Latest / The FEEL Podcast: Women’s Empowerment, Emotional Wellness and Self-Leadership with Melissa Crook / Laura Helgeson on UTI Advocacy, Misdiagnosis, & Mental Health: Creating Change & Choosing Kindness

Transcript

Laura Helgeson on UTI Advocacy, Misdiagnosis, & Mental Health: Creating Change & Choosing Kindness · The FEEL Podcast: Women’s Empowerment, Emotional Wellness and Self-Leadership with Melissa Crook

0:00
Hello and welcome to the Field podcast this week.
0:03
Today are ways to engage for this new episode with Laura
0:09
Helgeson are as follows. And this episode is titled Laura
0:13
Helgeson on UTI Advocacy, Misdiagnosis and Mental Health,
0:19
Creating Change and Choosing Kindness.
0:22
The ways to engage are as follows.
0:24
Do something for yourself today. Get a large coffee instead of a
0:28
medium. Take yourself out to a
0:30
restaurant that you've been wanting to try, maybe haven't
0:33
yet. Stay in for the evening instead
0:35
of a going out. If that feels more restful for
0:37
you, whatever it may be, do something kind for yourself.
0:42
It doesn't have to be big. The little things add up.
0:45
We hope this gives you some thoughtful ways to engage with
0:48
this week's new episode with Laura Helgeson.
0:52
She's talking about all things UTI advocacy and the effect this
0:57
has had on her mental health, emotional health, physical
1:00
health and the change she is working to create in the world
1:03
with kindness, empathy and well informed science and support.
1:08
Take good care and enjoy this episode with Laura.
1:28
Hello Field podcast audience, Welcome back this week.
1:31
I've got a friend here with me that some of you met during the
1:34
fall. If you listen to our radio show
1:37
that we had in 2024 on the Embracing Layers radio show.
1:41
And you got to meet Laura Helgeson then and hear her story
1:45
and the massively important work that she's doing in the space.
1:50
You're going to learn more about today as we unfold her story to
1:53
you. And now it's time to bring her
1:56
on the podcast. And I'm so happy to have her
1:58
here with me. I met her through our good
2:00
friends at Pod Match. And she is talking about in such
2:05
an honest, authentic, resourceful, helpful, brave way,
2:10
a topic we are not talking about enough in Women's Health and
2:14
that too many women are being affected by.
2:17
And there's way too many stigmas and narratives around this that
2:21
need to be unpacked and dealt with.
2:24
And we're going to get into what that is here shortly.
2:26
But before that, I want to introduce Laura by her character
2:30
traits and let her you all get to know her as the wonderful
2:34
human that she is. Laura describes herself as
2:38
someone with kindness. She's focused, she's driven, and
2:42
she's compassionate. Laura Hilgeson, Welcome to the
2:46
Field podcast. Thank you so much, Melissa.
2:48
It's great to be here. I'm so glad to have you here.
2:51
You're going to have so much to say on this and we're going to
2:54
get right into it. Talk to me about prioritizing
2:57
self-care in your life and what your journey has been with that.
3:02
This has a whole other level and layer and component for you, and
3:06
I'll let you get into that. But let's start with that piece
3:10
in your journey with self-care. Thank you.
3:15
For me, self-care has been a really long learning process
3:19
through Medical Journey, and it's been a lot about learning
3:25
to advocate for myself in medical settings and learning to
3:29
know what my limits are when I'm working, when I'm doing social
3:34
things, about what my body can show up and do, and when I need
3:39
to take a rest and become much more aware of the signals, which
3:43
I think is a learning curve. It certainly has been for me.
3:46
And so those are kind of my self-care practices.
3:52
I mean, I have a spiritual practice that I do every day and
3:56
that I think is key, keeps me on track and and I don't sway away
4:01
from hopefully seeing people and the goodness that they are.
4:06
So yeah. Yeah.
4:09
Thank you for that. That's really good.
4:10
You've had to unfortunately, practice this in the medical
4:14
setting because it's something you've dealt with since you were
4:17
really young. You've had ongoing urinary tract
4:21
infections your entire life. This is something we don't talk
4:27
about enough. It is one of those things that
4:29
no one wants to talk about. We still whisper about it.
4:32
There's still a lot of really unhealthy shame narratives
4:37
around this topic. And it also doesn't get treated.
4:42
I don't with the seriousness that it needs to be a treated
4:47
with in much of the medical environment and the amount of
4:51
discomfort and pain and difficulty that can come with
4:57
some with someone having this experience.
5:00
And you have had to deal with that since you were very young.
5:04
So this learning just advocate for yourself has had to be part
5:09
of yourself care to actually take care of yourself and your
5:13
health and your well-being. And then also, you know, this
5:18
kind of this goes into, you know, confidently setting
5:20
boundaries. You've had to be mindful about
5:25
who you let into your time and space, who you trust with your
5:29
time and space, who you're going to where you're going to give
5:31
your time and who has basically earned the right to inhabit that
5:38
because of this experience. So talk to me more about that.
5:43
Yes, I love the way you framed that really to know what I both
5:51
deserve in my own kind of opinion as far as what kinds of
5:55
relationships I'm in. I really choose to be with
5:58
people who I have kind of a synergy with and then it bring
6:02
me joy and there's kind of like, all I can say is it feels like a
6:07
flow and I just love being with people who feel like a flow.
6:11
For instance, this is kind of a negative example of that, but I
6:15
was interested in trying a new therapy and I had a a 20 minute
6:22
kind of phone interview with the physician who was going to be
6:26
doing this and I just didn't have the connection.
6:29
The connection was not there. And I got off that phone call
6:32
and I thought, you know, I love what she was saying, but this
6:36
isn't a good fit for me. So I have to move on and find
6:39
someone else. So it's things like that where
6:42
I've gotten to a point of really kind of strong discerning not
6:46
only with the healthcare workers but also with people, great
6:50
workers. You know, you have to choose
6:52
when you have limited energy. And I think this is true for
6:55
people who have a lot of energy. It just doesn't matter, right?
6:59
You choose to spend your time with and you know it's about
7:04
feeling good and you know, just some of these things don't feel
7:07
very good. But if you can feel good working
7:09
with someone, that's I think a main trait I look for.
7:14
Yeah, and you've learned to trust yourself.
7:16
I mean, I think you said something so important.
7:18
You trust that intuition. You trust the energy you're
7:21
sensing. You've listened to that, pay
7:23
attention that, and really allow that to inform you.
7:27
Right. So that has taken a long time.
7:30
I mean, I'm 59 years old and it's taken a long time to really
7:37
listen. I think it's a lot of inner
7:39
listening. How do I feel after being with
7:41
this person or what is that statement or the energy they're
7:45
giving me feel like to my body, my body is so sensitive because
7:48
of all the things it's been through and I have to just treat
7:51
it with incredible gentleness. And so learning to listen, I
7:56
think is one of the most valuable things we can do in
7:59
life. You know, it can be for
8:01
anything. It could be should I take sign
8:03
up for this contract for doing this thing?
8:05
Should I go on this vacation? You know, whatever.
8:09
We're just learning to listen to that inner knowing we all
8:12
haven't. It's just about developing a
8:14
relationship with it, I think. Yeah.
