as a chronic Lyme patient to inspire a tech startup company. She is in that category of people whom I always admire who experienced a problem, suffered, and decided to do something about it to make life easier for people in the same situation who came after her. I don't want to give away too much because I want her to get to share her story. But she is the CEO and co-founder of Chronically Capable, a company working to help people with disabilities and chronic illness find work opportunities that are accommodating of their needs. Hannah and her company have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine, and a bunch of other major media networks. We are so excited to have you here today. Hannah, thank you for joining us.

00:01:32 Hannah (Guest): Thanks so much for having me. Happy to be.

00:01:35 Jill (Host): I know our audience is going to be so excited to hear about your company and your work. But first, can we get to know you a little bit? Like first off, I think you're younger than people would expect for your accomplishments. Like how old are you?

00:01:48 Hannah (Guest): Funny, I actually haven't talked too much about my age outside of investor settings, but I actually just turned 26 back in March 2022. So 26 years old. I just moved to Atlanta recently from Austin, TX.

00:02:02 Jill (Host): OK, great. And where did you grow up?

00:02:04 Hannah (Guest): I'm from Marion, Massachusetts, which if you're not familiar with, is a small town on the South Coast of Massachusetts, not far from Cape Cod.

00:02:12 Jill (Host): I think from what I have heard about you a little bit that you did not intend to become a person who was a tech startup founder for people with chronic illness. I think that you were on track to do other things. Can you tell us a little bit about who was the Hannah before that tick?

00:02:32 Hannah (Guest): Yes, absolutely. What a lot of people actually don't know about me is that while I was born and raised in Massachusetts, I actually moved to the West Coast of Mexico in high school outside of Puerto Vallarta, and back then I was really outdoorsy, loved sports and friends and socializing, learning Spanish of course. And then from that experience, I was living in a tourism hub. Obviously everyone wants to go on vacation in that area, and so I actually went to college for hospitality. I went to Boston University. It was there when I got diagnosed, which I'm sure we'll get into in a bit here. But yeah, most people don't know that I have a hospitality degree, so I'm really good at setting tables. That job at holidays, but specifically my interest was in hospitality marketing and design and really how people feel in certain spaces, what you smell and taste and hear, those sorts of things. So that's actually my academic background. Personally, I've picked up cooking during the pandemic, but as mentioned, you know, for me, I've always been since a kid a really outgoing person, spending time with my family and friends and being a lot of anything from, I don't know, high school sports all the way to going on vacation and these sorts of things.

00:03:43 Jill (Host): Were you always in good health up until that tick bite? Like was it a new experience to you?

00:03:49 Hannah (Guest): Health-wise, I was a healthy kid. I did grow up with a lot of throat issues. I've learned from listening to myself on podcasts so many times I have a pretty raspy voice. I've grown up with throat-related issues, but nothing, no autoimmune-related disorders or anything of that sort.

00:04:06 Jill (Host): Did you get the tick bite in Massachusetts?

00:04:08 Hannah (Guest): That is the magic question. So yeah, I do not know where. I started having some weird symptoms during my senior year of high school back down in Mexico. I was obviously traveling back and forth a lot. And so yeah, I do not know which tick bite it was. I will say that growing up on the northeast of the United States, parents had always ingrained in me every time I went outside, I was always outside with my neighborhood friends, was always come home, check for ticks and check behind the ears, check your elbows, belly button, all of that. And so I was always doing this since I was a young age and had pulled, you know, numerous ticks off me in my lifetime, so I don't know which was the magic tick.

00:04:48 Jill (Host): Yeah, it's weird to think that there was a moment somewhere along the way that it changed your life, it changed the world of tech startups, and it was just one little tick somewhere. What happened? What made you realize that something was off?

