August 21, 2025 • 33 mins
Have you ever been casually told about a serious medical diagnosis you didn't even know you had? That jarring experience is just one of the many challenges we explore in this heartfelt conversation about navigating life after receiving a chronic illness diagnosis.
We kick off by catching up on our summer experiences and current health challenges – from mysterious hip pain and shoulder inflammation to surprising diagnoses and upcoming surgeries. Each of us shares the reality of living with unpredictable bodies that sometimes feel like they're working against us rather than with us.
One particularly powerful thread running through our discussion is the frustration of medical miscommunication. When doctors casually mention conditions they assume you already know about, or when diagnoses remain buried in medical charts without proper explanation, patients are left feeling confused and unsupported. We offer practical solutions for taking control of your healthcare journey, including using symptom tracking apps and preparing thoroughly for appointments.
The conversation takes an inspiring turn as we explore the transformation from merely surviving with chronic illness to genuinely thriving. Andi & Linnea share the journey of intentional self-care, mindful stress management, and learning to work with the body rather than against it. This shift in mindset doesn't happen overnight but represents a crucial evolution in living well with chronic conditions.
We proudly share our recently published books – interactive guides designed to support others on their chronic illness journeys with journaling prompts, affirmations, and creative exercises. These personal projects reflect our commitment to creating resources we wish we'd had when first diagnosed.
Whether you're newly diagnosed or years into your chronic illness journey, this episode offers validation, practical advice, and the reminder that you remain a whole person worthy of compassion and joy, regardless of your medical conditions. Your diagnosis may change aspects of your life, but with the right support and mindset, you can create a meaningful life beyond the limitations of illness.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to my Spoonie Sisters.
We are kicking things off withpart two of so you Are Newly
Diagnosed.
Hello, andy and Linnea, how areyou today?
Hello, hello, ah, it's so goodto finally see you two.
It has been.
It's been a long summer.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It has been.
It has been a very long,extremely busy summer.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, for every single one of us.
Andy, do you want to catch usup on what you've been up to the
last several months?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh, let's see, we did a summer elite performance camp
for youth athletes.
It was track focused.
I went into volleyball seasonpreseason and now we are in full
season.
So I've graduated some icons,I've picked up some new icons
along the way.
I'm in, as I said, full swingof volleyball season.
(00:51):
I am just loving and nurturingmy relationship with myself so
that I could be present forothers and I'm helping beautiful
women navigate their paths tothemselves at the same time.
And so it's been busy kids backin college.
But I am grateful for thebusyness because it still
allowed me for moments ofstillness, because that was my
(01:14):
non-negotiable.
How about you?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I have been busy too.
Our son got married, mygrandson came to visit.
I actually have something bigcoming up.
So, if people are interested, Iam moderating a webinar for the
Arthritis National ResearchFoundation.
This one is for osteoarthritis.
Since I found out, I'm newlydiagnosed with OA don't know
(01:38):
when I started presentingsymptoms.
Why not?
Why not Lenia?
What about you?
What you been up to?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I have had a much quieter summer than you two, but
I did a lot of camping in June.
I have been working on someblog posts for the podcast that
we'll be posting soon, and thenI have been working on my next
book, but I've also been justtaking time to just be and just
relax and take time to heal andfight this flare that I am
currently fighting very hard, sothat's kind of my goal.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Haley, that's a really good segue, because the
three of us have been fightingour bodies quite a bit this
summer.
Yeah, been fighting our bodiesquite a bit this summer.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, lania, since you brought it up first, what
kind of symptoms are you havingwith your flare?
With this one, it started out,as most of you know, when you
take your medication, rightbefore you're due for your
medication, you're like, yep,it's time, it's time for your
dose and normally we startfeeling better afterwards.
(02:46):
I did not.
I started feeling worse and I'mhaving a lot of shoulder pain,
low shoulder mobility, swelling,a lot of heat in my shoulders
and then as well as my hip, I'mhaving a lot of issues with and
then which, when one starts,they all start getting
frustrated and angry becauseeverything's going haywire in
(03:11):
your body.
But yeah, that's where I'm at.
What about you girls?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
My body is a mystery.
That's it.
It's a mystery.
It's a crapshoot on any givenday.
Physically it literally is acrapshoot.
One day it's my shoulder, butit's from repetitive use and I
know it.
You know hitting down balls atthe kids.
But some days it's things thatI am not anticipating and out of
all of the things that mayflare, it has never been an
(03:37):
arthritis thing for me, and sorecently it's been hot hip and I
couldn't figure out for thelife of me why my hip felt like
it was on fire.
But it was like deep, deep,deep, deep, deep in there and it
has not gone away.
It rolled in when the weatherstarted changing and it decided
(03:59):
it wanted to hang out for alittle while.
And it's still here.
My hip is on fire right now,you know my shoulders are like
they're just.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
It's like somebody put like a hot prod in the coals
and then stuck it in myshoulder like that's just that
heat.
And now my hip feels very fullI don't know if you guys under,
I'm sure you guys understandlike when the joint just feels
like somebody just filled itwith water.
It just feels heavy yes, heavy.
(04:30):
Heavy is a very good word.
What about you, jim?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
my flare began I think it was july.
We've had a few faced, facetimechats where the three of us
have talked through our achesand pains and flares this summer
and they've gotten the joy oftext messages about my toe and
I'm still laughing because it'slike a toe, but now it's two
toes and it's part of my foot.
So the update is October 2nd.
(04:56):
I am having foot surgery torepair the bunion and fuse that
joint.
After speaking about it for afew appointments, what we've
landed on is, he said, the bestoption for me is to fuse that
joint because he said, with myrheumatoid arthritis the bunion
can just come back.
I can just have continuedproblems in that area.
(05:18):
Let's fuse that joint and stopit.
And so I'm like you know whatI'm game because these
injections suck it.
And so I'm like you know whatI'm game because these
injections suck and walkingaround with a weird feeling toe
sucks.
I'm used to my hips, I'm usedto my back, I'm used to my hands
, but when it's a spot you'renot used to and it's relentless.
I think I described it asfeeling like a hot needle was
(05:39):
sticking inside of my toe.
I feel like the biggest babytalking about one toe but it is
what it is.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
It is what it is.
In fact.
There's 33 joints in your toe.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Okay, I don't know if I want to think about that,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And then, of course, my feet hurt so bad.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Exactly so.
My other update is that in Julythey told me I have
osteoarthritis.
She said it nonchalant.
She said well, I don't thinkthis is an RA flare, I think
this is your osteo.
It just stared at her and I waslike when have I been told I
have osteo?
And she didn't even reply.
So that's interesting.
I mean, it just goes to show,even though sometimes we feel
like we have the answers and wefeel like we're a good patient
(06:18):
that knows how to advocate forourselves, sometimes we do have
these experiences with a doctorwhere we just we let it happen,
right, because I keep lookingback and thinking all the things
I should have said could havedone and I didn't do.
