Sep 14, 2026 · 48 min · 10 segments
Host Chad McLain interviews Tulsa businessman Mitch Myers about resilience after the sudden loss of Mitch’s first wife, Holly. Mitch recounts April 2010, when Holly developed severe abdominal pain…
Mitch MyersGuest
Chad McLainHost
I, I remember, um, almost identical situation, you know, when my mom passed away suddenly in 1998.
Nothing as traumatic or dramatic as what you, um, describe, but it, it was this out-of-body experience like you.
I was much younger at the time, but to go through that, um, in a hospital setting, in a medical situation is just a surprise to the nervous system and for sure.
Um, so I think that kind of sets up the, the story of what I wanted to talk mostly about is, um, how that impacted you.
I mean, you're-- Obviously, we get through at the hospital, but you have to communicate this.
Is, is Holly's mom still there, or is she, or is she back there? Is-- You said you had some friends around you at the time.
It's, it's hard to recall exactly who was in the family room when they told us what had occurred, but there were a few family members, possibly my parents, but definitely Holly's mom, uh, was there.
And so they, they-- a small group was told, and then we then-- I don't know if that news had traveled to the waiting room where all these people were assembled or not, but I went back to the waiting room and basically conveyed what I, what I had been told.
And, you know, one of the things I'm sure y-you and your listeners have experienced it in life is that there's the, there's the direct tragedy and, and sadness that goes with the event And then there's the indirect tragedy and sadness of watching all of the people that you love so deeply be so hurt and sad.
You didn't actually know the person who passed away, but you watch your f- you, you're attending out of respect for your friend, who then is super sad, and you feel overcome with emotion.
So I think that, that window of time for the n- you know, for the next couple of hours, where people were all feeling the raw emotion of the situation and then feeding on each other's emotion was very, um, very surreal, very-
That was my experience, too, I think, and this is what you're talking about, is people experience that differently, right? Like, some people, um, some people experience it in a, um, stoic way.
There's a problem, now I gotta solve the problem, so it's more of a, more of a sterile view of the situation.
And some people are the exact opposite of that, on the other end of the continuum, where they, from m- my perspective, over-emotionalize even the loss of a loved one.
I, I remember, um, almost identical situation, you know, when my mom passed away suddenly in 1998.
Nothing as traumatic or dramatic as what you, um, describe, but it, it was this out-of-body experience like you.
I was much younger at the time, but to go through that, um, in a hospital setting, in a medical situation is just a surprise to the nervous system and for sure.
Um, so I think that kind of sets up the, the story of what I wanted to talk mostly about is, um, how that impacted you.
I mean, you're-- Obviously, we get through at the hospital, but you have to communicate this.
Is, is Holly's mom still there, or is she, or is she back there? Is-- You said you had some friends around you at the time.
It's, it's hard to recall exactly who was in the family room when they told us what had occurred, but there were a few family members, possibly my parents, but definitely Holly's mom, uh, was there.
And so they, they-- a small group was told, and then we then-- I don't know if that news had traveled to the waiting room where all these people were assembled or not, but I went back to the waiting room and basically conveyed what I, what I had been told.
And, you know, one of the things I'm sure y-you and your listeners have experienced it in life is that there's the, there's the direct tragedy and, and sadness that goes with the event And then there's the indirect tragedy and sadness of watching all of the people that you love so deeply be so hurt and sad.
You didn't actually know the person who passed away, but you watch your f- you, you're attending out of respect for your friend, who then is super sad, and you feel overcome with emotion.
So I think that, that window of time for the n- you know, for the next couple of hours, where people were all feeling the raw emotion of the situation and then feeding on each other's emotion was very, um, very surreal, very-
That was my experience, too, I think, and this is what you're talking about, is people experience that differently, right? Like, some people, um, some people experience it in a, um, stoic way.
There's a problem, now I gotta solve the problem, so it's more of a, more of a sterile view of the situation.
And some people are the exact opposite of that, on the other end of the continuum, where they, from m- my perspective, over-emotionalize even the loss of a loved one.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
