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Summary:
This episode of CareLab features a conversation between hosts Emilia Bourland and Brandy Archie with special guest Danelle LeBlanc, a certified senior advisor and newly minted author. They delve into the complexities of caregiving, the importance of self-care for caregivers, and Danelle’s journey as both a caregiver and a healthcare advocate.
Key Takeaways:
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The essential role of self-care in sustaining caregivers' well-being.
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Insights from Danelle's 12-year caregiving experience for a loved one with Parkinson's.
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The challenges and rewards of transitioning from caregiving to advocacy.
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Practical tips for balancing personal and caregiving responsibilities.
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Danelle’s inspiration behind her book "From the Chrysalis," which addresses gaps in the healthcare system.
Transcript
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPSHi, welcome to Care Lab.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
It's CareLive Day. I'm so excited to see you guys.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yes, yes, and we have an awesome guest here today. Very excited to talk with her. We have Danelle LeBlanc, and I'm going to do just a quick little intro right now. So Danelle was a former family caregiver. She cared for her father -in -law with Parkinson's disease. She is also trained, and wait, for what? Was it like 10 years? Danelle, is that
Dannelle
Yeah, it was 12 years.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
12 years. Okay, yes. So street cred up. She's also trained as a certified holistic nutritionist. She's a current certified senior advisor. She creates resources, support and conversations for those who care. And she is now also the newly minted author of From the Chrysalis, Creating Quality of Health Where the Healthcare System Doesn't. And that's coming September of this year, September, 2024. So look out for
I can't tell you how happy I am to have you here today, Danelle. Welcome.
Dannelle
Thank you so much. am so happy to be here. Thank you so much for the invitation.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Absolutely.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Okay, now before we start the important stuff, I need to ask them a question to get the ice broken a little bit. hopefully it's not very controversial, but I have two questions for you.
Dannelle
Okay, yeah, let's break that ice.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
That's the best way to start a question, Brandy. Hopefully this isn't controversial. Just a little icebreaker. Let's dive right in.
Dannelle
Hahaha!
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Right, What does that mean? I think it's not bad. So, okay. The thing that everybody says these days is you have to do your own self -care and that's even more important when you're a caregiver, right? But it also feels like you don't have no time for that. So I wanna know two things. One, what is a self -care thing that you do, that you love? And two, what is a self -care thing that people do that you hate?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
that other people do?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, well, I'm assuming if you hate it, you don't do it. things that are like typical, like, yeah, people always say they do this for self care, but that is terrible for me because XYZ. So tell me something you love that's a self care thing and something you hate that's a self care thing.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
okay, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
Dannelle
Okay, a self -care thing that I love that is, I think for anyone, you define as self -care, it's who you are. You'll find it in who you are. And for me, I love music and dancing. And so,
Dannelle
whether, regardless of what kind of space I'm in emotionally or physically, I dance by myself.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
That is so awesome, I love
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
That's amazing, yes.
Dannelle
myself and for myself. And I know I look crazy and I do not care.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
the best kind of dancing.
Dannelle
And yes, and so that's something that fuels my body, fuels my mind, fuels my spirit. And it's just almost like doing a little cheerleading dance for myself. So when it comes to a self -care that I hate, let me think about that.
Dannelle
can't really say that there's something that I hate because I think it just depends on the person. Whatever works for one person may not work for another. So if I say that I hate something, you know, it may be the greatest thing for someone else. So I'm going to have to say that, reframe the question to speak to whatever works for you.
for an individual person.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
That's a fair non -spicy answer. I'll accept it.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, no, that's good. That's probably the most... So what I'll say is, I mean, and I think I've said this before, for me, my best form of self -care is exercise because for me, it's not even about exercise in my body. It's about creating mental space for me in my mind, in my brain.
exercise is something that helps me to focus and be in the moment. And then it puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day. definitely my favorite form of self -care is exercise. And I've talked about running in the past, but really and truly anything. It could be cycling. It could be doing 20 minutes of yoga. It almost doesn't matter what it is. anything that gets me out of my head and into my body
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
is really, really helpful for me personally. I would say, I think a kind of self care that other people might enjoy that I personally don't enjoy. Not saying like, you know, if this is your jam, go do it. You know, that I'm all about, like you said, Danelle, everyone doing the thing that really is the right thing for them. But for me personally, I really don't like
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
like, like soaking. Like, so no, no, no. I mean, like I take. I mean, that's what I'm saying. Like, obviously, I bathe, I take showers, but I don't love.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I don't like being clean so you know. Just kidding, just kidding.