Do either of you have advice oreven experience with being in a
situation like that, like what?
Particularly when the doctorhas presented something that you
(06:40):
didn't exactly know you had andwhat was your reaction?
And did they even reply to youwhen you said, hey, why didn't?
I know this.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It's my everyday medical experience, jen.
Every time.
Every time they go well, didyou know you had this?
And I still go through it.
The layers of hiding diagnosesin my medical charts is kind of
insane, and that's my day-to-dayexperience.
Out of everyone that I see, Iam bound to have at least one
(07:11):
provider that will noticesomething in a cross-reference
in a chart and go well, it couldbe because of this.
And my face will be like, hmm,and then their response is like,
well, you didn't know that.
No, I had no clue.
That's how I got my lupusdiagnosis.
I did not know I had lupus, hadall of the signs, was
struggling for years and theyfound my lupus diagnosis while
(07:34):
looking for something else,because it's never lupus.
And so they found it.
Oh, did you know you had lupus?
Just like that.
Come in, you've had it foryears, you know.
You know you had lupus, justjust like that.
Come in, you've had it foryears.
You know you have lupus andalso you have this.
But while they were treating mefor a kidney infection, they
were like oh, by the way, do youknow you have lupus?
So something as simple as youhave a kidney infection was not,
(07:55):
it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
You have a kidney infection yeah, yeah, I've, I've
did that with.
They keep going back.
For me it's between psoriatic,psoriatic arthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis and everytime it's like one or the other.
Like one time it's this, thenthe next time it's that, and
it's like we just pinpoint orhey, did you know?
(08:17):
This is going on, just like yougirls, and it's like we just
get consistent with what we'redoing, because it's really
messing with my head not knowingwhat's going on.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah, exactly, if I'm really honest with myself, this
isn't anything new for me.
I think I fooled myself intothinking that I knew all of the
things that were wrong with meand that they communicated it
well.
But if I'm realistic, Iremember a few years ago going
what's osteopenia and why isthat in my chart?
You go and you look in yourchart and you start noticing
(08:48):
things that they haven'tcommunicated Well that's exactly
right.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Even blood work.
You're like wait a minute, Didyou not notice that that blood
work was really high?
Did you know your other doctortakes care of that blood work?
Why are we depending on otherdoctors to go for this blood
work?
If you see it, why aren't youpointing it out and going?
You need to contact your doctornow and get an appointment,
(09:15):
because this needs to beaddressed.
Not, they'll take care of it.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
That's a great point.
That's a great point.
So if you're, if you are stillwith us and you're, you're
listening and you're newlydiagnosed, the comprehensive
care is so important, soimportant, and so your doctors
should be talking to each other.
You're going to see a lot ofspecialists.
There is a likelihood that youget referred out, but your care
(09:43):
holistically needs to becomprehensive, and all of the
providers that you see should beon the same page so that
they're not prescribing amedication that may trigger a
side effect that triggerssomething else, and so sometimes
that happens in the chronicillness world, where we see
providers that the records don'tcross and so you don't really
(10:07):
know, and the medications don'tplay well with you or each other
, so you spend a lot of timeearly in your journey feeling
probably worse before you feelbetter, and so that is super
important.
If you're looking for ways to,it could be overwhelming.
We're like I see all of thesedoctors.
There are apps that can help.
(10:28):
The Guava Help app helps youtrack all of the providers you
see, and you can release theinformation to your doctor ahead
of time if you're going to seea new provider or if you were
tracking your symptoms.
But it doesn't have to be asoverwhelming and you get to go
into the space way moreempowered and less likely to be
(10:49):
told it's all in your head.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yep, Yep, I have a doctor's Go ahead.
I have a doctor's appointmenttoday and I swear the Guava app
has got me so prepared that Ifeel so confident going in there
and saying prepared that I feelso confident going in there and
saying A, B and C is happening.
We've got to do X, Y and Z.
Now We've got to do something,We've got to change course.
(11:12):
But I feel confident in myknowledge of what's going on in
my body now because I'm trackingit and I think that's so
important for newly diagnosedpeople to be doing because
they'll get help sooner andquicker maybe, hopefully,
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I'm even looking over lab work right now from a week
ago, and has my rheumatologistsaid anything about it?
No, no, it's a trend that'sbeen going on the last several
months.
I've talked to Andy about itbecause Andy was willing to
explain it to me.
Have they been concerned andsaying we need to do something,
or we're keeping an to explainit to me?
Have they been concerned andsaying we need to do something,
or we're keeping an eye on it,or how are you feeling?
(11:49):
No, no, but I'm looking at mymean platelet, which is very low
, my neutrophils very low Sitesvery high.
What else was off on here?
I feel like there was somethingelse.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Your body loves stress.
You want to hold on to itforever.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yep, and that is something I think with chronic
illness, people that we don'trealize that we do hold on to
stress so much more and it makesus a little bit sicker and it
makes us a little bit ickier.
Yep, we have bad moments.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
We have bad moments, but it's not all bad.
We still live very, verywonderful lives.
Just sometimes our bodies don'tplay nice.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Exactly so, andy.
When did things start to shiftfrom surviving to thriving, and
what kind of changed in yourmindset or routine?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I'm very intentional about making sure I'm okay.
First, I am very intentionalabout the pause so I could hear
all kinds of things, and mebeing intentional about choosing
me on purpose so that I couldheal.
I mean it meant that my answerhad to be no, that I could not
be show up Sally all the time,that it could not be.
(13:04):
I got it, I'll do it.
I'll go, don't worry about it,I don't need help.
I literally had to sit with.
I don't need to carry that.
We get diagnosed and we go, butthen people are gonna look at
me different if I can't do thisanymore.
When we get the diagnosis, weget the diagnosis along with all
of the things that we're notgoing to be able to do anymore.
(13:25):
And then we research it andthey're like, oh, so-and-so,
ended up in a wheelchair, and weget all of the worst case
scenarios about how we're goingto lose dexterity or whatever,
whatnot, and we spiral and asmuch as we say we don't believe
it, we start automaticallythinking that that's where we're
going to end up.
I lived that for years and I putmyself in a bubble.
(13:48):
I can't do that because I'mtrying to preserve whatever
little life I have left becauseI don't know how long I'll have.
But then I didn't live, so Ipreserved myself to sit in a
dark space.
I am very intentional about howI talk to myself, how I care
for myself.
That includes my sleep, thatincludes me moving my body, that
(14:09):
includes what I put in my body,but it also heavily includes
the energy that I allow aroundme.
I live in a very low stressstate because I know what high
stress does to my body and Iknow that, being chronically ill
, the higher my stress level was, the longer I flared, the more.
The rougher that flare was, themore miserable my mindset
(14:33):
became, and so I started towatch the energy that surrounded
me on a regular basis.
Was I more anxious than not?
