My brother in law is a quadriplegic for 42 years. 24/7 caretaking His parents have given their life for him. They are 82 and still taking care of him. They are all Saints

If you know someone who lives with chronic pain or a chronic illness, tell them about this episode.

I love Cameron! It’s not easy to find Catholic women podcasters who don’t come across as too fluffy and giggly. Someone who talks straight about hard things seems more relevant and needed now. I am grateful for her. 💕

Not sure if you’ll see my comment but I wanted to say how I appreciated this episode. I have Multiple Sclerosis and our teen daughter was just diagnosed with Hypermobility Joint Syndrome & we’re being sent to a specialist to see if it’s actually EDS. She’s been suffering for years with joint pain and all her joints popping. Anyway, I usually do not comment on videos but we’ve been watching your channel for awhile now & are converting to Catholicism, currently in RCIA expecting to be confirmed the day before Easter. Suffering is a gift once it can be embraced but it doesn’t make the cross any lighter to carry. God bless you and your wife.

Literally THE best episode of Pints with Aquinas that has ever been made. God BLESS both of your vulnerability, your suffering, and your Tremendous commitment to your Sacramental vocation to one another and your children. Cameron, you are an INSPIRATION for what it means to be a Joyful, Authentic Catholic. Hearing you be completely real and tell your story of experience is So humbling and evidential of God’s Faithfulness. Matt, you are a Beautiful husband to your wife and servant leader to your family. The love you two share is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. God bless you both. Be assured of my prayers!! + ONE in the Body of Christ +

Please pray for my husband who has chronic back and knee pain 🙏🏻

Matt, your face when she was giving her testimony about her stomach pains in Canada, while she was describing how she kept food down, is how I look when my husband is talking sometimes. It's a look that says to me, "my spouse might already be a saint. I need to get my life together."

"I am God's precious sweet little girl. " So lovely and powerful statement.

0:00 Hair care 3:27 Talking to women and being a tomboy 6:10 Need for validation 12:02 Birth control pills 13:40 Intensive Care Unit 19:15 Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, joint dislocations 23:55 Wrestling (and Fradd's aggressive relationship) 27:38 After ICU, vestibular rehabilitation (learning to walk again) 29:51 Downplaying own pain 32:17 Skepticism about diagnosis, ADHD 35:11 Offering up own suffer, prayer life 41:34 Growing in community, supportive friends 44:32 Uncertainty if the disease goes away, 46:55 Despair and humility 48:28 Other people's assumptions 51:18 How to be helpful to a person with chronic pain 1:00:55 Difficulties in loving the spouse 1:02:57 Expressing the pain 1:04:47 C-section in Ireland 1:07:09 Text from Fr. Jason, life is hard 1:09:10 Having hope (regarding a Canadian ad for assisted suicide) 1:11:26 Concerns about slothfulness 1:14:04 Travelling, preparations 1:16:25 Supporting a spouse who doesn't want to get better 1:22:14 Fasting, meatless days 1:23:45 Self-care vs self-indulgence 1:26:25 Are there men with chronic diseases? 1:28:35 Feeling pressure of traditional wife model 1:30:58 Favorite type of doctor 1:33:37 Medical expenses 1:37:20 Taking identity in own pain 1:40:10 Enjoying life 1:47:58 Gratitude Journal 1:57:29 Having a sick wife (apologies) 2:00:25 Being open, turning to Jesus 2:01:51 Failures of medical system, Cameron's childhood 2:04:16 Hallow app shout-out YAJUN YUAN is great at providing timecodes, but since I haven't seen him/her in comments lately, I thought I could give it a go while listening. Maybe it will be helpful.

I pray for healing to all who suffer from chronic pain. I care for my husband who has leg ulcers and I changed my thinking when feeling overwhelmed from, "I have to dress his leg again" to " I get to dress his leg again because he is still with me and alive." God bless you Cameron, Matt and family.

