Latest / Still Caring / 09: What a Lifetime of Knowing - and Managing - A Genetic Disease Can Teach All of us About Our Health

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09: What a Lifetime of Knowing - and Managing - A Genetic Disease Can Teach All of us About Our Health · Still Caring

• 0:03
  Abby Fox (Intro): Welcome to the Still Caring Podcast,
• 0:05
  presented by Stillwater Medical.
• 0:07
  Joe Akin (Intro): Here, community is at the heart of healthcare.
• 0:09
  Katon Lunsford (Intro): Through honest conversations and shared experiences
• 0:12
  Abby Fox (Intro): we explore what it means to care for our health—
• 0:14
  Joe Akin (Intro): and each other.
• 0:15
  Katon Lunsford (Intro): Because better health takes a village
• 0:17
  and you're part of ours.
• 0:19
  Joe Akin (Host): Today's conversation is with someone.
• 0:21
  A lot of people in Stillwater already know and respect.
• 0:24
  Steve Iby, founder of Kicker.
• 0:26
  Good morning Steve.
• 0:27
  Appreciate you being here.
• 0:28
  Steve Irby: Good morning, Joe.
• 0:30
  Glad to be here this morning.
• 0:32
  Joe Akin (Host): Thanks so much for sharing your health journey.
• 0:34
  Your story isn't just about business, it's about family, genetics, and
• 0:39
  a health journey that started long before you knew it would affect you.
• 0:44
  your grandfather passed away from polycystic kidney disease.
• 0:48
  your mother passed away from the same disease, and because it's genetic.
• 0:53
  You knew there was a 50 50 chance that it would be part of your story too.
• 0:58
  So what followed was years of waiting uncertainty and eventually a, kidney
• 1:03
  transplant that changed everything.
• 1:06
  So This is a, conversation, or I should say this conversation isn't
• 1:10
  about a hospital or a procedure.
• 1:12
  It's about understanding risk, paying attention to your health And
• 1:16
  what it looks like to walk through something like this over time.
• 1:21
  Steve Irby: Right.
• 1:22
  Joe Akin (Host): I'm Joe Aiken, and I'm glad you're part of this conversation.
• 1:26
  So for full transparency, I was fortunate enough to start my career working
• 1:30
  for you, and it was 12 great years that I will absolutely never forget.
• 1:36
  It was fantastic.
• 1:37
  So thank you for that.
• 1:38
  But before we get into the medical side of things, when people in
• 1:43
  Stillwater hear the name Steve Iby, what do you hope they think of?
• 1:49
  Steve Irby: that's a good question, Joe.
• 1:50
  I really had have never pondered that question.
• 1:53
  as I thought about it a little bit though, I thought maybe, I'm a
• 1:56
  little bit, uh, like Aretha Franklin.
• 1:58
  Just like a little respect, You know,
• 2:04
  you know, that's, all.
• 2:05
  And I, think that's something that you just, have to earn every day.
• 2:08
  It's not something that, because of your position or who I am or what I've
• 2:13
  done, I don't want respect for that.
• 2:15
  I just want people, I would like respect for the way I treat people
• 2:19
  and, and act, On a day by day basis.
• 2:21
  I think to me that would, that's nice.
• 2:23
  Yeah.
• 2:24
  Joe Akin (Host): I would say with a level of confidence, you definitely have that.
• 2:28
  Let's go ahead and, and get medical and I wanna make sure people
• 2:31
  understand what we're talking about.
• 2:33
  So, polycystic kidney disease or PKD, I'm gonna say it that
• 2:38
  way 'cause it's easier for me.
• 2:40
  it's a genetic condition where fluid fill cysts grow inside the kidneys,
• 2:45
  and over time, those cysts can get large enough that the kidneys
• 2:48
  lose their ability to function, which can lead to kidney failure.
• 2:52
  And there's currently no cure for PKD, but.
• 2:56
  Thankfully it's treatable as everyone is soon going to hear.
• 3:01
  So Steve, your grandfather passed away of PKD then tragically, your mother
• 3:06
  passed away of the same disease in 1971.
