From Army. To Prison. To Realisation. (All while being a mother)

From Army. To Prison. To Realisation. (All while being a mother)

Naomi Alexander joined the military at 16 because someone told her she couldn't do it. She served in Iraq. She came home, left the army, and seven months later said yes to driving drugs from Amsterdam to the UK without a second thought.She was caught at the Channel Tunnel. She went to prison. She had her son inside.Today she is a yoga teacher, holistic therapist and Buddhist practitioner who holds healing space for people finding their way back to themselves.In this episode Naomi talks about growing up as one of the only brown girls in a small Lake District town, being born into a home shaped by addiction, becoming a mum at 16, the ranking officer who told her to choose between her baby and her military career, what it felt like to sleep through mortar fire in Iraq, the phone call that changed everything, and why she believes there are no mistakes — only choices that lead you exactly where you are meant to be."Naomi Momodu was the young mum. Naomi Thripland was the drug runner. Naomi Alexander is the medicine woman."This episode is brought to you by RevitaLash Cosmetics. RevitaLash was founded by a physician who created a lash serum for his wife during her breast cancer treatment, because he wanted her to feel like herself again. Find them at revitalash.co.uk ✨Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:38 Childhood as initiation: addiction, the Lake District, being the only brown family01:20 Becoming a mum at 16, and naming her Aiesha02:27 Joining the military because someone said she couldn't04:14 Iraq: sleeping through mortar fire06:25 Leaving the military and hitting rock bottom07:37 The phone call and the decision09:36 Caught at the Channel Tunnel10:08 Arrest, bail, pregnancy and the year on pause11:16 Nine years, reduced to four: what prison was actually like13:31 The mother and baby unit16:01 Shame, guilt and the gap between who people thought she was17:43 Buddhism and the stranger who knocked on her door26:38 Three names, three women28:56 Turning poison into medicineFollow Everything Changed:Instagram: instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcastSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b

Her seven-year-old son said "I love you, mummy" and went back to playing. An hour later, he was gone

Trigger warning:This episode contains descriptions of the sudden death of a child and the grief that follows. Please take care of yourself. Guest description:Danielle Jones's son Harvey was seven years old when he died on an ordinary Tuesday evening in September 2018. He was walking along a wall at their local pub when he came into contact with a live electrical casing -- the result of 32 safety defects that experts later described as the worst they had encountered in over 40 years. The pub owner was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter. Danielle has spent the years since fighting for mandatory electrical safety inspections in public places, raising two more children, and training as a sound healer and Reiki practitioner. Harvey's campaign has gathered over 55,000 signatures. This is her story. Sponsor message:This episode is brought to you by RevitaLash Cosmetics. RevitaLash was founded by a physician who created a lash serum for his wife during her breast cancer treatment -- because he wanted her to feel like herself again. Find them at revitalash.co.uk. ✨ 00:00 Intro01:54 Who was Harvey?02:46 The Three Musketeers -- life before03:42 The day everything changed04:35 The phone call -- Harvey has had an accident06:41 Harvey is taken to hospital08:24 The time was 18:3310:01 The last thing they said to each other10:37 What actually happened?12:20 The police knock at the door13:06 Harvey had been electrocuted13:48 Completely avoidable -- 32 defects, ten of them fatal15:25 How did it feel knowing someone was to blame?16:23 The trial -- two years of waiting17:06 The pub is still open18:33 How are you today?19:08 Turning pain into purpose19:34 Jackson, Ollie, and the angel brother21:05 Fighting for change -- 55,000 signatures21:35 The MOT analogy -- why regulation has to change26:14 A different path -- sound healing and Reiki29:34 Grieving differently as a couple32:18 Advice for anyone going through unimaginable loss34:22 He will be released from prison next year36:03 I am living the life sentence36:13 How would you like Harvey to be remembered? Everything Changed on Instagram: instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcast Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b [https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b]

By 30, her world had fallen apart. Then she went to the Amazon

Trigger warning:This episode contains descriptions of childhood abuse and neglect, a suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-consensual intimate image sharing. Please take care of yourself. Sponsor message:This episode is brought to you by RevitaLash Cosmetics. RevitaLash was founded by a physician who created a lash serum for his wife during her breast cancer treatment -- because he wanted her to feel like herself again. Find them at revitalash.com. ✨ Guest description:Lacey Banghard grew up in a home without stability or love, moved out at 15, and tried to take her own life at 13. She went on to become one of Britain's most recognised Page 3 models and appeared on Celebrity Big Brother. In 2017, her iCloud was hacked and intimate images were shared publicly without her consent -- an experience that brought her to the edge again. What followed was a years-long journey through motherhood, her daughter's severe eczema, ayahuasca in the Amazon, and a spiritual awakening that she is still navigating today. Lacey is writing a book and building a platform called Remembering I Am Her. Chapters: 00:00 Cold open00:53 Rosie's intro01:17 Growing up without love02:14 Moving out at 1505:28 At 13, she tried to take her own life06:11 How Page 3 found her07:48 Did she feel beautiful growing up?09:37 How Page 3 shaped her11:12 Celebrity Big Brother12:28 Acid threats -- a year in hiding13:00 The belief she was a bad person14:54 Having her daughter16:12 Her daughter -- her biggest mirror17:39 Solo mum, crying at 3am19:32 Her daughter's severe eczema21:29 Depression and anxiety attacks22:12 Her iCloud was hacked -- and her privacy destroyed24:22 Surrendering to what she couldn't control26:49 Fell pregnant two months later27:46 The calling to go to the Amazon29:36 What ayahuasca actually did32:46 The science -- it made her brain like Play-Doh33:31 Coming home to a life falling apart35:06 Who is Lacey today -- Remembering I Am Her36:12 What would you say to your 15-year-old self?37:35 The therapy revelation39:15 Grateful for the people God put in her path40:02 One thing she wants every listener to know Everything Changed on Instagram: instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcastListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b [https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b]

She went to Tanzania at 18 to help children. She ended up raising fifteen of them.