Dannelle
Gosh, I love bats.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I don't love soaking. Yeah, I don't love soaking in the tub because it always seems, and I try, I will try and everyone's gonna be like, hmm, this sounds like it'll be nice. Like I'll just sit and relax in the tub. Especially if it's like really cold outside. Cause I'm always cold, which is gonna make the second part of my answer seems super weird. Once I'm in the tub, I always get like bored and too hot. I'm
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
This is the kind of answer I want.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I'm like sitting there for like five minutes. like, okay, this is nice. But then slowly I'm like, I'm getting too hot. And I've got nothing to do. And then like my mind starts to wander. Yeah, exactly. so for me, I know a lot of people like having a nice warm like bath and just chill in there is, you know, amazing for me. No, I'd rather be like sweating it out on a on a bike any day.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Go in.
Dannelle
I hear you, I hear you. What about you, Brandy?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
because that is okay I have lots of self -care things that I like to do but because of your answer Amelia my answer is gonna be bath and breathing and so I like like the one thing I like to do like especially if we get a chance to go out of town and the hotel is in the where there's an actual bathtub that I could fit in comfortably so like the ones in my house are kind of too small I like to have a bath
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Ha
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
You're right. I need something to do because my other favorite thing to do is to read and I don't really get a chance to read anything really, not even just for pleasure, but just like it's hard to sit and read when you have three little kids. And so I like to have a book and be in the bathtub and read until I get too hot. And then I put a little cold water in or get out, you know, and that's, that's my thing. but one thing that other people really love to do that I really just can't get with is getting a massage.
It's like, there's literally nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't relax me. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's just about the random person that's there doing this, or it's how much money I spent to do it, or just that it's only for certain amount of time, and then it's like back to the real world, which is every self care actually. But I don't know, it just does not click with me. It's just not one of those things that click with me.
Dannelle
you.
Dannelle
Yes. Yes.
Dannelle
Yeah, I think it really does, you know, cause you're in a place that you don't know and it's a person, random person you don't know. And so it's hard to relax. Yeah. But I have had the experience of going in for a massage and for whatever reason, the lady who did it, we just connected and it was, you know, I was like crying during the massage because it released.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Ooh.
Dannelle
It released emotions and tensions out of my muscles and out of my body. And it was just an incredible experience. So I think it can be great if you find the right environment and the right person. And I just lucked
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, I think so much of that is about like the the like energy and connection between two people and whether or not like you can really get that kind of emotional let go not just like a physical relaxation, but like to me, good self care is about the the ability to emotionally like let go and relax and just like be content in a space for a little while.
Dannelle
Yes.
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
And I do think that that can be hard to do if you've got, you're like there with a stranger, know, like you're not wearing all your clothes. it's, so, so that connection has to be kind of like just right. I, I, get that. I get that for
Dannelle
Ready?
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Hey
You're muted. Yeah.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
talking a lot but I'm on mute. I was like this is a thing I'm not saying I'll never do it again because maybe I'll get that connection point and have a good one but if I have my ultimate options it's like I have time available and what am I gonna do that's not the thing I'm to.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
You're running a
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I'm running a bath and getting a book because I have a whole long list of books that I need to be read.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Mm, yeah, that's a one. Okay.
Dannelle
If I can just make a comment about the question itself and just an association that's popping up in my brain is that whatever the form of self -care is, think
If it helps us to complete the stress cycle, you guys, I don't know if you're familiar with that concept. I just learned about it myself, I think last year, but I was listening to the unlocking us podcast with Brene Brown and one evening she had guests, Emily and Amelia, Nagoski, I believe it's, is how you pronounce it. And they were talking about completing the stress cycle.
