The James Protin Podcast
Welcome to the Podcast. I’m your host, Jamie Protin. Every week I will be sharing the experiences that have defined my journey, and talking with people who have their own powerful story to tell. You will witness stories of love, faith, gratitude, forgiveness and redemption. The conversations will be unfiltered, filled with thought-provoking questions, and hopefully a few answers. Our guests will discuss facing fear and overcoming adversity to succeed in business, leadership, entrepreneurship, education, relationships, and more. The conversations promise to be raw and gritty…and will always be entertaining. Just like real life. Live. Love. Learn. Pray. and Inspire is about feeling everything and living life to its fullest. With my guests, I hope to inspire, engage and create impactful dialogue. That’s the essence of the podcast. It’s about doing better and being better, in life, business, and all things in-between.The visually inclined can catch us on YouTube or you can check us out on just about every podcast platform.
The James Protin Podcast
Everything Happens for You: Thomas Exler | The James Protin Podcast
There’s a quote that goes, “Nothing happens to you. Everything happens for you.”
Meet our guest for Episode 127, Thomas Exler. Thomas embodies the spirit of those words. He was born with a rare birth defect called bladder exstrophy. When Thomas counts the many blessings in his life…he includes it. Because of it, and on the whole the blessings have gratefully outweighed all the negatives he has had to personally endure.
Thomas is an amazing, if not heroic human being.
So, what is bladder exstrophy?
The word Exstrophy is derived from the Greek word ekstriphein, which literally means to “turn inside out.” Bladder exstrophy is a malformation of the bladder, in which the bladder and related structures are turned inside out. The skin of the lower abdominal wall that normally covers the bladder also does not form properly and is separated, thus exposing the inside of the bladder to the external world. If you imagine a balloon that has been split and opened up so that the inside of the balloon is visible, you will have a picture of what has happened
In early 2010, Thomas founded a group called Courage to Shine, (http://www.courage-to-shine.org/) which will eventually be a patients awards program as well as a website that will feature individuals who were born with genitourinary birth defects, and have also grown up to become amazing role models as adults.
Although Thomas never asked to have a stoma, no person has asked before getting sick, but Thomas believes that having a stoma should never stop anyone from doing what they want to do or accomplish in life.
He believes that, “Life is wonderful, and it is not about the gifts you are given in life, it really is about how you use those gifts that is important.”
As always, the visually inclined can catch it on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
or your favorite podcast platform.