00:05:04 Hannah (Guest): So during my time in college, I had a very unique college experience. I started off pretty normal, but I didn't feel well pretty early on into my college time. And so I'd say like halfway through my first year of school, I started having a lot of just aches and pains and being tired, and I attributed that to being a busy college student and studying and overworking, those types of things. But it was my sophomore year that I thought I had mono at first, and I always like to say I didn't understand why or how I had mono 'cause I wasn't kissing anyone at the time, so I don't know where that came from. But that kind of triggered the start of my health journey was a mono diagnosis back in, yes, 2015. And I started experiencing a lot of very unrelated symptoms. So it started obviously with mono-type symptoms, so tiredness, aches, pains, sore throat, those types of things, fever, and then after that, it just kind of never went away and I always thought, you know, mono is only supposed to be 2 to 3 weeks, and the months passed and the months passed and it started to really kind of snowball in terms of the symptoms just started piling on. And I ended up studying abroad and was fortunate enough to do so, and it was while I was abroad in Australia that I started to have issues with my limbs, losing feeling in my limbs. First off it started in my feet all the way to my hands, arms, legs, everything, had a lot of numbing sensation. That was when it really kind of started to hit a boiling point, and then when I got back, that's when I started fainting and was able to finally somewhere along the way after seeing so many doctors get a Lyme disease test, which surprisingly came back positive given typically these tests don't show after two weeks after the bite, and so this means it was really active in my system and was still showing up on a simple Lyme test.

00:06:52 Jill (Host): I know it felt maybe kind of lucky to even get a positive diagnosis, but was there very much they could do for it at that point?

00:07:00 Hannah (Guest): I wish that there was a quick answer to that. I'll try to be as concise as possible. So actually, again, something I haven't talked too deeply about: at the time, the person who had administered this test was my family doctor. It was actually the person who had delivered me back in 1996. You know, he didn't believe that after a two-week run of antibiotics for Lyme disease that Lyme disease would still persist in my system, which, if you're familiar with Lyme disease, this is a really common trend we hear, and so I spent a few months in kind of personal turmoil of, am I crazy? Is this all in my head? A lot of things that I know, you know, my experience isn't unique and a lot of people have felt this. I was lucky to have parents who listened to me and didn't necessarily just take the advice of this person who they've known and trusted for so many years, for decades really, and so we started to just kind of do more digging and finding specialists in the area or in the Boston metro area where we were able to get deeper tests and find out kind of the full spectrum of what I was dealing with. And so actually at the time I was also diagnosed with POTS, and that was the cause of a lot of the fainting episodes that I was experiencing. In short, no, at first the symptoms were not subdued with antibiotics. I actually spent about a year doing oral antibiotics, which made me incredibly sick, and I actually lost almost 40 pounds. It was outrageous because I'm a tall person. I know you can't see me while listening to a podcast, but I'm a tall person, I'm 5'10", and I was really just frail and tiny, and so at that point is when we switched to an IV. I had a PICC line in my arm and I had that for three years, and that's what really started to kick symptoms for me 'cause I was able to actually digest the medicine.

00:08:47 Jill (Host): Three years. Now I know from other things that I've heard you say that that IV pole played a role in your work experience and your deciding to found Chronically Capable. So when we last left off, you were a sophomore in college, so time was marching on and you were just muddling through, getting a degree, getting your first job. How was that?

00:09:10 Hannah (Guest): So I'm a little bit crazy in that I was really sick, but I wanted to just get it done with. I really rushed my college experience, and to this day I kind of look back with regret sometimes, of like I should have done the full four years. I did graduate college, but I actually did it in 3 years, and I was sick but was just powering through courses because I wanted to be done and be able to move on, because my college experience wasn't like most people. I was sick all the time, in and out of doctors' offices, and I just didn't want to be in a dorm room anymore and having that FOMO experience. Yeah, so I graduated college in the summer of 2017, and at the time I was really in the depths of my treatment. I had this PICC line in my arm, and I didn't know what my future looked like and I didn't know what I was going to do, if I was going to be able to work, how I would work, and having a hospitality degree I was expected to go work in a service job, work in a hotel or a restaurant or these types of things, and that just at the time wasn't possible with what I was going through in terms of treatment. And so I was lost, I was confused and scared as many people are, but motivated to kind of get myself out of that.