And that can include moving the body, deep breathing, positive social interaction, laughter, affection, crying, or some form of creative expression. And so the idea is that we're carrying all of these stressors, but it's being stored in our bodies, even though we may have
handled whatever the task was or whatever the immediate situation is, but then we're not processing that, releasing that stress from our bodies. so whatever the self -care is, whatever that looks like for us, that it allows us to complete that stress cycle rather than carrying it forward.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
that so much because that's so true. Because even if you don't, if you did the task, you might still be holding onto it. And it kind of aligns with this other thing I started doing recently, which is I downloaded this app on my phone, like a little breathing app. And so I scheduled it to pop up and remind me to do it in my transitions. Because I was feeling like my day was just like one long blob of like stuff, whether it's get up, deal with the kids, go to work, deal with the kids, do more work. You know, it was just like continuous and there was no off time.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
And so I don't know where I got this from, but it was like, your transition, do some deep breathing. And that's kind of what you're saying in that kind of process is like, okay, I did my morning routine. I'm getting ready to walk into work. Okay. I'm going to breathe, let all the morning stuff go, and then come into work with a little bit of a fresh mind, just from one minute of breathing. And it really did help. So I love the framing of that so that you can think about it in that way, imagery of
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, that's not something that I had necessarily like heard of or thought about before in terms of completing a stress cycle, but it does make so much sense that there has to be some kind of release, whatever that is, or it just gets stored in your body. And of course we know that, you know, chronic stress is really, really bad for the brain. It's bad for the body. It's bad for everything. I also think that's a really good segue into our kind
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
like real, not, although this has been a good conversation already, I would say, but this is a good segue into, you know, some of the topics that you came here to talk about, Danelle, talking about, you know, chronic health issues, particularly as it relates to caregiving. think one of the things that you had shared with us before you came on the show was the fact that about 40 % of caregivers report having a chronic illness while caring for family.
which impacts their ability to care, of course, for the person that they're caring for, but themselves as well. So I'm gonna hand off to you here and would you talk a little bit about that and your experience helping others, your own experience, all of that stuff.
Dannelle
Thank you.
Dannelle
Yes. So as you said, that CDC report that says that 40, about 40 % of us are experiencing some kind of chronic illness while we're trying to help care for a loved one. And just like it was for me being a family caregiver and with so many of, of others where we're doing this
and not recognizing we don't have sometimes a name or definition for what it is we're doing because we're just, you know, taking care of loved ones. That's just part of family. This is another thing that I learned in retrospect.
Dannelle
In order to sustain caregiving, we have got to address chronic illness. And it's just the numbers are astronomical. We have billions of dollars in health care expenses that are centered around preventable chronic diseases.
because so much of caregiving takes place outside of a traditional healthcare system, we have to address it at home. And for me, during that period of time when I was caring for my father -in -law, the symptoms that I was experiencing were incremental. So they intensified over time, just like it is with caregiving.
the experience intensifies over time. And I've said before, sometimes it can be like, you know, we're a frog sitting in a pot of water that gets turned up to high. And so we don't realize until the point of boiling that we are in trouble. And that's what it was like for me. So,
Dannelle
I want to emphasize the importance of specifically food as medicine. And I listened to a podcast that you guys did with the pharmacist.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, with Reshma. Yeah, we talked a little bit about that. That was a fun episode. We're going to have her back again here soon, too. Yay.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah!
Dannelle
Yes. so that was fantastic. And so I'm connecting the idea of food as medicine in how we care for ourselves and for our loved ones outside of the health care system, because we don't get that message emphasized enough, I think, from a medical perspective.
one of the things that I learned. And so I'm speaking to you as just like, just everyday regular person, because I think that's where the power is, okay?
Dannelle
I learned that less than, I think it was about 25 hours are spent in medical training that is focused on nutrition. About 25 hours. Can you think about the years spent? think that's like three days of training that's focused on nutrition and the power of food.
what we choose to eat, what we consume to heal us. And it's very, it's so simple that I think we overlook it. And when we're not receiving that information from the healthcare system, that's not being emphasized.
then it's difficult for us to translate that into our everyday lives.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, it's sort of the last thing that comes up in the conversation a lot of time, right? We talk about symptoms, we talk about medications with doctors, you know, and to a certain extent, maybe like lifestyle adjustments, but like really getting into the nitty gritty of how the things that we put into our body affects our body isn't necessarily the first thing in the conversation, which if you think about it, especially when it comes to like chronic conditions, right? It's kind
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
It's kind of crazy because of course, and listen, I am no, I'm like, I'm not a dietician or nutritionist. I'm not a physician or like food scientist or anything like that. So I'm speaking really as a lay person here too, but it just makes sense to me that what we put in our body is what our body has to work with. So it's the only thing that our body has to work with besides like the air that we're breathing, right? And
Dannelle
It is crazy.
Dannelle
Yes.