• 3:09
  And at the time of your mother's passing, how much did you
• 3:14
  understand about what was happening?
• 3:16
  Steve Irby: probably not a whole lot.
• 3:18
  I knew that she had that, but frankly, growing up I didn't know that.
• 3:24
  I didn't know too much about my granddad.
• 3:25
  I had never met him.
• 3:27
  but as time went on, I think my mother probably felt that she didn't have to
• 3:32
  explain everything to me right away.
• 3:35
  But, as her, disease began to.
• 3:38
  Progressed when I was in college, we talked about it.
• 3:41
  And, I think that, I knew that there wasn't a cure for it, but, I always
• 3:47
  felt like that maybe by the time that my condition worsened, that there would be
• 3:54
  more medical, knowledge, to deal with it.
• 3:56
  And so, she was kind of a pioneer in that area,
• 3:59
  Joe Akin (Host): So at what point or approximately what age did you
• 4:04
  actually realize and accept this could be something that you had inherited?
• 4:09
  Steve Irby: Well, actually they started, testing me because they knew
• 4:13
  that there's a possibility of that.
• 4:15
  I think when I was, in college, probably 19 or 20, they would inject
• 4:20
  the dye And then do an x-ray, and they determined that I had some of that.
• 4:25
  actually it wasn't terribly concerning to me because I knew that it developed
• 4:29
  very slowly, but I knew that I had it.
• 4:32
  And so I would say it wasn't a, uh, traumatic experience.
• 4:36
  It was more like an acceptance of This is kind of the way things are,
• 4:40
  Joe Akin (Host): So if, I heard you right, you, you never really had any symptoms,
• 4:44
  but you decided to get tested anyway.
• 4:48
  So walk us through that decision process for you.
• 4:52
  'cause many of us have never been there.
• 4:54
  Steve Irby: Well, I think the decision to get tested was primarily by my doctors
• 4:59
  because they knew that my mom had it.
• 5:01
  And so they wanna test the kids, to see.
• 5:05
  If they have it.
• 5:06
  And what kind of, preventative measures that you can take as you
• 5:10
  grow, to, lessen the effects of it.
• 5:13
  And So, it wasn't really my idea, it was just something they said, you need
• 5:17
  to do this and get tested and So, It wasn't really my initiative to do that.
• 5:22
  Joe Akin (Host): So in that moment though, when you heard the results, because I
• 5:26
  was trying to put myself in your position And what my mind, where it would go.
• 5:31
  Steve Irby: Yeah.
• 5:31
  Joe Akin (Host): those moments, what ran through your mind?
• 5:34
  Steve Irby: I hope that it doesn't, develop very fast.
• 5:39
  know, I guess that was the main thing my mother and I had talked about this
• 5:43
  and she said, by the time you have issues with this, there will probably
• 5:47
  be much better treatments for it.
• 5:50
  and even kidney transplants.
• 5:52
  she actually had a kidney transplant.
• 5:54
  her and another lady had the first ones in Oklahoma.
• 5:57
  She was kind of a pioneer in that and wanted to do that, rather
• 6:00
  than be on dialysis, which is, uh.
• 6:02
  In those days, you had to drive to Oklahoma City three times a
• 6:05
  week and spend the day down there.
• 6:08
  And so she liked to do things and be active and I think that was a
• 6:12
  motivation and, also just to, uh, maybe kind of pave the way if her
• 6:17
  kids had to deal with this too.
• 6:19
  Joe Akin (Host): so knowing that you had the same potentially fatal disease,
• 6:23
  but it sounds like there's a very.
• 6:25
  Upbeat thought process going through your, you and your family.
• 6:29
  Did you ever have to deal with or manage any sort of emotional or
• 6:36
  mental health issues from it, like depression or anything like that?
• 6:41
  Steve Irby: I think my main mental health issues were.
• 6:44
  What the heck am I gonna do when I get outta college?
• 6:49
  And I kind of, it kind of all happened at once and I found out about this that.
• 6:53
  So, yeah.
• 6:55
  but it wasn't so much really based upon the physical, issue.
• 7:00
  It was more just, what am I gonna do with my life?
