Four Brain Surgeries, Total Deafness, and Refusing to Break

McKinnon Galloway1:48

Thank you. Thank you so much. You know, when I came out here, you know, I always tell the steward at the airport is like my favorite place to be cuz people are really nice in those times to deaf people. So, I tell them that I'm deaf and I get to board the plane first. It's a perk of being deaf. And I have to tell the stewardess and everything, "Hey, I'm deaf, you know, uh if the plane goes down, like obviously I'm going to see your faces." Um for my speech, I did go to speech therapy.

So, I will try to enunciate the best I can. You know, sometimes I can slur my words just because I'm not paying attention as much.

McKinnon Galloway2:28

So, I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. I currently live in Charlotte, North Carolina. Um I lived for a little bit in Manhattan. But, it's kind of like one of those things where you grow up somewhere and then you go somewhere else and you realize how good you got it and you move right back.

McKinnon Galloway2:47

I was 25 and I lived there for a year. But, you know, Manhattan is a very it grinds you into the ground with work.

McKinnon Galloway2:59

Oh, okay. Okay, perfect. Yeah, you really know. You wake up, you get coffee with meetings and then you go to meetings all day and then you get out and you guys go get drinks and you're at meetings more.

McKinnon Galloway3:11

So, I worked for the Children's Tumor Foundation, which was a nonprofit that raised money for NF and NF2, what I have. Um I was event planner. So, I did a lot of events and we held galas and all that kind of stuff. So, it was it was a lot of pressure cuz you had to sell a certain amount of tickets and these are not small events. So, you know, it was a lot of pressure to be able to sell those tickets because the events going on, you know, could be like $200,000.

So, but it was it was really cool, you know, I really enjoyed it. Um I just didn't stop at the YouTube studio there. And there's a lot of really cool opportunities in New York to meet some really cool people. So, I enjoyed it.

McKinnon Galloway3:53

I did. I did. So, I I did, you know, I did a little bit of everything. Um I tried riding horses for a little bit, but you know, that wasn't my thing. I did dancing, you know, most girls are put in dance. So, I did dancing when I was like four. And then I did soccer for a long time. So, I played soccer when I was a goalie. And then I did volleyball. So, those are my two main sports with soccer and volleyball.

McKinnon Galloway4:17

Ish.

Until my diagnosis.

McKinnon Galloway4:23

I was 16. I was playing volleyball.

McKinnon Galloway4:26

And I went down for a dive and I hit my head on the floor. I went in, you know, sports concussion, typical sports concussion. I went in for a routine MRI. And they called us back in. They said, "Hey, you know, come back." Which is never a not great sign when they're like, "Come back in." So, they came back and they sat me down and they said, "You have two brain tumors." Um so, no more volleyball for me. But, you know, it is what it is.

McKinnon Galloway5:01

So, they immediately knew it was NF2 just because I'm going to get a little medical for a second. Just because they found two vestibular schwannomas is what they're called. Um on my hearing nerves and my balance. So, they had medically known that's usually the hallmark thing of what NF2 is.

McKinnon Galloway5:19

Um so, they immediately knew it. They told us, you know, a lot of times the schwannomas are these types of tumors are very slow growing. So, just don't worry. It's fine. Come back in six months. And then I came back in six months and they had grown 100% both of them. So, it was a shock to say the least. And then after that point, it was just appointments and hearing tests and chemotherapy and surgeries.

McKinnon Galloway5:51

So I was on they put me on a chemotherapy for a little bit and my left my right tumor get confused. My right tumor was just aggressively growing. So I went to my first brain surgery on my 18th birthday. You know, I had a little balloon and a cake, you know, in the hospital and that a nice year. But obviously I was a nervous, you know, because it's brain surgery and brain surgery last, you know, it can last like 16 hours. They all differentiate. So I really felt bad for the people in the waiting room cuz they have to sit there and wait.

For me I just got to sleep but I wake up.

McKinnon Galloway6:21

You know, and I didn't know what to expect. Um but you know, I have good practice now so I know what to expect now. Um so yeah.

McKinnon Galloway6:35

I know. That would be so freaky. Yeah, I was completely asleep. Sometimes where they operate they have to make sure that your speech is is still good so they'll wake you up during surgery.

McKinnon Galloway6:47

I'm so happy that I did not have to wake cuz I would freak out. And so you have to talk so while they're operating make sure not to hit anything.

McKinnon Galloway6:59

Your head hurts.

McKinnon Galloway7:01

Then you know, the drugs the drugs are great. You know, they give they thought they gave me morphine and they found out I'm allergic to morphine.

McKinnon Galloway7:10

So I slammed my head cuz they give you an MRI afterwards to see like what they got and make sure there's no bleeding and all that kind of stuff. And so I had an MRI and I had morphine and I slammed my head in the MRI and they were like she's allergic we can't give her that. So they switched me to another medication. But when honestly when you wake up from brain surgery you're just so happy you're alive.

McKinnon Galloway7:30

That's just what it comes down to you is that the pain, you know, of being alive outweighs the pain so much that you're like I made it, you know.

McKinnon Galloway7:42

This I was So when I was 18, my first one, I wasn't as afraid because I was so young and I didn't really listen to the doctors because I was 17 when I was going and I didn't know I wasn't 18 to sign the consent form because I wasn't 18 yet until I got pulled out the day of. And so I I kind of let my family handle it cuz I was like I just can't I went into this like fall off and I was like I don't know what's happening but you know I'm getting wheeled in we'll see what happens.

So the first one wasn't that it's the next ones that you know something's coming it becomes worse.

McKinnon Galloway8:26

Um so they it's just really strange about brain surgery and obviously it varies but they kind of get you up and moving very quickly like I was in the ICU for like two days and then the regular bed for a day and then I was out.

McKinnon Galloway8:39

And they make sure you're not a fall risk so you have to like go around and do all these exercises to make sure you can walk and everything but it was it was really quickly and then after that you know I wasn't having the symptoms that led me to that surgery it was just one of those things that we decided to do surgery because we didn't want the tumor to get that to present symptoms but it was you know honestly like I went back in school in two weeks.

McKinnon Galloway9:04

My classmates knew they stood up and they clapped and I finally told them so that was pretty exciting walking and having that support but yeah and then I you know completed high school.

McKinnon Galloway9:22

So I I people get kind of freaked about this and I didn't realize this until there's an episode of The Good Doctor I think it's the first episode that I went in and they have like this drill and they like go into the skull and I was like I never thought about that you have to make a hole in your skull to do these surgeries.

And so they like screw it back up. They have a plate that covers it. And I actually had to ask my doctor, "Hey, can I be out in the sun or is this going to like keep me up like bacon and it's going to like fry my brain, you know?" I don't know what's going to happen. You have all these questions. Can I go through one of the scanners at the airport, you know? Can I get an MRI? So you have all these little questions that you just wouldn't think about Oh.

McKinnon Galloway10:02

Have these screws that they screw in. So like you can feel it. So if I didn't have any hair, like my it would look so

McKinnon Galloway10:13

They did. So they shaved and I thought they were going to shave it all but they shaved just this piece. So it was nice. So like when you put your hair back, nobody could see it which was really nice.

McKinnon Galloway10:26

It does not. It does not. I think it's a titanium plate. I need to double check but I think it's a titanium plate so it does not which is really nice.

McKinnon Galloway12:21

School, um, and I finished high school. And then I was took summer off. I actually didn't take the summer off. I went to Costa Rica and I helped save sea turtles for the summer. So, that was really fun. You like You like hike the beaches at night and you have to wear all the scared because there's so many bugs. And the sea turtles like come up and they lay their eggs and you have to like count their eggs because there's a lot of poachers and try to protect them from all the poachers.

And then you see the little turtles come out and they like swim to the ocean. You know, it's like but you can't like touch them if they go off course. So, it was really fun, you know, I really enjoyed it. That was It was cool to have a walk.