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
chemicals out here that we're exposed to. So it's got to matter a lot what we put in because those are the only building blocks that our body has to work with,
Dannelle
Yes, absolutely. Okay, I'm going to go to a place that, my book is, yeah, okay, so y 'all come along with me. So just to share a little bit about where I'm at right now, my book is called From the Chrysalis, Creating Quality of Health Where the Healthcare System
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I'm gonna go with you anywhere you want.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Follow
Dannelle
doesn't. And I called it from the chrysalis because my experience was
being inside of a cocoon and being isolated, not just from a caregiving standpoint, but from a chronic illness standpoint. so now after focusing on rebuilding my health, my wings are still wet. Okay. So I'm just now coming from the chrysalis
The physical manifestation of my chronic illness is connected to a spiritual journey.
And that spiritual journey took me to a place that is, I'm not even sure yet how to outside of this, which is the reason why I wrote this book, because it was so hard to explain what was going on with my body when I didn't have a diagnosis. So I had people saying, gosh, you know, what's wrong with Danelle? What's going on with her?
And, and I didn't have a name. I didn't have a name for it. So it took almost losing my life before I got to a place of realizing that I was going to have to save myself. I was going to have to save myself. And one of the places that I went.
Dannelle
was I asked for spiritual guidance, okay, because it was so scary to be in a place where every single day I was for a couple of years, I was fighting for my life. I was weighing whether or not I could still be here on this planet Earth, because I could not find a place of peace.
in my own body from morning until night. And that went on for a couple of years where I was dedicated to healing myself. And I found there's a series of books called the Assine Gospel of Peace. And in book
and I, you know, I identify as, as a Christian. but this was some information that I had never come across before. I'd never seen before. And in the Ascene gospel of peace in book two, Jesus said, and so Jesus is talking to, this talking to the sick and he is giving specific instructions about how to heal
And Jesus said, and your bodies become what your foods are, even as your spirits likewise become what your thoughts are. He also said, so eat always from the table of God, the fruits of the trees, the grain and the grasses of the field, the milk of beasts and the honey of bees.
For everything beyond these is of Satan and leads by the way of sins and of diseases unto
Dannelle
The other piece of this, which I think is fascinating
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
First of all, can I just say, dang, Jesus put it right out there.
Dannelle
Yeah, he put it right, he put it right out there. So let me tell you, this is the first time I'm talking about this outside of my book. so, so I'm not, I know that, so I'm uncomfortable. Okay, I'm just telling you, I'm uncomfortable because I know this is outside of
center of conversation around food as medicine and know health care and our experiences but this is this was my reality. The other piece about this food as medicine and healing disease that is talked about in this book that really fed is like the foundation of of my spiritual experience healing.
is that we have both a heavenly father and an earthly mother. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I never really heard about the earthly mother being talked about at church or within a religious setting. And what occurs to me is that part of what we are experiencing, because it's not just me or people
know, chronic illnesses, but just in general, we as human beings, as humanity currently living on this earth is a disconnection from the earth.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
you.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, that's totally true. I was just thinking that when you brought that up is that there is such a disconnect between how what we do impacts our bodies. And we have, as a society, elevated medicine, Western medicine particularly, as the end -all be -all of how to feel good and have neglected
all these other age old things and also everyday things because you eat multiple times a day. And we've neglected that as if it doesn't matter when it actually does. Even like our deficiency in vitamin D, right? Like we in general as a whole American society, we're deficient in vitamin D and some people more than others. And we get that primarily from the sun. And we are inside the or in the office all the time. And we don't think about our medicine literally being.
Dannelle
Yes.
Dannelle
Yes.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
stepping outside and say 10 or 15 minutes outside. So I hear what you're saying about the divorcing of what's around us and our environment and how that impacts
Dannelle
Yes, it's every it's all connected and the idea that we there's so much instant gratification. So we live in a world of, everything being accelerated and so fast paced. And that is reflected in how we practice Western medicine in that. And again, and so I'm saying this in the context of we need, you know, we need our
doctors, need our nurses, we need our medical professionals. And when it comes to creating a quality of health, preventing chronic illness, that is on us. And what we do each day, what we consume and how we interact in our relationship with our Mother Earth.
And so,
Dannelle
It's really difficult to, think the biggest challenge for us is a shift in mindset and being willing to go through.
