Unfiltered Resilience: Dawn Olson's Journey

Can't: The Most Dismissive Word in the Room

"We can't do that." I have heard those words more times than I can count — in transportation meetings, in therapy rooms, from systems that were supposed to help me. And every single time, it lights a fire in me. In this episode, I get honest about the word "can't" — what it feels like, what it really means, and why I believe most "can'ts" are just "won'ts" in disguise. I share real stories, I draw the line between a genuine limitation and plain laziness, and I have something to say to every young person already hearing "can't" from a system that should know better. Spoiler: I graduated from BYU anyway. Unfiltered Resilience — because independence is a right, not a privilege. Reach me at unfilteredresiliencepodcast@gmail.com [unfilteredresiliencepodcast@gmail.com] — I read every single one.

I Started This for Me. I'm Staying for You.

A year ago, I almost didn't do this. I thought a podcast was too much. That I didn't have enough to say. That nobody would want to listen to one more person share their story. I was terrified — and honestly, I almost let that fear win. I'm glad I didn't. Unfiltered Resilience is officially over a year old, and in this anniversary episode, I want to be honest with you about something. This podcast is changing. Not because I planned it that way — but because life pushed me here, and I've learned that when life pushes you hard enough in a direction, you listen. What started as my personal story — a diary of life in a power wheelchair with cerebral palsy — has become something I didn't expect. It has become a mission. Because somewhere over the last year, I stopped seeing my struggles as personal problems and started seeing them for what they really are — systemic ones. The financial traps, the Medicaid rules, the impossible choices that disabled people are forced to make just to survive — these are not accidents. They are built into the system. And once I understood that, I knew this podcast could not stay only about me. In this episode I talk about what it felt like to start this show terrified and grow into it. I talk about the friend who looked at my situation and told me the truth — that the system is designed to keep people like me poor, not help us thrive. I talk about the book I still want to write someday, and the painful reality attached to that dream. And I talk about who I am really doing all of this for — because it is not for me anymore. I started this podcast to share my story. I kept going because I realized it wasn't just mine. Unfiltered Resilience is advocacy, lived experience, and honest conversation — for every person who has ever been told by a broken system that independence is a privilege, not a right. The next chapter starts now. 📧 unfilteredresiliencepodcast@gmail.com [unfilteredresiliencepodcast@gmail.com]

The Maze That Never Ends: What Fighting the System Actually Looks Like

Last episode, I told you about the reality of living with cerebral palsy and trying to stay in my own home — the 30% gross income rule, the attorney I hired, and the hope that didn't pan out. This episode is the next chapter. This is what happens after the hope runs out and you keep fighting anyway. I'm pulling back the curtain on what navigating the Medicaid system actually looks like from the inside — the asset spend-down rules that forced me to spend $30,000 I wanted to save, the legal tool that should have been available to me but wasn't because of my age, and the real cost of fighting back that nobody puts in a policy document. Not just the money. The energy. The emotional toll. The depression and despair that come from doing everything right and still feeling like you're losing. I also talk about what freedom really means when you live with a disability — and why the nursing home isn't just a financial question for me. It's a question of identity, dignity, and everything I have spent my life fighting to protect. Because my life started in an institution. And I have spent every year since making sure it doesn't end in one. This isn't just my story. It's a window into what millions of people with disabilities and their families are navigating right now — quietly, exhaustedly, and mostly alone. But not anymore. If you are a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a neighbor of someone living with a disability — this episode is for you too. Because awareness without action is just a ribbon. And it's time to act. I need your help. I cannot do this alone. Listen, share, and reach out — because every voice added to this fight makes the sound harder to ignore. 📧 unfilteredresiliencepodcast@gmail.com [unfilteredresiliencepodcast@gmail.com]

Aging, Independence, and the System That Fails Us

This isn’t about awareness anymore. Last month, we talked about why visibility matters. Why speaking up matters. Why making noise matters. And I meant all of that. But this episode is about what comes after that. Because awareness without action doesn’t change anything. This is the reality behind the ribbon. In this episode, I’m walking you through what it actually costs to live independently as you age with a disability. Not just financially, but emotionally and personally. What it means to rely on a system that makes it harder, not easier, to stay in your own home. What it feels like to do everything right and still end up back at square one. I’m sharing what’s happening in my life right now—navigating Medicaid, losing support after 65, facing decisions that no one should have to make. Decisions between independence and survival. Between staying in your home or being pushed into a system that was never built with you in mind. This is not a polished story. This is the real one. And I’m not sharing this for sympathy. I’m sharing it because something has to change. And change doesn’t happen quietly. If this resonates with you, don’t just listen—share it. Start the conversation. Ask the questions. Because we deserve more than awareness. We deserve to live on our own terms.

No One's "No" Is the Final Word: CP Awareness Month

March was CP Awareness Month — and today I'm making sure it doesn't pass quietly. In this episode, I'm getting personal about what cerebral palsy truly means in my daily life: the spasticity that takes over my whole body, the learning disabilities nobody sees, and a story involving 911, a locksmith, and my bare behind that I've never forgotten. I'm also celebrating three things I was told I'd never do — drive, wear contacts, and graduate college. I did all three. This episode is for anyone who has ever been underestimated.