108: Tia Stokes and Choosing Happy: Finding the Good Through Cancer, Covid, and Grief

Tia Stokes is a 35-year-old mother of 5 kids who was diagnosed on April 24, 2020, with acute myeloid leukemia. And every day since, she has been documenting her journey of fighting cancer.  Tia is a dancer, choreographer, owner of two dance studios, and former backup dancer to celebrity singer Beyonce (no big deal!). Today, Tia shares the raw and real ups and downs of having cancer, getting COVID and pneumonia, needing a bone marrow transplant, and also losing her mother after her first round of chemo.  Tia has a fiercely loyal following of supporters, who dance and cheer her on, and are inspired daily by her positive attitude, her dedication to her family, her faith, and her choice to find the good in everything. She tries to choose happiness every day, no matter the circumstances she's going through. Happiness is a choice and a free agency that we've been given. And she hopes that her story and her experiences can shed light and love to all those around her. This interview was one of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard and if you need some positive motivation to just keep going, no matter what trial you're facing in life, this episode is just for you!  In this episode, you will hear: What her life looked like before her diagnosis We never want to hear the word, cancer, and we never think it's going to happen to you – but a part of her had that feeling that she was more than just being sick. When she got the final diagnosis, she had to be admitted to the hospital to have her first chemo induction for 31 days – at a time of COVID. Social media became a great outlet for her so she wouldn’t feel alone and her family would have Zoom call with her every single day Hearing the news that her mother had passed away that morning after her first round of chemo What her life was like doing chemo treatments and getting COVID Learning she had acute kidney failure and pneumonia (She’s currently recovering from her transplant.) How her faith played a huge part in everything she’s going through Her decision to choose positivity every day and some things she does to really make that choice to be positive The power of gratitude that’s scientifically proven How the community she found on TikTok has lifted her spirit Supporting Resources: Tia’s Instagram @thetiabeestokes https://www.instagram.com/thetiabeestokes   Tia’s Tik Tok @thetiabeestokes https://www.tiktok.com/@thetiabeestokes?lang=en    Tia’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHy4zEbH__dzvZUszzV6a6w   Subscribe and Review Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Episode Credits Produced by Emerald City Productions