Dannelle
an experience that is uncomfortable. So much of our medicine is about treating an immediate or an acute symptom. so once that's done, what are we willing to do in order to build on that? And it requires being willing to be uncomfortable. And we don't wanna do
We don't want to be uncomfortable.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
harder.
Yeah, it's harder. I mean, if you think about it, the analogy I would say is our healthcare system is like putting a band -aid on a pretty good sized wound, right? Like it's okay, and you got some treatment and you stopped the bleeding, but you didn't really deal with the reason that you got the wound in the first place. So if you keep doing the same thing, which is like, I don't know, going through this doorway that's got a nail sticking out of it, and you come to me and I put a band -aid on it and you keep going through that same door, that's the way you get in and out.
keep scratching yourself. All we're doing is repeating the cycle, right? And so if we're managing your blood sugar or if we're dealing with your high cholesterol or we're dealing with some other chronic illness, yeah, we're giving you band -aids by giving you medicine and stuff like that. But if you haven't dealt with the underlying root cause of it, we're not ever really gonna get better.
Dannelle
Yes, exactly. And, you know, I hope that no one, I don't wish my experience on anyone, but, you know, I had to get to a place where I was literally choosing life or death. And
That was after trying different medications prescribed that was on steroids. mean, it was just a cornucopia of medications.
being in a place where you realize that it's not working and wanting to create, you know, I wanted to be vibrant, you know, to live my life to its fullest. But the messages that I was receiving was that I was going to have to accept a minimal quality of life and being on these medications and
And everything in me wanted to resist that, to say, I want to live my life to the best of my capability. And so that was the challenge. And finding a way through that by healing my body with foods
Dannelle
natural supplements.
was what saved my life.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Did you also have as part of that, just because it's been a part of this conversation already, getting, was getting reconnected with like nature or the outdoors or anything like that also part of your journey in terms of like getting back in touch with Mother Earth or for you, is it really that focus on nutrition or is there a combination there or I mean, understanding, I don't think there's no right or wrong for people. It's just like, what's your journey?
Dannelle
Yeah.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
You know?
Dannelle
Well, Amelia, so I was in a place where I was unable to leave the house for about a couple of years. I think I had a handful of absolutely essential outings where I had to get out and do something, but it was extremely uncomfortable to do so.
And trying to act normal in public when you are like, you can barely stand to be in your own body is really, really difficult. You know, trying to, and I did that for a long time until I got to the point of critical mass where, you know, I was working, was, you know, doing stuff for other folks, you know, volunteering my, you know, my time and energy
you know, other people's projects and, all while pretending to be okay. While internally I was just like barely able to
And so to answer your question, the connection with Mother Nature was eating whole foods and it was also breathing. So you talked about, you know, the breathing, the app that you found that was helping you with the different breathing exercises. So focusing on my my breathing.
stretching my body. So, you know, you also mentioned yoga. So I don't know if you would call what I was doing yoga. I was just making shit, like, excuse me.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
You were doing what felt good to your body. You moving your body in a way that felt good. That's what it's all
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Hahaha!
Dannelle
Yeah, we'll call it Yeah, both yoga, both yoga.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Exactly. Yep.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Vogue her.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
my gosh. We're not going to call it that. We're definitely not going to call it that.
Dannelle
Yes!
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
mean.
Dannelle
Yes, okay. Cause I had, so like one of the symptoms that I had was my entire arms, my hands, my arms back through my shoulder blades would go completely numb. of like, you like you hit a funny, but you hit your funny bone and you know that feeling that you hit your funny bone on your elbow.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm.
Dannelle
It was like that all the time. When I woke up in the morning for, I mean, it was almost a year. There was a period of almost a year where I would wake up and my arms, like I couldn't feel my hands. And so doing the stretches and getting my lymph,
moving my lymphatic system and helping it to drain was key to my healing as well. And so it was just a practice of feeling my body, paying attention to my body and moving in ways that helped me feel better.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
I like you bringing up that idea. Sorry, go ahead, Brandy. I was gonna say, I like that idea that you put out there, like paying attention, right? Of being in tune with your body, understanding how it feels. And I think like that goes right together both with, you know, doing things like moving your body in ways that feel good, but it also goes back to things like nutrition, right?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I think you're hitting on...