• 7:02
  And I've got this condition that's gonna develop, but, I just didn't know exactly.
• 7:08
  what the heck I was doing, you know?
• 7:09
  but it wasn't just because of the condition.
• 7:12
  It was more just, uncertainty about my future.
• 7:15
  I think
• 7:16
  really my job, I think.
• 7:18
  Joe Akin (Host): Yeah.
• 7:19
  a few years down the road, life is progressing and, you're in it.
• 7:23
  I mean, you have it, it's starting to take hold.
• 7:26
  What did you do?
• 7:27
  Just walk us through that story, through that journey.
• 7:30
  Steve Irby: Well, I would get, tested every year And that
• 7:34
  was something that they did.
• 7:35
  And the other thing is that they want to watch your blood pressure really
• 7:40
  closely because your blood pressure too high blood pressure can damage.
• 7:45
  Obviously more than just the kidneys, but internal organs because it's
• 7:50
  pushing things through too hard.
• 7:52
  And for someone with polycystic kidney disease, the cysts are
• 7:57
  starting to squeeze the kidneys.
• 8:00
  And if you're trying to push higher blood pressure through there, it can
• 8:04
  actually exacerbate the condition and make it worse because you're putting
• 8:10
  more, even more pressure that way.
• 8:11
  So the main thing was.
• 8:14
  To watch my blood pressure, which, I think in my forties I started on
• 8:18
  a blood pressure medication, not because it was excessively high,
• 8:22
  but just to keep it in the normal range without being elevated at all.
• 8:28
  And so that was the main thing that really I was encouraged to do
• 8:31
  and leave it a healthy lifestyle.
• 8:33
  Joe Akin (Host): You ended up going Mayo for treatment.
• 8:36
  I, think That is a fantastic story that I think everyone would like to hear.
• 8:41
  So once you and your, physician determined that you were going to
• 8:44
  need to get a, a kidney transplant.
• 8:47
  Could you just take us all on that journey with you?
• 8:51
  Steve Irby: well, actually going to Mayo was after the kidney transplant
• 8:56
  because I had, they discovered that.
• 8:59
  Which we knew that I had a polycystic condition in my liver too, because it
• 9:05
  tends to, it can be in your kidney, your liver, sometimes even check your
• 9:10
  brain, I mean, it can show up there.
• 9:12
  I don't think they check my brain.
• 9:14
  I guess they thought it was bad enough, you know, but, but That is something, So,
• 9:19
  it, kind of weird, but it can show up.
• 9:22
  But generally it's gonna show up in the kidneys.
• 9:24
  so that was a kind of another story.
• 9:26
  But what happened was that I was regularly monitored and I, was connected from
• 9:32
  my doctor here at Stillwell Medical Center, at the physician's clinic to
• 9:36
  a, a nephrologist in Oklahoma City that I began seeing, 25 years ago, just on
• 9:42
  a regular basis and checking all my.
• 9:46
  Blood work.
• 9:46
  And so, he was the one, he was at the Nadi Transplant Institute
• 9:51
  at Integris in Oklahoma City.
• 9:54
  And so he was the one that was monitoring me as to when I
• 9:58
  might need a kidney transplant.
• 10:01
  I actually didn't have the transplant until I was 65 years old.
• 10:07
  So I made it a long way, frankly, without.
• 10:11
  Any serious side effects, even though I had those cysts, I was still functional.
• 10:16
  And what they do is that when you're, they measure your kidney production by
• 10:22
  the measure of creatinine primarily.
• 10:25
  And so they test that and when it gets to a certain point, which means you
• 10:28
  have 20% function, then you can put, be put on a kidney transplant list.
• 10:35
  Joe Akin (Host): 20%
• 10:35
  Steve Irby: 20% to get a cadaver kidney.
• 10:39
  Now if you're gonna have a live donor kidney, and I had several people
• 10:44
  try to donate me a kidney And for various reasons that didn't work out.
• 10:48
  Interestingly enough, my wife was first going to donate a kidney to me, And in
• 10:55
  the period of testing, they discovered she had a tumor on one of her kidneys
• 11:00
  that they thought was cancerous.