8:17
Yeah. We said that that relationship
8:19
is so important and in and treating it that way, I mean, I
8:22
think that's totally important to to approach it that way.
8:25
Thank you. You're going to have a lot to
8:27
say about this because this has impacted you so personally.
8:31
But taking care of our emotional, mental, physical,
8:35
spiritual health, all these spaces and places.
8:39
Talk to me about the importance of that for you.
8:43
Yeah, I really feel like that's the center of my life.
8:47
All the other things that I do, whether it be work or family
8:50
relationships or even with my dogs, whatever it is, stem from
8:56
taking care of myself emotionally, physically.
8:59
Like, for instance, it's been very, very cold where I live in
9:02
Minneapolis. It's been cold a lot this
9:04
winter. And one week my husband was gone
9:07
for an entire week. And I had these two giant dogs.
9:10
And I decided it was 17 below 0 and that the dogs were just not
9:17
going to have a walk that week because that was taking care of
9:20
myself. Even a year before this year, I
9:25
was still feeling guilt trippy from my thoughts about what the
9:29
dogs were experiencing. That I forced myself out the
9:32
door with my giant mittens and poop bags and all that stuff.
9:38
And I just decided we have a fenced in the yard.
9:40
I'm not doing that this time. And I was much happier.
9:43
It's just little steps like that.
9:45
I know that's just such a minor thing, but it was a big thing
9:48
for me. Well, if those minor things add
9:50
up, that is the way you prioritize your Wellness.
9:53
And honestly, the the ducks can get frostbite when it's below 15
9:57
below. So you probably help them too.
9:59
And they have a yard to run around in.
10:01
So it's not like they're cooped up in an apartment in the middle
10:03
of the city with no place to stretch their legs.
10:06
But I think it is, it is. It doesn't have to be those big
10:10
Randy OS things. It's those little ways we choose
10:12
to honor ourself that we, you know, that I think really add up
10:16
and matter. You have dealt with urinary
10:20
tract infections in a very, very severe way your whole life that
10:25
affects your mental and emotional health.
10:29
Talk to me about how you've learned to, to cope with that,
10:33
you've had to learn the hard way.
10:34
I mean, you've had to learn by experience.
10:36
There was no magic book on this SO talk.
10:39
To me about. That piece.
10:41
Right. So I have had urinary tract
10:45
infections or Utis since I was 2 years old and it's been so
10:49
almost 6 decades I've been experiencing these and they've
10:53
they've abdomen flowed throughout my life.
10:55
You know, I had some pretty horrific and traumatic
10:57
procedures done when I was very young, starting at around 4
11:02
years old. And that's sort of kind of an
11:06
interesting inner world for me, that kind of trauma feeling.
11:10
And then I still had, especially into my 20s, I started having
11:13
other procedures that were very traumatic and I have had to work
11:17
a lot with that trauma. So for instance, I hid this
11:22
condition from everyone except for my sister and my husband
11:29
until a little over two years ago when I started this
11:32
organization because I did not want anyone to know I was
11:36
suffering in this way. And we got to the point where I
11:39
couldn't keep it a secret anymore because I couldn't work
11:41
anymore. And, and I feel like just facing
11:45
it head on and kind of coming out and really just coming out
11:49
and talking about it has been extremely scary and extremely
11:54
liberating. So it's just been so healthy for
11:58
me to talk about it. And I think that that's what we
12:01
need to do with these vulnerable issues that people feel shame
12:05
around, which they shouldn't because the body is nothing to
12:08
be ashamed of. So, yeah, you know, it's, it's
12:13
how have I dealt with it? I think part of it is I just
12:16
kept going and kept living my life no matter what.
12:19
And I would finally broke down and get some pain management
12:23
maybe 10 years ago so that it could keep living my life.
12:27
It's just almost like being a reality but also kind of tucking
12:31
it away and then until I couldn't anymore.
12:34
Yeah. And that's, and that's really, I
12:36
think with any difficult thing it, it asks to be free at some
12:43
point. I don't want to say exposed, I
12:44
don't think that's the right word, but just to be free.
12:46
And I think it's really important to point out that we
12:50
are nuanced. We can feel multiple things at
12:53
one time. You were both scared and you
12:55
felt free. And you can feel both of those
12:58
things at the same time and carry them both and they're both
13:02
true. They're not one or the other.
13:05
It's a both and, and that is part of this, you know, as we're
13:09
tending to ourselves when we're dealing with hard things, when
13:13
we're carrying things where you don't want to talk about or
13:17
secrets or shame, when we're worried about people's responses
13:20
or we've had to deal with enough.
13:24
Because I, you know, I would say over the years, knowing, having
13:27
talked to you before, there's a lot of like minimizing of your
13:30
condition you've had to deal with over the years, especially
13:34
in the medical community. So there's a lot within you
13:37
that's telling you people won't understand.
13:40
I'm just not going to talk about it.
13:41
They won't get it. And I don't want to put up with
13:44
being gasoline anymore because I'm it's exhausting and it's not
13:48
helpful. And so, but, but you do get to a
13:52
point where, and I think that going back to that, that
13:54
Vander's piece and knowing who your people are and knowing who
13:57
you can trust, and then also trusting yourself that this is
14:01
going to be best for me in the long run.
14:03
And it's time for me to do this in honor of myself and also in
14:08
which this goes nicely into supporting ourselves and other
14:11
women and living unapologetically.
14:13
You are doing this now. And you're not only doing this
14:16
for yourself, you are working in ways that we'll get into
14:20
throughout this conversation of supporting other women in this
14:24
worldwide. And you're giving a voice to a
14:28
topic that literally has little to no global voice.
14:35
Like you all have collectively created one by being brave and
14:41
coming together and seeing an absolute need for it.
14:45
And to me, that's just so much of how you show up for yourself
14:49
and other women living unapologetically.
14:52
Would you agree with that? Or you have anything you want to
14:54
add to that piece. You know, I really agree with
14:57
everything you've said. Sometimes we, our greatest
15:01
suffering also is the greatest gift to the world.
15:04
If we take it and run with it, if we're if we're being nudged
15:08
to do that, like the right. Right, Right.
15:11
Well, that's really what was happening to me.
15:13
Have you ever done something where you just can't not do it?
15:16
Yeah, yeah. You not want to do it because
15:19
it's a huge undertaking, but there's something pushing you
15:22
from within that you just have to do it regardless of really
15:25
what you think about. Yeah, 100%.
15:28
I literally this podcast was that it's like we have to start
15:30
having these conversations. I don't know anything about a
15:34
podcast, but I'll find some people to help me and we're
15:37
going to start talking about these things.
15:39
That's exactly right. And I was a professional
15:42
musician and an interfaith minister, and here I am with
15:46
this illness my entire life and thinking I have no idea how to
15:50
start a business, but I'm going to do it because it's needed.
15:52
There was no other patient advocacy organization focused on
15:56
UTI's in the US Fortunately, we have some wonderful global
16:01
partners, but and we've kind of joined together to be as helpful
16:05
as possible. But yeah, I had no idea what I
16:08
was doing, and I just started, Yeah, you know, just take baby
16:12
steps. And you figured it out.