00:10:20 Jill (Host): Yeah, what was that first job like out of college?

00:10:25 Hannah (Guest): So I took a job down in Washington, DC. I didn't take a job from my industry, from the hospitality world, but I ended up starting in marketing, which at the time I thought was my dream job. It was a small company with a lot of folks my age working on really cool projects, and I had no idea going into that experience how to tell my boss, my future boss, about my PICC line, about my illness, and I didn't feel qualified at the time to check the box on my job application that I had a disability. I didn't know that Lyme disease was covered under the ADA, I didn't know what the ADA was, and for me it was a lot of fear and hesitation to even share that I had this PICC line, but it was obviously not something I could hide as I was at the time hooked up to antibiotics for about 8 hours a day, and so I chose to stay silent until I wasn't able to and I couldn't wear a long sleeve shirt and hide it, and unfortunately I ended up in a company that just truly wasn't inclusive, and this was beyond my own experience, and so I hate to say that it was just me that was experiencing this 'cause a lot of my colleagues were in other regards, but I had a boss that just wasn't accommodating and didn't allow me to actually have my IV in. And so I was forced 8–9 months into this job to choose between my health and my career, and that felt like a decision that was almost impossible to make.

00:11:46 Jill (Host): Wow, so that's really rough because presumably you had a job where you just mostly had to sit there. It would have been perfect for having your IV hooked up. Was working on a computer and...

00:11:56 Hannah (Guest): On a phone, yeah. It's honestly insane that wasn't possible, but it wasn't the work environment that I should have been in at that time.

00:12:06 Jill (Host): How did that lead you to think about Chronically Capable? Was it something that just popped into your mind one day? Were you like, darn it, I'm going to show them? Or was it a lot of conversations over a long time? Did you meet other people in similar situations? How did Chronically Capable come about?

00:12:23 Hannah (Guest): I wish it was like I was in the shower and had this magic idea. That would be way cooler. I actually spent a few months towards the end of my job, that previous job, really starting to find support groups, go and join online communities, meeting with other folks who were sharing my similar experience, and I was actually not finding a lot of what I was looking for. I wasn't finding hope in that people were having a great time at work. And it was like my story, again, it wasn't unique, it was over and over and over, and I got to this point where I then started just having more and more conversations with people and asking to interview them. And in my own time I had gotten to a place where I spoke with 100-something folks and no one was happy with their career trajectory, with their current job, with their opportunities for work, and so I was feeling very hopeless at the time. And I ended up taking a job at a startup which was actually, even though it was a smaller company than my previous one, it was the complete opposite. My boss at the time was named Kai, and Kai had grown up in Japan and had a family member who was blind, and so Kai is always thinking about accessibility, accommodations, these types of things, and we were a very small team, less than 10 people, but he went out of his way to make me feel included. And I cornered him during lunch one day and said, "Hey Kai, I have an idea. I want other people like me to have a boss like you." And it was really that moment that started off our journey of starting Chronically Capable. We put up a one-page website and left the company six months later, and here we are in 2022.

00:13:59 Jill (Host): And who is we?

00:14:01 Hannah (Guest): Myself and Kai. He is now my co-founder, so it's something, it's kind of funny, you don't really see that when you read stuff online, but he is my former boss but now my co-founder, which is a pretty cool duo, I'd say. And I've really grown up in my career alongside Kai, which has been so rewarding to just have someone supportive over these past few years of leaving a job, starting a new one, and then starting a company together.

00:14:25 Jill (Host): That's excellent. OK, so let's give the big introduction to our audience of what exactly is Chronically Capable. What does it do?