• 11:03
  They removed the kidney.
• 11:05
  It wasn't cancerous yet, but it was the kind that can turn.
• 11:08
  So that was kind of a blessing in disguise, really, that,
• 11:12
  they discovered that with her.
• 11:14
  then, I had a couple other people that didn't qualify for different
• 11:17
  reasons but being on the list doesn't mean you get one right away.
• 11:23
  It's about, it took me three and a half years, so I was on the list just
• 11:28
  living my life, even at 20%, feeling pretty good, going to the gym and
• 11:32
  working full time all these things.
• 11:35
  I got down to, 8% was when I got the kidney transplant, and amazingly
• 11:41
  enough, I still felt pretty good at 8%.
• 11:44
  it's kind of crazy, but still functional, still doing everything.
• 11:49
  so I've been waiting And then trying, as you know, traveling internationally, I
• 11:54
  kind of stopped traveling internationally.
• 11:57
  Maybe a couple of years before that.
• 11:59
  If you get the call for a transplant, you have to be
• 12:03
  there in a short period of time.
• 12:06
  I think it's eight hours or something like that, And so I didn't wanna be like
• 12:11
  too far away, so three and a half years later after being on this, and I ended up
• 12:17
  being on dialysis for only nine months.
• 12:20
  The last nine months, and I did that at home.
• 12:23
  It was peritoneal, which is you do it yourself and they
• 12:26
  teach you how to do that.
• 12:27
  And I was still able to fully function with that.
• 12:30
  I just did it at night.
• 12:31
  so I got the call on a Saturday morning and they said, we have a kidney for you.
• 12:37
  And I had a friend that was gonna donate me a kidney that had almost passed all
• 12:41
  the tests, but it wasn't quite finished.
• 12:44
  So I had to choose, am I gonna.
• 12:46
  Wait on this person, or am I gonna take the one that they have for me?
• 12:52
  And, uh, This is like seven 30 in the morning on a Saturday morning, and
• 12:56
  you gotta decide right then, 'cause you're gonna, you gotta drive down to
• 12:59
  Oklahoma City and get the transplant.
• 13:01
  So, I didn't know what to do, so I just prayed, you know, ask God, show
• 13:05
  me which way to go here because.
• 13:08
  I've got two options and I thought, well, I'll call my kidney doctor,
• 13:12
  my long-term kidney doctor and just say, what would you do?
• 13:16
  So I called him up and he said, A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
• 13:20
  And I go, got my answer.
• 13:22
  Okay.
• 13:23
  I'm going to Oklahoma City.
• 13:24
  And so that was how that worked.
• 13:26
  and Becky and I drove to Oklahoma City and I think by noon I had the transplant.
• 13:32
  It's just like, boom, boom, boom.
• 13:34
  I was in the hospital for three and a half days went home.
• 13:38
  Joe Akin (Host): one of the things when you and I were talking about this that
• 13:40
  I thought was absolutely fascinating.
• 13:43
  I mean, the whole story is, but I was wondering about the actual.
• 13:48
  Transplant.
• 13:50
  And told me something that I had no idea about, so I think you know what I'm
• 13:55
  Steve Irby: Yeah,
• 13:55
  Joe Akin (Host): would you tell us that?
• 13:57
  Steve Irby: well, yeah.
• 13:58
  When you get a transplant these days, they don't remove your other
• 14:03
  kidneys unless they're causing problems, infection, different things.
• 14:09
  I had no problems with mine.
• 14:10
  They just didn't really work very well, And so they don't take those out because.
• 14:17
  They're way down there, and that's a big operation to take those out.
• 14:21
  When my mother had the transplant in 1970, they took 'em out and they put
• 14:27
  the transplant and kidney in that same location, but they've learned
• 14:33
  since then, that's not necessary.
• 14:36
  And so what they do is they put the transplanted kidney basically
• 14:40
  just in the SI side of your abdomen, and it's a fairly simple.
• 14:45
  Operation is what I understand, much simpler than just taking out a kidney.
• 14:50
  And the kidney's not very big and it just kind of, it kind of eventually just sort
• 14:53
  of fits in, it kind of wiggles its way in.