16:14
I mean, in this global coming together is recent in but it
16:18
took you know, I think so many times.
16:20
That's what I love about women. We see a need and we respond to
16:25
it and we are like, Nope, doesn't have to be this way.
16:29
There's no resource. I'll be the resource.
16:32
We'll start and I'm like, and I'm so glad you mentioned you're
16:36
a musician by trade and that is your creative.
16:41
You know, you've, you've done that your whole life.
16:43
That is what you've done. And so you're not coming from
16:46
this medical background, but you dug in.
16:50
You knew your own experience all too well.
16:53
You started doing the research, you found these other people in
16:56
Europe and Australia, and you connected all the dots and you
17:01
all came together to be a resource and an advocate and a
17:06
voice. And I have to think there are
17:08
women listening today. They're like, Oh my gosh,
17:11
there's a resource like that for us.
17:13
There are. So I mean Utis are so common.
17:18
Yes. They're so common and they vary
17:22
in the amounts and the regularity that people deal with
17:26
them. But I don't know any woman who
17:30
has not had at least one. I mean, you know, I just don't
17:34
know any, including myself. Now I've been I've only had a
17:38
couple my whole life and they were let's keep it that way.
17:43
I'm 55 crossing fingers because I know let's keep it that way
17:48
get older because I've watched that with a couple of
17:50
grandmothers and their mother-in-law.
17:52
So I know that these are things that can't.
17:54
So at this point of my life, very fortunate was able to, you
17:58
know, easily resolve them and and and and do adult practices
18:03
would help me not to get them again.
18:05
All those kinds of things that doesn't work for everybody.
18:08
I mean that's that is some are very much more chronic than
18:11
others and you were at the chronic end.
18:14
But you know, just like so many things in Women's Health because
18:20
of the so much more common in women than they are men for a
18:23
lot of reasons. And that biologically makes
18:26
sense. And like so many things, they
18:29
have been kind of pushed to the sidelines and not taking all
18:33
that seriously and, and, and pushing you into this space of
18:39
not being heard. That's very true.
18:44
Yeah. You know, you mentioned the
18:45
chronic and we really do address recurrent and chronic infections
18:49
because those are the ones that don't resolve easily.
18:52
Yeah, just to let everyone know, chronic UTI is not recognized in
18:59
our medical literature in the United States.
19:02
So that word is not to be found anywhere.
19:06
It has not yet been even recognized.
19:08
So when you talk to clinicians and researchers, you know
19:12
they're following, they're doing their best job following
19:14
guidelines. They can only really save your
19:16
current because there isn't a any sort of line item for
19:20
chronic and guidelines for chronic, right.
19:24
So I mean, we have some work to do.
19:26
We have so much work to do around so many things.
19:28
But just, you know, I have experienced chronic Utis since
19:33
menopause, the onset of menopause.
19:36
And I think people are in different phases of this.
19:40
It doesn't even really matter their age.
19:42
Menopause is a common time to come into this, but there are
19:47
various phases and intensities of this illness and it can be
19:52
quite dangerous. I mean it can certainly diminish
19:55
someones life to the point of not being able to work, losing
19:58
primary relationships because intimacy gets really affected by
20:02
this and. It is a major health problem.
20:09
You said you don't really know someone who hasn't had one, a
20:11
woman who hasn't had one. The number right now is like 60%
20:15
of women will get one in their lifetime, but 30% of those women
20:19
will go on to have recurrent and chronic UTI.
20:22
So it's a huge portion of their population.
20:26
Yes, it is. And it it just for some reason
20:31
it's been swept under the rug for so long.
20:33
I think it's been acknowledged as some sort of like a little
20:38
women's infection. You can just give them a handful
20:40
of antibiotics and it will get better.
20:43
Some people have that experience, which is fabulous.
20:45
I love that. But I would think at this point
20:49
the people more and more often are not having that experience
20:52
because the antibiotic resistance.
20:54
Exactly. Yeah, you only see them so many
20:57
times, and then your body builds A resistance and then you take
21:00
stronger ones and you build a resistance to that.
21:02
There's all kinds of dangers and side effects that go with that
21:05
reoccurrent, you know, prescription of antibiotics for
21:10
a lot of different reasons. Yeah, it messes your gut Biome
21:14
up big time, which just adds, you know, adds more.
21:18
I mean just you keep piling on the problems of things you're
21:21
already having. The problem that's sad is there
21:24
really isn't another sort of frontline treatment available.
21:28
So what are you going to do with a woman who is possibly going
21:30
septic from Uro sepsis, sepsis from a UTI?
21:36
Are you going to just withhold antibiotics or from someone who
21:39
can't function without antibiotics?
21:40
Even they're not curative, they're sort of, they make the
21:44
infection less obvious. You can go through your day.
21:48
So it's a really, it's a conundrum right now.
21:51
And there are other therapies in other parts of the world that
21:54
hopefully will come to market here.
21:57
And there are other scientists that are working on other kinds
22:00
of therapies and the way therapies are are given to
22:06
somebody. So but those just aren't here
22:09
yet. So what do we do in the meantime
22:13
when you know, women are suffering and it is mostly women
22:17
until like geriatric age, right? It is mostly women.
22:22
Women are suffering to such a large degree.
22:25
And it really is a ginormous burden on, I've heard it's over
22:29
$2 billion burden on our on our, you know, financial system every
22:35
year. Yeah, so and that's probably
22:38
very modest. So if I yeah, that's just.
22:40
What we know about. Right, Exactly.
22:43
Right. Just the numbers of supplements
22:46
and various things that an individual has to pay for out of
22:49
pocket to try because they're desperate, you know?
22:52
Yeah, right. Well, and so you, you've
22:55
answered the call to this and, and, and decided, OK, I'm going
22:59
to be a resource and a source of support and we're going to let
23:02
you share about all of those resources before we wrap up
23:05
today. But I want to get into, you
23:09
know, this is you are a kind person by spirit.
23:15
And so this really your why and your values behind this work is
23:19
very, very tied to your compassionate kindness pieces of
23:25
your character traits. But but talk to me about this
23:29
pathway of the why and behind starting this like it was it was
23:35
it? I think I know the answer, but I
23:37
want you to share with the the listeners.
23:39
What did it really just come down to?
23:42
No one. There's no resources for
23:44
patients. There's nobody helping patients.
23:47
Somebody's got to do this. Is that kind of where it birthed
23:50
out of? Yeah, I, I have gotten to the
23:53
point that I was unable to leave my house really because I was in
23:58
so much pain. I had so much frequency.
24:00
I had to stay really close to the bathroom and I just was
24:03
becoming very non functional. And I'm kind of a physical way.
24:06
My brain was still good. Yeah.
24:08
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
24:10
So, so I kept looking for AUS resources because there are
24:16
other resources that are available to people who live
24:20
here, but they're just nothing. There wasn't anything with a
24:23
patient advocacy kind of vent that that was the focus around
24:30
UT is in the US and I kept thinking this is can't be true.
24:34
There are support groups that are wonderful, but sometimes I
24:36
think you just need an organization to get into other
24:39
places that maybe support groups and individuals would have
24:42
trouble getting into. Well, I just thought this an
24:47
organizational route is the way I have to go rather than an
24:51
individual route so that I'm taken seriously in a kind of a
24:54
different sort of way. Sure.