McKinnon Galloway12:59

I I want to go back. I really want to go to the elephant sanctuary in Thailand, too. I want to go back and It was It was one of the experience, you know, animals really nice for the most part, right?

McKinnon Galloway13:10

Not Not so much like humans sometimes, but like animals are really nice. So, it was cool being able to give back to help, you know, knowing that you're making the world a better place.

McKinnon Galloway13:35

Maybe not the same.

Maybe not the same because I wouldn't let me do that.

McKinnon Galloway13:49

I did. I did. So I enrolled in college. I was supposed to go to University of South Carolina. Um I wanted to maybe study music, maybe be in marketing. You know, at that age you just never know what you want to do, right? I mean, sometimes today I still don't know what I want to do.

McKinnon Galloway14:05

Um but I wrote in South Carolina and then when I was getting ready to go to college, so my father started drinking when I got diagnosed and it was a big kind of shock to all of us. So when I was getting ready to go to college, he kind of relapsed and I just really couldn't go far. I just couldn't leave him alone.

McKinnon Galloway14:33

He'd been through one rehab at this point because I was 18 and I got diagnosed at 16. So he had been through one at this point. And sometimes, you know, maybe a couple detoxes. I'm not really sure. Kind of all over the place.

McKinnon Galloway14:51

I did. I did. I went to UNC Charlotte and um it was, you know, it was okay. You know, UNC Charlotte was not fantastic, you know, but it was it was close. It was good, you know, I got the job done, right?

McKinnon Galloway15:06

So I I made up my degree.

It's really weird because they didn't have what I wanted. One of the things that I want to understand is psychology, right? Because anybody who has like a lot of mental stuff, I feel like always goes into psychology. So I wanted to do marketing. I wanted to do solid college, and I wanted to do communications. So, essentially what I did was I got a psychology degree to understand the human brain and how to market to the human brain in a business side.

McKinnon Galloway15:42

From day one.

McKinnon Galloway15:45

It never stopped since I was 16. It has never stopped. Um I think I had a break. I'm 33 now. I think I had a break and now I'm getting ahead of ourselves. But I think I had a break when I was 32 for a year. That was the only year I have been off all treatments because it never stops. And so at 18 when I went to college at the time I went back on chemotherapy after my brain surgery. And my first brain surgery I then went back on chemotherapy and then when I turned 22 I had to have another brain surgery.

I mean 21. Big birthdays 18, 21. And I was scared for my 30th. Um the big birthdays aren't really my thing. So, I went on phase one medical trial which is out of rats and humans. And I didn't know how to do that. And you know, it's human experiments cuz usually it goes, you know, straight from rats, straight from animals. And you are the first testers humans. So, it's you kind of like sign a death warrant. You know, it's just like really kind of freaky. And what they do is they keep upping the dose to see, you know, how much you can tolerate.

Obviously in a very controlled medical setting, right? Cuz they don't want you to like right? And unfortunately it didn't work so I went into my second brain surgery

McKinnon Galloway16:55

When I was 21. And it was it was a lot, you know, it was definitely a lot, but I got back to college in 10 days for that one. So, you know, I was very big on this is a part of my life, not my life, you know, see another. And then cuz I didn't really have any side effects at the time, you know. I lost my hearing in that year at the time. You know, I got another one, right? Like

McKinnon Galloway17:21

On second I I know it's kind of confusing to get So, the second one I lost my hearing. I had my ear pod in one day and I was like I lost it a little bit before the surgery cuz I was like, "Oh, my ear pod is broken." And it turns out it was my ear that was broken.

So, I went to the surgery, but honestly, I have another ear I could hear. It wasn't a big

McKinnon Galloway17:45

10 years.

McKinnon Galloway17:46

It was a long time and I got these like they have these hearing aids. I was completely deaf in throughout the whole thing. But I was deaf in this ear for 10 years and for 3 years I didn't understand know that there were hearing aids that could microphone and Bluetooth. So, that kind of microphone that side Bluetooth other side which is really really helpful. Would have been nice to know those.

McKinnon Galloway18:08

But after 10 years I did for 10 years and honestly, it wasn't bad, right? Cuz you can still hear.

McKinnon Galloway18:32

I didn't realize pain could feel like that. So, when I turned 28 after being 10 years I was still on chemotherapy throughout that when I turned 28 Um and a lot of times with these chemotherapies, there's not a cure for what I have. So, what we do is we repurpose a lot of cancer therapies and try [snorts] them to see maybe something will work, you know? We'll We'll kind of see, you know? It's kind of like, "Well, test this out and see what happens." And so, I went in um I went on a trip to Russia.

I went on a trip to Finland. I wanted to see the northern lights and like I kind of knew my hearing was going a little bit cuz I take hearing tests, but I just wasn't expecting it to go that quickly. And on New Year's Eve, I went in. I was in Russia. I went to sleep and I woke up and I was completely deaf. And I freaked out, obviously. And my mom was like, you need steroids cuz sometimes they can bring back a little of your hearing.

And she was like, good thing you brought your steroids. And then, so what happened was they had expired like the day before I left my trip. So, I was like, let's just wait.

McKinnon Galloway19:40

I did not bring them with me. And so, you're running around Russia on New Year's Day trying to find steroids. And we got some, you know, just cuz the pharmacies over there are a little bit more lenient, which is really nice. And so, we got some. Got them in my system and your hearing kind of comes back 20%. But when I got home, everything got so much worse. I was I slept in the bathroom cuz I just kept getting sick and I had headaches 24/7 that I could barely function for like 3 months.

McKinnon Galloway20:14

I'm telling you, I have never felt pain like that.

McKinnon Galloway20:21

Um I was on a lot of steroids. I don't think They're kind of weird about pain medication. Which, you know, I know that I understand we have kind of like an epidemic in this country, but at the same time, like pain medication's made for a reason.

McKinnon Galloway20:35

So, but they're really kind of weird about giving them to me. And I told them, I said, you have to understand something. I told them, I said, something's wrong. I said, I don't think you understand something's wrong. And I was like, I feel my tumor. And I was like, I don't And they're like, no, you can't feel your tumor. And I said, I'm telling you, I feel my tumor. And I said, something's very wrong. So, when you have brain surgery, everybody thinks that you can schedule it and you go in if you need it.

Do you get put on a wait list, right? And if you're not dying that second, they push your surgery. So, they kept pushing my surgery and pushing my surgery to the point that my brain stem got so smooshed that it kind of became life threat. And so I was wheeled into the brain surgery and I told them something was wrong and I was wheeled into the brain surgery and they found out that the trial chemotherapy that I was on grew arteries in my tumor. It outsmarted the medication.

So smart. So outsmarted the medication and and so I could feel it because there was so much blood going through it. So I could feel my tumor. So I was right.

McKinnon Galloway21:43

Um so with the tumor with they thought that they were going to be able to get, you know, a good chunk of the tumor out because I am fortunate enough that these neurosurgeons were very um they're educated and very skilled. And my neurosurgeon had been he's like one of the top doctors and he comes out and he was like, "That's like the worst tumor I have ever seen." He calls my mom. He calls He calls my my boyfriend but now my husband. He calls him over there and they're just like, "Is she alive?" Cuz I got pulled out early and they had no idea.

They just got a phone call saying you need to come over here. So they walked over there in silence and he comes out and he's like, "That's the worst tumor I've ever seen." Like, you know, his hands above his head like and they're like, "Is she alive?" You know, they didn't know. They're like, "Is she okay?"

McKinnon Galloway22:32

And so they pulled her out early and I lost blood on the table. So yeah, I woke up and that was the surgery. That was my third surgery and I woke up completely deaf. I didn't know about it. And I thought I was going to die that surgery cuz I was like, "I never will see a world where I'm a kind of gal who is completely deaf." You know, I just could not imagine the other side of that hill. So I was like, "I'm going to die." You know, I actually filmed these like goodbye videos before my surgery.

