Claire Donald
👤 PersonPodcast Appearances
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even cults and crimes such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even Colts and Crimes, such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even cults and crimes such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even Colts and Crime, such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Yeah, which is really crazy to think. But also, you know, I think throughout history, there's, of course, been a lot of things that women have not been included in. But to look at Antarctica and think that women were not included in visiting an entire continent, that is, every continent has women, you know.
So to look at Antarctica and be like, no, women cannot be on this continent is really, really wild to think about.
For sure. There's a lot of layers of insults in these policies. Well, anyway, going back into Jerry's story, she is a woman who makes her way to Antarctica and she gets this position.
She confided in a trusted colleague and began quietly preparing for the worst. She reorganized the medical clinic, creating labeled supply kits and highlighting key sections in medical texts to guide others in case she became too ill to work. She also wrote short guides on handling various medical emergencies.
At the same time, she discreetly began training a few people on the crew to perform essential medical tasks, such as operating the x-ray machine and administering IVs, under the guise that she just needed extra help, not revealing the true reason behind her trainings.
Knowing that she was willing and bringing the idea forward to do a surgery on herself is really, I think that paints Jerry as a person very well. Like she is willing to go through very far lengths to take care of herself and others, of course, as a doctor. But I just thought even to ask that question, hey, should I perform this surgery on myself? It was a lot. Mm-hmm.
But with a fine needle aspiration, she recruited Walt, a welder who had also trained as an Army medic, to assist with the procedure. Unfortunately, when she tried to extract fluid from the mass, it was solid, indicating that it was likely cancerous, but this was inconclusive. Shortly after, Geri received an email from Dr. Kathy Miller, a medical oncologist at Indiana University.
She advised Geri to perform a core needle biopsy for a more definitive diagnosis.
But her story had hit headlines, and people were determined to help Cherry. Two planes, one carrying six bundles of medical supplies, fresh food and mail, and the other following for in-flight fueling headed from New Zealand towards the station. The staff at the station set fire to 27 smudge pots arranged in a semicircle to mark the drop zone.
With the heavy snow, it took the aircrew 25 minutes to locate the markers, but the drop was successful. Everything landed safely other than an ultrasound machine which cracked on impact. Jerry received the drugs, biopsy tools, and other crucial medical equipment necessary to move forward with her treatment.
I do not want to know that about my doctors if I need.
doctors. They're also not doctors, but they're like, yeah, yeah, I can do this. Let me just practice on a chicken breast real quick.
That's really interesting. I didn't realize that that was. I've heard of community support groups, but a prescription to hang out with people I've not heard of before. Yeah.
Yes. And it felt very real.
But that wasn't a chicken breast.
Geri was officially diagnosed with breast cancer via remote satellite communication with oncologists back in the United States. By this point, she had started hormone therapy called tamoxifen, which is administered intravenously, meaning injected into the veins to shrink the tumor.
Shortly after, she began chemotherapy guided remotely by Dr. Kathy Miller and oncology staff at the Indiana University Cancer Center. Using video conferencing equipment, they walked Geri through the process as she received several anti-cancer drugs, each delivered in separate saline bags and administered at carefully timed intervals.
I think right here is a good spot to also really highlight the people that we've talked about already. This welder and the carpentry foreman are doing exactly that. They're going out of their way to help her in a field that they're definitely not comfortable in because that's not their forte, but they're using whatever knowledge and skills that they have and they're bending it
to make it so that they can be a valuable resource for her and her time of need. And I think that that is so important to see the community that is really coming around her.
And she couldn't do it alone either. She had to have this help. And when we're talking about she had to do these specifically timed intervals of chemotherapy drugs. And she went as far as she wrote out guides and manuals in case she was too sick. You know, she's undergoing this really intensive treatment. treatment now and she does have to rely on other people.
And then you can also tell in that where she's writing out how to handle medical emergencies. She's clearly still not only thinking about her own wellbeing, but everyone else. She's like, if I'm too sick to take care of someone who's having a heart attack or needs CPR, you need to know all of the things.
And she's writing out the medical procedures on what they can do and highlighting important information. So even through everything she's going through, she's also actively thinking about her community that's around her.
And I think it makes a really good point, too, you know, of how much there is something about human connection, but at every—and having friendships and bonds and stuff, that there's a point in everyone's lives where you actually really do have to rely on your relationships with other people, whether it's your friends or your parents or your partner, whatever it is, to—
Right. And it really all does stem back to that. It's like you can be
independent all you want but in times that are really really hard it always comes back to human connection and honestly not even times that are just really really hard but also times that are really great you know if you're celebrating something that's amazing in your life and you're alone you're looking for that human connection too you're looking for your friends you're looking for your family you're looking for whoever would also celebrate that with you and be excited for you so i feel like it can go
In both directions, like the worst time of your life, you need those people. And also in those really exciting times of your life, you also need those people.
Let people people.
So throughout this entire ordeal, Geri stayed focused on survival, but she was fighting also against the altitude. Yes. After spending many months at the South Pole in extreme conditions, you become what is known as being toasted. This refers to the foggy mental state as a result of being hypoxic, meaning low oxygen, hypothermic, and sensory deprived.