Because if I'm anxious in thesespaces, I can't be
authentically me.
And as I gave myself that love,my nervous system calmed down.
And when my nervous systemcalmed down, my body calmed down
.
It stopped fighting me andstarted working with me, and I
(14:58):
started working with it.
But it was no longer it's thisdisease's fault that I can't do.
I accepted it for what it is.
I have this diagnosis.
This man may have said I can'tdo, okay, well, you don't live
in my body.
Let me try it, but allowyourself the opportunity to live
the life you've always dreamed,even if it looks different now.
(15:21):
Your life didn't stop.
God just put you on a differentpath to see the same beautiful
thing from a different angle.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
I can attest to everything she's saying Because
I have been working with Andyfor the last six months and
everything she is saying is true.
I have been implementing all ofthose things into my life and
that is why I feel moreconfident going into this
(15:50):
doctor's appointment, because Itruly feel like I know my body
better today than I knew it ayear ago.
I know there's more going on,but I also know I have the
confidence in me to tell thedoctor exactly what's going on.
I'm going to sit there until Iget my answers today, where a
year ago I could not have donethat, I would have been okay,
(16:12):
let's try this, give me theprednisone, let's go, try this.
And I would have went home andI would have tried that.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
You don't have to do that more.
I'm super proud of you.
I'm super proud of you and Ihope that you're proud of
yourself, because you alwaysdeserve that version of you and
she's always been enough andshe's beautiful and she's fierce
.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
There's been such a shift.
The smile on your face, the wayyou carry yourself is so
different.
I mean, we've been friends forwhat?
Like four years now.
The last six months has been anincredible shift.
You know, even on the hardestof days, look at you, look at
how you're carrying yourself.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
That smile was genuine.
Like your hip is busted andyour shoulders are like trash,
but you still have a glow thatsays I deserve to live and I'm
fighting for it.
Yep.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
I deserve to live.
I would have been in the dark.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
You'd be tur for it, yep.
I would have been in the dark.
You'd be turtling, yep, yep.
But you let us in, even on dayslike today.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Yes, yes, I don't think the audience understands
how big this is.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
So this next question is for you, linnea If you could
offer one survival tip tosomeone newly diagnosed right
now besides pointing at Andy, Imean you that could be your tip,
if you want.
But what would your tip be?
Find a community find.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Don't deep dive on google.
Find people living with whatthe disease you've been
diagnosed with.
Find people in the chronicillness community to talk to,
because you can ask any one ofus and we can say I don't have
that, but I know who does andwe'll direct you.
(17:53):
I feel like if I would have hadthat community to begin with, I
think I would have looked at mydisease differently, because
Google takes you down the rabbithole and I'm saying this
especially for my niece that isprobably listening, because she
is going down the rabbit hole ofGoogle since a new diagnosis
(18:15):
and I've told her you can't dothat, it's not safe and you're
going to find information thatis not healthy and you're going
to put yourself in a spiral likeI did myself Because all those
stories you can't do this by thetime you're in 10 years you're
going to be in a wheelchair.
That is not true, not if youunderstand what you're dealing
(18:37):
with and you make diet andexercise a priority, even when
it hurts.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Guilty as charged.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
That would be my best advice for a newly diagnosed I
can't speak for you, andy, but Iknow that lenia and I, when we
got diagnosed, that was what wethought our future was.
Many people think that that'stheir future, and that's that's
not necessarily the case, andeven if it is, you still have so
much to offer the world yeahyour beautiful self, just as you
are, and I hope every singleperson remembers that.
(19:08):
Yeah, next, I want to talk aboutsomething pretty cool.
We got books out Redefining.
Fine, let's talk about it,please, please, talk about it,
andy.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Well, what do you want to talk about?
Well, let me just start with.
This.
Baby has a retreat that goeswith it.
February 26th Elevated EscapesRetreat in Sedona, arizona.
So we are redefining fine forfour days in the Red Rocks and
(19:37):
we're talking all things whatfine used to look like and what
fine can look like now.
But Redefining Fine is a bookabout bringing yourself back to
you.
It's a guide of all the thingsthat you most likely don't
consider when you answer aquestion in passing.
How are you doing?
(19:58):
And so I realized that Ianswered on autopilot and I was
like I'm fine and I wasn't fine.
I was actually freaked out, Iwas insecure, I was numb, I was
exhausted, I was everything butthe textbook definition of fine,
which is to be okay, right, andat that point I wasn't even
(20:20):
really okay and so fine was myshield and I felt like, after
some trauma and acknowledgingthat I was in a space where I
spent a lot of timeintentionally hiding that fine
needed to look different, andredefining fine was born and
it's literally a guide of how Igot out of survival mode, how my
(20:41):
answer became anything but fine, that I actually named the
emotion so I could tame theanxiety.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I want to read a little snippet.
Okay, change asks us to stepinto the unknown, and that is
scary, but it also is where themagic happens.
It is where we find the freedomto become the person we were
always meant to be.
I put stickers in the books ina purple places and this one
says with all my heart, Ibelieve in you and, for whatever
(21:08):
reason, that day I wanted toput a bandaid there.
So it's a bandaid sticker.
But what is really cool is inthe back there's this bonus
stuff, and it has day one andreflection, day two, reflection
journaling prompts, all thethings, all the things.
So be sure to go check it itout.
We'll make sure her link isavailable in the show notes.
(21:30):
You won't be disappointedbecause of the amazing person
that she is.
She, uh, coached us along theway to finally releasing our own
books too.
Ania, do you happen to haveyours on you?
Speaker 3 (21:40):
because I don't have a moment I do.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Do you mind telling?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
us about it Imperfectly.
You Navigating your Journeywith Compassion and really it's
defining your personal journey.
I have space for growth.
I have affirmations, I have howto have a gratitude shift.
(22:07):
I put a spot in there for youto write a letter to your future
self.
That is something Andy did withme, working with her, and it
was hard and I'm going to tellyou right now if you get my book
, if all you do is that letter,so you can go back and read that
letter in six months, so youcan see how far you have come.
(22:31):
You won't be disappointed,because I recently reread my
letter and I was blown away byhow close I am to everything I
wanted.
It's all because I foundcompassion within myself and I'm
giving myself compassion andI'm not expecting it from
(22:51):
anybody else now is truly frommy heart and I put that in this,
in this book, and there isgoing to be another one coming
soon Stay tuned.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yay, all right, jen.
So this one time we were newlydiagnosed.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, we were this.
One time someone by the name ofAndy coached me into finally
doing something about some ofthe work I put in, because I
tend to create things and theysit there.
So I opened it up to a page.
It's called the Art of FallingApart.
I'm going to read you a littlesnippet from there.
It says the Art of FallingApart can be a difficult and
(23:26):
painful process.
It can also be a beautiful andtransformative experience.
It's about allowing yourself tobreak down, let go of the
things that no longer serve youand embrace the unknown.