I know, it's just so strange. But I was like, you know, I'm so happy that I made it through the surgery because I look back at these videos and I'm like crying and I have like moon face from the steroids and I'm like, we tried, guys. We gave it our all.

The mess the whole thing was mess.

McKinnon Galloway23:32

I

McKinnon Galloway23:43

Right. And well, I mean, I think, you know, a sick person has two problems, really. They have, you know, they can have financial issues, they not be able to get medical help. So, it comes down to it. I do think in our society today that we sometimes make big deals out of things that aren't big deals, right? If in the the day, like they're not true problems, right? That doesn't mean that you can't have your emotions with them, but at the end of the day, when I almost died, I was like, if I ever leave this hospital room, because that surgery went really bad, I was like, if I ever leave this hospital room, I will be the happiest person alive, which I still like, and I feel like I'm a pretty happy person because you truly realize problems sometimes are so small.

McKinnon Galloway24:39

I try. I try. You know, the DMs, everybody, I'm very fortunate, everybody reaches out on DMs and there's a lot of them, you know, which I I I try. I try to go through them, but then there's there's good amount of comments, too, and I'm I'm I'm trying to record, I'm also trying to start a new business, so I'm like, I'm working on it, guys. Like, please be patient with me.

McKinnon Galloway25:07

Well, thank you. You know, I I I work harder than you. And I did a video the other day is talking about when I lost my earring. I was done. You know, I was just I didn't realize how hard the technology was and now, you know, what I'm reading right now, that wasn't out. And so, I I didn't understand because it never leaves you alone, right? You go to the grocery store and you can't talk to that person. You go anywhere you go, you can't talk to the person.

You can't even I can't listen to music, which I love music. You know, I used to play the piano.

McKinnon Galloway25:42

I can. I got a woofer vest for my wedding. I got a woofer vest for my wedding and if I sweat, but I will tell you something. It's really cool. But, it's nothing like, you know, it's it's it's it's not it's not like your like, you know, it's just it's just not like your and I was supposed to get this auditory ABI and auditory brain implant and it's like, yeah, like your hearing which is phenomenal and then you have a cochlear implant, which is like, okay.

And pretty good. And then you have an ABI and it's like a lot of clicks and then eventually you can kind of relearn your brain. It's interesting what the brain relearns. And I was supposed to get one of those, but the surgeon went so bad and my tumor was stuck to my brainstem and they couldn't place it. So, I was supposed to hear something and I woke up from that like, you're going to hear nothing. Yeah, I know. It was It was It was It was not It was not fantastic.

McKinnon Galloway27:06

But, I'm alive.

McKinnon Galloway27:08

I am alive, and I will tell you my face went out. So, in my fourth brain surgery, I had a cerebral stroke.

McKinnon Galloway27:14

Just keeps getting better and better.

McKinnon Galloway27:19

So, my third brain surgery back up a little bit. My third brain surgery, I went in and it was really bad. I knew I was going to wake up deaf if I woke up. And I woke up deaf. And I was like, "I made it, you know? There is a deaf miracle, and I made it." And they hold up these like signs, right? They're like, "You're out." Right? And so, then I went into the ICU, and I was doing kind of okay. This is a little TMI, and I don't know if This is the first time I realized I was deaf, and I don't know if

Okay. I'm just going to say

McKinnon Galloway27:52

So, you have everything called a a catheter when you like obviously, right? And they're super uncomfortable, so I was like, "Absolutely not." Right? So, you have this thing called a feedback loop, right? Whereas, almost like it's part of the process, right? So, when I went to the bathroom to like pee when I went to the bathroom, I like couldn't go cuz I was like, "I'm so used to hearing like the water hitting the toilet, right?" And it was like And I was like, "I'm like really deaf, you know?

I'm like And this is like a real thing." So, I go back. And I started having to go to the bathroom a lot, and couldn't figure out why. And then all of a sudden, my eye rolled inwards. Um my my left eye rolled completely inwards, and I had severe double vision. So, I had like a nurse here, and a nurse here, right? So, I I didn't know what was going on, and I started dumping salt out of my body. It happens sometimes with like, you know, when you're in something severe.

And so, I started dumping a lot of salt all out of my body and they couldn't figure out how to get it up. And the problem with that is having brain surgery, your brain can start swelling, right? Cuz the salt kind of keeps the salt in down. And that's what was happening with my brain was swelling, and that's why my eye brought in So, this is this this is a crazy This is a crazy little section. So, they're like, "How do we get, you know, the salt down?" So, they were pumping me salt tablets and I I was taking the salt tablets.

They were pumping me with salt and they limited my water intake so I couldn't have anything that had water in it like fruits or anything like that. And I could have this much soda a day to be able to swallow the pills and stuff. But, it got to the point I was taking like 50 pills a day that I was swallowing them with applesauce, right? And you're you kind of get to the point that you're kind of going crazy. I had nurses watch me as I brushed my teeth to make sure I didn't drink the sink water, but I was like drinking water like toothpaste water as I was pretending to rinse out my mouth cuz you're like you start to like kind of like go crazy, right?

So, then

McKinnon Galloway29:50

They said I needed a like a second brain surgery like back to back. So, they wheeled in like the thing for me to go into another brain surgery and I kind of started freaking out and was like, "I can't believe I'm having two brain surgeries in two days." And then they were like, "You know, hospitals sometimes are kind of a hot mess." And they were like, "Oh, like just kidding. JK." And I was like, "Well, you know, this is trauma I'm going to take with me the rest of my life.

Thank you." And then I was asleep and all of a sudden everybody thought I was having a heart attack because the heart monitor got set off.

McKinnon Galloway30:21

So, I wake up still deaf. I wake up and there's like 12 nurses all over me and I'm like, "What is going on, right?" And like the guys and I was like, "Do not touch me.

What's happening?"

McKinnon Galloway30:33

It turns out so they did like this really cool they have this machine that comes in they can kind of look at your heart. It turns out they put the PICC line in too deep for the salt and they kind of stuff heart And they put the tape line in two different cases you needed to get in there. And they said I had a heart they wanted, but they found a hole in my heart.

McKinnon Galloway30:49

All their outlets. And I was like, this makes sense, you know, cuz I've always been a little heartless.

McKinnon Galloway31:01

It is. But you know, once I got through this, it was all in one year, too. So then I went 5 months later I went into my second brain surgery because I was unsuccessful. And they have something where they go in and then they like cauterize the tumor in the veins a little bit cuz they needed your arteries. So they got up there. It's the day before surgery. And it's really weird. They like take this tube through your groin. And I'm like, can't they like go in through here?

Like, why are they going all the way down up? But I you know, I don't question this anymore. And they were like they pulled me out and they were like, "Sorry, your tumor is being fed by your cerebellum. So if we would have cauterized that, you're going to have a stroke." Okay, great. So the next day I have my fourth brain surgery.

McKinnon Galloway31:42

And they wheel me in and they're like and they go in and I wake up and this time I had facial paralysis. Like if my face didn't move at all. It's moving a little bit, so I got some situations going on, which I really love, you know. This side of my face is getting videotaped. But

McKinnon Galloway32:00

No.

McKinnon Galloway32:13

Well, thank you. So the facial paralysis, I'm sorry. We're on our way. So the facial paralysis is actually different. So the facial paralysis is your facial nerve that's next to the tumor. And it gotten irritated and my face went completely like there was no movement on that side. And they didn't know if it was going to come back. But because um the tumor was being fed by the cerebellum, it irritated and I had a cerebral stroke down the left hand side as well. All right? So it was two different things all at the same time.

So, like I could barely walk. You know, and they just didn't really know. They were like, "That sucks."

