Episode 152 Michael & Jan George

Introducing Mike and Jan George

• Jan is a Finance Manager, Mike an IT Consultant, both are married with three children.
• They have received strong media attention around their 25-year-old son Ben, who has a disability caused by a virus known as cytomegalovirus, or CMV.
• CMV is the leading cause of disability in newborns.
• Mike has written a book about the struggles that they have subsequently gone through with helping Ben as well as raising awareness about this devastating virus.

In this episode:

• Wayne Jagoe co-hosts the show to fill in for Greg.
• Dave and Wayne welcome on Jan and Mike George, both parents of Ben who was born disabled caused by the virus CMV.
• We discuss how the virus CMV is largely unknown by the mainstream but yet is the number one cause of disability in newborns. This virus attacked Ben’s neurological system and caused multiple severely inhibiting symptoms when he was only an infant.
• We discuss Mike’s book about their experiences and journey raising Ben, the book is called Third Time Lucky.
• Mike and Jan fill us in on their website and movement called Soaring Families. Which both serves to help families that struggle with the emotional hardships of disabilities and also to share information to help ease the experience of those going through similar situations.
• We hear about Jan and Mike’s experience and how they use their experience to offer tools towards helping others who are now going through the same scenario or those that are similar.
• Mike shares with us that Ben is now going to University communicating through his electronic communications device.
• You can read more about Ben’s amazing story here.
• Wayne is inspired by this incredible story describing it as “surreal”.

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