Oh wow! I suffered from PCOS and endometriosis as well. The validation thing was amazing!! Cysts would burst and I would pass out an highschool… but we didn’t know what it was. I would wake up in ambulances after passing out from these shocky pains. The 10 day periods… the miscarriages when I was married…. I have one son, my miracle baby, who came between miscarriages. The docs said I shouldn’t have been able to carry him. I felt like a walking case study. My parents thought I was a hypochondriac. I also went on the pill because I would get so anemic from my menses. I had an injury while playing soccer and tore my right ACL/MCL. I learned I have hyper mobile joints, so the docs wouldn’t repair the knee. I began having fall after fall, eventually wrecking my other knee and my spine in the process. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at this point. My doc said I had probably had it most of my life, but they didn’t know what it was back then. I got depressed, felt so lifeless. Gained 150 lbs in about a year. My knees constantly come out of the sockets, I’m losing weight to (God-willing) have knee replacements soon. I rarely walk. I’m in a wheelchair usually. I developed a hiatal hernia. I had a gallstone get stuck in my common bile duct, had a procedure to open it enough to it to pass thru the duct… only for it to get stuck in a diverticula where it went on what I’ve named “the trifecta of ewwwww!” That stone drove a fistula from my colon through my lady bits and into my bladder! Seriously…. What more?! Yes, everything hurts and some days are just terrible. But I have learned that every bit of pain is NOTHING when I look at what Jesus endured during His passion, or what Mother Mary endured in her seven sorrows. God bless you, Cameron, what a beautiful message of hope. I’m hoping that one day I will earn some bit of grace… I feel like I am just constantly falling short.

As someone who is also choleric and struggles with chronic illness, this was extremely validating. Thank you for sharing Cameron! Also to Matt, it's so evident on your face that you love your wife. Very sweet to watch! :)

Had me in tears at the end due to the raw honesty and vulnerability. Thank you, Cameron, for sharing your sufferings. Thank you, Matt, for apologizing to Cameron for not “seeing” her as she is. I think this episode is very powerful and shares an aspect of life that isn’t talked about very much.

Sometimes I think with my pain, I’ve wanted to hear from my spouse, even if it NEVER gets better, I’m in this with you. Sometimes I’m afraid that the constant optimism is because that’s the only way he could deal. And I get scared that he could handle it if I didn’t get better. So to me, the best thing is to know that no matter what, my spouse is on my team and in it to win it. And the recovery and optimism is secondary to the commitment to the worst possible scenario in regards to health.

Your health story sounds very similar to Mikhaila Peterson (Jordan Peterson's daughter). She was able to get off all medications by going on a red meat only diet (she calls it the Lion Diet), and her whole family is now on it. She has a website and quite a few videos covering the topic. After looking into it, the support groups have thousands of stories of resolving and helping chronic conditions including MS, IBS, Crohn's, MCAS, Lyme and others. I was told diet had nothing to do with crohn's by 4 different specialists, but was able to completely resolve it with a strict carnivore diet.

What an absolute Saint and a beautiful woman. Praise God for her inspiring faith in the face of suffering

My husband and I have watched this together after he recommended it to me. My husband is actually the one with EDS, POTS, MCAS, GERD, etc. and just wanted to share because while it seems predominantly women, my husband suffers with that chronic pain. And so much of what you both have said applies to us as a couple. THANK YOU for sharing so openly the sufferings, joys, and couplehood inside your marriage. 💚

Cameron your honesty is so healing to me. Thank you for sharing your post partum depression journey and how our wounds are the key to ministry. You have no idea how much you've helped me.

May God give you strength Cameron! God bless you, Matt and your beautiful children!

I loved this episode. I rarely enjoy couples interviews because the couples are giggly or disingenuous in a way I can’t explain- but I loved watching you two. Praying for you, Cameron- If Cincinnati wasn’t on the other side of Ohio I’d find some way to bump into you (gently so as not to throw a joint out) and say hi! Also: I LOVE that you encouraged others to not let their conditions become their identity. After my diagnosis I joined some support groups for it, and swiftly left because it was SO depressing by how the poor souls there just made that their entire identity.

