Disability Inclusion Archives

A Sunday Strong fitness class. (Credit: Courtesy of Sunday Strong) It’s no secret that women entrepreneurs are often inspired by the challenges they face in their own lives to start their businesses. And when it comes to health, women statistically have a harder time accessing care and resources – in addition to suffering increased health consequences from external factors like climate change. So it might not come as a surprise that women undergoing treatment for an illness, or struggling to find the healthcare resources they need, or who have a family member with a physical disability would seek to find solutions. As part of our ongoing 1,000 Stories Project, we recently spoke with three female founders who have all faced health challenges in their personal lives. Julie Fry, Kelly Cox, and Laura Radocaj have spoken candidly with us, sharing their stories about what they have been through and how they are seeking to find better options not just for themselves – but for others as well. Here is what they told us. Julie Fry, founder of Gentreo, estate planning (Credit: Courtesy of Gentreo) When Julie Fry was diagnosed with stage 4 endometrial cancer two years ago, everything changed. As the Massachusetts-based founder began to grapple with her new reality, she decided to use her knowledge of eldercare and estate planning to launch Gentreo, a business that takes online estate planning “to the next level.” Fry says of the unique position she is able to offer her clients, “We have lived this work. Not only are we experts in our field, but we have also seen a thing or two in our lives that informs our offerings, and makes them the best in the industry.” However, launching a company while battling late-stage cancer has been, unsurprisingly, extremely challenging. “Thankfully, I was able to work throughout my fight," she says, crediting her "amazing" staff and sister, Renee, who also serves as CEO. "I was able to continue to contribute to building and leading the team throughout everything.” Today, Fry is still battling cancer but says that her illness does not define her. Instead, she says she remains laser focused on helping others navigate the complicated and emotional process of estate planning, while living her life with passion and integrity every day. Kelly Cox, founder of Share The Drop, breast milk exchange (Credit: Courtesy of Share The Drop) Kelly Cox has helped thousands of families through pregnancies, births and parenthood. Before launching her current venture, Share The Drop, Charlottesville, Virginia-based Cox owned a pre- and postnatal yoga studio, while also working as a registered birth doula. As a breast cancer survivor, she began to notice, “rising stress, anxiety and depression among parents who struggled to produce breast milk for their infants.” Cox is “keenly aware that not every parent has the ability to produce.” When the pandemic hit, and problems obtaining formula were only exacerbated by supply-chain disruptions, she realized there was a glaringly obvious gap in the market. In 2020, Cox launched Share The Drop, a commerce-free app for "informal" milk sharing, which she notes has been a "normalized practice" for centuries. "I had an idea for a mobile app that could connect mothers who had excess breast milk to those who had limited or no access to it," she says. "We need a choice between exclusive breastfeeding and infant formula.” Laura Radocaj, founder of Sunday Strong, fitness classes for differently abled bodies (Credit: Courtesy of Sunday Strong) Laura Radocaj saw her sister, who has special needs, struggle with her weight her entire life. And, she understood this wasn’t a unique phenomenon – often, people with intellectual disabilities struggle to access exercise classes designed for them. In January 2017, Vero Beach, Florida-based Radocaj decided to make it her mission to increase physical activity in people over 16 years with intellectual disabilities. At her local gym, Radocaj, a CrossFit enthusiast, began offering a weekly, free CrossFit class "with the hope that welcoming athletes with special needs into a community that encouraged a healthy lifestyle would help motivate them.” And the results were staggering, Radocaj says, with participants who hadn't been athletic before quickly achieving "burpees" (a squat thrust with an additional stand between repetitions) and running 100-meter sprints. A year later, Radocaj formalized her efforts by launching Sunday Strong, through which she offers a suite of free weekly exercise classes for special-needs athletes. The best part for Radocaj? Seeing how “athletes who walked into class on their first day with their heads down are now holding their heads high during class with big smiles on their faces.”

Disability Inclusion

When Struggles With Health and Accessibility Serve as Inspiration for Starting Up

Creating Community and Support For Disabled People

Her App Enhances the World for Those with Vision Impairments

The Story Exchange

Disability Inclusion

When Struggles With Health and Accessibility Serve as Inspiration for Starting Up

Creating Community and Support For Disabled People

Her App Enhances the World for Those with Vision Impairments

Cover a PICC Line With a Cut-Off Sock? This Lyme Disease Survivor Had Other Plans

The Story Exchange

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