• 14:57
  And then I think they connect up, they connect up the artery And the
• 15:01
  vein And the ureter to your bladder.
• 15:06
  That's it.
• 15:06
  It's evidently, it's a fairly simple, operation and.
• 15:11
  Then they sew you back up and you have to recover from that.
• 15:14
  mine took a little bit, they said it to wake up, you know, when you
• 15:19
  have a transplant and taken out of a somebody that passed away just right
• 15:26
  then, really pretty much recently.
• 15:28
  can take a while for it to get going.
• 15:31
  So, I was out in about three and a half days, but.
• 15:34
  It took towards the end of the week before it really started kicking in really well.
• 15:39
  but it did.
• 15:40
  so that was probably the whole scenario.
• 15:44
  Those days were the most, worrisome is this gonna work or is it not gonna work?
• 15:51
  At that point in time, I'm thinking, I don't know if I can do this again.
• 15:54
  If you just had a surgery, I mean, I could do it again, but I was like,
• 16:00
  I really don't wanna do that again.
• 16:02
  but thank God it worked and, uh, kicked off and got a good match.
• 16:06
  So I'm almost 13 years in with it now, and they, I haven't
• 16:11
  had any, Rejection episodes.
• 16:13
  A lot of people have rejection episodes.
• 16:15
  Doesn't mean you lose it.
• 16:16
  They have to up your immunosuppressants and bring it back down again
• 16:20
  so they can control that.
• 16:23
  But I never had that.
• 16:24
  And so, they think it'll lasts for the duration as far as they know.
• 16:29
  I mean, nobody really knows, but, it's just chugging along like normal.
• 16:34
  I have a test.
• 16:35
  about every six months.
• 16:36
  Joe Akin (Host): So all of this somehow led to you going to the Mayo Clinic and
• 16:42
  I think anybody listening would love to hear how that came about because when
• 16:47
  you told me, I was completely surprised.
• 16:51
  I had no
• 16:52
  Steve Irby: Yeah.
• 16:53
  Joe Akin (Host): So walk us through that.
• 16:54
  If you.
• 16:55
  Steve Irby: Well, 12 years later.
• 16:57
  So I started having some issues, with some fluid accumulation.
• 17:04
  They were trying to figure that out.
• 17:05
  Is it the kidney?
• 17:06
  Is it the heart?
• 17:07
  They tested all that.
• 17:08
  Nope, it's the liver.
• 17:11
  And I have, cysts on my liver, but generally, and a lot of people with
• 17:16
  polycystic kidney disease have cysts on their liver, but it doesn't affect it.
• 17:21
  It does the kidneys.
• 17:23
  So you can have cysts on your liver and it still works.
• 17:26
  Okay.
• 17:27
  And mine was working okay, but the cysts were kind of squeezing the liver And
• 17:35
  the vessels and especially the big, big return vein that comes up, back to the
• 17:40
  heart and through the liver and delivers that blood back was getting squeezed.
• 17:45
  I went, my doctor, eventually we came to the conclusion, go to the Mayo
• 17:49
  Clinic and see if they can diagnose why you're kind of accumulating fluid.
• 17:53
  'cause things aren't they're getting restricted trying to go
• 17:56
  back and So, it kind of accumulates.
• 17:59
  And so, amazingly enough, it's easy to get into the Mayo Clinic.
• 18:03
  You don't even have to have a doctor's recommendation.
• 18:05
  You just get on their website, tell 'em your problem, they'll
• 18:08
  call you, they'll interview you.
• 18:10
  And, I was totally surprised.
• 18:12
  and it's covered with your regular health insurance and So, It all
• 18:17
  worked so smoothly and ended up going to Rochester in Minnesota up there.
• 18:23
  And, uh, they do a lot of tests on you.
• 18:27
  In fact, they did 'em all even the same-day.
• 18:30
  They did the MRI, the blood test, the uh, doctor consultation all before noon.
• 18:36
  I was done.
• 18:37
  And then you wait, for their team of doctors.
• 18:39
  'cause it's not just one doctor.