24:57
So I just decided it became this thing that was so loud inside of
25:01
me that I had to kind of discharge it, you know, like I
25:04
have to start because the inner push is so loud that I'm not
25:09
starting is going to drive me a little bit crazy.
25:11
So I just started and the first thing I did was built a website
25:17
and I really did reach out to especially live UTI Free in the
25:21
UK there, the lead there, the CEO there, Melissa Kramer.
25:27
I have many Melissas in my life by the way.
25:31
Unfortunately. They all have right now.
25:34
I'm working very, you know, a lot with three different
25:37
Melissas. Unfortunately, you all have
25:39
different last name letters, you know, So I'm so grateful for
25:42
that. Yeah, yeah.
25:47
Must be. The Melissas are just so
25:48
wonderful. OK.
25:50
I'll take it. Thank you.
25:52
Yeah. Yeah.
25:53
So I. So I talked with her and she was
25:56
so helpful and she really became a mentor to me and I still
25:59
regard her as a mentor to me today.
26:02
And we become collaborators as well.
26:06
And really she helped me to sort of see maybe where I needed to
26:10
begin and I could check in with her here and there.
26:12
She was really helpful to me. So I just started, I built a
26:15
website and I kept thinking like what needs to be on here?
26:19
And I just kept adding to it. And you know, we've added more
26:24
things as the years have gone by and I plan to make it even an
26:28
even better resource as time goes by.
26:31
But I made myself going to a scientific conference.
26:34
I was so scared. They were having a Euro Biome
26:38
conference in San Diego. My I had it began us in January
26:42
of 2023. And this this conference was in
26:46
March of 2023. So I, I barely even had any
26:49
business cards printed. Yeah, I went to the conference.
26:55
But part of the reason I went is because Melissa Kramer from Live
26:58
UTI Free flew over to the United States for this conference and I
27:02
just want to meet her. And I ended up making so many
27:06
wonderful connections with researchers who are doing
27:09
amazing work in this in the space.
27:12
And that was just a really valuable thing.
27:15
And I realized I could go to these research conferences and
27:18
hear about what's happening and hopefully try to fill a gap
27:22
between what research knows and what's being taught or what
27:25
clinicians know. Because in a way, clinicians are
27:29
really at a disadvantage because they don't have good tools.
27:32
They don't have good testing tools.
27:33
They don't have good treatment tools, and they're not getting
27:36
the information trickling down from research to let them know,
27:41
like, here's what is really happening and This is why the
27:45
testing doesn't work very well and those kinds of things.
27:48
And if I can be a bridge at all in that way, I would love to be,
27:52
yeah. Yeah, I think you it brought up
27:55
something so important and a guest that I had on last season,
27:58
Bethany Corbin. She's doing playing that role in
28:01
the fem tech industry where she's working with the
28:04
technicians who are creating all these things for women self.
28:08
And she's the go between each of them and letting the doctors and
28:11
practitioners know and trying to bring them all together and like
28:15
this. And she's she's an attorney and
28:17
a former law professor by trade, but that had been working in got
28:22
involved in the femtech industry through one of her cases.
28:26
And it's like, wait a minute, this is a place I can go, and I
28:30
can be that voice in the middle that hopefully brings everyone
28:33
together to understand each other, even exist.
28:37
And that's really. Yeah, exactly true.
28:40
How encouraging it is to know that there's actually people
28:43
doing research on this that isn't just on.
28:46
You're not just on this island of this thing that's never going
28:50
to be solved, that nobody knows about or nobody cares enough
28:54
about to research or do anything about.
28:57
I mean, even just what that does mentally to know it exists and
29:01
that you can let other women know, other people know, other
29:05
practitioners know, hey, did you know about this?
29:07
Did you know this? Right.
29:09
There's a UTI Global Alliance that's based here in the United
29:13
States, but it is a global alliance of researchers, and
29:17
they are working on Utis. And, you know, thank goodness
29:21
there's a group like that. There's another wonderful group
29:25
that is NIH sponsored, and I really don't know what's going
29:28
to happen with NIH sponsored things at this moment, but
29:33
they're called Caribou and that's an acronym and they're
29:36
doing wonderful research on benign urologic conditions.
29:39
So things that aren't cancer. Yeah, really have so open to me
29:43
about including me as a patient and helping me to understand
29:48
what they're doing, including me and some of their education
29:51
efforts. And I've just been so grateful.
29:54
There are some good people doing great things, yeah.
29:56
That's good to know and also what huge kudos to you for
30:01
taking this on and seeing this need because if you're gonna,
30:04
you're helping move the needle in this conversation and and
30:08
again, just giving hope. I know there's women listening
30:11
today that didn't know this was happening, that didn't know this
30:14
is this is going on that this exists.
30:16
This is something they can ask about and you know and bring up.
30:21
And so thank you so much for that and for and for being the
30:25
kind, compassionate person you are and being able to take this
30:28
this. Thing that's been.
30:30
A burden to you in so many huge ways, but also like, OK, wait a
30:35
minute, I got to do something with this.
30:37
We got to, there's a way. We got to move this
30:39
conversation. We've got to move this needle.
30:42
But I don't want to just leave. Go ahead.
30:44
But then I want to segue into something.
30:47
I think the thing that our vision really is to talk about
30:50
UTI everywhere and have it regarded seriously because there
30:54
is so much dismissal in the healthcare standing and maybe
30:57
it's because the doctors just don't have any good resources,
30:59
right? You're not.
31:01
There is a collaborative thing that needs to be happening in
31:04
the healthcare office between the healthcare worker and the
31:08
patient. But just the idea that we need
31:11
to be able to talk about this, like if this were a lung
31:14
infection or a throat infection, you could say to your employer,
31:18
I can't come in. I've had a lung infection that
31:21
is like so entrenched in my tissues of my lungs that I
31:25
haven't been able to get rid of it for 10 years and I can't
31:28
function anymore. And you'd be fine saying that to
31:31
an employer, right? I mean, some people might be
31:35
hesitant because they don't like to do that with employers, but
31:38
that wouldn't be a big deal. But you ask them to go the same
31:41
person who has a UTI, say I have a urinary tract infection and
31:45
it's diminishing my life that I cannot come into work physically
31:49
anymore. I don't think anyone would do
31:51
it. No, no, because they'd be
31:53
passive needed like this. It's.
31:55
Just the body part. Yeah, yeah.
31:57
Or what's wrong with you? You're not very tough.
31:59
I mean those, you know, you know the OR you must be dirty.
32:03
Yes, yes, yes, yeah, that. Yes.
32:07
Oh my gosh. Why not?
32:08
Why don't you take care of yourself?
32:10
It's infection. Yeah.
32:13
Being hygiene, you know, might have something to do with it,
32:16
but you know, and large no it it doesn't, right.
32:20
Yeah, yeah. Again, those old stories and
32:22
narratives and stigmas that exist that don't apply, that
32:25
aren't actually based in science.
32:28
I mean, there's so many places to that.
32:31
Right. I want to segue to you.