McKinnon Galloway32:48

So, I was like I was out of the hospital that time, I think in like 3 days cuz they kind of like button you up and like send you out.

McKinnon Galloway33:39

My mom's really great. You know, my mom is honestly my mom's anchor of, you know, she's really gotten me through where I am who I am because of her. Yeah. And I am who I am because of my my father and how, you know, he taught me grow up, but my mom is the kind of person when I got diagnosed, I like went in bed and like closed the curtains and like didn't leave for 3 weeks. You know, they they like fed Yeah, they like gave me some food, but I I really didn't leave.

And my mom comes in one day and she opens up the curtains and she's like, "You have to get up." And I remember looking at her and I was like, "You don't understand what this feels like. Like, you're not going through this." But I don't think she needed to know, but she did understand I had to forward. You know, this is happening, but I need to pick myself up. I can grieve, but at some point you have to get up and forward. And really taught me that.

You know, she's kind of mom that like I love her to pieces but she's like you know kind of a bird that she's a baby bird out of the nest. She's like fly or don't.

Like when I had my I rolled in words and the state that we were 6 months. When I had my I rolled in words and I was completely deaf she handed me $20 and she was like go next door and get a Gator. And what you know, it was like $5 but she was like go next door and get a Gator and I was like mom like I don't know I had no technology. I had no idea how to talk to the cashier. She's like got this.

So I went next door she knew I needed to work.

McKinnon Galloway35:10

Oh, she knew I needed this is you know, we talked about I flew over here by myself and everything else is because she taught me that independence right I had to figure out how to be independent on my own.

McKinnon Galloway35:21

So I went to the cashier and I was like I'm sorry I'm deaf and I was like here's the Gator and here's my money and he like did that thing and he looked at me and he said like signed I love you you know and I was like gosh she cares

You know, this is so nice. So you know, it's it's been great. Now my father Um kind of went the opposite direction. So when I got diagnosed my my mom went to research side you know doing as much as he can and my dad kind of stayed stuck. You know, I have always been a daddy's girl growing up like I love my father to pieces so do but he just couldn't handle my diagnosis. So he started drinking. Which he was never I mean he would have like a beer here or there but he was never a man like a 48 fat type situation.

And one day I walked into our game room and I opened up the trash can I mean those big trash cans it was just like filled with beer. My mom was out of town I have a brother and she was visiting him at her friend's talk. And I looked at looked at him and I was you know, this isn't normal. You know, this is this is not normal. And so I was like, you got to tell Mom. So cuz I knew he needed help, you know.

And so he went to rehab. And then it was a lot of um times when I came home and medical news kind of hit him in a way over and over again that would relapse, you know, detox. I think he went through three rehabs. One time my mom drove me home from getting my therapy. And I walked in the house and my whole family was there and my dad was sitting on the couch. And I was really confused, you know, I like I was like couch was like here and I saw his head, right?

And I walked around the couch and I looked at his legs and he had taken like a Swiss Army knife and he had cut his legs like so many times. And I passed out. I just completely passed out cuz I was like I didn't understand at the time a lot of times with addiction people try to place the pain because they can't feel the pain. They become so numb. But you know, I was it was scary, you know, it was terrifying to see and it was also it was heartbreaking because my dad would give the shirt off his back for somebody, you know, he was just that person.

And it was so heartbreaking to see that he was crumbling like that. Um and then uh it was a lot of rehabs and a lot of detoxes. But you know, I just kind of felt like it kept getting worse and worse, you know, my dad a lot I don't think a lot of people realize when people are you know, struggling with addiction just like how much or like when they're alcoholics how much they drink. You know, it's it's it's shocking. It's shocking. Like when he went to rehab we would find bottles and bottles bottles.

It's it's shocking, you know? And I think a lot of people struggle with, you know, we always want things white or black, you know, here are the villain and that kind of stuff. And so I think my dad really hated this part of him cuz he I feel like sometimes he felt like people only saw him for that and not the personality trait. My dad was very creative. He's an entrepreneur. Like he started my family and my great-grandfather and my grandfather started a company called Smile Makers.

And it's like the little stickers when you go into like the doctor's offices that like kids get. So like when I was 4 years old, I would go in and it was like a sticker factory. And he had like designed a lot of stickers and I got to like grab all the stickers and everything. So like obviously, you know, 4 years old, that's awesome, right?

McKinnon Galloway39:10

At 33 years old, that would still be awesome. So he was very creative, he was very smart, and I think that's why I mean obviously even if that wasn't the case, it was just so heartbreaking to see somebody who was so full of life and so successful become so empty.

McKinnon Galloway39:29

I do. I have one sibling who's older than me. He's like 2 and 1/2 years older than me. And growing up, we were very close. And it was tough when he went to college. It was tough because I just got my diagnosis. So with my dad drinking, I felt very alone, you know, cuz all of a sudden you have 50% of your core family is not really They're not They're not that my brother didn't want to support me, but I didn't want to hold him back from, you know, living his life.

McKinnon Galloway40:04

So he struggled obviously with addiction. And [clears throat] he like struggled with depression. You know, it was I'd get some phone calls sometimes when he was drinking. It was I don't have a purpose, you know, and I'm obviously sitting there crying on the phone with him just like please, you know. Find one. And it was, you know, I'm here for you. How can I help you? Like it was it was tough.

McKinnon Galloway40:34

And one day, um I got a knock on my door. And I opened it and it was my mom, my mom, my grandma, and a really good family friend of ours. And they come in and my mom looks at me and she says he's gone. And I said who's gone? And my grandma said your dad died. So obviously, like I just like I my legs got knocked from under me. I just kind of like fell back on the couch. And I'm sitting there just obviously in shock and then you obviously ask the question that you want to know like what happened, right?

And my mom said he took his life. And she said um it was just it was very violent, too. It was a it was it was gun. So it was it was so violent. And the thing that was hard for me he had called me the night before. And I didn't answer it cuz I was just cuz my I got home. I was just national bastard or something. I just went to Paris to speak for a science conference. You know, I'm living on this high. And you know, I got home and he had relapsed again.

And after, you know, kind of just being like there for him for 10 years, at some point it's a struggle for me because I'm doing everything I can to stay alive.

McKinnon Galloway41:59

You know, and I also understand that depression and addiction are like, you know, those are real illnesses and that kind of stuff obviously. So I also understand that like I'm trying to understand his battle and I and I I have like my mental clarity that he didn't have, right? So it was it was really sad, you know. It was it was devastating. Like it it broke my heart. I mean it's a piece of my heart died that day and it's just never returned. You know, it's just I miss him.

Um cuz he was he was the hard part is he was a good I was really funny. He was really smart. And obviously if they wasn't smart or funny, like obviously like a good dad is still a good dad, but you know, it's everybody loved him. So it was it was just heartbreaking across the board, you know, it was it was hard and like I told him, you know, I wasn't married at that point and like one of the time he called me and like it was kind of like he struggled with like, you know, I don't want to be here and that kind of stuff and I tried to be like, you know, get help, like get help for this.

And one time he had called me and and he was just kind of talking about these things and I was like, please do not leave me. I was like, do not leave me. And I was just like, I can't walk down the aisle without you like marry like, do not leave me. But at the end of the day you kind of realize with addiction and suicide and everything it's not about you. You know, it's it's not about you and his struggles were a lot harder than I could ever imagine.

And I think those suicides sometimes people feel like Sorry. I've cried about this a long time. Um suicide sometimes that people feel like they panic in that moment, you know, and they they're so overwhelmed and they panic and they feel like the feeling will never end. But if you just hold on, it will pass.

McKinnon Galloway44:05

You know, so I think I advocate for, you know, survivors of suicide and also, you know, people who have tried to take their life and that kind of stuff. Like I try to help where I can because I understand that it's not talked about enough and not enough awareness and people need to get help when they can.