• 18:41
  And the team of doctors, they're primarily diagnostic hospital and
• 18:46
  they diagnose what's going on.
• 18:49
  And so, They say you should probably stay about five days.
• 18:52
  It's a beautiful place.
• 18:53
  We had a great time up there.
• 18:54
  Kind of made a vacation out of it, but uh, you're waiting for them to
• 18:58
  get back to you, you know, and, so they got back on Friday, we got, went
• 19:03
  up on Tuesday and they said, went back in and met with the doctors.
• 19:08
  We're sorry, we don't think there's anything that we can do for you.
• 19:11
  I kind of suspected that.
• 19:14
  and was kind of ready to accept that, but I thought, let's give it a try.
• 19:19
  So we go back And then on Tuesday morning I get a call.
• 19:21
  Well, one doctor hadn't reported back and he thought he could do something.
• 19:25
  So we go back to Rochester it was an interventional radiologist who, they
• 19:32
  put stents in your veins and arteries and, they worked through the vascular
• 19:36
  system Anyway, he ended up putting a stint in my, inferior Vena Caba, the
• 19:42
  IVC, the big one that comes up and opened that up because they measured
• 19:47
  the pressure And the pressure going in was high and coming out was low.
• 19:52
  It was supposed to be equal, and I was awake through the whole process
• 19:57
  and they were measuring, they could measure the pressure inside.
• 20:00
  They say, well, it still needs more.
• 20:01
  And they put another stint in.
• 20:03
  They kind of.
• 20:04
  Lined a couple of them up and opened it up, and they go, yeah, now the pressure's
• 20:08
  equal on the bottom, going in and on the top coming out, and you're just
• 20:15
  listening to all this while they're doing it halfway sedated, but really not you.
• 20:19
  I knew what was going on they're going through your vein in your neck.
• 20:23
  And that was done.
• 20:24
  And, uh.
• 20:25
  You wait around a couple hours and get dressed and leave and you're done.
• 20:28
  And that was it.
• 20:29
  so, but that helped a lot and made a big difference.
• 20:34
  And then they changed my medication a little bit And so we're able
• 20:37
  to more or less control that.
• 20:39
  But, yeah, they were, it's an amazing place.
• 20:42
  It's like a nice hotel.
• 20:44
  I mean, the customer service is unbelievable.
• 20:48
  I mean, it's just, it's a beautiful place and.
• 20:50
  Totally all about the patient.
• 20:54
  Their, their total focus is on the patient, nothing else.
• 20:58
  And you really feel that when you go there and, uh,
• 21:01
  Joe Akin (Host): Yeah.
• 21:02
  Steve Irby: experience.
• 21:02
  I'd love to go back just for fun, but we enjoyed it.
• 21:07
  But, uh, yeah, great people and, uh, hospital.
• 21:11
  Yeah.
• 21:11
  So
• 21:12
  Joe Akin (Host): Yeah.
• 21:12
  So y your story, I mean your health journey is incredible.
• 21:18
  Steve Irby: yeah.
• 21:19
  Joe Akin (Host): So you've gone through this, you're still living it.
• 21:22
  all of this changed anything about your perspective on life?
• 21:26
  Steve Irby: not really actually.
• 21:29
  It's just something I've kind of accepted as, the way things are.
• 21:32
  I haven't had to do a whole lot of processing with it.
• 21:35
  I'm just like dealing with, it's just like life.
• 21:38
  You got a problem that comes up, you deal with it, what do you do next?
• 21:41
  And to me, I kind of see it that way.
• 21:44
  So I haven't had any, massive revelations, other than just, make
• 21:48
  the most with what you've got, And that, I think that's the message is.
• 21:52
  Don't complain that everything isn't just perfect in your life and your
• 21:55
  body the way you'd like it to be.
• 21:58
  But, don't let that hold you back, from enjoying in life and do the
• 22:01
  things that, that you wanna do.
• 22:03
  So, yeah, no, it's not like, oh my gosh, I'm living on borrowed time, or,
• 22:08
  I've only got so many years left or.
• 22:11
  You think about that because you're getting older, you
• 22:15
  know, a certain degree you need
• 22:17
  to make some planning for your estate and, stuff like that.