To cope, people at the station carried small green notebooks, nicknamed their green brains, to help them remember things. Due to the continuous darkness and all time zones meeting at the pole, the sense of time can also be lost. It is estimated that spending a full winter there could result in about 30% memory loss.
Yeah. I thought learning about being toasted was really interesting because I didn't really think about it because when you think about it, she's there in the winter. It's dark all the time. She's at these high elevations. And I didn't really think about having a foggy mind while you're there. That just didn't occur to me.
But if she's there for months and months on end, and then they're talking about these green brains as their notebooks where they have to literally write down reminders of to themselves to do everyday tasks. It's like, okay, but you're also treating yourself for cancer now. And you're also operating at this base now.
So it's like, it's adding an extra layer to something that was already really hard. And now you're taking in cognitive dysfunction and bringing that into the mix too.
If I had 30% memory loss right now, there would be a lot of issues in my life, I think.
Survival has always been our most essential drive. Though we may pride ourselves on independence, our strength has always been in connection. In the earliest days of humanity, we gathered around fires, shared food, built shelter, and stood watch for danger together. It wasn't just our bodies that evolved, it was our ability to form bonds and to lean on each other when the world grew cold and dark.
I'd probably be thriving, honestly.
It's nice to highlight the value in that sometimes.
That's really sweet. See, that's community. That's community. That is celebrating you and being there for you in your worst moment. But the reality of her circumstances remained as the elephant in the room. The weather conditions meant there were no flights in or out until spring and the U.S. Antarctic program couldn't offer an immediate evacuation. She continued several rounds of chemotherapy.
While it wasn't as consistent as it would have been in a hospital setting, the fact that she was able to administer her own care in such a remote, extreme environment was nothing short of incredible.
I also imagine in these remote conditions, though, like she's giving herself these treatments, but just as two people who have been to Antarctica now, I also imagine that there was probably something really beautiful about stepping away after those treatments, seeing where you are. This was a dream. I can't imagine it was all... Extreme conditions and awfulness.
I imagine that there were moments of quiet and peace and wow, I'm in Antarctica under bad circumstances that I wasn't foreseeing. But there's also something really magical about this place that I'm in.
Once she arrived in New Zealand, she received continued medical treatment before returning to the U.S., At the Indiana University Cancer Center, she had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor and eventually a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
After treatment, Geri was officially declared cancer-free. After all that, she finally... Can you imagine just that moment of... of she was in Antarctica. She doesn't know what's going to happen. She doesn't know how sick she's going to be. She doesn't know when she's going to get rescued. She finally is rescued.
Now she's really undergoing her treatment in a professional way, in the way that it's meant to be done. And she's finally declared cancer-free.
I know. A moment of, I survived.
Unfortunately, in 2005, Jerry's cancer returned. It metastasized to her brain, liver, and bones. But true to who she was, Jerry kept moving forward, embracing life with courage, humor, and grace. She became a passionate advocate, using her voice and story to raise awareness and offer hope to others navigating cancer.
Wow. What an incredible story. And she did a lot of really incredible things. And one thing that I thought... was really amazing is you can go through a really debilitating illness and your only job in that moment is to deal with it the best way that you can.
And she went further than that and she became an advocate and she wanted to speak with other people and offer hope for other people who are in the same situation as her. And I just thought that that was a really beautiful way to make something happen And again, there's no obligation to make something good out of something so terrible.
But the fact that she did find that in herself to be able to do that, I just think is really beautiful.
Yeah. And like she said, it gave her this whole new perspective of her life that maybe she wasn't her life or had the appreciation for the life that she had until she had to look it in the face and look death in the face and say, maybe my time here is coming to an end. And maybe when she got that second opportunity, it was more of a.
Yes, I would go through this again because I saw that opportunity and I took it. Whereas if I didn't go through this, I would have kept living my life the way that I was. And that wasn't beneficial for me.
Dr. Jerry Nielsen was born as Jerry Lynn Cahill on March 1, 1952, in Salem, Ohio. Though her family did not have the means to travel, Jerry grew up in a household that encouraged adventure. From a young age in her rural town, Jerry dreamed of crossing the prairie, going to Africa, or even to the moon.
Yes. She didn't have an easy life.
She had a lot of obstacles, and she went through a lot of different chapters in her life that were arguably equally as hard as other ones.
For sure. Yeah, and I know that you have her book. I do have her book.
Yeah, she hears us. Well, thank you everyone for tuning in this week. Thank you for tuning in to Watch Her Cook.
And a big shout out to Sick Bird Productions who produces our podcasts and helps bring these stories to life. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at Watch Her Cook Podcast, leave a review and subscribe for more inspiring stories. Just a reminder, empowered women empower the world. Now let's go cook. See you next Wednesday.
Even now, that instinct remains. In the face of crisis, we rally. In moments of fear or fragility, we reach out. And sometimes, survival isn't just about strength or resilience. It's about trust in our bodies, in our will to endure, and in the quiet but powerful truth that someone, somewhere, will show up when it matters most.
