The Waiting Room Revolution

In this episode, Hsien speaks with Mary Hodgson, Director of Inclusion and Social Innovation at St Christopher’s Hospice in London, about making end-of-life care more inclusive, community-led, and socially just. Mary discusses what death literacy means, whose knowledge it represents, grief, power imbalances in healthcare, and why relationships with communities matter. She shares examples from the Croydon Death Literacy Network, a participatory arts project on bereavement during COVID-19, and the co-produced Bereavement Buddies program. The conversation also explores community perspectives on assisted dying, including concerns about “system coercion,” and closes with Mary’s reminder that meaningful change can begin with one conversation.
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
 
 

In this episode Hsien chats with author, cancer survivor and consultant, Munira Premji. She tells us about her book, 'Choosing Hope: One Woman, Three Cancers', and the six actions that helped her go from surviving to thriving.  She and Hsien discuss how the actions outlined in her book line up and with the Seven Keys. 
Learn more about Muniras work here: https://munirapremji.com/why-i-do-this-work/ 
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

In this episode, Hsien talks with Brenda Blais, lifelong caregiver and disability rights advocate, about caring for her daughter Nikki, who lived with complex medical needs for nearly 30 years. Brenda shares how she found her voice as an advocate, partnered with care teams, and kept Nikki’s joy and quality of life at the center of her care. She also reflects on Nikki’s end-of-life journey and offers practical advice for caregivers and the people who support them. 
 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 

In this episode, Hsien talks to Dr. Stephen Connor, Executive Director of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance, about his extensive career in hospice and palliative care. Dr. Connor reflects on how the field has evolved, ongoing gaps in access to palliative care, and the importance of families, communities, and lived experience in shaping care. He also shares lessons from global advocacy and what it takes to reduce preventable suffering.
Read more about Dr. Connor's work here: https://stephenconnorphd.net 
Read more about the global atlas of palliative care visit: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/integrated-health-services-%28ihs%29/csy/palliative-care/whpca_global_atlas_p5_digital_final.pdf  
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 

In this episode, grief and life coach Linda Levine shares how her husband David’s ALS diagnosis reshaped (but didn’t erase) their love story. Linda and Hsien chat about protecting caregiver identity, asking for help, navigating grief in a death‑denying society, and reclaiming intimacy and joy even as illness progresses. Linda shares how ALS may change a body, it doesn’t have to take two lives. Learn more about Linda on her website: https://www.surpriseenterprise.com/about 
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

In this episode, Hsien talks with Dr. Mary Ellen Macdonald, a social scientist and palliative care researcher working in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Hsien and Mary Ellen discuss the importance of grief literacy, death literacy, and person-centered care in palliative medicine. We also chat about grief at work, and how timing played an important role in community expressions of grief in Nova Scotia. Read more about Mary Ellens work here: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/department-sites/medicine/divisions/palliative-medicine/our-people/faculty/maryellen-macdonald.html 
 
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

In this episode of Waiting Room Revolution, Hsien talks with Dr. Dan Dorevitch, a pediatric palliative care physician in Australia. Hsien and Dan discuss the nuances of pediatric palliative care and how communication strategies apply across the entire age spectrum in healthcare. 
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

A longtime palliative care navigator, Bill Harder returns not as a professional, but as a husband alongside his wife Anna, who is living with stage 4 breast cancer. Together, they share how they’ve navigated a delayed diagnosis, chose quality of life over aggressive treatment, and use dark humour, honesty, and deep love to “walk two roads”.  They talk about death binders, funeral pre-planning, and the village that holds them, showing what it looks like to grieve as you go and still embrace joy. The episode closes with a powerful AI-generated love song Bill created for Anna, “Live Till She Dies,” a musical legacy of their life on the land and their commitment to living fully to the end.
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
 

In this episode, Hsien and Sammy talk with RN and project director Kira Goodman and pediatric palliative care physician Dr. Dave Lysecki about what makes pediatric palliative care unique, why it’s not “too sad,” and how early, family-centered support can transform the journey for children with serious illness. They also explore the creation of Canada’s Pediatric Palliative Care Alliance and its efforts to build a unified, equitable approach to care across the country. Learn more about the Alliance here: https://www.pediatricpalliativecare.ca/ 
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

In this episode, Hsien and Sammy chat with Sunny Brouse. Sunny was diagnosed with ALS over a decade ago and leads a global community of young women with ALS. We talk about her long, disorienting road to diagnosis, what clinicians miss when they focus on function over quality of life and how dark humor, planning ahead and honest talk can protect hope. Learn more about Sunny's journey here: https://sunnystrong.com/ 
Visit our website to learn more about our work, check out the book and workbook, view our resources and to join our newsletter: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/ 
Our theme song is Maypole by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0