The Medical Detectives
af Soft Skills Media
Kathleen's Story: The Mystery Inside Her Heart
Om denne podcast
The Medical Detectives is a weekly podcast where medicine meets mystery—told by the very people who’ve lived it. Hosted by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Erin Nance and content creator Anna O’Brien, each episode unravels strange and surprising medical tales from the people who lived through them. Think of it as a detective story—only here, the clues are hidden in blood tests, x-rays, and patient files.
From curious, unsolved diagnoses to behind-the-scenes accounts of what really goes on in hospital corridors, Anna and Dr. Nance guide you through the ups, downs, and jaw-dropping moments of life in the medical world. Dr. Nance brings her professional insight as a practicing physician committed to uncovering disparities in healthcare, while Anna shares her experiences as a patient navigating a complex system.
In every episode you’ll hear first hand stories from guests who’ve confronted real medical puzzles on the relentless search for answers in a system that doesn’t always have them. Dr. Nance brings her insider expertise, while Anna uses her own patient experiences to spot the heart of every story. Together, they explore the suspense, the drama, and sometimes even the humor, behind solving these real-life medical mysteries.
Whether you’re a curious mind, an avid true-crime fan, or someone who’s been left in the dark by confusing diagnoses, The Medical Detectives shines a light on the unexplained. Listen in each week to learn, to question, and to be amazed by the strange but true cases that prove sometimes the most gripping mysteries unfold in hospital corridors.
Episoder
- Kathleen's Story: The Mystery Inside Her Heart · 1 t. 33 min.On this week's episode, we welcome Kathleen; a razor-sharp narrator of her own medical mystery, whose postpartum idyll was shattered when she went into sudden cardiac arrest on…
- Sleuth Stories: Gloria Ramirez AKA The Toxic Lady · 49 min.In this Medical Detectives Sleuth Story Anna tells Dr. Nance the baffling case of Gloria Ramirez, known as The Toxic Lady. In 1994, Gloria was rushed to a California ER where 27…
- Carrie's Story: The Beach House Mystery · 49 min.A healthy 54-year-old mom goes from beach-week brain fog to 103° fevers, crushing fatigue, chest spasms, and organ dysfunction in a matter of days—ping-ponging through a possible…
- Sasha & Nela's Story: A Life Saving Friendship · 1 t. 26 min.Two friends, Sasha and Nella, join us to unravel how years of “it’s all in your head” dismissal, mounting pain, and endless referrals finally led them to a…
- Claire & Suzanne's Story: TwinTuition · 58 min.Get ready for double the mystery and double the disbelief. In this episode of The Medical Detectives, identical twins Claire and Suzanne share a lifetime of parallel symptoms…
- Michelle's Story: The Patient Becomes the Medical Detective · 53 min.When a healthy, outdoorsy vegan develops burning foot pain after a bout of COVID-19, months of sleepless nights, dead-end appointments, and dismissive doctors follow, until…
- Dana & Ivan's Story: Watching Your Child Disappear · 1 t. 12 min.When 16-year-old Ivan suddenly lost weight, slept through class, and found that eating hurt, doctors called it “disordered eating”—but Dana’s gut said something else. In this…
- Elizabeth's Story: The Generational Mystery · 1 t. 32 min.In this powerful episode of Medical Detectives, Elizabeth traces an intergenerational medical mystery. This story starts not with our guest, but with her mother, whose lifelong…
- Lori's Story: Let Her Eat Cake · 1 t. 14 min.A healthy 33-year-old runner and new mom develops sudden, stabbing chest pain after childbirth that’s dismissed for years as reflux. What follows is a 12-year odyssey of sporadic…
- Zoe's Story: 24 Hours from Paralysis · 1 t. 20 min.Zoe’s story is a masterclass in “collect the dots so you can connect the dots.” After years of migraines, numbness, GI chaos, and escalating sciatica, her symptoms were brushed…
- Sleuth Stories: The Nuclear Whistleblower · 54 min.Introducing our new series, Sleuth Stories, spotlighting the medical investigators who solved some of the biggest medical mysteries in history. In this premiere, we follow Dr…
- Re Release: Chan's Story - The Mystery of the Protruding Eye · 52 min.This is a re release of a past episode, but we will be back next week with brand new content! On this episode of The Medical Detectives, we sit down with the incredible Chan…
- Katie & Steve's Story Part 2: The Wife Who Wouldn't Give Up · 1 t. 21 min.A love story becomes a masterclass in advocacy. In this gripping part two, Katie takes us inside life with a rare brain disease, and shows how fierce care, ingenuity, and…
- Katie & Steve's Story Part 1: The Wife Who Wouldn't Give Up · 53 min.In this two-part episode of The Medical Detectives, Katie shares the story of her husband Steve’s long and heartbreaking journey toward a diagnosis. Katie takes us back to the…
- Emily's Story: Diagnosed by a Podcast · 1 t. 5 min.In this episode of Medical Detectives, Emily shares her staggering 17-year diagnostic odyssey, starting at age 17 with a seemingly mild ankle sprain that never fully resolved…
- Catherine's Story: The Cost of a Cure · 1 t. 27 min.This emotionally powerful episode of The Medical Detectives follows Catherine, a devoted mother and academic, as she shares the gripping journey of seeking answers for her young…
- Tracy's Story: When the Doctor Becomes the Patient · 57 min.In this episode of The Medical Detectives, we sit down with high‑risk OB‑GYN Dr. Tracy. When her own health takes a puzzling turn, she must become her own Medical Detective. What…
- Rachel's Story: Not Just Anxiety · 1 t. 18 min.In this deeply moving episode of The Medical Detectives, Dr. Nance sits down with Linda, speaking on behalf of her daughter, Rachel Yaffe. When Rachel was a freshman in college…