It takes courage to face yourfears and to confront the parts
of yourself that you may notwant to acknowledge, but it's
worth it in the end.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Change is inevitable.
It's scary but it's inevitable.
And change isn't bad.
Change is us growing.
Sometimes we outgrow people,places, spaces, seasons.
Sometimes we are rooted in theseason that we're supposed to be
rooted in and it is so that wecan nurture the roots.
It's because we're not ready inthe now for what happens next.
(24:07):
Not every time that we feelplanted are we stuck.
We're just rooted somewhere sothat we can nourish the roots,
so we are prepared for whathappens next.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Exactly One thing that Linnea and I did not
mention either about both booksis, if you go into them, there's
coloring pages, there's wordsearches, it's a whole activity.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
And it fits perfectly in your purse for the doctor's
office.
I have mine and I use it myselfbecause I doodle, because I get
so anxious at doctors,especially new doctors, and so I
will just doodle in them.
You can take it.
You can actually take notes onboth of ours for your doctor's
(24:54):
appointments as well.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Absolutely.
And, like you said, there'splaces to doodle and have some
fun and be creative.
Take your colored pencils withyou.
I even have.
We all know that I loveaffirmations.
I like to post them for peopleall the time.
I've got pages of affirmationsfor you.
There's also QR codes.
Thank you, andy, for suggestingthat idea.
It's amazing.
(25:15):
You can check out QR codes toall my favorite tools and things
I've been featured in and allthe fun things.
So I could not be more proud ofall three of us.
I'm surrounded by women ofgreatness.
Yeah, you guys always fill mycup.
I know we all feel kind ofcrappy today, but just seeing
your smiling faces brings me somuch joy.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
I love seeing your face.
I do.
I love seeing Alinea's face.
She's giggling.
On the inside she's just likefighting it.
You guys can't tell on theinside is cracking up, she is.
She is giggling so hard youguys can't tell.
But you can tell.
Now, if you're like, if you getto see this beautiful video
(25:57):
clip, you could tell that on theinside she was like you stay in
there giggle, but on theoutside it was, it was trying
like yeah, I love y'all, youknow.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Giggle, of cry.
I love you girls.
Gotta laugh through it.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, I love you.
So before we end, I feel likewe should have a how do we get
here?
Moment.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Okay.
So how did we get here?
This is my real life.
So I was super excited I got tomeet my new rheumatologist.
It was a great experience.
I walk into the doctor's office.
I'm like this is awesome.
Everyone looks like me, whichis few and far between for me
that I go into a provider'soffice and they're majority
(26:40):
people of color.
Okay, so I walk in here peopleof color.
I'm like, yay, people that looklike me Cool.
Meet the rheumatologist.
She's amazing.
I'm like this is going to be soawesome.
New patient appointments aretypically 20 minutes.
My appointment was at 820.
She talked to me to 945.
She was like we're going to getyou some new labs.
Let's do these things.
(27:01):
I was like awesome, I'm excited,okay.
So then I asked the question isthe lab in this building?
Do I have to go to anotherbuilding?
She was like no, it's upstairs.
Great, even better, because itwas hot outside.
I don't have to walk across anyparking lots, I don't have to
weave through a hospital, I justgot to get on the elevator.
Cool, on the elevator, andygoes.
(27:21):
Andy gets off the elevator, sheis welcomed by a hallway of
police officers and in my mindI'm like why are they here?
That's wild.
So I clearly look confused.
I have the how do we get here?
Face what's actually going on?
Officer says are you lost?
What you're looking for?
And I say the lab.
(27:42):
So he points to the lab.
I proceed into said lab, sign in, sit down, cool, okay, this is
where things are no longer like.
Yeah, this is familiar.
This is a great experience.
Nah, it's a crap.
Show in there.
Fine, whatever.
My name finally gets called, Igo back there.
(28:02):
I'm in the chair.
Turn the kid on, let's go.
Let's get these veins juicy,let's get in and out.
I'm watching her miscount mytubes while looking at the label
and I'm like skirt, let's goahead and fix this so we get
that situated.
All right, it's time for IVdraw.
She's drawn.
I see the nice little shuffle ofa chain gang of inmates coming
(28:23):
in and get lab drawn, which isfine, because they got to get
health care too.
So no judgment, literally.
Except you are afraid ofneedles.
Are you serious, fam?
You're afraid of needles?
Like that's the line.
That's the line.
So I'm sitting there, I see himshuffle on in Tattoos on the
(28:46):
face, but we, scared of needles,just throwing it out there
because it doesn't make sense toAndy.
Fine, so they sit him down.
He's jerking, he don't like it,I'm like, so I'm thinking I get
to exit.
She was like wait, we needurine.
Great, of course you do.
So.
Now I go into this bathroom soI can give you this sample.
As you know, I'm a girl, so I'ma girl, so I'm going to squat,
(29:12):
not really sitting, got to getthe sample in the cup, so it is
what it is, except while I'mgetting said sample in the
world's most awkward position,hovering over essentially a
public toilet in a lab, I heardon't make us tase you, we're
going to go ahead and lock thelab down until we're done
processing the inmates.
What is Andy supposed to do atthis point is the question the
inmates, what is Andy supposedto do?
At this point is the questionokay, what is she supposed to do
(29:35):
?
I'm like, I'm in a bathroom,okay, and the question is how
did we get here?
How?
The line in the sand you'renon-negotiable is getting your
blood drawn, but you got facetattoos that you most likely got
from a shaved off spoon in avery dirty basement or maybe in
jail, I'm not sure.
(29:56):
But the thing that was for youwas like nope, can't draw my
blood, that's it.
I'm about to rearrangefurniture in this piece.
I'm in a bathroom for 20 minutes.
You got some drops of urine.
That's all you're getting.
You got some drops.
It better be enough.
So knock, knock, knock.
20 minutes later you can comeout now.
(30:16):
Can I?
Can I for real, how did we gethere?
Is this a normal thing?
I don't know if anybody else inthis world has ever experienced
being locked in a bathroom at alab draw or any type of trauma
like that, but I can laugh at itnow.
But seriously, what do you dowith a clean catch cup in one
(30:37):
hand and you just hear?
You see what I'm saying.
It has to stay a clean catch.
So what do you?
Do you just stand there andfigure it out?
Yeah, so that's, that's the.
How do we get here for thisepisode?
It's a real life Day in thelife of Andy's lab draw.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
I am so glad my rheumatologist appointment this
afternoon is in Sun City,Arizona, where it's nothing but
80-year-old people I'm theyoungest one there.
I feel so much safer.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Eve.
Some of our stories are sofantastical that you have to
know we can't make them up.
Yeah, and that is not okay, youcan't make that up.
That is a prime example of one.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
How did we get here?
How did we get here?
I will not be going back tothat lab.
I found out there's another labthat I can go to.