McKinnon Galloway44:24

So tough. Like my mom is so tough. Like she really picked me up from that and even though obviously she was dealing We really leaned on each other through that, you know. We We leaned on each other through the uh We really leaned on our For us, we're both Christian, right? And um so a month after that, we had gotten invited to Israel

McKinnon Galloway44:48

And or Jerusalem. And so we uh Mom was like, "Should we go? Should we not go?" And I was like, "We should go. Like if there's any place we should be, it's like, you know, with our faith, right? Right?" So we flew over there and it was for Christmas, right? And so we flew over there for Christmas and Christmas Eve we were in Bethlehem, right? And it was the first Christmas without my dad. Obviously it just happened, so it was very emotional. And I woke up like Christmas Eve and I was like, "I feel like I can't breathe, you know?" And I feel like I've been through a lot of medical stuff and for me I'm feel like I'm very tough and for me to feel that way, you know, it's I feel like a lot.

So um Uh sorry, I thought you were saying something.

McKinnon Galloway45:32

So we woke up New Year's Eve. We were in Bethlehem. And we went to We wanted to go to the grotto where Jesus was born, you know? Christmas Eve, you know. That's you know, for us. So my mom My mom is like very tough, but like occasionally a hot mess, you know. We're very We're very kind of similar with that. And she had bought the tickets to the Catholic mass and like we're not Catholic, right? So we went and we tried to ask them how can we get to the grotto and they kind of like laughed at us.

They're like, "Good luck, you know? Like it's Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, right? Like it's going to be slammed. So we're like crying and we laughed and the security guard comes over to us and he is like, "Are you trying to get to the grotto?" And we're like, "Yeah, like we understand that we can't do that." And he's like, "Follow me." So we follow him in there. And it's really weird like, you know, obviously the grotto is like an underground area and all these nuns like parted their ways, right?

So strange. And we're obviously like crying. We're like, "Give us a sign." And he's like, "Okay, right." And they parted their ways and down this little area like slammed packed with people. And when it turned Christmas, my mom and me were the closest people to where Jesus was born. And

McKinnon Galloway46:42

Which is like very big for like our faith, right? Like it was it was what we needed. So we tried to find the security guard afterwards to thank him. And we couldn't find him. So you have to walk like 2 miles to get picked up by a driver. It's very strange and it cleared out. And a hour later we're just getting there of our own selves and he just comes walking by, right? So we thanked him and all that stuff and turns out he's the Santa of Jerusalem, right?

So Santa brought us to Jesus on Christmas Eve.

It was what we needed, you know? It was amazing.

McKinnon Galloway47:25

So [snorts] my medical stuff, as you know, never ends, right? It's just a gift that keeps on giving. And so I went out of surgery, my fourth brain surgery. And then they were like, "You need to get radiation." Right? So they were like, "Fourth brain surgery wasn't great. They took another 20% and then they took 20% beforehand so they're only at 40%." So the tumor is still pretty big.

McKinnon Galloway48:01

So, they fill it with fat.

McKinnon Galloway48:08

No, in my first brain surgery, obviously I was out of it not paying attention to doctors. And there's like a slice in my stomach. I was very confused. I was like, "Why are you going in through my stomach to my brain? What is going on?" So, they take out some fat. Obviously, my stomach's now lopsided. They couldn't like give me a six-pack, which is not appreciated. And they pack your head with fat cuz it eventually dissolves, right? It's not like great, you know, now I'm a fat head, right?

And then they put on the plates and they screw them in, but one of my screws like wasn't all the way So, I have like a screw loose.

McKinnon Galloway48:57

They You know, they're like, "This fits her personality very well."

McKinnon Galloway49:08

Yes. So, after the brain surgeries, well, I guess it's not recently, but recently in radiation years. So, after the brain surgeries, they're like, "You need to go to radiation." And because when the tumor is smaller, it can still swell with radiation, right? And then it swells and hopefully deswells, right? Because all the energy is going into it. You know, science lesson. So, I go into radiation when I'm 30. I had to get 30 rounds radiation. So, I was like, "30 for 30 makes sense, you know?" And so, I go in and my NF community, we always ask each other, "Hey, what what is this like, right?" And what I appreciate about my NF community is they're very honest, right?

But they're very like, "You'll get through it anyways, you know?" Like, they're very like, this is how it's going to feel, prepare yourself, we'll see on the other side, you know? They're great, you know? And we are all very big into dark humor, which is which is pretty awesome. So, I asked one of my best friends, Jess, I was like, what is this going to feel like? She was like, "Well, you're going to feel like you're drowning, but you'll be okay."

What? So, I go and you have to get a mask fit, and so it's like it's a warm mask. It honestly felt like a slaughter me at first. And you get this is funny how people have different experiences. And it goes to your face, and it's so close to your face because you can't move it that my eyelashes could barely blink.

McKinnon Galloway50:33

And that's how close it is to your face. So, then they they screw you into a table. And you have to go under this big machine, and I had to go for exactly 27 minutes for 30 rounds. I like I like calculated cuz the problem is is as at first the radiation like the first 5 days I was like, this isn't hard at all, right?

McKinnon Galloway50:54

And I got the weekends off.

McKinnon Galloway50:58

Yes, 27 minutes each. So, at first the first 5 days I was like, this isn't hard at all, but the thing about radiation, as you go on it gets worse.

McKinnon Galloway51:08

Right? And so, by the end of it I'm just like so sick. And I come out of radiation. So, the thing about radiation that I didn't realize is it take 5 years for them to tell if it was successful or not, right? Right? Which is like, 5 years? What do you mean 5 years? So, right now I'm back on the chemotherapy. Um it's actually a lung cancer drug. It's just test them all out, you know? One breast cancer drug, now lung cancer drug, you know? See what I like.

And that hopefully is keeping the right tumor at bay. So, 30 rounds of radiation they did on my left side. And I love doctors, right? It's like they have doctors but sub doctors, you know? There's always an [ __ ] There's always one, right?

So, I'm trying to get a few different opinions because Yeah.

I To me, you know, I've gotten to the point that I look at my own scans, right? Because I've been doing this for 17 years. I mean, you learn some medical stuff along the way, you know? And I wanted to be a doctor at one point before I lived in a hospital. So, I I love learning about medical stuff. I love science. I love to learn. So, to me the scans it looks like there's Okay, I'm It's called necrosis, which is like cell death, inside the tumor it kind of becomes black.

But, there's some swelling right now outside of the tumor, which is called It's called edema. So, there's some swelling outside of the tumor. And so, they're just trying to manage the swelling. They're not going to say if I'm managing it. First First First line managing it with supplements to try to get inflammation down. So, we just It's one of those that like he doesn't know. So, now I have to send it off to volumetrics. And then I have to go get with another specialist and three other specialists.

So, it's just a lot right now. And it's a lot of stress on me when you go into these MRIs because that awful I went to this one MRI and they got me this imaging and I left my transcribed phones. I was like, you know, and I could I told that the techs I'm like, "Hey, if you need anything, bring this in." Because, you know, head cage you can't really see people's hands for like signing or anything. And so, I was like, "Bring this in." But, they didn't turn it off, right?

And they didn't know what they were talking about. So, they said I had like three tumors, which I only have two. So, I thought I had a third one and they said it was one of my aunts. So, I was like, I'm deaf and I've got to go blind and I just freaked out, right? So, then I I was like, just wait till the radio radiation report of the radiologist.

McKinnon Galloway53:55

He comes back to me and I open the report and it says major growth, major growth, major growth. I I almost had a heart attack. Like, I've I've never felt like that before. I literally almost had a heart attack and at the bottom it said, "Oops, I compared it to the wrong report. I'll let the doctor know." And I was like, I I I got mad. I obviously went to my doctor and I was like, "Look, this isn't about him interpreting something wrong. He didn't do his job."