32:33
The music is a big part of your life in a big part of your
32:37
existence. Talk to me about how that has
32:40
been. You know, it's such an important
32:44
part of your who you are as a person too and the role that
32:48
that is played in your life. I was born into a professional,
32:55
a family of professional classical musicians.
32:57
They were string players, you know, the highest level in get
33:02
orchestras in the country. And so it's kind of the family,
33:08
you know, the family job, you know, I was kind of expected to
33:13
go into this and I did. One thing that I didn't do was I
33:17
did not go by my parents kind of rules, which were you can play
33:21
violin, Viola, cello or piano. And I was like, no, I'm going to
33:27
play the bassoon. Which I love.
33:30
Just like, no, no, like those string instruments.
33:33
That's your thing. If I'm going to do this, I'm
33:36
going to do it my way. I tried.
33:40
Violin for a very long time, but it became quite obvious to me
33:43
that was never going to be as good as my parents.
33:45
So I switched course and I became a professional
33:49
bassoonist. I went to music Conservatory and
33:52
I played in operas and ballets and just every kind of thing you
33:57
can imagine. I substituted with some major
33:59
Symphony orchestras and it was an incredible experience.
34:03
I mean, I recorded with Janet Jackson.
34:06
It was just a cool experience. I love traveling, but then again
34:11
I had a physical thing that happened where my shoulder just
34:14
was kind of falling apart and was unable to hold the
34:16
instrument because it's. Not, I'll tell you.
34:19
Right. The yes, it's a large
34:21
instrument, The loss of that there's an intimacy with
34:26
performing with, with like, especially with chamber music,
34:30
like small groups playing together.
34:33
There's an intimacy of breathing together, looking at each other,
34:35
giving each other little cues of what you're going to do next.
34:39
And the loss of that was really one of the most I felt, I felt a
34:45
lot of grief around that. I still feel grief around it.
34:47
It's been like almost 20 years so that since I stopped playing.
34:50
So. But it's shaped everything.
34:53
If somebody would say was to say, you know, what was your
34:56
career, I'd say music. Even though I'm doing this now,
34:59
I would still say music because I just feel like it's in my
35:01
cells. Yeah, it's so.
35:03
Such an intricate part of you and that really this really goes
35:06
nicely into living out of your own expectations versus others.
35:09
You went on your own Rd. even with your parents.
35:12
You're like gonna go I'm hearing this way and it worked out
35:15
wonderfully. I think it's also important to
35:18
that we acknowledge the need to mourn when a season ends.
35:23
We talk a lot about the important of mourning losses of
35:27
people. I don't think we talk enough
35:31
about mourning the loss of a season.
35:34
You hear it a little bit here and there when people retire,
35:38
but at like it, you know, an expected age because of what was
35:43
happening with your body. You had to, I would imagine, cut
35:47
this short before you were feeling ready to like this was
35:51
not a choice. 25 to me, yeah, 2530 years short for sure.
35:56
I would still be performing now. Yeah, it was a big loss and, you
36:02
know, it sent me on other journeys, but I that doesn't
36:05
mean I don't grieve it. Exactly.
36:07
Yeah, right. And I think you, I mean you were
36:09
able to shift gears and see other opportunities and take a
36:12
hold of those at the same time. I think again, it's important to
36:16
realize that when a season comes to end, it doesn't have to be.
36:21
And you talked about that community piece.
36:23
Communities are such an important part of our health
36:26
journey and as something such and that was such a unique,
36:31
intimate community that you can't really recreate in another
36:35
way. I don't know of anything,
36:38
anything like it playing chamber music.
36:41
I'm trying to think if there's anything like it.
36:43
People, you know, in a choir and a small chamber choir or more
36:47
people have experience with that.
36:49
And maybe they aren't, they don't have a conductor and
36:51
they're breathing together in order to go into the next thing
36:55
or the next phrase. So maybe more people have
36:57
experience with that, but I just can't.
36:59
I'll have to think about that. Melissa, this would be like
37:02
that. Yeah.
37:04
I think it's important to bring that up because things that we
37:07
need to take time and sit with and process and not minimize.
37:11
I mean, I want, I want the take away today for women to be don't
37:15
minimize these things that are hard for you.
37:19
Don't minimize and compare. We are so guilty because of not,
37:26
and I don't mean guilty in a like a shameful guilty of just
37:29
by nature of the culture we live in and, and, and the way we're
37:34
told to process and move through and handle things or not.
37:38
I mean, move on, get on with it, whatever exactly we don't, you
37:42
know, pay attention again, goes back to those cues and, and it's
37:46
okay to feel what you feel. And it's good to advocate for
37:51
yourself and don't allow someone to minimize your experience and
37:56
the space and place and ways you need to move through it, deal
38:01
with it, you know, acknowledge it, all those things.
38:05
So, so thank you so much. I wanted to share that piece
38:07
because that's a part of your story too, and, and what you've
38:11
learned from that. So, so thank you so much for
38:14
that, which goes nicely into accepting the layered aspects of
38:18
ourselves. They're exactly, I mean, this is
38:21
exactly layered, right? Yes, we talked about some of
38:24
your layers already and these are tricky layers, some of them.
38:28
So talk to me about that, that layers piece and just being able
38:33
to own and acknowledge and you don't have to love, but getting
38:38
OK with minus the shame and feeling regret and feeling like
38:45
you got to like not talk about that as much and just getting to
38:49
this space where you really are in today with your layers.
38:55
I feel like layers are so much of the life journey, right?
38:58
I mean, we are one way when we're especially like, I'm
39:02
thinking about like middle school ages when we're going
39:05
through puberty and we're just in a certain kind of way then.
39:09
And then as we head into our young adulthood, we just have so
39:12
much, hopefully some energy and maybe a lot of idealism, you
39:18
know, things like that. This is, you know, the way it
39:21
should be in the world or whatever.
39:23
I think I don't know if it's true for everyone, but for me,
39:26
as I've aged and gone through really hard things, I've come to
39:31
a lot of grey. Like it's just like, I can't
39:34
really judge what somebody else is going through.
39:36
And you said something earlier about comparing.
39:39
Oh my gosh, that's a, you know, terrible, terrible rabbit hole
39:42
to go down comparison. Like, oh, I should be able to do
39:46
it because someone else can do it or whatever those comparisons
39:50
are. For me, it's been really about
39:54
embracing the fact that I am chronically I'll, that it don't
39:59
have to be a different way. That is a challenge to me quite
40:02
often, even still, right, You know, It's like, oh, I should be
40:06
able to do this, you know? Backwoods ski, whatever it is
40:11
that my that my family is doing, but I just can't right now.
40:14
That's just the way it is. I used to be able to.
40:16
So there's been a lot of loss with physical abilities and
40:21
that's a whole thing. Anybody who is experiencing any
40:25
illness, you know, whether it be for a week with a cold or, you
40:28
know, cancer diagnosis or a lifetime of chronic illness or
40:32
whatever it is, just dealing with the loss of certain parts
40:36
of your life is, you know, those are layers.
40:40
And you have. For me, it's about embracing
40:43
that grief. I have to, like, love it and be
40:46
with the grief and not run away from it, hold it close to my
40:49
heart because then I feel like I can manage being with it, like I
40:53
can manage my life. But my, my life doesn't feel so
40:56
bad as long as as I've loved up that part of me that feels sad
41:01
that I couldn't do the ski. Yeah.