That's not a walk-in lab, soI'll be going there.
So I have less heartpalpitations.
While trying to give you aclean catch, you know what do
you do.
You're just like, okay, well,this was whatever.
I couldn't get to my car fastenough, but anywho, if you guys
(31:47):
are sitting in a space ofanxiety about your diagnosis or
getting a diagnosis, I want youto take a moment to just be with
you, take a deep breath andunderstand that you are a whole
human being before yourdiagnosis and you will still be
a beautiful human being as yougo through your journey and
(32:08):
after you get a name to thething that you feel.
If you're spiraling today, ifyou feel like no one understands
, we see you, we hear you, wevalidate you and we hold space
for you today and every daygoing forward.
We appreciate you spending timewith us this episode.
(32:28):
Until next time, don't forgetyour spoons.
Welcome back to my Spoonie Sisters.
We are kicking things off withpart two of so you Are Newly
Diagnosed.
Hello, andy and Linnea, how areyou today?
Hello, hello, ah, it's so goodto finally see you two.
It has been.
It's been a long summer.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It has been.
It has been a very long,extremely busy summer.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Yeah, for every single one of us.
Andy, do you want to catch usup on what you've been up to the
last several months?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh, let's see, we did a summer elite performance camp
for youth athletes.
It was track focused.
I went into volleyball seasonpreseason and now we are in full
season.
So I've graduated some icons,I've picked up some new icons
along the way.
I'm in, as I said, full swingof volleyball season.
(00:51):
I am just loving and nurturingmy relationship with myself so
that I could be present forothers and I'm helping beautiful
women navigate their paths tothemselves at the same time.
And so it's been busy kids backin college.
But I am grateful for thebusyness because it still
allowed me for moments ofstillness, because that was my
(01:14):
non-negotiable.
How about you?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I have been busy too.
Our son got married, mygrandson came to visit.
I actually have something bigcoming up.
So, if people are interested, Iam moderating a webinar for the
Arthritis National ResearchFoundation.
This one is for osteoarthritis.
Since I found out, I'm newlydiagnosed with OA don't know
(01:38):
when I started presentingsymptoms.
Why not?
Why not Lenia?
What about you?
What you been up to?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I have had a much quieter summer than you two, but
I did a lot of camping in June.
I have been working on someblog posts for the podcast that
we'll be posting soon, and thenI have been working on my next
book, but I've also been justtaking time to just be and just
relax and take time to heal andfight this flare that I am
currently fighting very hard, sothat's kind of my goal.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Haley, that's a really good segue, because the
three of us have been fightingour bodies quite a bit this
summer.
Yeah, been fighting our bodiesquite a bit this summer.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
Yeah, lania, since you brought it up first, what
kind of symptoms are you havingwith your flare?
With this one, it started out,as most of you know, when you
take your medication, rightbefore you're due for your
medication, you're like, yep,it's time, it's time for your
dose and normally we startfeeling better afterwards.
(02:46):
I did not.
I started feeling worse and I'mhaving a lot of shoulder pain,
low shoulder mobility, swelling,a lot of heat in my shoulders
and then as well as my hip, I'mhaving a lot of issues with and
then which, when one starts,they all start getting
frustrated and angry becauseeverything's going haywire in
(03:11):
your body.
But yeah, that's where I'm at.
What about you girls?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
My body is a mystery.
That's it.
It's a mystery.
It's a crapshoot on any givenday.
Physically it literally is acrapshoot.
One day it's my shoulder, butit's from repetitive use and I
know it.
You know hitting down balls atthe kids.
But some days it's things thatI am not anticipating and out of
all of the things that mayflare, it has never been an
(03:37):
arthritis thing for me, and sorecently it's been hot hip and I
couldn't figure out for thelife of me why my hip felt like
it was on fire.
But it was like deep, deep,deep, deep, deep in there and it
has not gone away.
It rolled in when the weatherstarted changing and it decided
(03:59):
it wanted to hang out for alittle while.
And it's still here.
My hip is on fire right now,you know my shoulders are like
they're just.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
It's like somebody put like a hot prod in the coals
and then stuck it in myshoulder like that's just that
heat.
And now my hip feels very fullI don't know if you guys under,
I'm sure you guys understandlike when the joint just feels
like somebody just filled itwith water.
It just feels heavy yes, heavy.
(04:30):
Heavy is a very good word.
What about you, jim?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
my flare began I think it was july.
We've had a few faced, facetimechats where the three of us
have talked through our achesand pains and flares this summer
and they've gotten the joy oftext messages about my toe and
I'm still laughing because it'slike a toe, but now it's two
toes and it's part of my foot.
So the update is October 2nd.
(04:56):
I am having foot surgery torepair the bunion and fuse that
joint.
After speaking about it for afew appointments, what we've
landed on is, he said, the bestoption for me is to fuse that
joint because he said, with myrheumatoid arthritis the bunion
can just come back.
I can just have continuedproblems in that area.
(05:18):
Let's fuse that joint and stopit.
And so I'm like you know whatI'm game because these
injections suck it.
And so I'm like you know whatI'm game because these
injections suck and walkingaround with a weird feeling toe
sucks.
I'm used to my hips, I'm usedto my back, I'm used to my hands
, but when it's a spot you'renot used to and it's relentless.
I think I described it asfeeling like a hot needle was
(05:39):
sticking inside of my toe.
I feel like the biggest babytalking about one toe but it is
what it is.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
It is what it is.
In fact.
There's 33 joints in your toe.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Okay, I don't know if I want to think about that,
yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
And then, of course, my feet hurt so bad.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Exactly so.
My other update is that in Julythey told me I have
osteoarthritis.
She said it nonchalant.
She said well, I don't thinkthis is an RA flare, I think
this is your osteo.
It just stared at her and I waslike when have I been told I
have osteo?
And she didn't even reply.
So that's interesting.
I mean, it just goes to show,even though sometimes we feel
like we have the answers and wefeel like we're a good patient
(06:18):
that knows how to advocate forourselves, sometimes we do have
these experiences with a doctorwhere we just we let it happen,
right, because I keep lookingback and thinking all the things
I should have said could havedone and I didn't do.
Do either of you have advice oreven experience with being in a
situation like that, like what?
Particularly when the doctorhas presented something that you
(06:40):
didn't exactly know you had andwhat was your reaction?
And did they even reply to youwhen you said, hey, why didn't?
I know this.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It's my everyday medical experience, jen.
Every time.
Every time they go well, didyou know you had this?
And I still go through it.
The layers of hiding diagnosesin my medical charts is kind of
insane, and that's my day-to-dayexperience.
Out of everyone that I see, Iam bound to have at least one
(07:11):
provider that will noticesomething in a cross-reference
in a chart and go well, it couldbe because of this.
And my face will be like, hmm,and then their response is like,
well, you didn't know that.
No, I had no clue.
That's how I got my lupusdiagnosis.
