Latest news with #Kristyn
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Secret airport feature for Aussies with 'hidden' issue
Most people will agree that navigating an airport, whether it's for domestic or International travel, can be a stressful experience. But for those travellers who require extra support, time or understanding, it can be especially challenging – particularly when staff can't easily identify that fact. One Aussie mum has heaped praise on a local airport for adopting a little-known feature to help those in need. Dr Kristyn Sommer recently travelled from her home on Queensland's Gold Coast to Sydney wearing a green lanyard featuring daisies on it. The simple and subtle item sent a message to staff that she has a hidden disability that meant she required extra support. It's something that airports around the country have quietly adopted. "I've had an autism diagnosis for a couple of years," Kristyn, a developmental psychology academic at Griffith University told Yahoo News, adding that busy airports can be a "trigger point" for her. She was keen to give the lanyard "a go" to see if it was beneficial for her while travelling after first noticing posters for the program last November. "I saw big sunflower signs last time I was walking through the airport," she explained, adding she thought it was a "really cool" initiative. The night before her most recent trip in February, she applied through the Gold Coast Airport website to receive a pack before she travelled. While checking in, she let staff know she was looking to receive a pack and was able to get her green lanyard as well as a few extra informational tools. She said the process was simple and the experience with staff at Gold Coast airport was "phenomenal". While she said it sometimes makes her feel "more self-conscious" to identify herself as someone with a hidden disability, she's keen to use the lanyard again when she travels internationally later this year to effortlessly communicate her needs. A spokesperson from Gold Coast airport said the program was introduced in 2019 to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all travellers. The lanyards are available for free in the terminal or can be requested ahead of arrival. Other tools include a terminal sensory map, communication boards and an airport activity book. The airport also has a therapy dog initiative which sees trained volunteer therapy dogs visit the terminal. Staff at the airport have undergone specialised training to better understand hidden disabilities and to recognise the sunflower symbol and offer the appropriate support when required. "The response from the community on our extensive Hidden Disabilities program has been overwhelmingly positive," the spokesperson said. "The program has also played an important role in raising awareness and encouraging open conversations about accessibility in travel." After sharing a video of the experience online, which has been viewed by millions, Kristyn believes that most people "don't know" that the program exists. While some accused Kristyn of trying to "skip lines", she said that's "not what it's for". "It's not about skipping lines or getting through the airport faster, it just puts us on an equal footing and [is] a signal to others," she said. She added that despite some criticism, it's "really nice" to see the hidden disabilities message reaching people. ✈️ Calls for Jetstar to change policy to resolve 'ridiculous' problem 🚨 Aussie couple urge travellers to avoid airport mistake after home ransacked 🛫 Couple 'traumatised' over horrifying seating request on flight from Australia The idea for the green sunflower lanyard came about in 2016 when the accessibility team at Gatwick Airport in the UK were looking for a way for those with non-obvious disabilities to gain extra support. After several consultations with relevant charities, the idea of the sunflower was created to reflect the idea of confidence, growth and strength by those who have hidden disabilities. The sunflower can be voluntarily worn to discreetly make others aware that you have a condition or disability that may not be apparent, but you may need an extra helping hand, understanding or time not only in airports but shopping centres, public transport and at work. You can learn more about the initiative here. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Middle Tennessee family supports March of Dimes after daughter born at 22 weeks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Kristyn Byrd was only 19 weeks pregnant last summer when she started feeling some unusual symptoms. She called her doctor who recommended that she go to the hospital. 'It was my first pregnancy. It was seemingly healthy, but when I got there, they told me I was going into preterm labor. This was July 2, and my due date was November 21,' Byrd said. 'The first big goal was to get to age of viability, which is most widely accepted at 24 weeks. Thankfully at Centennial, they medically intervene at 22 [weeks].' Three weeks after Kristyn was admitted to TriStar Centennial Women's Hospital, she gave birth to her daughter Charlie at just 22 weeks and 5 days. 'She came out ready to fight; she had great Apgar scores,' Kristyn told News 2. 'It was just all such a miracle.' 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → 'I just wanted Kristyn to be okay and wanted Charlie to have the best chance to be given,' Blake Byrd, Kristyn's husband, said. Charlie weighed exactly one pound and she was 11 inches long, about the size of a 16-ounce water bottle. She did great for the first week, but she was maxed out on all support and she started to struggle. Tiny but mighty, Charlie pushed through. She spent more than five months in the NICU getting stronger before she finally got to go home in December. The Byrds said the March of Dimes supported them along that tough journey. 'They provided surfactant therapy for her; they brought us warm meals and notes of encouragement,' Kristyn said. The March of Dimes has reported that one in nine babies in Tennessee is born preterm, which is above the national average. Tennessee is also above the national average when it comes to infant and maternal mortality. The March of Dimes graded the state a D- for its preterm birth rate. '[For] 50% of those, they aren't able to find a cause of why the baby was born prematurely,' Kristyn said. 'So these research dollars are going to [the] March of Dimes for them to help figure out how to have healthier moms and babies.' The Byrds support the March of Dimes in their efforts to improve prenatal care, the preterm birth rate and outcomes for babies born early or with birth defects. Charlie is their inspiration. 'I know sometimes it feels like you're just clicking a button and sending some money somewhere, but it really does make all the difference,' Kristyn said. 'Research dollars saved her life and millions of other babies, too.' ⏩ The Byrds are the ambassador family for the 2025 March for Babies. It's Saturday, April 19 at First Horizon Park. You can register to walk or donate here. News 2's Hayley Wielgus will be emceeing the event and walking with her family. In 2022, her younger daughter Jordan was born preterm at 32 weeks and spent four weeks in the NICU. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Cowboy poetry slams, new-gen yodelling and Basque bites: Getting wild out west in Nevada's Elko