41:04
Well, and someone said something to you one time and I think it
41:07
is a really can be a really healthy way to look at it too,
41:11
is that grief comes because you loved that thing.
41:14
So, well, yes, you enjoyed that thing.
41:17
And so being able to like with love comes grief and it comes in
41:22
different ways. And you can like, kind of like,
41:25
you don't have to love the part that you can't enjoy it anymore,
41:29
but you can also appreciate the fact that you did.
41:32
And you got to have that experience and, and you and sit
41:35
with the grief and honor the grief because that thing was let
41:39
experience like, you know, doing these things with your family,
41:42
you loved, loved the skiing, but also the community with the
41:45
family piece. And you got to have that
41:47
experience and you knew it and you felt it and you loved it.
41:50
So it's natural and normal that you would grieve it and, and so
41:55
you can, it can and embrace that grief, knowing of the of the
41:59
love that was experienced in that way.
42:03
You know what I mean? Well, I absolutely know what you
42:06
mean, but I'm not sure I'm as far along as you're describing.
42:09
Oh, I'm not sure I am either. Yeah, I'm like.
42:13
Blows me I can't do it anymore. I'm still in the almost age for
42:18
sure when something like that happens, but it gave me a
42:21
different way to think about it. Like it it love that.
42:24
You know, like perspective. But I, I had that experience, so
42:28
I know what it is. And that's why I'm grieving.
42:31
Yeah. Yeah, and that's what it is.
42:33
And so it's like, so it's like because I'm, I'm, I don't want
42:36
to miss out on anything. So I am like, and I you know,
42:40
you especially when it comes to my family and my kids, I'd like,
42:43
I will do anything to not have to miss out on something if I,
42:46
if there's any way I can. But yeah, when she when this,
42:50
when she said this to me, I was like, that's a really healthy,
42:55
yeah, informed way to look at that.
42:57
And even if you're not there yet, which I'm not, it it, it
43:01
just gave a different lens. I'm like, OK, that has a lens.
43:04
Everything really ebbs and flows like we, we create strength
43:08
around something and then something else comes up and
43:10
you're like, oh, I still, I have to create more strength now
43:12
because that thing is here staring at me in the face,
43:15
right? So life is a very interesting
43:18
thing and we just have to be gentle with ourselves and know
43:21
that whatever it is that we're doing, that we can offer good.
43:25
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. You're doing that.
43:28
You're you're exhibit A of that so much.
43:32
You really are in living out, feel, finding empowerment,
43:36
embracing layers, which you have learned to do through all of
43:39
these steps and seasons in your life.
43:43
Talk to me about how that has impacted your relationship with
43:46
yourself as well as your relationship with other people.
43:52
So after I had to stop playing music, I had this word in my
43:58
head which was minister. And I grew up in a Jewish
44:02
family. And so it would not stop.
44:05
It's the same thing of those Internet just sometimes they
44:08
come to me as like a word or a voice, or sometimes they just
44:10
come to me as a feeling like I can't not do something.
44:13
But this was like minister. And when I have, you know, gifts
44:19
from the creator or whatever it is that I'm supposed to do,
44:21
usually it's pretty insistent. Yeah.
44:23
And so it was like, minister, minister, minister for 3/4 of a
44:27
year would not stop no matter where I went or what I did.
44:30
It was in my brain. And so I thought, what can I do
44:34
that my first thing was, oh, I can minister to people just
44:37
being a nice person and being compassionate and helping when
44:40
needed or whatever. And then it would still would
44:43
not go away. So I found an interfaith
44:45
seminary in New York, and I studied there for two years, and
44:50
that was the as soon as I do the thing that the whatever the
44:53
voice wants me to do, then it stops.
44:56
Yeah. All right, you got there.
44:57
Thanks for staying with me. OK, same thing with Let's talk
45:02
UTI. That was in my brain since about
45:06
nine months ago and it wouldn't stop until I decided to change
45:09
the name of the business. So yeah, it's just funny.
45:13
But anyway that process, I can't remember your exact question
45:18
right now, but. Just your question, Yeah,
45:21
absolutely. So you have on this journey, you
45:23
have really learned how to find your empowerment, embrace your
45:26
layers. Yeah.
45:27
And and so how that has impacted your relationship with yourself
45:31
as well as relationship with other people.
45:33
So you follow that particular journey.
45:36
Thank you for refreshing me. Yeah, that's me through seminary
45:40
and the practices that we had to do of all of the world's
45:42
religions, maybe not all, but most of the world's religions.
45:46
We had to take them on for a few months and then we'd move on to
45:49
another one. And it really was so impactful
45:54
and having me learn myself and also be able to see others that,
45:59
you know, all really the same. It doesn't matter, you know,
46:02
what you're wearing or what religious practice you do or
46:05
what you call God or whatever, you know, it's all basically the
46:08
same. We're just, you know, showing up
46:11
trying to be to love each other. And so that process was
46:16
extremely important to my embracement, like my, me
46:20
embracing myself. And then I developed a course on
46:24
forgiveness. Forgiveness is path to
46:26
wholeness, which I taught for quite a while to people who were
46:29
struggling with addiction and their family members.
46:32
And it was such a beautiful learning for me.
46:38
I, you know, if they got something out of it, great.
46:40
But I really learned a lot through that process.
46:43
And just basically that forgiveness.
46:45
We can't skip over how we feel like if you're not ready to go
46:49
to that forgiveness place, still hold and embrace all of your
46:52
whatever you're going through about whatever situation it it
46:56
is, But that ultimately, you know, forgiveness is just sort
46:59
of like a lack of judgement. It's just acceptance of other
47:04
people and that they're they're sort of holiness and also of
47:09
mine as well. Yeah, I love that.
47:11
I love that interfaith concept. I think we could really use that
47:15
in the world right now to create the empathy and understanding
47:19
that there are multiple paths and ways, and there's going to
47:23
be different paths and ways that work for everyone.
47:26
But if we can honor each other's values within that, rather than
47:30
pointing fingers and being my way or the highway.
47:33
We can admire the highway. Counterintuitive to a loving
47:37
God, it's just. So counterintuitive.
47:39
Exactly. And also it it's kind of boring,
47:42
honestly. Yeah, much more interesting to
47:45
have other things to learn from or look at or, you know, just
47:49
like examples of other things. You don't even have to even buy
47:52
into it. It's just like, oh, this is how
47:53
they do it. Well, just.
47:56
Perspectives and practices that might align with you.
47:59
The ability to take all these beautiful pieces and parts and
48:04
bring them together and see the good and the value in all of
48:09
them. I think it's incredible.
48:11
And then that you were able to kind of share that component.
48:14
I think forgiveness is such an interesting conundrum.
48:18
I think for people that come from a very strict evangelical
48:22
like conservative type of background, because it's so many
48:27
times does not allow you the space to get to a point where
48:32
you're actually ready. Right.
48:34
We need to allow that. What my I've heard people in my
48:38
community call it spiritual bypass.
48:40
If you're not allowed that time to be held, you know, like let's
48:45
say somebody betrayed you to just feel what that feels like.
48:48
And yeah. They just skipped me.