I did not know I had lupus, hadall of the signs, was
struggling for years and theyfound my lupus diagnosis while
(07:34):
looking for something else,because it's never lupus.
And so they found it.
Oh, did you know you had lupus?
Just like that.
Come in, you've had it foryears, you know.
You know you had lupus, justjust like that.
Come in, you've had it foryears.
You know you have lupus andalso you have this.
But while they were treating mefor a kidney infection, they
were like oh, by the way, do youknow you have lupus?
So something as simple as youhave a kidney infection was not,
(07:55):
it wasn't.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
You have a kidney infection yeah, yeah, I've, I've
did that with.
They keep going back.
For me it's between psoriatic,psoriatic arthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis and everytime it's like one or the other.
Like one time it's this, thenthe next time it's that, and
it's like we just pinpoint orhey, did you know?
(08:17):
This is going on, just like yougirls, and it's like we just
get consistent with what we'redoing, because it's really
messing with my head not knowingwhat's going on.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah, exactly, if I'm really honest with myself, this
isn't anything new for me.
I think I fooled myself intothinking that I knew all of the
things that were wrong with meand that they communicated it
well.
But if I'm realistic, Iremember a few years ago going
what's osteopenia and why isthat in my chart?
You go and you look in yourchart and you start noticing
(08:48):
things that they haven'tcommunicated Well that's exactly
right.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Even blood work.
You're like wait a minute, Didyou not notice that that blood
work was really high?
Did you know your other doctortakes care of that blood work?
Why are we depending on otherdoctors to go for this blood
work?
If you see it, why aren't youpointing it out and going?
You need to contact your doctornow and get an appointment,
(09:15):
because this needs to beaddressed.
Not, they'll take care of it.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
That's a great point.
That's a great point.
So if you're, if you are stillwith us and you're, you're
listening and you're newlydiagnosed, the comprehensive
care is so important, soimportant, and so your doctors
should be talking to each other.
You're going to see a lot ofspecialists.
There is a likelihood that youget referred out, but your care
(09:43):
holistically needs to becomprehensive, and all of the
providers that you see should beon the same page so that
they're not prescribing amedication that may trigger a
side effect that triggerssomething else, and so sometimes
that happens in the chronicillness world, where we see
providers that the records don'tcross and so you don't really
(10:07):
know, and the medications don'tplay well with you or each other
, so you spend a lot of timeearly in your journey feeling
probably worse before you feelbetter, and so that is super
important.
If you're looking for ways to,it could be overwhelming.
We're like I see all of thesedoctors.
There are apps that can help.
(10:28):
The Guava Help app helps youtrack all of the providers you
see, and you can release theinformation to your doctor ahead
of time if you're going to seea new provider or if you were
tracking your symptoms.
But it doesn't have to be asoverwhelming and you get to go
into the space way moreempowered and less likely to be
(10:49):
told it's all in your head.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Yep, Yep, I have a doctor's Go ahead.
I have a doctor's appointmenttoday and I swear the Guava app
has got me so prepared that Ifeel so confident going in there
and saying prepared that I feelso confident going in there and
saying A, B and C is happening.
We've got to do X, Y and Z.
Now We've got to do something,We've got to change course.
(11:12):
But I feel confident in myknowledge of what's going on in
my body now because I'm trackingit and I think that's so
important for newly diagnosedpeople to be doing because
they'll get help sooner andquicker maybe, hopefully,
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I'm even looking over lab work right now from a week
ago, and has my rheumatologistsaid anything about it?
No, no, it's a trend that'sbeen going on the last several
months.
I've talked to Andy about itbecause Andy was willing to
explain it to me.
Have they been concerned andsaying we need to do something,
or we're keeping an to explainit to me?
Have they been concerned andsaying we need to do something,
or we're keeping an eye on it,or how are you feeling?
(11:49):
No, no, but I'm looking at mymean platelet, which is very low
, my neutrophils very low Sitesvery high.
What else was off on here?
I feel like there was somethingelse.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Your body loves stress.
You want to hold on to itforever.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yep, and that is something I think with chronic
illness, people that we don'trealize that we do hold on to
stress so much more and it makesus a little bit sicker and it
makes us a little bit ickier.
Yep, we have bad moments.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
We have bad moments, but it's not all bad.
We still live very, verywonderful lives.
Just sometimes our bodies don'tplay nice.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Exactly so, andy.
When did things start to shiftfrom surviving to thriving, and
what kind of changed in yourmindset or routine?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
I'm very intentional about making sure I'm okay.
First, I am very intentionalabout the pause so I could hear
all kinds of things, and mebeing intentional about choosing
me on purpose so that I couldheal.
I mean it meant that my answerhad to be no, that I could not
be show up Sally all the time,that it could not be.
(13:04):
I got it, I'll do it.
I'll go, don't worry about it,I don't need help.
I literally had to sit with.
I don't need to carry that.
We get diagnosed and we go, butthen people are gonna look at
me different if I can't do thisanymore.
When we get the diagnosis, weget the diagnosis along with all
of the things that we're notgoing to be able to do anymore.
(13:25):
And then we research it andthey're like, oh, so-and-so,
ended up in a wheelchair, and weget all of the worst case
scenarios about how we're goingto lose dexterity or whatever,
whatnot, and we spiral and asmuch as we say we don't believe
it, we start automaticallythinking that that's where we're
going to end up.
I lived that for years and I putmyself in a bubble.
(13:48):
I can't do that because I'mtrying to preserve whatever
little life I have left becauseI don't know how long I'll have.
But then I didn't live, so Ipreserved myself to sit in a
dark space.
I am very intentional about howI talk to myself, how I care
for myself.
That includes my sleep, thatincludes me moving my body, that
(14:09):
includes what I put in my body,but it also heavily includes
the energy that I allow aroundme.
I live in a very low stressstate because I know what high
stress does to my body and Iknow that, being chronically ill
, the higher my stress level was, the longer I flared, the more.
The rougher that flare was, themore miserable my mindset
(14:33):
became, and so I started towatch the energy that surrounded
me on a regular basis.
Was I more anxious than not?
Because if I'm anxious in thesespaces, I can't be
authentically me.
And as I gave myself that love,my nervous system calmed down.
And when my nervous systemcalmed down, my body calmed down
.
It stopped fighting me andstarted working with me, and I
(14:58):
started working with it.
But it was no longer it's thisdisease's fault that I can't do.
I accepted it for what it is.
I have this diagnosis.
This man may have said I can'tdo, okay, well, you don't live
in my body.
Let me try it, but allowyourself the opportunity to live
the life you've always dreamed,even if it looks different now.
(15:21):
Your life didn't stop.
God just put you on a differentpath to see the same beautiful
thing from a different angle.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
I can attest to everything she's saying Because
I have been working with Andyfor the last six months and
everything she is saying is true.