It's barely sunrise, but I'm already warming up my voice for a yodelling session with Kristyn Harris – a young buck reviving this time-honoured cowboy singing tradition. 'Louder! It's impossible to yodel quietly,' she urges, a 10-gallon hat crowning her cascade of curly blonde hair. As Kristyn effortlessly slides into falsetto, I do my best to follow suit – 'yodel-ay-ee-oooo' – while beyond the window the sun spills its first light over Elko's Ruby Mountain Range, casting a golden hue like something straight out of the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. The 30-year-old western swing star is here to perform at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, a celebration of frontier arts now marking its 40th year – the same event that has drawn me to this remote pocket of northeastern Nevada, 420-miles from the bright lights and hungry slots of Las Vegas. Unlike me, this isn't Kristyn's first rodeo. 'I first came to the Gathering 13 years ago, so I kind of grew up on stage here,' she tells me, guitar slung casually across her shoulder. 'Elko started the whole contemporary cowboy poetry movement. Some people still struggle to connect the tough life of ranch work with the artistry of poetry. But cowboys have always had to entertain themselves on long, lonesome cattle drives, so this tradition runs deep'. Each January, around 8,000 people descend upon Elko for its week-long National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, a folksy celebration of poetry, crafts, music and storytelling rooted in the rural American West. Events spill across a constellation of venues in this gold-mining town of 20,000. I leave Kristyn to prep for her next set and slip into a ringside seat at the conference centre, just in time for the cowboy poetry open mic. Ballads of busted pickup trucks, sonnets of surly mules and a heroic verse about roping a fearsome bear bounce around the room. The Stetson count is high, while glinting belt buckles and waxed handlebar moustaches also seem part of the dress code. Those accustomed to stadium-quality entertainment might find the Gathering a little rough around the edges, its performances punctuated by nervous stops and hesitant starts. But therein lies its rootsy charm. These are genuine working cowboys and cowgirls, spinning yarns from the grit of their everyday backcountry life. To stretch my legs, I wander over to a line dancing lesson in a local school gymnasium. Beneath a star-spangled banner the size of a bedsheet, no-nonsense Cowboy Jeff commands the floor, preparing a crowd to become two-stepping buckaroos in just 90 minutes. 'Three, two, one, let's do the Cupid Shuffle!' he booms, as we shuffle and jazz-box our way through a couple of classic country songs, boots echoing with every step. 'That's the most fun I've had in a high school!' a cowgirl laughs as we catch our breath on the sidelines. Later that evening, I put my new moves to work at the Gathering's wrap-party – an all-night hoedown where a band called Wylie & the Wild West keep the tunes rolling until the early hours. At daybreak the following morning, I head into downtown Elko to visit another institution keeping the spirit of the West alive. As soon as I spot the life-sized horse statue mounted on the J.M. Capriola store's exterior, I know I'm in the right place. Inside, I'm greeted by third-generation owner John Wright, whose family has been crafting custom-made saddles, bridles, and ornate silver spurs for A-listers like Sylvester Stallone and Bing Crosby – who, fun fact, was once Elko's honorary mayor. 'We see ourselves as guardians of tradition,' John says, as he and his wife, Susan, lead me through their legendary cowboy gear shop. 'We haven't really changed the way saddles are made in 120 years,' John stresses, adding that a particularly elaborate saddle can fetch up to $30,000 (£23,700). 'It's not a cookie-cutter process. Everything is made by hand. We even invite customers into the workshop to watch the makers at work. Step in and smell the leather,' he grins, as I take in the sight of a striking pair of 100-year-old Angora hide chaps in the shop's mini museum upstairs. But Elko isn't just home to gold rushers and rough-riding cowboys, as I discover at my final stop: the roadside Toki Ona restaurant. Along with the nearby Star Hotel & Bar, it's one of the last two places in town still serving traditional Basque fare. Here, I join a gathering of locals whose ancestors trace back to the Basque region of Spain. 'Our people started arriving in the mid 1800s, escaping Spanish oppression,' says 30-something Zach Arbillaga, handing me a steaming dish of cow's tongue stew, rich and aromatic in its thick gravy. 'They settled here, working as sheepherders and establishing homes and ranches' he adds. While Basque heritage is honoured year-round in Elko, things really heat up in July with the National Basque Festival, a weekend of folk dancing, wood chopping, handball tournaments and weightlifting. At one point, the event even included the running of the bulls – until it was deemed too dangerous to have massive bulls charging through Elko's tiny downtown. 'This was once the Basque epicentre of the US' Zach says, 'and its influence is still woven into the town's culture'. As I head out of town, veering back toward the jagged peaks, the roadside flickers with the warm glow of vintage neon motels and weathered cowboy shops. Elko might seem like a blink-and-you'll-miss-it desert stop, but beneath its rugged surface, it remains one of the last true strongholds of the American West. How to do it You can fly from London to Salt Lake City on airlines including Delta, United, American, JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic. From Salt Lake City, it's either a 40-minute flight to Elko Regional Airport or a 230-mile drive.