48:50
I forgive that. Person, yeah, they hurt you like
48:53
that's a real thing, you know, and you're experiencing what
48:56
that feels like. And so once you do get beyond
49:00
that sort of like intensity of the hurt and it could take to
49:04
get there or it could take a day or it could take a month or
49:08
whatever. It just depends on how how it is
49:10
for you. Once you get to that place where
49:13
it's calmer, then you can start to adapt some of the forgiveness
49:18
practices to see their wholeness, to see the the truth
49:21
in them. Maybe they're not acting out of
49:23
the truth in them, but the truth in them is truly love, right?
49:28
Yeah, but takes a while to get there and we can't skip over the
49:30
middle part. Yeah, you can't.
49:32
Exactly. And I get to the, you know, the
49:35
I I have, I am working really hard too.
49:38
I have not. I talk about this a lot right
49:40
now because I need to hear it every day because I have not
49:42
mastered it. But the ability to be curious
49:45
rather than judgmental. It's really hard.
49:48
It is very hard, but it's something that I try that I try
49:53
to utilize to keep me on tracks first with myself and like, OK,
49:58
that's, that's coming up for me. Instead of like shaming that or
50:01
talking badly to myself about it, let's get curious about it.
50:05
And then that enables me to apply that same principle to
50:10
other people, whether it's people I don't understand that I
50:13
know very well. But I'm just like, Oh my gosh,
50:16
where I can at least get to a place of I don't have to like
50:18
what they've done with it, but I can at least get to a place of
50:21
like, given this narrative in their life, I can see how they
50:27
could get here. It's not what I would have
50:30
chosen. And I don't think it's great,
50:33
you know, and it it's going to, you know, impact the way I I for
50:37
me to healthily engage with them.
50:39
But it takes away that moral thing of you're you're bad, I'm
50:47
good. Yeah, exactly.
50:49
And that's the kind of the key problem right now, period.
50:54
Feel that like and be curious. Like you said, I think we'd have
50:58
a very different world. Yeah, I do too.
51:00
I just too. Yeah.
51:01
Thank you so much for that. That was so good.
51:03
And so talk. So your relationships you have
51:07
we talked about earlier, you've had to be very like very mindful
51:12
of who was safe and who you could share things with and who
51:16
you could explore with. Talk to me about that, getting
51:20
their peace and being kind of at peace with that because you had
51:24
to go through a lot of difficult things, especially in the
51:28
medical field of getting to a spaces and places.
51:31
But also personally too, it's difficult.
51:33
Right. Here in it impacts so many, so
51:36
many, you know, for the UTI piece, it impacts so many parts
51:39
of your life, your ability to be socially present, engage and
51:42
tend to see all those. Things right, You know, I don't
51:48
think those things ever go away for people.
51:50
They certainly have them for me. I have a situation right now
51:52
that I'm trying to deal with that is challenging.
51:55
And you know, sometimes I think the best thing that I've learned
51:58
to do in situations is to say, let me get back to you and then
52:03
just step away, Give it to, you know, a higher power and say,
52:08
you know, how would you have me handle this and just listen, but
52:12
then listen not like make it up or you know what I mean?
52:16
So that I don't react out of, you know, an immediate feeling
52:21
of anger or irritation or whatever it is or even for good
52:25
things, you know, like let me get right back to you on this
52:28
because you do. I sign that contract that's
52:31
going to give me a lot of money or whatever.
52:33
Do you know what I mean? This is the big thing, right?
52:35
So I think we just have to be give ourselves a little time to
52:39
process what's happening and then we'll come out the other
52:43
side. I hope with or this happens for
52:45
me. I I hope it come up out the
52:48
other side with like, I have integrity for myself.
52:51
It's really not about other people.
52:53
It's about how I feel that I am in in integrity, that I haven't
52:57
stomped all over everyone. And honestly, I just really feel
53:00
like every time I do something like this, it's really a
53:02
reflection of my own healing. Like I need to do this for me,
53:06
right? This person's giving me the
53:08
opportunity to find a way that I don't have to have these like
53:12
little things always, like turning the screw at me or
53:15
something like that. Yeah.
53:16
Yeah. Thank you for that.
53:17
That's so good. I love that in integrity.
53:19
Piece if we are in integrity and honoring ourselves, we are going
53:23
to show up that way in the people we're engaging with.
53:27
And and integrity draws integrity.
53:30
People figure out real quickly. We teach people how to treat us
53:35
in so many ways subtly that we don't understand that.
53:39
It's like if that line in the sand is your integrity and your
53:43
values, then that really puts up, OK, this is how I'm showing
53:47
up. Therefore, this is what I will
53:50
be drawn to and will be drawn to me as well when I when I
53:54
approach it in this same thing with medical, anything medical.
53:57
Procedures, prescriptions you may or may not want to take or
54:00
whatever you can say to the clinician.
54:03
You know, I hear you. You know, this interesting.
54:07
Give me like, I'd like to go do some of my own research and get
54:10
back to you. You don't have to answer right
54:12
then they they don't have to be up on a pillar over you because
54:17
often times, especially in the UTI world, patients often times
54:21
know a lot more than clinicians as far as you know, what
54:24
research knows. And you know, if they know that
54:28
the testing is up to 70% inaccurate, then their integrity
54:33
is intact. If they say this testing doesn't
54:36
seem to really work, even if the physician might not like that,
54:40
you know? It is OK.
54:43
I'm so glad you brought that up because.
54:45
We treat medical doctors so many times as experts, and not that
54:48
they aren't, but also they're practitioners.
54:51
It's a practice and one of my Rochelle Davis was on a a panel
54:56
show and she's been a podcast guest as well with me.
54:59
She talked about, let's remember, practice is a key
55:02
component of this ongoing research, ongoing learning
55:06
exactly pay for you to advocate for yourself.
55:10
And if that person, that doctor, that practitioner doesn't
55:13
respond in a way that is open to that, you can find another one.
55:18
There are exactly you don't have.
55:20
You don't have to put up with that.
55:22
So that's exactly right. Yeah, exactly.
55:25
I think as women, we really do need to have a strong advocacy
55:30
muscle in us because, yeah, no one else is gonna do it, no.
55:34
No and. Nobody knows our bodies like we.
55:36
Do we're the ones having in our bodies and having our
55:39
experience. No one else can speak for that.
55:42
Thank you so much. So good.
55:43
All right, we are down to the rapid fire.
55:46
Name 5 activities that nourish you resting.
55:54
I love watching Netflix. And other platforms.
55:57
That nourishes me. I love, love, love taking walks
56:00
in nature. And that's been sometimes a
56:02
little out of rage, but I just love it so much.
56:05
Below in Minneapolis. Yeah.
56:07
Yeah, exactly. Right, it springs out exactly.
56:14
And I love being with my dogs. They're just goofy and funny.
56:18
These also drive me a little crazy, but they're funny, you
56:20
know, They bring lightness to my life.
56:22
And then also, I love reading. Yeah, I have a weird.
56:27
Genre that I always read. Which is stuff about stories
56:31
regarding World War 2. Like usually it's women's
56:34
stories around World War 2. We've been in that genre for
56:38
like. 20 years, I do not know. Why I can't get out of it?