As a person living with chronic pain (Lupus, RA, Sjogrens, Menniere’s, Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis, Asthma, disc degeneration) I can totally relate to Cameron. But, God’s grace has seen me through all of it. God bless you both 🙏🏼

I had chronic abdominal pain the last two years but after my pilgrimage to medugorje it gradually started going away and now it’s completely gone 😄

I can’t thank you enough for this interview. My daughter told me I was a lot like Cameron, she loves Among the Lilies. I had no idea until I watched this episode how similar we are in personality and chronic pain. I’m not a girly girl, either. I don’t know if I’d get through any of this without my faith, either. I’ve been to the edge of despair. Anyway, thank you, again, I felt validated watching this.

The amount that I relate to Cameron is incredible. I'm not a "girly girl," I'm not super emotional, it took me like 4 years to get diagnosed with PCOS, I have Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, and recently found out I have ulcers and liver problems. I also have a bad back/nerve issues from a botched spinal cord surgery. She's right. It is only by the grace of God that we can get through it. Doctors belittle you, meds don't work, you can't make it through a day. Prayers for you always!

This conversation between you two was so incredible to witness. I am quite sick with my pregnancy and even though I know it will end, it can feel so intense and isolating. Friends have banded together to help us in so many ways and my husband is handling it with so much grace. But it’s HARD. Thank you for speaking so much truth and sharing your lives. So grateful!

There is not enough Catholic support like this for people who suffer from physical chronic pain; so I thank you. Videos are made to help people who are caretakers or who have someone close to them suffering, but zippo for those with the actual challenge of enduring illness and pain.

Wow. Thank you for this episode. I've been suffering from chronic pain and chronic health issues for years. It's so hard to go through the day and keep a supernatural outlook. God Bless you!

Thank you for sharing this!

Lots of love from in Ireland, Cameron and Matt - your sharing will help many in the same situation- very brave and honest and so full of humility and love! God bless you Cameron ❤😊

Wow, what alot of craziness. You two blow my mind how hilariously honest you both are. God bless your relationship and your witness. Love from Ireland 🇮🇪

Thank you so much for laying yourselves out their and sharing with us! So much of this resonates with my own chronic issues and all the things...

How do I "like" this more than once?:D This was really touching, thank you so much for sharing and testifying, I needed a conversion today, and this softened my heart.

Thank you so much for sharing this Matt and Cameron.

I have systemic lupus, and it is only by the grace of God that I do what I am able to do. Bless you🙏

Gosh, that end made me cry! God bless you two! Will be praying for the both of you as you continue to walk this path of sanctification! 🙏🏻

Gosh - I love you both so much! You're in my prayers! So glad to be coming home to the Church & be in fellowship with such lovely people.

Thank you for sharing your story! Sharing with many people. Lots of prayers for your complete healing and your whole family 🙏

This was such a good episode. Thank you for sharing. ❤

Thank you both, what a blessing it was to listen to this. I appreciate your honesty Matt. It gives me a lot more compassion for my husband who has had to bear the cross of a sick wife as well. And thank you Cameron for your honesty as well, I feel less alone.

Thank you for sharing your story Cameron❤️ God bless you and Matt, such a beautiful couple 🙏🏼

Thank you for doing this video, Ive dealt with bladder pain over 6 years and it’s so true how when people ask how I’m doing I don’t say the truth because it’s not what others want to hear but it’s taught me how we can see others like if they’re healthy and great because of how they appear on the outside but it doesn’t mean they’re not dealing with health issues and other things.

this was such a wonderful and validating conversation. thank you.

I love when you interview Cameron! This is one of your best, definitely moved to share with others. Bless you both.

Thank you for sharing your lives , being someone who is experiencing what you both mentioned in this episode has been a great blessing, lots of insight and wisdom which is going to help me and countless others no one speaks about these sufferings the way you both did and how to handle them, i pray 🙏 you'll both produce more content like these that will truly help so many.God Bless you both and your family always.

God bless your Cameron, thank you so much for this talk!!

Thank you for sharing, a really great interview!

I'm absolutely amazed at all that Cameron deals with daily. God bless her and her doctors and your family and friends. 🙏❤

Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

Cameron is just beautiful inside and out.

