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From Nursing to Holistic Women's Health | Josie Makin · Follow the Leighder

• Leigh/@followtheleighder: Well, howdy folks and welcome back to another episode of Follow the Leighder. I'm your host, Leigh Larson and from Billings, Montana. I know the setting looks a little different. We're not in the studio. We are at the Wild Roots storage room with business owner Josie Makin Welcome. It's so fantastic. Folks, I came down this morning. She's speaking tomorrow at the Junior League Billings Conference. I guess by the time you see this, speaking at the Junior League ⁓ Conference for Women Leadership here in Billings, Montana, hosted by Junior League Billings. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Thank you. Leigh/@followtheleighder: Tell me, what's your story? How are you connected with Billings? How long have you lived here? Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Well, I actually am from towns in Montana ⁓ so more southwestern part of the state ⁓ Small little town I came here on I played college basketball ⁓ So I landed here in 2005 and just never left honestly I don't really know what brought me here I've always wondered that myself because I had full right offers to the Grizz and Bobcats and I did turn them down Um, and I've always wondered why, I'm like, why did I do that? Um, cause I love Missoula. It's just so beautiful there. Um, but something about Billings, but I suppose that's why they call it the magic city. I feel like it brings in this kind of stuff that you just, I just never thought in a million years I'd be where I'm at. So, um, anyways, I met my husband because actually I was going to join the Peace Corps before nursing school and just go. travel and then I met him. So I was like, well, okay, I guess I'll go to school. ⁓ And so yeah, I just stuck around. Obviously we have our family and we found our little slice of heaven. We live out of town on 20 acres and have horses and chickens and no cows, but a dog and a cat. So yeah, it's peace. Leigh/@followtheleighder: Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. And I really like Billings downtown, especially. Like, I've come here a few times and the food. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Oh my gosh. There's some really good new spots and billing. mean, it's kind of, think it used to not be really that way. It used to be, you know, very exciting. There was a lot more shops, but a lot of places have kind of moved out to Shiloh, but I do like downtown too. Like we actually have taken family pictures downtown cause it's just so like historic, especially down by the Depot. So cool. But then the food. Yeah. Leigh/@followtheleighder: ⁓ Well, tell me, so you went to nursing school instead of the Peace Corps, you stayed here, you married your husband and how does your nursing, talk to me about what that career looks Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: ⁓ gosh, ⁓ well to be fair, I actually got my CNA license in high school. So I've been in healthcare since I was 15. ⁓ always knew what I wanted to do. If you asked my dad, ⁓ he would have said I, you know, he called me Dr. Josie because I would just run around and, you know, just take care of everything. And I mean, he'd come home for lunch and he'd say, ⁓ I got a headache and I'd go get him some. you know, Tylenol, make him some chicken noodle soup. And then I would charge him like twenty dollars. And he was like, what? ⁓ So I feel like it's always just been something I wanted. When I came to Rocky, again, this is one of those decisions that I feel like Billings just has this crazy little, you know, pull for people. I would have actually never picked Billings to to come here. But I went to Rocky on full right scholarship. They didn't have nursing programs. I was like, well, I'll do P.A., but you had to get it undergrad. So I actually did ⁓ English literature and biology with a nemesis in genetics because I thought, ⁓ maybe the PA school or something. ⁓ And we got to that point in the PA school was going through accreditation issues. I'm like, well, I'll just go to nursing school. So I kind of took the long route. If you ask my husband, I am a forever student. I love learning. Even now, I'm in classes all the time. I'm always taking things. ⁓ It's my career has, you know, it's funny when you're in school, you're like, ⁓ like I loved ER, that was my home. ⁓ emergency medicine has always been my fascination, probably because you get a lot of everything and you just learn so much. And I grew up in the ER when I was going to school. like, you know, all my experience was there. It's funny how you think you're gonna do that and then you get out and I'm like, yeah, I don't want to work at So, you know, I found my home in ICU in Hart's and I do have a crazy story. My husband and I, and it's funny that I chose to be a cardiac nurse because when I was 26, I actually had cardiac arrest working out. And he, at the time he'd been, we'd been dating a year and he did CPR on me and did save my life. And so we have this unique like, you know, connection and it was crazy because I was 26 years old. Um, and nothing was actually wrong with my heart. I mean, they did put