00:14:34 Hannah (Guest): Chronically Capable is a talent marketplace and, importantly, a community of folks living with chronic illnesses, mental illness, disabilities, really the full gamut, and we connect those folks living with these various experiences to jobs that are in line with their health. So we work with organizations such as Levi Strauss and Dentsu, and really a whole list of companies from startups all the way to these large enterprises, and we work with these companies to help them rethink inclusion, rethink how they can support this population, and then we help folks who are looking for jobs to find work, find friends, and find access to support, which are things that I never had when I was looking for a job. We've now grown. We are the largest community of chronically ill and disabled professionals worldwide, right now almost 70,000 folks in 150 countries, which is crazy considering we launched in March of 2020. And we've worked with a lot of these major companies, so really excited about the work that we're doing and really excited about what's to come.

00:15:39 Jill (Host): So as a first question, what kinds of accommodations do people in your network look for typically from their employers?

00:15:49 Hannah (Guest): So there are quite literally hundreds of accommodations that exist, reasonable accommodations per se. In our community, and in particular, we've really honed in on invisible or nonapparent illnesses and disabilities. That's just been kind of our focus, although we are open to all and we do have folks really across the spectrum. However, the main accommodation requests that we see: number one, first and foremost, remote work, which obviously the timing is really unique with COVID and these types of things. Number one is remote work. Number 2 is flexible work and leave schedules, so being able to leave for doctors' appointments, these types of things. And #3 that we see on our platform is actually service animals. So a lot of folks do have guide dogs, these types of things. That's #3, but far above are the first two, and we do see other about 15–20 other accommodation requests, but the top two are what everyone is looking for really in our community.

00:16:43 Jill (Host): Do you find that employers think it's a big deal to offer these things, or is it fine? Is there resistance? What do employers think about from their end?

00:16:54 Hannah (Guest): I think it depends on the employer and the sophistication of the programming of each company. And so I'd say some companies come to us and they're completely lost. They have no idea where to start. They want to be inclusive and they want to engage this community and this population, but they don't know what they can and can't do, and so we do a lot of nurturing with companies of this sort. And then you have companies— we're not working specifically with Microsoft, but Microsoft is such a great example of a company that already has all these practices in place, has a robust accommodation process, has the support, have employee resource groups, and so really a broad spectrum. But I'd say, for us, employers really want to know how to work on their job descriptions and how to make them more inviting to this population, and then how to reach this population, how to speak to, and how to ask the right questions. And so we do a lot of handholding through that process, and the way that the platform really works is that we make it transparent so that when you're applying to a job, you're able to see already which accommodations are offered at which specific company. So you know upfront these are accommodations that have already been used and implemented in this organization, and that's not to say you can ask for others, because that is part of the reasonable accommodations process, but we have a basic starting point there, so our job seekers really can feel that comfort going in that this is a company that's right for me.

00:18:16 Jill (Host): Can you talk a little bit about the difference between a disability and a chronic illness, because I think that a disability has like a real definition, right? Like the Americans with Disabilities Act says what companies have to do, but then a chronic illness, especially an invisible one, sounds very mushy. Does that make it tougher for you or for employers?

00:18:40 Hannah (Guest): There's a lot of overlap, and I think that that's what people don't understand, and I didn't understand when I got into this work. The first time, I printed out the Americans with Disabilities Act and bound it into my own book and read through it. I was shocked to find out just how many people are covered and how many people are actually qualified under the ADA. It's a very vague and broad description. You know, it's an impairment that affects certain aspects of your work, and so these can also include things like Lyme disease, POTS, pregnancy, COVID-19, long COVID. And so most people just don't know because when you apply for a job, typically there'll be a little list of nine disabilities, and if you're not on that list, you're like, I'm not qualified, I can't check this box. And so, ironically, there's actually, you know, hundreds of illnesses and disabilities that are covered under the ADA. It's a broader definition, one that requires explaining. And so yeah, we're explaining that to employers, but also to our job seekers and encouraging them to say, hey, you are entitled to your rights, know your rights, equip yourself with the knowledge to understand what you're entitled to as an employee.