Thanks for sharing this, for being vulnerable. Even though I don't live with someone with chronic pain, I still think it's helpful to hear this

Okay, finally finished. This video has been a godsend to me. Thank you both for your honesty, vulnerability, and courage. Going forward, I’m going to try to learn to better practice offering it up and to look for other ways to be there for others who are hurting.

I needed to hear this today. I have lived with chronic pain for years now. This has been very enlightening for me.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to have enjoyed that as much as I have given the topic but you guys are awesome. What a beautiful witness and so helpful. Thank you 😊

What a blessing this episode was, I nearly fell over laughing and also cried multiple times. I also struggle with undiagnosed / chronic issues and relate to a lot of this.

Thank you very much for sharing Cameron. I am with you and your chronic pain. So many things that you said, I relate to. God bless you.

Such a beautiful conversation, thank you so much!

Bless you and your wife. The love in your eyes when you look at her while she spoke of her pain made me cry several times during this. Thank you both for being incredibly real. I'll be praying for both of you. Merry Christmas!

Oh my! Wow! Cameron, thank you for sharing all of this. You and Matt are such a testimony to fidelity!

This is so encouraging and inspiring in SO many ways! Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for talking about this! God Bless you both ❤️🙌🏻🙏🏻

Thank you! Diagnosed with Celiac, POTS, Endo, Hypothyroidism, etc. years ago. Oh the list! So nice to see you bring this topic up! Catholics with these issues can really find Mass difficult because we need it so much, but it can be a challenge to just get through it! Sometimes just knowing others are out there who “get it” can be such a help! Thank you sooo much for the compassion and bringing awareness to this invisible illness. Pax.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! This was such a needed discussion! Thank you Cameron for sharing your story. Pray for those who are too afraid to get diagnosed. Those tired on this hard journey. All my love & prayers❤🙏🏻🥹

Kind reminder to whoever oversees the social media to add the correct link for Cameron’s podcast. As someone with a chronic illness, it was so valuable to see a relationship between two godly people that involves someone with a chronic illness in practice. I know we shouldn’t be listing ourselves as our illness (I agree with Cameron on this) but there were some significant logistical realities that I face that make marriage feel out of reach. I feel more hope after listening to this podcast and will keep your family in my prayers. Thank you for answering the call and sharing this today.

This is my favorite episode. Thanks. It really helped me put things to perspective.

Thank you so much for this♥️ one of the best podcast I’ve listened to in such a long time.

Thank you for This! I needed to hear this and heal.

This is so very beautiful. What a true witness of sacrificial love! God bless you and your family. 🙏

❤❤❤❤ Thank you SO MUCH for opening your hearts in such a RADICAL way You rocked my night This helps a lot Thank you

This was a beautiful and moving conversation. Thanks to both of you for gifting it to us.

Thank you guys so much for this episode! Cameron lifting you up in prayer for your healing. Been going through many of the same issues for the last 8 years with no answers. Multiple drs saying it's all in my head. Just finished my masters to try and help others going through the same things.

Very genuine, beautiful. Thank you!

Wow. What a beautiful, frank discussion! Thanks for sharing this journey.

Just came to say that I was in Mass today and I felt achy all over and like I was going to faint, and I got really scared. Then I remembered this video and was able to push through it and even feel okay towards the end. Bless you, Cameron!

Thank you for this episode ❤️, I have been watching for years and thinking that I would really get along with Matt, now I totally understand why we are living similar lives. Love the two of yall for making a 42 yr old man start tearing up while shopping at Whole Foods.

I can’t even begin to say how powerful this was, and how much it ministered to me. My issue is not chronic physical pain, yet I could relate to much of what Cameron shared - and I am both thankful and challenged by how she has offered up her suffering. It is beautiful to see and hear a loving couple share so openly and vulnerably. For various reasons, it is easy for me to succumb to a sense of disillusionment and even cynicism about marriage; seeing the love between Matt and Cameron, hearing his words of admiration for her, and especially hearing his heartfelt apology - that was like a healing balm to my heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this episode.

Matt, I relate to you a ton, and my wife is incredibly similar to Cameron and her disposition. This conversation is an extraordinary reminder that our vocation is a beautiful means to grow in virtue and holiness. Thank you both for your authenticity and witness of love.