McKinnon Galloway54:21

I was like, I expect people to do their job because you don't realize that effect on a patient.

McKinnon Galloway54:26

You know, like that's traumatizing. So, now every single time I go into an MRI, I have to have Xanax because I'm just so panicked about the results.

McKinnon Galloway54:33

So, anyway, so I'm I'm transferring a lot of my care to Boston cuz they have really good medical care for enough, too. I'm really excited about that. So, I can take that news. I just want to make sure it's legit.

McKinnon Galloway54:51

That I don't need. Or that's inaccurate. Like, that's my thing. I can take the news if it's legit, but when you're questioning it, it makes me stressed out. I got enough stress in my life, right? I don't need that.

McKinnon Galloway55:18

I think anywhere I go, honestly, people are pretty People are pretty nice, you know, because something's wrong with that girl, you know. People can tell. Like, they show paralysis. When I tell them that I'm deaf, my favorite is usually like, I went through the security at the airport. You know, the guy that you get you get the card to and then he's like, "Smile behind the camera." And he was like, "How did you lose your hearing?" cuz I have to tell them them And I was like, "Well, during my third brain surgery, you know." And so, you kind of get to these people, it's just a journey that's not common.

You know, obviously towards my NF2 people, they've been through like 30 brain surgeries or something. It's incredible. But, it's not common, so it's really interesting. I can't really hide it. And every every honestly, for the most part, everybody's really nice. And it's It's kind of nice, you know, cuz that would be really hard to deal with that on top of all this other drama.

McKinnon Galloway56:13

Yeah, and the dog Yeah, the doctors I I will And they have this level of respect for me because I think they truly understand how hard it was going to be. A lot of the times, I don't really go into depth how hard it's, you know, just because I'm not here to make anybody depressed. You know, and it can get depressing cuz it's a lot of stuff. But, the doctors know who cuz they have other patients, they know how hard each one of those treatments and each one of the radiations and surgeries are.

So, to see me at this point going through all of that and working so hard to get to where I'm at, it's mix, you know, and it's it's it's amazing to feel from them that respect.

McKinnon Galloway57:06

So, we're under an umbrella called NF And there's NF one

McKinnon Galloway57:10

And then there's Back then, they thought it's to deal with nerves, so they kind of didn't have the science, right? But, now it's on two completely separate chromosomes. I'm getting, you know. But, we're all kind of fighting together, right? Cuz it's still nerve.

McKinnon Galloway57:25

So, NF is one in 3,000, but NF2 is one in 25,000. It's over It's not, you know, it's really funny cuz a lot of us know each other, you know, and it's kind of like and we meet people that have then have to you're like, "Ah, you know, we're going to be friends." I'm not clear.

McKinnon Galloway57:46

Yeah, so I have some friends It's really cool you meet people all over the world. So I have some friends that live in London. I have some friends that live in Africa. I have some friends that live um I know somebody from Russia and then South America. I have some Chilean stuff so they flew up for a foundation that I was a conference I was recently at so I got to hang out with them and they're from Chile and I was like, "I'll see you there, you know."

McKinnon Galloway58:10

Know, getting to know everyone.

McKinnon Galloway58:16

Me too, right? When I heard that I had a free flight to stay I said, "Me too." And it sure got I said, "Do you have room for one more?"

They're great. They're like, "If you come, definitely welcome." And I was like, You don't understand how serious I am.

McKinnon Galloway58:36

I did. I just

McKinnon Galloway58:41

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

McKinnon Galloway58:44

He is a mortgage does He's great at his job, you know, he's a very he's very into technology and that's why I have the technology because he helped me with that.

McKinnon Galloway58:55

He's very into tech so I'm really hoping he loves his he he loves his job. Um okay, he's good at his job.

But I'm hoping he finds something he's like super passionate at.

McKinnon Galloway59:16

Right. Right and at least at least like what you do.

McKinnon Galloway59:20

And I feel like in our current climate, for some reason, like 90% of people seem to not like the job but because they have toxic work environments, right?

McKinnon Galloway59:30

That's like a That's like a trend. I mean, do you feel that way?

McKinnon Galloway1:00:11

It must have been hard going off a risk, you know, scary.

McKinnon Galloway1:02:30

Crazy. I mean, it's just Well, to be honest with you, it's a lot of I feel like it's a lot of other companies taking that on. For example, my plane flight, it was I had to pay for the plane flight, and then I had to pay for my seat. It wasn't I didn't even get any more free seats. It was any seat picked you had to pay for.

McKinnon Galloway1:02:49

They're adding all these little add-ons. And then I had to pay for my I I didn't pay for my luggage because I brought one suitcase, which was first That was really exciting. But I mean, there's all these little add-ons now, but I feel like a lot of other companies, too. It's not just health care, it's like a lot of other companies, too, are getting just a little add-on. They're

McKinnon Galloway1:03:08

I mean, everything's so expensive now.

McKinnon Galloway1:03:56

Right. And the one thing that I'm going to say a little to the side, but the one thing that stresses me out probably be like the whole tip situation going on in the US, right? I do feel like tips have kind of become a little out of control, right?

I've I have nothing and it's like they're right at the counter and they have to reach them nothing and hand it to me. Or I might even go pick up nothing on the side and then they're like 30%? 50%? Or anything?

McKinnon Galloway1:04:41

The person that does like the serve

McKinnon Galloway1:04:45

That uh it's I mean it's it's after right? And I don't know if you saw that it was it was some sort of video online and it's a police officer that goes and gives somebody a ticket and then he holds out 25.

McKinnon Galloway1:05:06

Well, I got gotten pulled over a lot with my hearing when I was a hearing person.

McKinnon Galloway1:05:11

Um I I got a I've gotten I got pulled over like eight times. Um

McKinnon Galloway1:05:19

It was, you know, it was not a great It was It was It was I don't know. I'm just a bad driver. So, but now that I'm deaf, I'm actually a lot better of a driver. Because you're so bored, you know? You're not singing and dancing around on the phone. You're not talking to people in the back seat. All you're doing is sitting and driving.

McKinnon Galloway1:05:37

You know? So, and a lot of people I've I got pulled over No, I don't think No. No, I think about it. I don't think I've ever been pulled over deaf. I will say I got in an accident one time. Uh lady slammed into me. And that added to my medical stuff. So, I had to tell them, you know, hey, I I've cuz they they thought, you know, I mean, they didn't know. I was like, I I have brain tumors. So, I hope this isn't expensive for her because she really slammed into me.

I mean, I was like stopped. Because you know, you're not supposed to go out into an intersection. Like, that's a rule.

There's rules. There's rules. And so, I stopped like a good Samaritan. And she didn't see it. She slammed into me.

McKinnon Galloway1:06:18

And um that was It was really bad. So, I had I felt bad about that. But, I don't think I've ever been pulled over deaf just because I'm I'm such a great driver now.

McKinnon Galloway1:06:39

Like every day.

McKinnon Galloway1:06:41

It's like, well, and they And once they realize, I've gotten pretty good at being really good with my social awareness. But, I've had a few I had this lady one time. I have a handicap bus. So nice.

McKinnon Galloway1:06:57

Well, I have I have a princess parking. And so, the reason that I got it was because with hearing and balance issues. And so, I almost fell over in traffic car one time. And so, I was like, all right, I need to get something I can go into the store with. And so this lady comes up to me, and she comes out screaming at me, and she's like, I can't believe that you're sitting there. Where is your handicap pass? And all that kind of stuff. I don't see your C on the back of the thing.

And I'm like, I have a police car in front. Like, I don't know what you're talking about, you know? And I had these other little kids come out to me, and they're like, why are you parked here? But they're young, and I was like, this is a great example of for like education.