00:19:45 Jill (Host): Can I ask, what were the concerns of your investors or of the employers that you represent? Did they have open arms about this, or were they saying, oh, we're not so sure about this? What did they think?

00:19:59 Hannah (Guest): So it's been a journey in describing and explaining what we do and the potential impact of what we do. I had never started a company before, as mentioned. I had no idea how to pitch, how to do sales, all of these things. I've been learning on the fly, and it's not something I mastered in a year even. I'm still, you know, it's been two years now, I'm still working on it. But the biggest things were: how big is this market? You know, is this a population that really needs to be served? I just read a quote from The Arc the other day—they may be called The Arc, I'm not quite sure—but the quote was something along the lines of, "The disability community is the only diversity group that anyone can join at any point in their lives." Unlike other diversity groups, this is something anyone can be, and this can happen at any point in your life whether you're born with it, acquire it, these types of things. A lot of what I had to do was explain just the depth and the impact of chronic illness and disability in our country and globally. And people were surprised to hear that 60% of our population lives with at least one chronic disease, 40% live with 2 or more—that's quoted from the CDC—and then on top of that, there's, you know, about 30% living with, and I don't know the statistic, that's around 30% living with disability. And so we're talking about most people here. And then when you add on amendments to the ADA, which happened last year, now if you have a temporary disability, if you were to get into a car accident, you are entitled to reasonable accommodations, you are qualified under the ADA. And so a lot of what I do is just explain that anyone can be impacted by this. Anyone could be a caregiver of someone living with an illness or disability, and so a lot of the pushback I had to learn how to fight back on. And then the other one was how big of a market is this in terms of the business side? Is this something that, you know, is actually going to help companies and how, and how do you tie that to financial gains and these types of things? And so I spent a long time doing a lot of research and just learning and practicing. When I fundraised I did get 124 nos from investors, and so I learned and I just took every no and honed in on what I needed to fix.

00:22:04 Jill (Host): What is the value proposition to an employer?

00:22:07 Hannah (Guest): There are so many. I always lean in on the cultural and economic benefits of hiring this population. I think from a cultural standpoint we see higher retention, better employee happiness, these types of things. But just really high level: if we create workplaces where people feel welcome to bring their true selves to work, that's a workplace that anyone can thrive in, those with or without disabilities. And I think it's so important that this comes down to: are we a company that cares about our employees? Or are we one that's going to care about this population but forget this major population that literally already exists in our workforce, whether they've disclosed that or not to you as an employer? And so I'd say, I'll stop there 'cause I could get into so many selling points, but that's the one I really like to lean in on.

00:22:51 Jill (Host): That's great. I'm sure that there's some people listening right now who are interested in this, and their first question is, does it cost anything to use it from a worker's point of view?

00:23:02 Hannah (Guest): Absolutely not, and that will never change. So as a job seeker on our platform, completely free to use, and we intend to always keep it that way.

00:23:11 Jill (Host): What is the experience like? What should someone expect if they go to your website and want to get started?

00:23:17 Hannah (Guest): If you are looking for a job currently, or if you're a professional living with a chronic illness or disability and you're looking for support and community, we still encourage you to come join us. Our website is wearecapable.org. You just simply sign up. It takes just a few minutes to go through the process. You can enter what you choose in terms of—you can share more about your accommodation preferences or illness, these types of things. This information is never shared with employers. That is something that we use to be able to match you with jobs. You can also enter your skill sets, your desired industry, resume, these types of things, and then you enter our dashboard where you're able to filter jobs, look at the various companies, read about their culture. You can access resources that we've compiled and put together exclusive for our community. And then the fun addition we have is our community platform, which is called Club Capable, and this is a space where our members can log in and interact with others. They've formed micro groups within Club Capable. So for example, there's a "chronically sleepy" group that someone created for folks who are narcoleptic, and so there's all these little micro communities, micro groups, and that's the space where we really try to bring a social network to folks, but kind of like LinkedIn, I'd say in that regard, in that it's a professional network, but a space where people can share their experience. And so even if you already have a job but you want to network with others, Club Capable is a great space to do that.