56:40
There are a lot of books. There are and.
56:43
I love a good women's history narrative around those.
56:48
Me too. I because there's so many women,
56:50
there's actually a podcast that focuses on that.
56:52
I can't remember the name of it right now, but it focuses on
56:55
women in history and going back thousands of years that we've
56:59
never heard about, that we've never learned about that are
57:02
doing that, have done remarkable things.
57:04
So I love that. That's so good.
57:05
All right, 5 words on how you want to feel the next six
57:09
months. I want to feel pain free.
57:14
Oh. Yeah, I think it's a little
57:16
unrealistic. To me, but I would love that.
57:18
Yeah, I would like to feel free. I think more so than pain free
57:21
is just free. Yeah, in your spirit, not the.
57:24
My spirit and how I move in the world.
57:27
And that would be. So great.
57:28
So I don't know if that was one or two words.
57:32
I would like to experience love for myself, from myself to
57:36
myself and with other people. That was 3 words.
57:44
Laughter, just love laughter. Such a bond for everything and
57:51
family so good and I think you know those. 5 words are really
57:57
key components for us right now in this season of that we're in.
58:02
And you know, you and I are in the US, so I don't think I have
58:05
to tell anybody who's paid half attention to the headlines.
58:09
It's a little chaotic here right now.
58:12
And for women, there's a lot of concerns, you know, about those
58:16
things that we have talked about today and in terms of our health
58:20
and research, the freedom piece, the team free and multiple ways
58:25
piece that, you know, I mean, in the holding family close.
58:29
So there's a lot of value and meaning in those things right
58:32
now. And so thank you for sharing
58:34
that. All right, let people know,
58:36
Laura, how they can find you and follow you.
58:40
And this will all be on our resources page at
58:43
embracinglayers.com. Listeners that share with people
58:47
real quick right now how to OK, great.
58:50
Our website is Let's talk. Uti.org there's no apostrophe in
58:54
the let's Instagram is at let's talk UTI and Facebook is the 3
59:01
words let's talk UTI and yeah that we have some wonderful
59:06
resources on our website A lot of blogs now that have been
59:10
developed, you know just really about things like advocating for
59:13
yourself or what is a a recurrent UTI, those kinds of
59:18
things. It's a great resource We have
59:20
some support groups that you can link to through our website and
59:24
some advanced testing choices that you can link to There's a
59:27
whole bunch of things so it's kind of fun for people to like
59:30
just move around and find what find if they find something that
59:33
really suits them Yeah I'm so glad you bred the Facebook.
59:36
I think that the. Community piece in this is so
59:40
important to know you're not alone because these these things
59:44
that we experience can feel so isolate I don't have to tell you
59:48
you know yes that's why you created this is to lessen that
59:52
feeling of isolation and let women know you're not alone in
59:56
this we're gonna talk about it we're gonna highlight it and
1:00:00
we're gonna make sure we're in tune to the places that are
1:00:04
doing something about it and letting the medical.
1:00:08
You know world know hey, we're here and and we and we need you
1:00:13
to pay attention. So thank you so much for
1:00:16
creating that. I know that that is such a huge.
1:00:19
There is something and that's good for your mental and
1:00:22
emotional health to know. It's all good for me, given me a
1:00:25
purpose so I don't just have to, you know, be.
1:00:28
Strapped to my home without something really mind engaging
1:00:32
and challenging to do. So I'm really happy to have that
1:00:36
to do, honestly. Yeah.
1:00:38
Yeah, Absolutely. Yeah.
1:00:39
Well, thank you so much for your time today.
1:00:41
I've loved this. Conversation I knew you would
1:00:44
have so much to offer us ladies, take good care of yourselves and
1:00:49
let if you're not one who's had this experience with UTI
1:00:54
specifically, I know you know women that have let women know
1:00:58
that this resource exists. Let women know that they need to
1:01:03
to inform themselves and they can start asking their doctors.
1:01:06
Do you know about the research? Have you heard about this?
1:01:09
Are you connected to it? It's by creating more dialogue
1:01:14
and asking the questions and don't let them tell you
1:01:17
nothing's being done. Like no, no, no, yes, it is.
1:01:20
It's right here. And and advocate for yourself
1:01:25
and know that you're worth advocating for and know that
1:01:29
there's women out there that wanna do this with you.
1:01:32
So that is that is the take away today.
1:01:36
Thank you so much for having me. Oh, it was my pleasure,
1:01:39
absolutely. I knew as soon.
1:01:40
As you reached out to me and we, we connected via pop match, I'm
1:01:43
like, Oh my gosh, yes, we are going to talk about this and
1:01:48
we're going to talk about it more than one time.
1:01:51
You're, you can also go on our panel conversations and you'll
1:01:54
be able to find Laura there as well because of a panel
1:01:59
conversation happening in the, you know, by the time this
1:02:03
releases, it probably will have already happened.
1:02:06
But we're having a whole panel about Utis and periods and the
1:02:10
stigmas and, and resources. So this is going to be an
1:02:14
ongoing conversation on this platform and these resources are
1:02:17
going to be available to you on theresourcespage@embracinglayers.com.
1:02:21
Because we these are, this is one of those topics we've got to
1:02:24
move the needle on and remove the the stigmas and create safe
1:02:28
spaces for women to feel informed and heard and know that
1:02:33
work is being done on their behalf.
1:02:35
So thank you so much for the role you play in the world in
1:02:38
this. Thank you.
1:02:39
You bet. All right, take good.
1:02:41
Care of yourselves this week. Ladies and have a great week.
1:02:47
Hello, Melissa Crook here. Thank you so much for joining us
1:02:51
on the field podcast today. Finding empowerment, Embracing
1:02:55
Layers. I hope you found today's
1:02:58
framework and resources supportive and informative.
1:03:02
To learn more about all that we offer here at the Embracing
1:03:06
Layers network, visit embracinglayers.com.
1:03:09
You can go to our contact form to schedule me as a speaker for
1:03:14
your next conference, workshop or seminar.
1:03:17
You can go to our book page to order our book, The Jessica
1:03:21
Garrison, our wonderful and talented writer and author
1:03:24
authored with my support and engage with this framework in
1:03:29
written form, with your journal or in a book club with other
1:03:32
women inviting them on this journey with you.
1:03:36
You can look at our resources page for all of the helpful and
1:03:39
insightful resources our guests offer and share.
1:03:42
You can find the schedule for our weekly Together We Feel
1:03:46
Women's panel conversations that we're holding each Monday on our
1:03:50
YouTube channel, and you can find the links to all the spaces
1:03:54
and places. You can then follow engage with
1:03:57
us on social media and join our engagements that are happening
1:04:02
on our Sub Stat site. There is also a donation page
1:04:06
where you can donate to support our work to ensure we can
1:04:09
continue to bring you these incredible guest conversations
1:04:14
and support. Thanks again for joining me this
1:04:17
week. Share with your friends and give
1:04:19
us a review on your favorite listening platform.
1:04:22
Your feedback helps us ensure we're bringing you the content
1:04:26
that will best support you and having an empowered Embracing
1:04:30
Layers journey. Take good care and thanks for
1:04:34
giving us some of your valuable time today.
1:04:36
We truly appreciate you so deeply.