No, go ahead. I'll follow up.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
How often do we eat without being in tune with how what we're eating actually makes us feel? Right? And I think if you can be more, at least for me personally, as I've started to become more mindful about that in like my own health and in my own life as I get older and I encounter more things, like the difference can be so significant in how like maybe that burger looks and smells and tastes really good.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Dannelle
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
but my body doesn't feel that good after I eat it. So I would rather have a really delicious salad. You know what I'm saying? And I think that we lack, I think so much because we had this like, go, go, go, go, go. The next thing we're going so fast that we don't take any time to pay attention to ourselves and how we feel anymore. And I think that's definitely, that's gotta be, it's especially true for caregivers, because you're focused entirely on someone else,
Dannelle
Yes.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
after it.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
in there.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
not yourself. So it's so easy to just have that lack of awareness and attention for your own body and your own circumstances.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
And not even to make you feel bad, you, meaning all of us, about like not paying attention to your body, it's also how our society kind of elevates medicine over food, right? So like, here's what can happen. You eat a burger, it looks good, it tastes good, why don't you enjoy it? And then an hour later, your body doesn't feel that great. You have indigestion, you take some gas ex, right? Instead of thinking like, what did I just do? I ate, I ate a burger,
Dannelle
Yes.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I mean, pay attention to that next time. If I eat another burger or I eat more red meat or something, how do I feel after that? I have some control over that as opposed to just putting thing days on top of things, right? And I think it's exactly what you said, Amelia, about we move too fast, but it's also about what is, what we're influenced to do in our society. Because pharma companies make lots of money by telling us like, we fix XYZ problems instead. They don't make any money if you just stop eating red meat or you eat it in smaller portions.
Dannelle
Yes.
Yes.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Right, yeah.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
because it doesn't make your body feel good. You know what I mean? And like, you are the expert on your body. And I think we have, the society has tried to take that away from us and try to tell us that we're not necessarily the experts on our bodies and a doctor is. I am not, listen, I have a doctorate. I appreciate the education that I got, but every client that I engage with, you're the expert on you, your environment and you. I'm just here to add additional value from whatever stuff I've learned that might be helpful to you. But you need to start with
Dannelle
Yes.
Dannelle
Yes.
Yes.
Dannelle
That's great.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
the expectation of like, here's what's happening to me and how I feel and here's how I need to deal with it. And then when you do things to listen to your body, then you can find things in our environment to help us. So I mean, it's just so powerful what you're saying. It doesn't have to feel like woo woo or like, I'm outside of the scope. It's just a matter of like, knowing that this is really important and you should take ownership over what your body doesn't feel.
Dannelle
Yes, that is it exactly. That's it exactly is taking ownership and knowing that we are equipped and capable to create a quality of health for ourselves that can't be found in the healthcare system because it's about what we do each day.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Mm -hmm. And like...
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
It's about taking ownership and like, an extent, like you have, you gotta be your own hero. And that's not, that's not me saying you have to be your own hero because everyone else in the world is gonna fail you. That's not it at all. We have to be our own heroes because we have to take ownership of what we want that to be, right?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yes.
Dannelle
Right, right.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
I know I made fun of like self -care in our first question, but like the same reason that some people like some things and other people don't like other things because you pay attention to how your mind and body feel when you do those things, right? And we elevate that, right? And we talk about self -care a lot. Well, we don't talk about how that impacts like all the other things that you do every day too. Not just the time you take away from things and what makes your body feel good, but what makes your body feel good?
Dannelle
Yes.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
every day, every hour, every part of the day, and what you can do to influence
Dannelle
Yes. And that's why I brought up, you know, this idea of having both, you know, a heavenly father when it comes to our how we fuel and feed our spirit that we recognize that we that we have both. OK, because we're we are conditioned to.
believe in a father God, without the presence of an earthly mother. And everything is connected. You can't have health in your body without addressing both, both the physical and the spiritual.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, that's why we talk about mental health being so important and being connected to others. And I keep saying this all the time, but there's this really awesome series on Netflix about the blue zones and there's themes across multiple cultures that are all over the world that those places have people that live to be a hundred and more in a higher rate than other places. And they have similar themes, even though their lives and the way they live is completely different. like the countries they come from, the places they
there are still those themes and it really has to do with connection and your ability to be connected to people, your environment and yourself to really be bowled down. So my question for you is like in your experience of working towards getting to a better place, was some of that happening while you were a caregiver or did it all start after you were caregiving and do you think those two things are connected?
Dannelle
Yes, so it did. So it was happening while I was a caregiver.