McKinnon Galloway1:07:34

And so I told them that I was deaf, and they kind of were like, you know, oh man, you know, oh. But I think to them, once you understand, I mean, for example, you know, at the restaurant, the lady gives A lot of times people might give me compliments and stuff, but I just never hear it, and I just walk away. And then it's I want to hear those things, you know? Like, I kind of like want to hear those things. So,

For the most part, I mean, people will get aggravated. But when I when I tell them I'm deaf, I usually try to tell people early on if it's going to be a big trip, right? So, like, if it's a police officer, I'm going to tell them straight up. Right? For example, I had to give an interview. I got really nervous for this. I don't know why I get nervous talking to the police. I get super I don't do anything wrong. I just don't like being in trouble.

And so, I was on the phone giving [clears throat] a where you give like nice things about somebody. I don't know what it's called. A referral or I don't know what it's called.

Yeah. So, I was I was on the phone. I told him straight off. I was like, we're going to have some complications. I'm going to be a little delayed because of deaf, right? You know, police officer, please don't arrest me.

McKinnon Galloway1:08:56

Group settings. Group setting Group settings. my

McKinnon Galloway1:09:13

Group sex is It's really hard for my transcriber. Like, we can have

We can have this conversation, right? But when there's more than one person talking

McKinnon Galloway1:09:27

And then, especially when like people are drinking and then it's a party You kind of get left behind cuz they kind of almost forget because I talk pretty well, right?

McKinnon Galloway1:09:36

And so then they forget. And then, you know, it's it's really awkward dancing silently, you know?

McKinnon Galloway1:09:43

But my husband, he can hear, right? So, I know he wants me out on the dance floor. My friends want me out on the dance floor. So, I'm out there just, you know doing nothing, like

McKinnon Galloway1:09:54

Right. I had a woofer vest for I can't feel it unless I have something hooked up.

McKinnon Galloway1:09:59

Yeah, I mean, I guess you can put your hand on like the bass. But you really need to protect your ears cuz one day there might be nerve regeneration and you don't need the rest of the ear to be out, you know? So, I always like wear like stuff when it's really loud or I stay away from the speakers. But I have a woofer vest and it vibrates. So, at my wedding, I was having everybody try it on while they're dancing. It was really nice for me cuz it gave me something to like bond with people with.

McKinnon Galloway1:10:22

Rather than just kind of like, you know, cuz it's not the same, you know? I mean, the vest is really cool. But it's not the same as full hearing.

McKinnon Galloway1:11:37

I don't think I'm going to be without my hearing forever. I don't think I'm going to be without my hearing forever.

McKinnon Galloway1:11:46

I I truly think I'm going to get it back. You know, it's just a matter of time, but I really think I have talked to a lot of doctors that are higher up and that kind of stuff. And they're It's so funny. I'm like so positive. I'm like, "I believe in you." You know, and they're like, "If you don't believe in yourself, I believe in you enough for both of us." You know.

McKinnon Galloway1:12:03

And I approached all of these deaf technology companies because I know that it was like here. So, I started getting involved with all these deaf technology companies. And I was like, "This doesn't work well enough yet." And I was like, "You need to improve this. I believe in you. Come back to me in 6 months." You know? I mean, that's I feel like you have to push people sometimes to like get them going and stuff.

McKinnon Galloway1:12:43

Well, I have um so so I started You know, problems from almost done. So,

I started my social media that way. So, I went to a conference. I found some deaf technology. I went to a conference. And I had it out and this mom comes over to me and she is like, "What is that?" And I was like, "This is how I get around." Like What do you mean? And this is like 2 years after I lost my hearing. So, this is a long time this technology was not out and there was a lot of silence for everyone, you know?

It was a lot of People think that people can just read your lips and like that's just not a thing, okay? It's very hard to do. Now, I'm finally getting it like a little bit, but it's hard to do, right? And a lot of people are scared of deaf people not because they're scared of them, but they're scared of doing the wrong thing.

McKinnon Galloway1:13:35

So, anyway, I said, "Look, hold their hand and we'll get through this. You can do this."

McKinnon Galloway1:13:39

So, this mom comes up to me and she's like, "What is that?" And I was like, "It's how I get around." And her son's deaf. And I was like, "Well, how do you talk to you, Jake?" And she's like, "We text." And I was like, "How long have you done this for?" And she's like, "10 years." So, I got their phones. I downloaded all the apps and technology they needed. And she comes to me next day and she's like, "And tears." And then I got into tears.

It was like a whole situation. And she's like, "That's the first time I've had a fluid conversation with my son in 10 years."

McKinnon Galloway1:14:09

And so, I So, yeah, 10 years. And so, I I saw him, I want to say, 2 years later. I just saw him at the summit and he's going around talking to everyone and she's like, "I got my son back." You like She's like, "You changed my life." And I was like, "I have to tell people about this." And I was like, "There's so many people losing their hearing." And I was like, "I have to tell people." So, I opened up Instagram, right? And I was like, "People just need to know they have some basic sign language that you can talk to How to talk to deaf people, some deaf technology." And I was like, "I can really help close that gap between cuz I sit in that gap, you know?

I'm in the the deaf world and the hearing world and I've kind of been in both, right? And so, I I was like, I can help bridge this because I've experienced this with both. So, I know how things are supposed to be in both sides. So, I opened this It was called Deaf Duck, so the And then I changed it to That Deaf Chicken Coop, where I just taught some basic signs that taught, you know, how how to talk to deaf people or sign with deaf people.

And then I talked about deaf technology, and that's where it grew from. I mean, it was never supposed to be, you know, I'm on social media now. I'm really excited cuz across my platforms, I have over a million followers. That's right, a million followers.

McKinnon Galloway1:15:24

So, over my platform, and I'm really excited about it, but it never It was never supposed to be I mean, it's great that it is what it is, but it was never I didn't start it to be like a content creator to make money, you know, I started it just to help people. And I thought if I helped one person, you know, I was still nervous opening it up. You know, especially with their not today, I was like, people are going to tear me apart.

McKinnon Galloway1:15:52

People. People.

McKinnon Galloway1:15:54

Why?

McKinnon Galloway1:15:56

It's the internet, man. What do you mean?

McKinnon Galloway1:17:15

So, I I depends if I can get to my I my first priority is people that support, right?

McKinnon Galloway1:17:21

Sometimes, I definitely mess with the the people who don't, right? And I And I have been very lucky to not get a lot of negative comments. I will say I have I've I've been so lucky, right? Like I've been so lucky. Um one time I commented on somebody else's post about my dad. This person her son took his life and I wrote her and I said, "You know, I I understand how hard that is." And kind of said what I said and I said, "You know, I'm with you.

If you need anything, you know, prayers, well, you know, hugs, love, all of above." And somebody commented on there and they're like, "Well, what did you do for your dad? Did you Right?" And then someone was like, "Well, this isn't about you." And I'm like, "Man, like what? Like why are there people wasting their time doing this?" Like I find that weird. Like not a good weird. Like I find that weird. The other day somebody commented on one of my videos. I don't know. I'm just laughing having a good time, right?

Cuz like, you know, high on life. Love it. And this girl commented like, "You're the only one that laughs at your joke jokes, right?"

McKinnon Galloway1:18:31

Well, thank you. You know, that's the best thing about being deaf. When you're I'll come back to the comment in a second. When you're that's this is the best thing about being deaf. There's actually a lot of perks. Like no crying babies on planes.

McKinnon Galloway1:18:44

No crying babies in person, you know. It's you can sleep wherever you want. You know, there's a couple of perks. But the biggest one for me is my laugh changed. I've always been a loud laughing person.

McKinnon Galloway1:19:01

It's I definitely laugh a lot more.

McKinnon Galloway1:19:06

Reason that is is when you're a hearing person, you kind of go off that vibe that everyone's giving, right?

McKinnon Galloway1:19:13

If no one else is laughing, and you're just like belting out laughing, like it's kind of weird, right? But being deaf, you have to be confident enough if I think it's funny, I think it's funny.