• 22:21
  But, as far as, no, not, not too much different.
• 22:25
  And that may just be because of the way I was raised you know, just kind
• 22:30
  of deal with it and just move on.
• 22:32
  but I realized some things are much more.
• 22:34
  Serious than that.
• 22:36
  And,
• 22:36
  they're pervasive and all encompassing.
• 22:40
  I've been fortunate to kind of make it through some of those
• 22:44
  things, but I know it's not going to, it's not gonna last forever.
• 22:49
  But This is my experience.
• 22:51
  I'll say.
• 22:52
  I don't know that, that it's gonna be everybody's experience.
• 22:55
  I know.
• 22:56
  some diseases are just.
• 22:57
  Worse.
• 22:58
  Much worse.
• 22:58
  I'm fortunate
• 22:59
  that This is all I've got, I think.
• 23:01
  Really?
• 23:02
  Joe Akin (Host): Yeah.
• 23:04
  Well, Steve, thank you so much for being so open about your personal journey in
• 23:10
  telling our health stories will help other people And in and around our community,
• 23:15
  and hopefully it gets people talking and thinking about their own health.
• 23:20
  We always end with what we call a challenge to care, And we ask our
• 23:25
  guests to challenge all of us to take, one step to take better care
• 23:29
  of ourselves or someone around us.
• 23:32
  So if someone's listening right now and they've heard your story, what's one
• 23:37
  thing you would challenge them to do differently when it comes to their health
• 23:41
  or the health of someone they love?
• 23:44
  Steve Irby: I'm sure this has been beaten into everybody's head, but regular.
• 23:47
  Doctor checkups, at least once a year, to see what's going on.
• 23:51
  And, of course they're gonna test your blood pressure, but you can
• 23:56
  test your blood pressure at home.
• 23:57
  I mean, I've got a blood pressure monitor or you can have it test it any
• 24:02
  place, but so many different diseases are made worse by high blood pressure.
• 24:08
  And so I would say.
• 24:11
  Regular doctor's visits and know what your blood pressure is.
• 24:16
  Don't ignore it.
• 24:16
  Don't think it's because you can't feel it.
• 24:19
  Don't think that it's not there.
• 24:21
  another thing that I have not experienced myself, but is having a, I mean, I've
• 24:27
  had a colonoscopy, but nobody likes that.
• 24:31
  But, you don't want colon cancer, And so, and that's very preventable.
• 24:35
  With a colonoscopy.
• 24:37
  And I have friends that have gotten colon cancer and didn't have a colonoscopy
• 24:42
  just 'cause they didn't want to.
• 24:44
  Yeah.
• 24:44
  And, and could have prevented it.
• 24:46
  not the case for everyone.
• 24:48
  But, don't ignore your health.
• 24:50
  Sometimes you think it's just gonna go away.
• 24:53
  the other thing is that sometimes, some people don't really trust doctors.
• 24:57
  They say, well, I'm not gonna go to a doctor.
• 25:00
  I don't really trust them.
• 25:01
  And, you have to remember, doctors are not perfect, but they're there to help you.
• 25:06
  And so my philosophy has been maybe you want to change doctors, maybe you wanna
• 25:12
  find one that you can relate to better.
• 25:15
  But when you settle on that, then work with them.
• 25:19
  And what do what they say, And listen to 'em
• 25:22
  Joe Akin (Host): Yeah, I
• 25:23
  Steve Irby: them.
• 25:24
  Joe Akin (Host): So that's the challenge to care.
• 25:26
  It's, You know, take one step, start one conversation, pay attention to
• 25:31
  something you've been putting off, because stories like yours, they don't
• 25:35
  start the day, you get the call, they
• 25:37
  start years earlier.
• 25:39
  And
• 25:39
  the more we talk about it, the more we take care of each other.
• 25:44
  So thank you, Steve for being part of this, and thank you to our listeners
• 25:47
  for being part of our conversation.
• 25:49
  We appreciate it.
• 25:50
  Steve Irby: Glad to be here, Joe.
• 25:51
  Thank you.
• 25:52
  Good to see you again.