a defibrillator in there, but it did change my outlook on everything. Um, and so when I got out of nursing school, it was just like, well, I should go into cardiac care. And so in a weird way, um, and it w it's just been a really, um, I'm very open-minded, just kind of, wherever it takes me, I'll go. And then when it doesn't feel good, I move on. ⁓ And COVID hit, and I had just had my baby. So I was just getting off maternity leave and had to go back to that mess. And I was still in ICU and the cardiac floor in the hospital. And I just kind of, I think like other people, I just snapped. I just had enough. It was so stressful. And it used to be a badge of honor in the ER to handle the stress. it used to be, because you had to. People, relied on emergencies for you to fix things. But I've just learned that it just wasn't, it was, I started to just affect my health. And now I had a baby at home and a pandemic to worry about. So it was just like too much. I had found a job that I could just do normal hours, get my sleep back. All the things that I just knew as a nurse were good for me because I was still doing nights and days and it just messes 12 hours away from your kid. It just sucks. And so I reached out for some help because I'm sure I had some postpartum depression going on underlying. And I met this amazing woman who just stuck me on my healing path. And out of that, I birthed the idea for this business to bring, I mean, we're a mobile ID. didn't come up with that concept of mobile ID, but I did that we're a holistic and we're all we're going back to the roots. Like, how do we help people make sustainable changes in their life? you know, to get back on track, feel connected to yourself because it was just so disconnected. it just, you know, eventually it runs out and your body catches up. And all of a sudden you're sick and you're dysregulated and you're not sleeping. And I was drinking wine every time I got off a shift because I was just trying to like cope. So there was a lot of factors that kind of forced me to think. Honestly, I grew up naturopathic. My mom was a naturopathic provider. This was not new information to me. I knew about all this stuff and I thought, wow, maybe that's what I was here for, you know, to like take that holistic concept. And it worked. And I approached my business partner, Eric. He went to nursing school with me. There was about five of us. formed a really close bond and I've worked with Eric's wife in the hospital. So we all know each other. ⁓ and I was like, I was like, hey, ⁓ you want to do this? And he was like, yep. And we had no business experience. Not like either of us went to school for business to learn what SOP is for. We were literally like, is an SOP? And it's just been, that's where we're at. And it's just been amazing. ⁓ Leigh/@followtheleighder: How long ago was this? Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: 2020, four years, so 2022, but we technically opened January of 23. I mean, it was open in December of 22, but it just, you know. Leigh/@followtheleighder: ⁓ yeah, we're now, that's awesome. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Yeah, we made it the you know, whether they say it was like 99 % of the new businesses fail in the first year and so we were like, okay, we just gotta make it to year two. So it's been great. Yeah, I'm just loving what I do. I recently just quit the hospital to do this full time. So yeah, I'm loving life. Yeah. Leigh/@followtheleighder: Well, I think it really shows in your passion, just like talking to you. I'm like, ⁓ this is cool. You love what you do. You're fully in it, even talking about how you just knew at 15. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Yeah, ⁓ yeah. Yeah, yeah. My whole family. I've always been just like, ⁓ do this, take this. Leigh/@followtheleighder: So talk to us, what is Mobile IV? So the company is called Wild Roots. It's a mobile IV. Talk to us. What does that mean? What do you? Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Yeah, so obviously we're in our storage closet right now, which is really funny. It's kind of a glorified. We have a big, pretty window. ⁓ But we go to people's homes and we offer vitamin infusions and injections. We have a couple other modalities like the brain tap ⁓ and ozone therapy, which is very new to people in Montana. ⁓ And they're on a holistic path. So we don't do anything that's, you know, we're not into the aesthetics. We're not gonna do the weight loss programs. We only really address holistic root costs. So really getting back to the things we should have been taught from the get go that make us healthy so that we don't fall into these disease pathways that people seem to be sucked into. I've had 25 years of experience in the hospital. I know the system and it's not designed to make people healthy. That is not a secret. ⁓ So anyways, we go to people's homes. I feel like they love it. And honestly, when I was thinking about things I could do, my husband, he's a firefighter paramedic for the city. And it was actually he who gave me the little light bulb. He was complaining about how they go and pick up people who have hangovers from drinking too much the night before. People will call the