McKinnon Galloway1:19:23

You know, whether it's me, whether it's something else. And so, you just learn to laugh. So, I laugh all the time cuz I think a lot of things are fun. I think a lot of things are funny. Like I have a lot of fun and funny things in my life. And it's so freeing to have such a genuine belly laughter. You know, it's it's so good for your soul, I feel like. But this lady the other day commented, "You're the only one that laughs at your jokes." But she meant spelled at, and she put as.

So, I just commented that I could have put at apostrophe, you know, having her correct your grammar. I mean, I don't I don't really care, you know. I survived brain surgeries.

McKinnon Galloway1:20:00

Saying come at me, but at the same time, you always have a few.

McKinnon Galloway1:20:17

It's so weird.

McKinnon Galloway1:20:19

Like it's just it's just weird, you know. I don't look at them like, you know, what are they called? Something warriors? Typing warriors? They're called something key warriors? Like key warriors? Yeah, something like that.

McKinnon Galloway1:20:29

And you know, some people are like, you know, "Oh, well, negative engagement will grow my content.

McKinnon Galloway1:20:35

Absolutely not, you know, it feeds the algorithm and I'm like, no, get off my page.

McKinnon Galloway1:20:40

You know, I'm like, get off my page, you're not welcome here. And I'll even say that to people, I'm like, hey, this page is I have children and families and they all look at the page together, like this is a safe space, like this is a happy space, a healthy space and like if you don't want to act appropriately, like I will kick you off. Like I give them a chance, right?

If they don't, like I've blocked probably I've like blocked probably like 30 people out of all my social media, but I'm

McKinnon Galloway1:21:06

I don't have time for that.

McKinnon Galloway1:21:22

But some people get like very mad and then they're having the fights online and so when I used to teach like basic sign language or whatever, I'm like, you know, you could be doing right now. You could be learning how to talk to a deaf person, you know, you could be learning all these other things, like why are you And then some people are mad. I don't know, some people are just mad. I had this one guy, this was interesting. Some people are hurting. I had this one guy I posted about radiation and I just talked I really stayed on the deaf stuff.

But people started asking about my life, so I posted about radiation cuz I wasn't very open about my life at first.

McKinnon Galloway1:21:59

It was just basically like deaf stuff, right? And what could help you, that's it. And so I posted about my life and he writes me and he's so mad at me. He's like, I can't believe you would post something about radiation, like I can't believe you would post this.

McKinnon Galloway1:22:14

And it turns out he had just got diagnosed with cancer.

McKinnon Galloway1:22:18

Want to see So he went to my page, so then he wrote me and I I I saw past He's hurt, you know. And so he wrote me like a year later and he's like, you know, "Hey, I'm that jerk that said this whatever." And he's like, "I'm cancer-free." And he's like, "I just wanted to thank you. It was hard times." So, I feel like sometimes you know, I know sometimes people deserve what they get, right? Like I feel like that, right? Like I'm nice or I'm not, but you deserve what you got.

And but I feel like sometimes people are hurting. And so, I sometimes I try try to look at that a little bit, like, you know, is this coming from somewhere?

McKinnon Galloway1:23:15

Well, I'm so glad you asked.

McKinnon Galloway1:23:20

Want to start this thing called the series called behind the red tape. And I basically want to go into hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. There's so much medical stuff that's amazing that's happening that as a patient we're not seeing, right? And I have a lot of patients that follow me because they've on there like I know they follow me. And I want to be able to show them the incredible things that some of these hospitals and I want I want to have a little more transparency, right?

I feel like there's this marketing and it's this sterile, you know, ask your doctor today, you know, and then it's somebody dancing in a field, right? That's like, you could get, you know, all these side effects, right?

McKinnon Galloway1:24:00

I feel like there's not the real authentic like look how cool this

McKinnon Galloway1:24:05

So, I really want to go back into science. I want to work with doctors, and I want to show, hey, here's what's happening. Like I'm going to MedTech World that's in Malta. And I've been there, and they have all these medical technologies and stuff, and I'm ready. I'm excited to bring it to patients because I feel like the awareness is what we need. Like it'd be nice to know like these clinical trials are going on for this percent. Like, it's just not enough information is being spread.

Even if the information is being spread, it's not being spread in the right way. It's it's sterile. It's it's not authentic. So, I'm excited to see like where I can take that. It's called humanizing healthcare. Um

I'm excited to see where I can take that. I think it's really going to help medical Well, do you know I've been a patient for 17 years, right? Like, I know how to navigate this. I was an advocate for 17. I've been to Capitol Hill lobbying for federal funding. I've been to Paris opening science conferences. Like, I have I've done, you know, I've worked with charities. I've been involved in national ambassador. Like, you got all that. Like, I've been so heavily involved in so many different directions.

And then I had patient side, which we have gone over has been a little bit of a crazy journey, right? So, I have some experiences. And so, I'm like if I can combine all of this, but really be transparent and help these patients. Like, that's like my core objective of my social media is helping people. That's it, you know? That's all I want to do. So, if I can help bring some awareness is what I want to do.

McKinnon Galloway1:26:20

Right. Like I feel like Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to lie. I definitely like following some some trending accounts.

McKinnon Galloway1:26:28

But it's just not me. And so I I really want to play into like who I am, right? Cuz I feel like if I'm not authentic and I'm up there like, you know, doing the trends. Like you know that Dirt Daddy trend that everybody's following right now? It's like

You know, you send that picture. First of all, I can't even hear it, so I don't even know how bad it goes. Funny music over it. But it's not me.

McKinnon Galloway1:26:50

Right. It's just not who I am. Now, if something is a trend that's like kind of cool, like maybe, right? Or it's not that's not cool, but if something relates to me.

McKinnon Galloway1:26:58

But I just it's not who I am. And I feel like if I start spreading from that, so I really want to be a partner and be able to bring awareness and then just the videos to deliver, right? But it's it's not the core purpose. Like I want people to walk away with something like I learned something. Like I do my science made simple videos. I want to do this behind the red tape. I want to get a microscope and do under the microscope where we just look at weird stuff, you know?

Cuz it's interesting and it's fun, right? It's education. Also, I I'm really excited to do that. And then just the video itself is not highly edited. It's not But it's still interesting to watch.

McKinnon Galloway1:27:40

Well,

So they can just email me. And just my name is McKinnon Galloway at gmail.com. Um pretty simple. Don't DM me.

McKinnon Galloway1:28:19

Love I love that. You know, I just I want to help. So, if you're like, "Hey, I need to spread awareness." or we can do some fun videos and stuff. Like, I'm in, you know? That's that's to me. Not really the 15% off type situation.

McKinnon Galloway1:28:34

It's just not who I am, you know?

McKinnon Galloway1:28:40

The the humanizing health care is really taken a big a lot because if I'm going to pitch to these um pharmaceutical companies, hospital companies, then I'm going to be as transparent as possible. Like, I needed a make sure that the trust of my patient the patients that follow me is authentic, but at the same time it's kind of like this weird balance. I'm trying to figure out a way that I can kind of pitch those. There's been a lot of research. Um then I hang out with my dog.

So, I have a dog. I have a dog. I do a lot of emails and stuff and trying to start this whole thing up. So, I've been trying to get some partners and stuff and I am. And then there's contracts and things like that. So, to get it up and running, you know, I started I've started this is I started a photography company 4 years ago and I lost my hearing cuz I've done photography for 15 years. And then I started a branding business. And then I started a design business where I sold t-shirts and light products.

And now I'm starting this company. And so, I'm in.

All of them were successful, but there's a reason I pivoted.

McKinnon Galloway1:30:01

Well, again, it was really big pleasure. Like, I'm so grateful that you invited me. Like, it's cool studio. I'm really excited to be here and thank you so much for your time.