I have been implementing all ofthose things into my life and
that is why I feel moreconfident going into this
(15:50):
doctor's appointment, because Itruly feel like I know my body
better today than I knew it ayear ago.
I know there's more going on,but I also know I have the
confidence in me to tell thedoctor exactly what's going on.
I'm going to sit there until Iget my answers today, where a
year ago I could not have donethat, I would have been okay,
(16:12):
let's try this, give me theprednisone, let's go, try this.
And I would have went home andI would have tried that.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
You don't have to do that more.
I'm super proud of you.
I'm super proud of you and Ihope that you're proud of
yourself, because you alwaysdeserve that version of you and
she's always been enough andshe's beautiful and she's fierce
.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
There's been such a shift.
The smile on your face, the wayyou carry yourself is so
different.
I mean, we've been friends forwhat?
Like four years now.
The last six months has been anincredible shift.
You know, even on the hardestof days, look at you, look at
how you're carrying yourself.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
That smile was genuine.
Like your hip is busted andyour shoulders are like trash,
but you still have a glow thatsays I deserve to live and I'm
fighting for it.
Yep.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
I deserve to live.
I would have been in the dark.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
You'd be tur for it, yep.
I would have been in the dark.
You'd be turtling, yep, yep.
But you let us in, even on dayslike today.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
Yes, yes, I don't think the audience understands
how big this is.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
So this next question is for you, linnea If you could
offer one survival tip tosomeone newly diagnosed right
now besides pointing at Andy, Imean you that could be your tip,
if you want.
But what would your tip be?
Find a community find.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Don't deep dive on google.
Find people living with whatthe disease you've been
diagnosed with.
Find people in the chronicillness community to talk to,
because you can ask any one ofus and we can say I don't have
that, but I know who does andwe'll direct you.
(17:53):
I feel like if I would have hadthat community to begin with, I
think I would have looked at mydisease differently, because
Google takes you down the rabbithole and I'm saying this
especially for my niece that isprobably listening, because she
is going down the rabbit hole ofGoogle since a new diagnosis
(18:15):
and I've told her you can't dothat, it's not safe and you're
going to find information thatis not healthy and you're going
to put yourself in a spiral likeI did myself Because all those
stories you can't do this by thetime you're in 10 years you're
going to be in a wheelchair.
That is not true, not if youunderstand what you're dealing
(18:37):
with and you make diet andexercise a priority, even when
it hurts.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Guilty as charged.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
That would be my best advice for a newly diagnosed I
can't speak for you, andy, but Iknow that lenia and I, when we
got diagnosed, that was what wethought our future was.
Many people think that that'stheir future, and that's that's
not necessarily the case, andeven if it is, you still have so
much to offer the world yeahyour beautiful self, just as you
are, and I hope every singleperson remembers that.
(19:08):
Yeah, next, I want to talk aboutsomething pretty cool.
We got books out Redefining.
Fine, let's talk about it,please, please, talk about it,
andy.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Well, what do you want to talk about?
Well, let me just start with.
This.
Baby has a retreat that goeswith it.
February 26th Elevated EscapesRetreat in Sedona, arizona.
So we are redefining fine forfour days in the Red Rocks and
(19:37):
we're talking all things whatfine used to look like and what
fine can look like now.
But Redefining Fine is a bookabout bringing yourself back to
you.
It's a guide of all the thingsthat you most likely don't
consider when you answer aquestion in passing.
How are you doing?
(19:58):
And so I realized that Ianswered on autopilot and I was
like I'm fine and I wasn't fine.
I was actually freaked out, Iwas insecure, I was numb, I was
exhausted, I was everything butthe textbook definition of fine,
which is to be okay, right, andat that point I wasn't even
(20:20):
really okay and so fine was myshield and I felt like, after
some trauma and acknowledgingthat I was in a space where I
spent a lot of timeintentionally hiding that fine
needed to look different, andredefining fine was born and
it's literally a guide of how Igot out of survival mode, how my
(20:41):
answer became anything but fine, that I actually named the
emotion so I could tame theanxiety.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I want to read a little snippet.
Okay, change asks us to stepinto the unknown, and that is
scary, but it also is where themagic happens.
It is where we find the freedomto become the person we were
always meant to be.
I put stickers in the books ina purple places and this one
says with all my heart, Ibelieve in you and, for whatever
(21:08):
reason, that day I wanted toput a bandaid there.
So it's a bandaid sticker.
But what is really cool is inthe back there's this bonus
stuff, and it has day one andreflection, day two, reflection
journaling prompts, all thethings, all the things.
So be sure to go check it itout.
We'll make sure her link isavailable in the show notes.
(21:30):
You won't be disappointedbecause of the amazing person
that she is.
She, uh, coached us along theway to finally releasing our own
books too.
Ania, do you happen to haveyours on you?
Speaker 3 (21:40):
because I don't have a moment I do.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Do you mind telling?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
us about it Imperfectly.
You Navigating your Journeywith Compassion and really it's
defining your personal journey.
I have space for growth.
I have affirmations, I have howto have a gratitude shift.
(22:07):
I put a spot in there for youto write a letter to your future
self.
That is something Andy did withme, working with her, and it
was hard and I'm going to tellyou right now if you get my book
, if all you do is that letter,so you can go back and read that
letter in six months, so youcan see how far you have come.
(22:31):
You won't be disappointed,because I recently reread my
letter and I was blown away byhow close I am to everything I
wanted.
It's all because I foundcompassion within myself and I'm
giving myself compassion andI'm not expecting it from
(22:51):
anybody else now is truly frommy heart and I put that in this,
in this book, and there isgoing to be another one coming
soon Stay tuned.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yay, all right, jen.
So this one time we were newlydiagnosed.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, we were this.
One time someone by the name ofAndy coached me into finally
doing something about some ofthe work I put in, because I
tend to create things and theysit there.
So I opened it up to a page.
It's called the Art of FallingApart.
I'm going to read you a littlesnippet from there.
It says the Art of FallingApart can be a difficult and
(23:26):
painful process.
It can also be a beautiful andtransformative experience.
It's about allowing yourself tobreak down, let go of the
things that no longer serve youand embrace the unknown.
It takes courage to face yourfears and to confront the parts
of yourself that you may notwant to acknowledge, but it's
worth it in the end.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Change is inevitable.
It's scary but it's inevitable.
And change isn't bad.
Change is us growing.
Sometimes we outgrow people,places, spaces, seasons.
Sometimes we are rooted in theseason that we're supposed to be
rooted in and it is so that wecan nurture the roots.
It's because we're not ready inthe now for what happens next.
(24:07):
Not every time that we feelplanted are we stuck.
We're just rooted somewhere sothat we can nourish the roots,
so we are prepared for whathappens next.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Exactly One thing that Linnea and I did not
mention either about both booksis, if you go into them, there's
coloring pages, there's wordsearches, it's a whole activity.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
And it fits perfectly in your purse for the doctor's
office.