- Kara's Story Part 2: Burning From the Inside Out · 1 t. 46 min.In this intense two-part episode of The Medical Detectives, what began as a routine backpacking trip among Arkansas oaks quickly spiraled into a baffling medical mystery. A…
- Kara's Story Part 1: Burning From the Inside Out · 59 min.In this intense two-part episode of The Medical Detectives, what began as a routine backpacking trip among Arkansas oaks quickly spiraled into a baffling medical mystery. A…
- Kerry's Story Part 2: The Invisible Scars · 1 t. 1 min.This episode is the finale of our very first two-part case. Kerry was a fearless hockey player who felt invincible when her cough started, but what began as a minor inconvenience…
- Kerry's Story Part 1: The Invisible Scars · 1 t. 2 min.This episode lays the groundwork for our very first two-part case. Kerry was a fearless hockey player who felt invincible when her cough started, but what began as a minor…
- Robin's Story: From Dizzy to Dead in 27 Days · 1 t. 32 min.Robin always knew her mom as a vibrant, fiercely independent nurse who seemed invincible, until one spring day when a sudden bout of dizziness and confusion sent her spiraling…
- Krystina's Story: 10% Chance of Survival · 1 t. 12 min.After a scheduled C-section, Krystina experienced escalating postoperative complications that ranged from losing her taste to fever and extreme pain. Her condition rapidly…
- Hailey's Story: Choking Hazard · 1 t. 15 min.This week on The Medical Detectives, we share Hailey’s decades-long ordeal with sudden, terrifying “stuck throat” episodes—from rural Yukon ERs and improvised home remedies, to…
- Kalla & Ivy's Story: Fighting to Breathe · 1 t. 18 min.Trigger Warning: Discussion of infant medical crisis and loss. When baby Ivy couldn't breath doctors said it was normal, but Kalla’s instincts told her something was terribly…
- Tracy's Story: The Blistering Truth · 1 t. 7 min.This week Anna and Erin welcome Tracy, whose years long struggle with bone-deep exhaustion, persistent sore throats and sudden blood blisters led her on a winding odyssey from…
- Trevor & Angela's Story: The Wife vs. The White Coat · 1 t. 16 min.This week on The Medical Detectives, Erin and Anna tackle their first-ever male patient story, delivered by the one person who never stopped believing him: his wife, Angela. From…
- Chelle's Story: The 35 Year Headache · 1 t. 1 min.For nearly 35 years Chelle lived with daily headaches, nausea, numbness, and overwhelming pressure in her head—symptoms repeatedly dismissed as anxiety or depression. But when…
- Rita's Story: All in Her Head · 1 t. 51 min.In this deeply emotional and eye-opening episode of Medical Detectives, we sit down with Rita, whose medical mystery spanned nearly a decade of pain, misdiagnosis, and dismissal…
- Leah's Story: The Vampire Diagnosis · 1 t. 23 min.Leah grew up never seeing a real doctor, but learning from her homeopath mom how to listen to her body. As an adult, she was told she was allergic to the sun, iron, and bread…
- Bethany's Story: En Pointe & in Pain · 1 t. 21 min.In this extraordinary episode of The Medical Detectives, we meet Bethany, a former professional dancer whose body, once built for movement, began betraying her in small, painful…
- Jill's Story: The Shrek Disease · 1 t. 9 min.In this gripping and emotional episode, we dive into Jill’s extraordinary journey — a story of relentless persistence, unanswered questions, and one life-changing discovery. For…
- Jennifer's Story: The Symptom That Saved Her · 49 min.In this gripping episode of The Medical Detectives, we meet Jennifer — a working mom whose life was turned upside down by mysterious and debilitating symptoms. From a racing…
- Brianna's Story: Sleepwalking Nightmare · 45 min.In one of our most intense and eye-opening episodes yet, we sit down with Brianna, whose journey through the medical system took years of misdiagnoses, dismissal, and frustration…
- Simone's Story: The Hidden Illness That Stole Her Organs · 46 min.In this gripping episode of The Medical Detectives, we sit down with Simone, whose harrowing medical journey took her from being an active, adventurous athlete to navigating…
- Kim's Story: The Postpartum Nightmare · 1 t. 18 min.In this special international episode, we sit down with Kim from Brisbane, Australia, to uncover a medical mystery that will leave you stunned—especially if you're a mom. Kim’s…
- Rachel's Story: The Century-Old Mystery Uncovered by AI · 1 t. 2 min.In this episode of The Medical Detectives, we dive into one of the most astonishing medical mysteries we've ever encountered. Rachel takes us on a 132-year journey through her…
- Chan's Story: The Mystery of the Protruding Eye · 51 min.This week on The Medical Detectives, we sit down with the incredible Chan, known to many as @chanplante on TikTok, to hear her harrowing medical journey from an invisible illness…
- Caroline's Story: When Food Turns Fatal · 1 t. 13 min.In this deeply moving and inspiring episode of The Medical Detectives, Dr. Nance and Anna sit down with Caroline, a vibrant and determined young woman navigating life with a…
- Kathy's Story: The Case of Mysterious Double Vision · 1 t. 6 min.In this shocking episode of The Medical Detectives, Dr. Erin Nance and Anna O’Brien sit down with Kathy to unravel a years-long medical mystery that took her from a diagnosis of…
- Anna's Story · 1 t. 14 min.Welcome to the very first episode of The Medical Detectives! In this powerful first episode, co-hosts Dr. Nance and Anna flip the script and Dr. Nance interviews Anna about her…
- Mary's Story: The Miracle · 1 t. 12 min.This week’s episode is an extraordinary journey of resilience, groundbreaking medical innovation, and the power of hope. We welcome Karen, a devoted mother who fought tirelessly…