Because I was so focused on the needs of my father -in -law and my family, it just got progressively worse. There was a point at which I was managing four households. I was managing my own household. I was managing my father -in -law's household. He lived two doors down from us.
I was managing his previous residence. So he had moved to live next to us due to advancing Parkinson's disease in 2005. And when he moved, he never sold his old house, which was like 30 minutes away. And so I was managing renovations on that house.
like, you know, roofing, foundation, complete interior redesign. So I was managing that. And then the fourth house was my mom's home after she passed away. Then because she'd worked so hard for that house, my sisters and I were, you know, really wanting to keep it. So I was managing renovations on that house. And all while
carrying a two pound tumor in my abdomen that I didn't know about. I was just having extreme gut pain and didn't realize until I got to the point where one night the pain got so bad I couldn't see and went into the ER and they found the tumor and
Dannelle
It had wrapped around my right ovary, removed that. so all of these health issues I was carrying with me while I was caregiving. And one of the reasons why I'm here is I want to help other people to avoid getting
to a place where you've got a tumor, you've got some kind of life -threatening situation because you've set aside your own health needs in order to take care of others. Because that took me out. That took me out. And so it's taken a long time for me to...
get to a space where
really had no choice but to address my health issues. And it takes a whole lot more time and energy and resources to deal with a critical health situation than it does to help prevent or mitigate, you know, an advanced situation.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, think it's super powerful your story and I appreciate that you're going to put it or you have put it into book form and how can people connect with this? I know this probably will come out a little bit before the book comes out, but is there a waitlist or pre -order or where will they find
Dannelle
Yes, so there, so people can pre -order the book. If you go to my website, caregivertransitions .com, then there's information there you can click on to link to, to pre -order, to get more details about the book. Thank you for asking.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Yeah, I'll say I've already pre -ordered it guys because I've known Danelle for a little while now and she's honestly one of my favorite. You know, I would say the best thing about like being an entrepreneur has really been all of the wonderful people that I have met along the way. I really have met, mean, Brandy, I met you and I mean, I could, I have met some really, really wonderful people. Danelle is like right up there.
on that list. So I, I was so happy when I heard that you had written it and happy to pre -order. cannot wait to read it because every time I talk to you, it's just like little truth bombs of wisdom just going off all, all over the place, all over the place. Are there other ways that folks can like find you or I know you've created so many resources over the years. Are there other ways
Dannelle
right back at you.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
folks can get in contact with you or find those resources.
Dannelle
Yes, so again, caregivertransitions .com is a place to access those resources or to connect with me. You can find the Caregiving Community Guide there. So that is a digital resource guide that I created for family caregivers that's available for download and
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Thank you.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
one.
Dannelle
I'm working on one of my projects is working on updating the National Guide by 20 for 2025. Because, you know, there's always new resources and, you know, people and insights and information. And so keeping that thing updated is like a full time, like a full time job in and of itself. But that's something
That's one of the primary resources that I recommend for folks. I've also customized it because I'm in the Dallas area. It's also been customized for 12 different North Central Texas counties. And but I wanted to create a national version as well so that anyone across the US could connect with specifically caregiving resources.
covering a wide variety of topics and there's educational information and tips in there on different terminologies because caregiving is like learning to speak a new language. Okay? We don't...
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Our healthcare system is an entirely different language that not even everyone in the healthcare system speaks all of the languages that are required for our healthcare system. So yeah, it's crazy.
Dannelle
Yes.
Dannelle
Yes, we need a translator. Okay, we need some translation going on here because we've got to be able to, you know, we've got to be able to use all this information that's out there, that's being provided to us in a medical setting. Okay, well, what does that look like? How do I do that on a day -to -day basis in real life? How do I know what questions to ask if I don't speak the language?
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, copper.
Dannelle
And so that's another way that I hope that that guide can help people.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Thank you so much for being here. It was an absolute pleasure.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Yeah, thank
Dannelle
Thank you. thank you so much for having me.
Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM, CFPS
Absolutely. Everyone, you made it all the way to the end of this episode, if you enjoyed it, please take a second now to leave us a review and a rating. That is one of the best ways to make sure that other people are able to find Care Lab as a podcast. So please take a second to leave that review and rating right now. Don't forget also to hit that little button to subscribe so you get updated when our next episode drops, which is every Friday, just in case you were wondering.
And other than that, we will see you next time right here on Care Lab. Bye.
Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Bye!
Dannelle
Bye!
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