Hear Them Raw

This is a story Mike Wilson never wanted you to hear, but it could save your life. The well-known livestock agent was on a holiday to South America in the end of 2018 when he noticed something had changed. It wasn't until he was back on Aussie shores that doctors declared he had just six weeks to live. But in true Mike style he wanted to prove doctors wrong and found the key to survival started in the most unlikely place - with a livestock client.

At 20 years of age Samantha Longmore was always on the go - she was juggling two jobs with a busy social life. But one weekend in October 2013, a series of unfortunate events changed her life forever. On her way home from Canberra, early one morning, she was involved in not one but two car accidents within just a few kilometres of each other. As a result, she was paralysed down the right side of her body. Six years since her accident, Samantha is a totally different woman but her recovery didn’t happen overnight. An unlikely fascination with knitting not only turned her life around, it’s influencing other people too.

Earlier this year Forbes Miss Showgirl entrant Sally Downie was crowned second runner-up at the state final in Sydney. Not only did she prove the competition was more than a beauty pageant, deep down she had a much bigger story to tell. In 2017, unbeknownst to doctors and her family and friends, chronic stomach pains were hiding a life-threatening combination of mental illness and an eating disorder. She weighed just 30 kilograms and her body was three days away from shutting down.This episode features references to mental health. If you or someone you know needs support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14

What’s the first vision that comes to mind when you hear the word farmer? Let me guess, it’s probably a mature man with blue jeans, a chiseled beard and an old cowboy hat. Jill Roughley doesn’t look like any of those things but she is a farmer. In 2017, at age 77 she lost her husband John to cancer, leaving her to run just under 20,000 acres at Walgett on her own.

When 17-year-old Lily Laws had recurring headaches and personality changes, she brushed it off as a common problem that many people face. But within a few months her whole world changed. She was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, so rare that hardly anything is known about it. Doctors predict she wouldn’t have made it to her 18 birthday if it wasn’t removed when they did. Her exact prognosis is unknown, but she is determined to fight her cancer - for herself and those in the future.

Jill and Graham Goodman were preparing to take things a little easier after nearly 44 years on the land near Uarbry. But in February 2017 their lives were turned upside down when the Sir Ivan bushfires tore through their small village. They lost two homes, their woolshed, sheep and cattle yards, sheds, machinery, and 900 lambs. This story is truly heartbreaking, but it will also surprise you. Because even when they thought they had nothing left, an unbelievable discovery from the rubble became a symbol of love, hope and endurance.

On July 7, 2018, as 17-year-old Jarrod Emeny departed his family’s Mudgee property, the vehicle he was driving left the road and rolled into a tree. His spinal cord was cut instantly, he became a paraplegic. This podcast isn’t about his injuries. This is the story of a country teenager, his fighting mentality and a series of bizarre coincidences that you have to hear to believe.