She studied pre-med at Ohio University in Athens before enrolling in the Medical College of Ohio, where she graduated with a medical degree. While studying, she met her husband, Jay Nielsen, who she had three children with. Though she was drawn to emergency medicine, she switched to family medicine to spend more time at home.
That's awful. That's horrific.
You know, it's so easy to see someone else and see their situation and be like, you shouldn't be in it. But when it's you, yourself, in it, it's so much harder to see it because it's so much more involved, especially when you have children together. So with that being said, she did eventually return and their relationship did continue after that.
After Jerry had a brief affair, Jay agreed to a divorce. However, while she worked full-time to rebuild her life, Jay turned her children against her and ultimately gained custody of all three of them. By the time the divorce was finalized, Jerry felt like she had lost it all. She moved back in with her parents and her life became routine. She was searching for a purpose at this point.
Little did she know that that was all about to change.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even Colts and Crime, such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Oh, how I relate to that entire quote so much. Not only for what it says, but also for the location that she's talking about.
There are stories that remind us of this, stories of people who find themselves isolated in the harshest of conditions and yet persevere because of the human spirit, but also because of the human bond. This is Watch Her Cook. Hello, everyone. I'm Cassie. And I'm Danielle.
She was seeing her purpose for the first time in a while. And she was seeing that in Antarctica and Like you said, with the geographic cures, travel is something that's very fulfilling and healing and opens your eyes to a whole new world in Antarctica.
I can imagine because I also know that the idea of going to Antarctica is just so exciting because we did a trip actually really recently, about a month ago. We were both in Antarctica and it was to this day, to this day, it's been four weeks, the best trip of my life.
and i think about it all the time so let's learn a little bit more about the south pole and antarctica because it is absolutely fabulous located in antarctica the south pole is the southernmost point on earth even though the ground at the south pole lies just about 100 meters above sea level it's buried beneath an ice sheet that's approximately 9 000 feet thick
This thick layer of ice significantly raises the elevation, making the South Pole much colder than the North Pole, which is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. According to National Geographic, the coldest temperature ever recorded at the South Pole is negative 117 degrees Fahrenheit, which is negative 82.8 degrees Celsius.
Due to these harsh conditions, planes cannot land at the site for approximately eight months of the year. Additionally, if we look at the Earth's rotation, the South Pole only experiences one sunrise at September equinox and one sunset at March equinox every year. This means that the pole experiences up to 24 hours of sunlight in the summer and 24 hours of darkness in the winter.
I love the sunlight.
The sunlight part, great. The darkness, not so much.
Yeah, there's that small detail. That small detail. Also negative 170 degrees Fahrenheit. May or may not be including windchill.
Brain surgery to giving you a filling. Okay.
Out of the 41 people who were working at the base, only nine of them were women, but this was not always the case in history of polar exploration. Until the mid 20th century, women were excluded from Antarctic expeditions, not because of lack of interest or ability, but due to patriarchal beliefs about gender roles and so-called physical limitations.
Welcome back to Watch Her Cook, a podcast dedicated to sharing the incredible lives of women who have taken their power back throughout history.
Antarctic exploration was seen as a men's place to conquer. remote, dangerous, and unsuitable for women.
Why does that provide a woman for each man?
I don't understand that. Really? It sounds like provide a shirt for each man. Like every man gets a shirt, every man gets a woman because a woman's present. That makes no sense to me.
Yeah. I was reading it different where it was like, if there's only one woman, then what about all the other men?
Why? Why? We have questions, Rear Admiral.
It's like, we don't like that at all, sir. Yeah. The National Science Foundation and the United States Antarctic Program echoed these concerns, making the excuse that it would be unfeasible for women to join due to logistical challenges such as the lack of facilities for both men and women.
Despite these barriers, women expressed interest in polar exploration long before formal participation was allowed. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, there are accounts of women aboard ships navigating Antarctic waters, often as companions to ship captains.
However, it wasn't until 1935 that Caroline Mickelson, the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain, became the first woman known to set foot on Antarctic land. A brief but symbolic feat for women.
I love how much women are spending their time in Antarctica now. And one of my favorite little trinkets that I brought back from our trip to Antarctica was I bought a patch that said women in Antarctica. And it was a pink patch and it was designed by an expedition guide who works in Antarctica, who was also a woman. So I thought it was really cool.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even cults and crimes such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even Colts and Crime, such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Are you looking for a podcast where you can learn about the juiciest historical events and people, but it really feels like you're just gossiping with your girlfriends over a glass of wine or two?
We cover it all, from Titanic to Kris Jenner, Studio 54, Marie Antoinette, even Colts and Crime, such as Charles Manson and Jonestown, every Monday, wherever you listen to your podcast. Because history is just gossip.
Well, that's why we created Right Answers Mostly, for what you didn't learn in history class, but you really wanted to. I'm your host, Claire Donald. And I'm Tess Belomo. Join us every Monday as we dive into the most iconic people and events and get ready to laugh along the way.
Follow us at Right Answers Mostly for more.