Letty McMaster was 18 years old when she travelled to Tanzania to volunteer at an orphanage. What she found there stopped her in her tracks. The children were being kept in deliberate poverty -- a cycle of neglect designed to attract donations from Western volunteers, with the staff taking the money for themselves. Letty stayed. She learned Swahili. She exposed the abuse. When the local council shut the orphanage down, she was registered as the legal guardian of nine children who had nowhere to go. She was 22 years old. Over the next ten years, Letty raised fifteen children in a family home she set up and ran herself in Tanzania. She founded Street Children Iringa, which now supports three houses -- a family home, a safe house welcoming over 100 street children a year, and a newly opened home for young mothers living on the streets. The children she raised have gone on to university, professional boxing, and international football. One of them achieved the best A-level results in the country and is now studying civil engineering at the University of Cape Town. This is one of the most remarkable stories we have heard on Everything Changed. To support Street Children Iringa visit www.streetchildreniringa.org [http://www.streetchildreniringa.org] or find them on Instagram at @streetchildreniringa. This episode is brought to you by RevitaLash Cosmetics. RevitaLash was founded by a physician who created a lash serum for his wife during her breast cancer treatment -- because he wanted her to feel like herself again. Find them at revitalash.co.uk. ✨ 00:00 Cold open00:59 Rosie's intro01:26 Life at 18 -- A-levels, saving up, the plan to volunteer01:42 Arriving at the orphanage -- and what Letty found01:52 The voluntourism business -- how the cycle of abuse worked03:34 How long did she stay?04:02 Learning Swahili -- and why it changed everything05:11 Were the children really orphans?05:54 Becoming legal guardian to nine children at 2207:38 Opening the home09:22 The challenges of raising fifteen teenagers10:23 Founding Street Children Iringa10:57 The three houses12:41 Why are there so many street children in Tanzania?13:30 The girl who ran away with her newborn at 1114:32 Life now -- splitting time between London and Tanzania15:45 How to support the charity -- and what 300 pounds does17:54 The children ten years on -- civil engineering, boxing, Real Madrid21:29 Why Letty takes no volunteers23:14 What would you say to your 18-year-old self?24:13 Did you ever feel scared or threatened?24:35 How the children shaped her25:15 Did you always want to help children?26:17 Find Street Children Iringa Everything Changed on Instagram: instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcastListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b [https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b]

She went on holiday after beating breast cancer. She nearly didn't come home

Kreena Dhiman. Diagnosed with breast cancer at 33. Told she may never have children. Here she is today with four.In this episode Kreena talks about fighting her oncologist for the right to freeze her embryos before chemotherapy, navigating the NHS postcode lottery for IVF funding while going through treatment, and the heart failure diagnosis on holiday that nearly killed her three years after her cancer treatment ended.And then, through surrogacy and egg donation, how she built a family of four anyway.This is one of the most determined and quietly extraordinary women we have ever spoken to.⚠️ This episode contains discussions of serious illness, infertility, and near death.💛 This episode is sponsored by RevitaLash CosmeticsRevitaLash was created by ophthalmologist Dr Michael Brinkenhoff for his wife Gayle during her breast cancer journey, because feeling confident and beautiful matters, especially when life is hard. Now trusted in over 70 countries and having donated more than $13 million to breast cancer initiatives, RevitaLash is a brand built on strength, love, and giving back.Visit revitalash.co.uk to find out more.📌 Chapters0:00 Open0:24 A word from our sponsor1:33 Meet Kreena2:02 The fertility conversation nobody had with her3:11 Fighting for the right to freeze her embryos5:48 The NHS funding battle6:50 Waiting to try8:15 Discovering surrogacy9:09 The cultural shame nobody talks about11:28 Heart failure on holiday14:27 Back to surrogacy16:51 Finding her first surrogate19:00 The embryo clinic error23:14 The pregnancy test video24:57 Her daughter is born25:19 No embryos left26:40 Egg donation in South Africa29:09 Meeting her donor in Cyprus30:08 Finding Laura31:43 Transferring to Laura32:28 Triplets36:01 Born ten weeks early in lockdown37:58 "I wouldn't have them without breast cancer"41:09 Advice for women facing infertility42:55 The Intended Parent podcast📲 Follow Kreena:instagram.com/kreenadhiman/📲 Follow Everything Changed:instagram.com/everythingchangedpodcast🎧 Listen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/2XH1S48Q9rubN7TaywfxVe?si=cd71458fbb06449b