I have mine and I use it myselfbecause I doodle, because I get
so anxious at doctors,especially new doctors, and so I
will just doodle in them.
You can take it.
You can actually take notes onboth of ours for your doctor's
(24:54):
appointments as well.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Absolutely.
And, like you said, there'splaces to doodle and have some
fun and be creative.
Take your colored pencils withyou.
I even have.
We all know that I loveaffirmations.
I like to post them for peopleall the time.
I've got pages of affirmationsfor you.
There's also QR codes.
Thank you, andy, for suggestingthat idea.
It's amazing.
(25:15):
You can check out QR codes toall my favorite tools and things
I've been featured in and allthe fun things.
So I could not be more proud ofall three of us.
I'm surrounded by women ofgreatness.
Yeah, you guys always fill mycup.
I know we all feel kind ofcrappy today, but just seeing
your smiling faces brings me somuch joy.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
I love seeing your face.
I do.
I love seeing Alinea's face.
She's giggling.
On the inside she's just likefighting it.
You guys can't tell on theinside is cracking up, she is.
She is giggling so hard youguys can't tell.
But you can tell.
Now, if you're like, if you getto see this beautiful video
(25:57):
clip, you could tell that on theinside she was like you stay in
there giggle, but on theoutside it was, it was trying
like yeah, I love y'all, youknow.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Giggle, of cry.
I love you girls.
Gotta laugh through it.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, I love you.
So before we end, I feel likewe should have a how do we get
here?
Moment.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Okay.
So how did we get here?
This is my real life.
So I was super excited I got tomeet my new rheumatologist.
It was a great experience.
I walk into the doctor's office.
I'm like this is awesome.
Everyone looks like me, whichis few and far between for me
that I go into a provider'soffice and they're majority
(26:40):
people of color.
Okay, so I walk in here peopleof color.
I'm like, yay, people that looklike me Cool.
Meet the rheumatologist.
She's amazing.
I'm like this is going to be soawesome.
New patient appointments aretypically 20 minutes.
My appointment was at 820.
She talked to me to 945.
She was like we're going to getyou some new labs.
Let's do these things.
(27:01):
I was like awesome, I'm excited,okay.
So then I asked the question isthe lab in this building?
Do I have to go to anotherbuilding?
She was like no, it's upstairs.
Great, even better, because itwas hot outside.
I don't have to walk across anyparking lots, I don't have to
weave through a hospital, I justgot to get on the elevator.
Cool, on the elevator, andygoes.
(27:21):
Andy gets off the elevator, sheis welcomed by a hallway of
police officers and in my mindI'm like why are they here?
That's wild.
So I clearly look confused.
I have the how do we get here?
Face what's actually going on?
Officer says are you lost?
What you're looking for?
And I say the lab.
(27:42):
So he points to the lab.
I proceed into said lab, sign in, sit down, cool, okay, this is
where things are no longer like.
Yeah, this is familiar.
This is a great experience.
Nah, it's a crap.
Show in there.
Fine, whatever.
My name finally gets called, Igo back there.
(28:02):
I'm in the chair.
Turn the kid on, let's go.
Let's get these veins juicy,let's get in and out.
I'm watching her miscount mytubes while looking at the label
and I'm like skirt, let's goahead and fix this so we get
that situated.
All right, it's time for IVdraw.
She's drawn.
I see the nice little shuffle ofa chain gang of inmates coming
(28:23):
in and get lab drawn, which isfine, because they got to get
health care too.
So no judgment, literally.
Except you are afraid ofneedles.
Are you serious, fam?
You're afraid of needles?
Like that's the line.
That's the line.
So I'm sitting there, I see himshuffle on in Tattoos on the
(28:46):
face, but we, scared of needles,just throwing it out there
because it doesn't make sense toAndy.
Fine, so they sit him down.
He's jerking, he don't like it,I'm like, so I'm thinking I get
to exit.
She was like wait, we needurine.
Great, of course you do.
So.
Now I go into this bathroom soI can give you this sample.
As you know, I'm a girl, so I'ma girl, so I'm going to squat,
(29:12):
not really sitting, got to getthe sample in the cup, so it is
what it is, except while I'mgetting said sample in the
world's most awkward position,hovering over essentially a
public toilet in a lab, I heardon't make us tase you, we're
going to go ahead and lock thelab down until we're done
processing the inmates.
What is Andy supposed to do atthis point is the question the
inmates, what is Andy supposedto do?
At this point is the questionokay, what is she supposed to do
(29:35):
?
I'm like, I'm in a bathroom,okay, and the question is how
did we get here?
How?
The line in the sand you'renon-negotiable is getting your
blood drawn, but you got facetattoos that you most likely got
from a shaved off spoon in avery dirty basement or maybe in
jail, I'm not sure.
(29:56):
But the thing that was for youwas like nope, can't draw my
blood, that's it.
I'm about to rearrangefurniture in this piece.
I'm in a bathroom for 20 minutes.
You got some drops of urine.
That's all you're getting.
You got some drops.
It better be enough.
So knock, knock, knock.
20 minutes later you can comeout now.
(30:16):
Can I?
Can I for real, how did we gethere?
Is this a normal thing?
I don't know if anybody else inthis world has ever experienced
being locked in a bathroom at alab draw or any type of trauma
like that, but I can laugh at itnow.
But seriously, what do you dowith a clean catch cup in one
(30:37):
hand and you just hear?
You see what I'm saying.
It has to stay a clean catch.
So what do you?
Do you just stand there andfigure it out?
Yeah, so that's, that's the.
How do we get here for thisepisode?
It's a real life Day in thelife of Andy's lab draw.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
I am so glad my rheumatologist appointment this
afternoon is in Sun City,Arizona, where it's nothing but
80-year-old people I'm theyoungest one there.
I feel so much safer.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
Eve.
Some of our stories are sofantastical that you have to
know we can't make them up.
Yeah, and that is not okay, youcan't make that up.
That is a prime example of one.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
How did we get here?
How did we get here?
I will not be going back tothat lab.
I found out there's another labthat I can go to.
That's not a walk-in lab, soI'll be going there.
So I have less heartpalpitations.
While trying to give you aclean catch, you know what do
you do.
You're just like, okay, well,this was whatever.
I couldn't get to my car fastenough, but anywho, if you guys
(31:47):
are sitting in a space ofanxiety about your diagnosis or
getting a diagnosis, I want youto take a moment to just be with
you, take a deep breath andunderstand that you are a whole
human being before yourdiagnosis and you will still be
a beautiful human being as yougo through your journey and
(32:08):
after you get a name to thething that you feel.
If you're spiraling today, ifyou feel like no one understands
, we see you, we hear you, wevalidate you and we hold space
for you today and every daygoing forward.
We appreciate you spending timewith us this episode.
(32:28):
Until next time, don't forgetyour spoons.
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