Thank you for being so vulnerable and so real. ❤

Thank you very much to the Fradds for this podcast. It will be very fruitful. God bless you and family Abundantly.

Thank you both for being so honest about living chronic illness and pain. I listen to Among the lilies and have found such relief that I am not alone. I have been married for five years and for three of those years I have suffered with chronic pancreatitis and I feel so bad for my wonderful husband. It is nice to hear Matt’s story of your journey. Please talk about this more!!!

offering our pains is the best penance, love you both, God bless!

This podcast had me sobbing all throughout, I had to take breaks. Thank you so much

Best episode on Pints! Thank you both. Cameron you are a beautiful soul ❤

You cannot function without Gods Grace 🙏 I have been sick since I was 3 months old and just turned 56 after being told I had three years to live 35 years ago. God is Amazing and gives you the grace to live with so much🙏

Beautiful! This is the content I've been looking for!

Thank yall so much for this. Pcos runs un my family and I was an RN for 33 years with multiple spinal surgeries. Struggle with anxiety and depression and am a widow. From NC

Thank you so much for this. I’ve heard her speak before but never this open and raw. So incredibly inspiring. My husband and I are new to journeying my chronic pain together as I’ve just started sharing after listening to Cameron a few months ago. Hearing a beautiful married couple share together is exactly what we needed. Please do more of these. ❤

I'm five minutes in and this is so incredibly relatable. I feel so seen by hearing you and Cameron talk!

Cameron, I absolutely admire your strength and positively! I wanna give you a BIG hug!!🤗 God bless you 🙏🙏

The look of love and incredible compassion on Matt's face at 38:45 was heartbreaking. My wife of 42 years has faced many of the same issues and I feel embarrassed that I haven't been more compassionate. Great video guys!

Oh my goodness, Matt, that last few minutes you made me cry my eyes out 😭 what an absolutely beautiful relationship. Real, and honest and raw. Something to aspire to, for sure. So beautiful.

I love this so much! I love you both so much for sharing your hearts and beautiful souls. It was so healing for me to see this and see the great love and sacrifice Matt has for his marriage and for Cameron's strength and great faith. Your joy and perseverance is inspiring and helps me keep going through so many struggles of my own. Being persecuted and not understood for being in pain is a cross no one understands until they live it. Loving someone in so much pain is a cross as well and should be understood and supported too. Thank you ,thank you, thank you! 🩷😇🙏

Thanks for sharing. The gratitude bit hit home.

Cameron gives so much hope to me. Blessings to your family! Anastasiia

This video has given me a beautiful, new perspective in dealing with my own brokenness. God bless you Cameron! Thank you for this segment Matt ❤

Cameron is such a beautiful soul . There is so much honesty here that will surely be a balm to many other souls. God bless you both ❤

I'm under the 20min mark but oh dear, how scary. Cameron you're so strong!! God bless you and your whole family. Thank you for sharing your story.

Thank you so much; that was very helpful and inspiring. I suffer from a condition, or group of conditions, very similar to POTS. It's very helpful to hear from someone with similar experiences, especially another Catholic.

Thank you for sharing this testimony it is very helpful to hear this articulated so well. Matt, can you speak more on how this affects your life and how you balance your call to work and provide for your family while still supporting your wife, especially on her bad days? Thank you!

Thank you so much for this episode, I have never felt so heard or understood. I am a 20 year old with PCOS and ENDO, and the *only* things getting me through my pain episodes is my faith and my partner. I hit rock bottom at 17, that same year I met my best friend and now fiancée, meeting him also brought me back to my faith (even though he's a Catholic and I'm Orthodox). Knowing that there is a happy and stable future for me has given my pain purpose. Matt and Cameron, thank you for being so candid and vulnerable in this episode, I already know I will be rewatching it multiple times whenever I need strength. I always appreciate hearing women speak on this podcast and the passion and empathy in Cameron's eyes while she spoke healed my soul in a way I didn't know it could (or needed to) be. Thank you.

Thank you for this podcast! It will be very fruitful; greetings from Croatia ❤

Thanks for your testimony. God please heal Cameroon, protect and bless more Frad's family. Amen