00:24:43 Jill (Host): Very exciting. So like, what kinds of jobs could people expect to find on your platform?

00:24:48 Hannah (Guest): So I will start by saying the number one question we get in regards to jobs, and I'll say this in full transparency: people want more part-time jobs, and I am working on it. We are working on it as a team. Given that we're working with such a range of companies, part-time jobs have historically been something that companies don't usually think of or offer, and so we're working on that. Please bear with us. And in that regard, we do have a full range of opportunities anywhere from marketing-type roles, marketing, sales, to customer support, to technology—obviously tech is so big right now for hiring—to human resources. It's really the full spectrum. I'd say 99% of our jobs—and that's an estimate—are remote, and we do let people know if it's not a remote opportunity. And so there's really a full range, and I'd say, you know, we're starting to have more internships and these types of things as well. We do send out weekly, sometimes biweekly newsletters where we share kind of hot jobs and featured roles. Those are the ones that we're trying to fill quickly, and so we encourage people to really apply for those. There's always new jobs coming every single day. I mean when we onboard a new client, sometimes they'll have five jobs, sometimes they'll have 1000, and so it's really changing depending on who we're bringing on and depends on the day. So that's why we really want folks to keep coming back to the site. It changes really every hour in terms of what jobs are coming on, so we encourage people to just keep coming back.

00:26:10 Jill (Host): What's going through my head is that you were a person who never intended to be the founder of this company, and you got the job that was kind of your calling, I think. Do you ever see a job come through that's like, oh my gosh, that looks like my dream job, I want to take that one?

00:26:27 Hannah (Guest): That's a funny question. I dropped an awesome job. I mean, who doesn't want to fight back—or bite back, in better words—against something that took so much from you? I think getting to help others like me find their job and find their fit, I think that's the best part of waking up every day and going to work. But my dream job is—I haven't seen it on the platform—but my dream job is to open a boutique hotel somewhere in like Mexico or Spain or somewhere like that. So maybe one day once I retire, that'll be my next path. But so, Chronically Capable is evolving and in the next couple of weeks here, hopefully, we're going to be announcing a real extension of our platform and moving into employee management space. So beyond just hiring, how do you actually thrive in your career and get access to accommodations? So we are launching something completely new. New website, new name, completely new product owned by Chronically Capable. So definitely keep up with us and follow along. We are so excited about this next endeavor. So yeah, I have a pretty great job getting to work on both of these projects. It's awesome.

00:27:37 Jill (Host): What feedback do you hear back from either the patients or the employers?

00:27:42 Hannah (Guest): From our employees and our applicants, you know, I think there's been a lot of gratitude for a space like this. Not every comment is positive, as with anything, you know. Of course there's constructive criticism and feedback, especially around part-time jobs, which I'm working on, and entry-level roles. But I'd say, you know, there's a lot of gratitude. Even folks who meet employers on our platform and don't get hired—we had someone the other day that that happened to—that person who didn't hire them introduced them to their friend and their other friend, and they ended up getting a job. And so I think at the end of the day, people are really grateful for a space like this and grateful for companies who are actually taking a stance and investing in this. This problem is not free for employers. They're paying to meet our community, and that is so important to people, that this isn't just the diversity statement or something nice to do. They're paying for this, and they want to include this population. On the employers' front, I think again there's a lot of excitement around the fact that this is an untapped population that they may have overlooked. And I think a lot of feelings of, oh crap, I didn't realize this or I didn't see this need before or realize actually how many people in my company already live with these illnesses and disabilities. And so I think there's a lot of moments of just self-reflection from our employers and a lot of motivation to be better and to do better always, and to me, that's all we can ask for, is we're all here to learn. We're all learning. I'm learning, and that's kind of the greatest thing about a startup, is that it's always changing and always something that's something new and something new to learn.