ambulance for that. And it's just ridiculous. It's just a waste of taxpayers' money and all the things. And he just was like, gosh, I wish there was a service. I could just go take care of all the hungover people. I'm like, well, mean, I can do that. And so then I started researching all these things. And no joke, I found four websites that I liked that were out in the United States of mobile AV. And this is So funny how the universe works. I mean, you can believe in God or universe, whatever, it doesn't matter. It's so funny how three of those were from the same guy. He owned all these companies. And I literally was just like, well, I don't know this person. I'm just going to call and leave a message and hope that, you know what? Good old Montana Josie is just going to be like, hey, how's it going? Like, you want to tell me how you did this? and I didn't get a response for about three months. So circled back around and a little sweet lady from Texas with a sweet accent answered the phone and cause of this company is in Arizona. And she goes, and I explained what I was trying to do and she goes, bless your heart. She goes, that's my son. He owns this business. I will make sure he calls you within the hour. I was like, ⁓ I got a mom. I was like, okay. I know how to finagle, you know, so he called me back and I was like, I know this is so strange, but I have reached out to the people around me in my area and none of them want to share anything with me. And I'm just want to know how I want to do this business. This is my idea. And he goes, ⁓ absolutely. Would you like in it? And he gave me templates and structure and he literally coached me for free. Never charged me anything. I went to a conference to actually meet him and he's just he was a paramedic firefighter So it was just funny how you can do I mean I don't know if anybody would really have the guts to just call random businesses And I mean, I really just kind of was like, yeah, what am I gonna lose? They're gonna say no or don't call me back And so and it worked out and I still he is still a resource for me every time we have a hiccup, I'm like, hey, Johnny, you know, and I try not to abuse the privilege. I definitely made sure that I wasn't like, you know, overdoing it. ⁓ And so then this was born and we just kind of went with it. So and honestly, the best part about being mobile, honestly, is people don't have to leave their homes. And when they're really sick, that is the worst part. You go to an ER where there's other sick people and you're sick. Like that makes no sense. ⁓ yeah. ⁓ And a lot of these things they don't do anything for you. They give you fluids. So it's, can't tell you, we have so many people who give us reviews and are just like, ⁓ my gosh, you saved me. know, flu, COVID, pneumonia, whatever they have, we've gone in and they just appreciate it because, you know, we're professional. So you're in a safe space. Nursing is a very trusted profession. So we uphold that. ⁓ And people just feel you can tell they just feel really comfortable that there's somebody who knows, you know what they're doing. ⁓ And we've had nothing but good feedback. Like we haven't, I mean, knock on wood, I don't want to, you know, jinx anything, but it's been a really, and it makes me feel I literally feel so good when I walk away from somebody because I'm like, no, you're gonna be feeling good tomorrow. I just know it like and pretty soon, you know, you text them. And they're like, ⁓ my God, I'm fine. I'm up doing this or that. so ⁓ that has been the best. And we might look at doing a brick and mortar here in the future and kind of looking at doing a detox type center with some other modalities that we want to add in. ⁓ we just hired five nurses. So we're trying to just. get them up and going and kind of just go from there. And so far they're all loving it too. It's just kind of been a way that we've all been able to reconnect with people because that's really what ⁓ healthcare should be about is connection and making people feel heard and helping them. know, we don't always just need a pill for everything and there are other ways that naturally, you know, heal things. So yeah, that's kind of. That was a long explanation of mobile IV, but that's kind of where we ended. Leigh/@followtheleighder: And it's so simple to its hydration and its care and it's I mean, like you were saying so many practices we don't even do and and ⁓ So I'm like embarrassed. is, was telling my boyfriend like two days ago, I've had at least two different people in different settings suggest that I should drink more water and use more oils, like hair and face. And I was like. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Okay, I hear you. ⁓ I know. I listen to those all the time now. When I was on the floor, us nurses, we put a lot of things down, which is actually why I am trying to do more speaking events, because it's like people need to hear this information. Like we are getting so burnt out, but women are amazing. We were designed by design. I firmly believe that We are meant to multitask. We are meant to lead in things, but not from burnout. that's what we live, you know, without sounding crazy in a patriarchal system. It's not a cycle that is for us because we are on a different type of cycle. There are like 24 hour cycles. We're like 28 day cycles. That's why we have a period. ⁓ And we've just been taught so many things to fit into a man's world. fit into a man's world. And I'm not, again, I'm not trying to sound, you know, I love my husband, like, know, it really, ⁓ it has been something that's been sitting with me for a while that I just feel like women are starting to wake up and realize like, have so much power, but if we're leading from burnout and we're doing all these things and we're not putting boundaries up, none of the health things you're doing matter. Like in it. And I don't think, you know, My mom didn't teach me that, but I've had to learn this stuff on my own, but it is a common theme. mean, even the clients that we see, women are just burnt out and they're just starting to like, kind of like, I don't give a shit. ⁓ And that's okay, but it's like, whoa, let's go about this differently. We can all be high functioning and not have burnout. Women are completely made differently biologically. that's kind of what I, I mean, I try not to bore everybody to death with the biology, but you know, it's been fascinating stuff these days, what they can research now. And women are a new subject. We just got started getting research done on us for us in like the eighties. And even more so in the last like 10 years, they've really amped it up, but it's like, what? You know, we're behind. Leigh/@followtheleighder: Yeah, that's a it's a fascinating tie that so there's a interview that I met had with a woman who works in AI women's health care. And on one hand, I have a lot of thoughts about AI. Yeah, totally. On the other hand, in very specific situations like rural women's health care. Right. And and I'm still debating if I'm to post the interview. Because I'm like, don't know where I fall on it. yeah, still fascinating because there's just Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: ⁓ interesting. Leigh/@followtheleighder: She was talking about the research because women's research has been so limited and because very few people are taking on that task to go through the library or go through all of this She's not how AI has pulled in women's health data and research like never before. ⁓ yeah was like We're done game changing like trillions of dollars worth of industry information about How to care for anything from uterus to breast kids like all of it. Yep. It gives me emotion Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: I get goosebumps actually just talking. I mean I get so lit up talking about this like it's obviously what I was put on earth to do like All the you know, even as a little girl. I just love I just loved this stuff like it's it Like we were designed to use things from earth like, know, there it's so crazy and the research like it supports that Yeah, this research that they're coming out, you know making sure women are Like traditionally, even in cultures, like my dad's Native American, so I have Native American. I have very much always leaned more to the Native American side of my roots than I have, say, my mother's Ukrainian side. I just have always felt more belonging to that Native culture. And I was very lucky to have some wonderful mentors that I went to college with who they were from Crow Native. and they really adopted me into their family and showed me what culture was. And it's interesting because in traditional cultures, women actually went through menopause or even when they're becoming women, it was a ceremony. It was celebrated. And women were actually held as the higher priestess. I don't want to say priestess. You know the higher elders like the wisdom of these cultures and it's just fascinating to me because it's like yeah Like I I feel that like in myself like, you know, I mean I Feel like that's like a whole nother topic But as people are starting to kind of wake up and start taking care of themselves I feel like they're starting to realize like ⁓ my gosh, like, you know, I've been doing it this way and it's not working Leigh/@followtheleighder: Yeah. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: And then all of sudden we have the research that's catching up with the science. Like, hey, women should be, you know, lifting weights, ⁓ you know, eating healthy, making sure you're doing mindful exercises. Yeah. Moving like, ⁓ you know, longevity wise, just statistically, you know, 80 % of women develop autoimmune disorders because of they never get to deal with the emotional issues that have happened in their lives. The body keeps score, the book. It is true. Our bodies hold that. I'm convinced our fascia is the soul, like holds all those things, which is why you can go get a fascia release and have a trauma experience of letting that off. It's just fascinating. My recent classes that I've been taking is applied kinesiology and muscle testing. So it's very much in this, in this world. It blows my mind how much women hold onto. you if we're just taught how to let go of these things, because we're always taught, be good little girl, be quiet, be a good little girl, you know, or you had to be a man, you know, like you had to hustle out those boys, had, at least that was like my upbringing and it wasn't necessarily bad. It's just like, I had to have that like testosterone driven, like hustle, hustle, hustle culture. And it just all doesn't belong to women. Like that's just not a system that women can sustain and be healthy in. So. Leigh/@followtheleighder: No. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Anyways, that's a tangent. Leigh/@followtheleighder: think it's all fan, and I love seeing that, A, how much you researched and studied and how this feels like a, what I'm getting at is a spiritual calling for you. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: ⁓ yeah, I mean. Leigh/@followtheleighder: or sacred, if spiritual. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Yeah, I just feel like it's honestly, it's just reconnecting with myself. And that's what I think my message is for women, you know, is reconnect with yourself. Like you're very powerful. have each your gifts are not my gifts, but that doesn't mean anything like, you know, in a patriarchal system, it was always women against women, right? That is not where the power is. Like when we become sisters and support each other. ⁓ watch. watch out, like, it could be a different world that's amazing, you know? And I know that's like, you know, but really, if you think about it, like, your gifts are your gifts. But, you know, in order to get them you I feel like we were just so disconnected from ourselves. ⁓ Social media, all the things that distract us, you know, and I think just by connecting with ourselves, that's kind of a beginning, you know, for everybody. I don't know if it's, you know, sacred. Thing maybe it is, but I just feel like I've done that work and it's been the best thing I've ever done. like you sure it was scary starting a business, but it felt really good. Like it felt aligned, you know, like, Oh, I can do this. I actually make people feel better. You know, in the hospital, I didn't feel that way. Not one time. I hated it. I actually started getting anxiety when I had to go back to work. And I mean, I called in a few times because I was like, I cannot be in that environment. you know, just learning that I had that recognition, like, okay, wow, this is probably not a good place for me to be. Like, let's start looking for, you know, something else. Just that conversation. You would be surprised at how many nurses are like, oh, no, I just can't do anything else. I just can't. can't do anything else. And it's like, well, why not? So, yeah. Leigh/@followtheleighder: As we get towards the end, ⁓ can you let us know, can you give us some tips on what we can do before we call you? How can we help ourselves? Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Um, honestly, um, just making sure that, uh, like you said before, you know, drinking your water, you know, um, honestly, when you're talking about the non-negotiables, okay, that's what I tell everybody non-negotiables. You get your sleep eight hours. I do mean eight or more hours. Women need the rest. Drink your water, lift weights. You do not have to do crazy cardio. I'm like literally giving permission to women. don't have to, cause that's what we've been taught. Lift weights. That's all you have to do. ⁓ You know, making sure you're taking vitamin D and omega fish oil and a probiotic to help. Like those are like non-negotiables. ⁓ You know, we live in Montana, like we got no sun most of the time. Although this has been a really weird winter. I'm kind of like, I'll take it maybe if we're not on fire. But yeah, I feel like that's what I would say. Just kind of those simple things go a long way. And then obviously our services step in. Leigh/@followtheleighder: And please, after we have gone through that gamut, and we will eventually call you, because I know who I am. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Well, I'll be there tomorrow. if people want people, I'm going to have injections, which you should come by and grab one. But yeah, we did it last year it was great. Everybody loved the little boost in the afternoon. Yeah. Yeah. Which is when I'm speaking. So let's hope. Yeah. Leigh/@followtheleighder: ⁓ there you go. Tell us how can folks get learn more, get a hold of you or book your services. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: You can just go to our website wild roots ⁓ IV and wellness ⁓ All of our information is on there. ⁓ We both have social media pages So Eric Brady or Josie Macon you can find us ⁓ on all the socials with wild roots same same as our company name I'm pointing to it, but obviously the camera can't see it ⁓ So really simple, just reach out online. We're mobile, so we have an app, so everything is done electronically anyways. ⁓ Leigh/@followtheleighder: Well folks, which y'all think of that? I thought that was a pretty solid episode. I wish we had more time today. do. Listen, let me know what you think in the comments. Don't forget to follow up with Wild Roots Mobile IV. This was Josie Meakin joining me from Billings, Montana. I'm not in great folds like I normally am. I'm your host, Leigh Larson. That's another episode of Follow the Leighder. And until next time, see ya. Awesome. Josie Makin, Wild Roots Mobile IV: Sweet.