When I sat down with Swaay.Health’s 2025 Patient Advocate of the Year, Erica Olenski, I knew her story would move me, but I didn’t expect how deeply it would stay with me. Erica’s journey as both a patient, a mother, and a caregiver to her son, August, who was diagnosed with brain cancer as an infant and passed away recently, is one of extraordinary courage. She has faced her own autoimmune challenges, cared for a medically complex child, and somehow turned those experiences into advocacy that pushes our healthcare system to see people more fully — as patients, parents, caregivers, and humans.

Hearing Erica share her experiences in her own words is even more powerful. Tune into our conversation below to witness her courage, compassion, and advocacy firsthand.

Key Takeaways:

• ???? Healing Goes Beyond the Clinical: True healing goes beyond medicine, it encompasses emotional and spiritual restoration.
• ???? Processing Trauma Through Art: Erica’s nonprofit, August’s Artists, brings art, color, and comfort to pediatric patients while helping families process trauma through creativity.
• ???? We Need to Care for the Caregivers: Erica calls for healthcare systems to recognize and support caregivers as essential participants in healing.

“Optimism isn’t being blind to reality, it’s a choice to look for the best possible outcome, even in pain,”

Erica spoke passionately during our conversation about optimism not as denial, but as a deliberate act of hope. During long hospital stays, she and her family found ways to celebrate life in small but meaningful ways, decorating August’s and others hospital doors, throwing birthday parties, and creating tiny moments of joy in impossible circumstances.  Out of those experiences, came August’s Artists, the nonprofit she founded to bring art supplies and creative healing to pediatric patients. Her mission is simple yet profound: to help families see their experiences not as sterile medical events, but as stories worthy of honor, remembrance, and beauty.

“Healing isn’t just clinical, it’s emotional, spiritual, and human.”

As someone whose family has faced life-altering medical events, I hung onto every word Erica shared about the toll caregiving takes: emotionally, physically, and spiritually as well as the need to go beyond healing from a purely clinical standpoint. Caregivers often fade into the background, but Erica’s perspective reminded me that they are a vital part of the healing ecosystem. Her call for more family-centered, trauma-informed care resonated deeply. Because if a patient heals, but their caregiver is broken, we haven’t succeeded.

“Healthcare is the most human experience we have. It’s how we’re born, how we die, and everything in between.”

What resonated most in our conversation was Erica’s belief that storytelling itself is healing. She talked about how even the smallest stories, the ones that seem insignificant can validate others, inspire empathy, and change systems. It’s why she continues to share hers. And she’s right: healthcare innovation can’t start with technology; it has to start with humanity as healthcare is the most human experience we have.

Erica’s optimism, courage, and compassion remind us that in every clinical encounter, every late-night hospital hallway, and every act of caregiving, there’s a chance to bring more humanity into healthcare. Her story is one of strength and loss, but also of love, resilience, and the art of healing.

Learn more about the Swaay.Health Awards and how to nomination for yourself, a colleague, or a friend who deserves the spotlight here.

—