00:29:14 Jill (Host): Hannah, I wanted to ask you if COVID had made a big difference as far as you can tell, because it seems like with COVID, unfortunately we have like this entire new generation of people who are now chronically ill all of a sudden. And so I'm wondering if there's a lot of people, maybe even some employers out there, who never had a clue what it was like, and then COVID comes along and gives them a harsh reality. Is it making your job any easier now that unfortunately so many people are getting exposed to this?

00:29:46 Hannah (Guest): I always hate answering this question because in reality COVID moved the needle for us on this discussion and allowed us to really show companies, you know, just how many people illness affects. And I think it brought to light a lot of the challenges that already existed regarding accommodations: remote work, flexibility. Suddenly, you know, in March 2020 the world went remote and they had to accommodate all of their employees, not just those living with disability, 'cause it was, you know, like a snap of the fingers. Suddenly we had to do this. And so I think employers realize that they can do this. They know how to support this population and they now have the tools to support this population. And so I think it's made employers a bit hungrier. I also think the job market currently and a lot of the shifts due to COVID is that employees now more than ever are prioritizing health and wellness and flexibility and remote work, and so they're leaving their jobs. And right now it's a buyers' market in that employees are going to leave their company if they're not offering them these things. And so employers at bat now are really eager to be able to support this population. And I think, you know, COVID is awful and unfortunate. It has been, I think it has helped—this situation in particular has helped this community be seen and be heard for the first time, and I think that that's really important and one, literally the only positive thing I can see coming out of COVID.

00:31:08 Jill (Host): Yeah, well, we sure thank you for being out in front in trying to help this community get seen and get heard and get the opportunities that they deserve. And I just have one more question for you. Obviously you have been incredibly productive and you have been able to achieve so much and do so much with your own chronic illness going on. Do you have any hacks or tricks or tips or things that you do that keep you super proud?

00:31:35 Hannah (Guest): So it's important to note that I have had my PICC line out since right before COVID, and so I am in a great place health-wise in terms of my recovery from Lyme. And so I think it's important to note that. But my mom always told me, even as a kid, you gotta get back to the basics: eat well, sleep well, and move or, you know, move your mind, whatever works for you. And during COVID, it was really easy for me to fall into a slump, and I was working crazy hours and always home and never leaving my desk, and so getting back to the basics has really helped me, and just reminding myself to get a full night's rest, eat well, drink water, you know, avoid partying and these sorts of things. Like it's really helped me to stay on track. I'm not perfect, I'm still learning, and I do still have various health challenges. But yeah, just get rest, that's the most important thing.

00:32:25 Jill (Host): Great. Well, can you say your website one more time for people who want to go check it out.

00:32:30 Hannah (Guest): Absolutely. So definitely come join us. Our website is www.wearecapable.org. Wonderful. Well Hannah, thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing your story. Thank you for helping to educate the world about the chronic illness community's abilities and value to the workplace.

00:32:50 Jill (Host): We really look forward to watching your company thrive and hopefully watching more patients enjoy careers that work for them. And yeah, we just really, really appreciate all that you're doing, thank you. Hey listeners, that's all for today, but we hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for listening. Remember, you're not alone and please join us again soon.

00:33:11 Announcer: As a reminder, anything you hear on this podcast is not medical advice. Consult your healthcare team about what's right for you. This show is a production of Standing Up to POTS, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. You can send us feedback or make a tax-deductible donation at www.standinguptopots.org. You can also engage with us on social media at the handle, Standing Up to POTS. If you like what you heard today, please consider subscribing to our podcast and sharing it with your friends and family. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts or at www.thepotscast.com. Thanks for listening.

© 2022 Standing Up to POTS. All rights reserved.

[Transcriber’s note: If you would like a copy of this transcript or the transcript for any other episode of the POTScast, please send an email to volunteer@standinguptopots.org]