Not Today, Jesus: Janine Durso

Not Today, Jesus: Janine Durso

From Out of Patients with Matthew Zachary by Matthew Zachary Worldwide

April 21, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 440

About this episode

Janine Durso shares her journey from pharmaceutical advertising to surviving a brain aneurysm and advocating for healthcare change.

Janine Durso spent 30 years inside pharmaceutical advertising shaping healthcare narratives before becoming a belief strategist and founder of The Believist. In November 2024, during a routine Zoom coaching session, she felt what she called a sharp, terrible pain in the right side of her head. Within hours she was in surgery for a ruptured brain aneurysm. She does not remember the ambulance, the ICU, or the first weeks that followed. She spent 5 weeks in intensive care, then 10 days relearning how to walk, calculate simple change, and manage basic cognition. Doctors later placed a stent and continue monitoring a second unruptured aneurysm. This episode traces the moment she told her husband something broke in my brain, the 14 days doctors called touch and go, and the slow mental rebuild that followed. It also examines insurance barriers that require 2 direct relatives with aneurysms before screening coverage, and why she now lobbies in Washington for change. RELATED LINKS Janine Durso The Believist Brain Aneurysm Foundation White Plains Hospital Dr. Jared Cooper FEEDBACK Like this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or…

People in this episode

Host: Matthew Zachary

Guest: Janine Durso

Topics covered

  • healthcare narratives
  • brain aneurysm
  • insurance barriers
  • mental health
  • advocacy

Keywords

  • brain aneurysm
  • healthcare
  • insurance
  • advocacy
  • mental health
  • pharmaceutical advertising

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Believist, Brain Aneurysm Foundation, White Plains Hospital

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