Her Path Changed — Her Purpose Didn't | Diabetes, PAD & Preventing Limb Loss with Dr. Jean Chen

Podcasts > The Heart of Innovation

All of us have the power to create change. The advances in technology are now such that if you have an idea, it’s easier than ever to execute on it. “Kym McNicholas On Innovation” shares the journeys of successful entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors from around the world who will inspire you to create your own financial independence. The show also features some of the most advanced technologies you’ve never heard of that could be have an impact on your life, your business, and your career. Regular featured segments include “The Edge” which highlights businesses that are game-changing in the enterprise. Plus, each week in “HealthTech”, you’ll hear about a company that’s creating better, safer, faster, and cheaper technologies that will improve patient care and lower costs. And in our “Female Seeking Startup” series hear the success stories of some of the most powerful women who are creating game-changing technologies. Produced and Published by The Innovators Network (http://TheInnovators.Network)

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Saturday, January 10, 2026

On this episode of The Heart of Innovation, we sit down with Dr. Jean Chen, a diabetes educator and retired podiatrist whose lifelong commitment to medicine was shaped by service, resilience, and lived experience.

Dr. Chen knew she wanted to be a doctor by the age of five. Raised in Taiwan by a pediatrician father and a nurse mother who often cared for patients unable to pay, she learned early that medicine was about people first. After immigrating to the United States, growing up in Ohio, and studying at Cornell, her career took her through oncology before she found her calling in limb preservation through podiatry.

Then her own path changed.

Following a serious car accident, spinal cord injury, and surgical delays during COVID, Dr. Chen was left partially paralyzed, bringing her career as a practicing podiatrist to an unexpected end. At the same time, she was navigating her own journey with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a heart catheterization.

Rather than stepping away from care, Dr. Chen changed how she serves. With the encouragement of her endocrinologist, Dr. Manasses, she retrained as a certified diabetes educator, bringing together clinical training and lived experience to help patients better understand how daily choices impact circulation, wound healing, and long-term health.

Today, Dr. Chen works with people living with diabetes and peripheral artery disease, and she also contributes to national efforts through the American Heart Association PAD Collaborative, supporting initiatives to improve PAD awareness, diagnosis, and care across the country.

This conversation explores what happens when medicine becomes personal, how purpose can evolve without being lost, and why early recognition of PAD and diabetes complications is critical to preventing limb loss.

If you or someone you love has diabetes, leg pain, wounds, or trouble walking, don't wait.

PAD Leg Saver Hotline: 1-833-PAD-LEGS Learn more: https://www.PADhelp.org Join the PAD Facebook Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peripheralarterydisease

Early action saves limbs and lives.