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Stephanie
Hi, I'm Stephanie.

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Seth
I'm Seth, and this is the Forever Young show. The most powerful force in this world is a woman who knows who she is, why? She is here, and what she wants to accomplish.

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Stephanie
And that's where self-care comes in. As a woman, it is my opportunity and my responsibility to take care of me.

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Seth
Self-care for your mind.

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Stephanie
Self-care for your body.

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Seth
Self-care for your money.

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Stephanie
Our mission is to serve women as they fulfill their irreplaceable roles and families. Society. Business. The fabric of humanity.

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Seth
So let's get this show on the road.

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Lorena
I know I've given you bits and pieces about, like, my surgery and like how that all happened. Like the last three years since I had Wyatt. And it was like, you put yourself on the backburner because you just. You don't want something to be wrong with you, right? I didn't.

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Seth
In denial.

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Lorena
Yeah, it was a bit of denial. And it was like, well, maybe this is just maybe there's an emotional connection to this physical problem I'm having. Right.

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Lorena
Yeah. I mean you think things.

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Lorena
Like that happen.

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Seth
Oh no.

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Lorena
She's right along.

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Stephanie
The lines of the kind of.

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Seth
I was just going to say wait, did you just watch McKenna Willis.

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Lorena
No, I didn't.

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Lorena
But I'm sure she.

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Lorena
Brought that up. Yeah.

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Stephanie
Yes.

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Lorena
So, like, I, I, you know, did you guys know Allie does that, like, have you you're familiar with her work and like, I.

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Stephanie
Not, but.

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Lorena
I am. Okay. So like, you know she's.

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Seth
That's what matters. She's really on the show. Yeah. They just need a placeholder on the show. And that's why I'm here.

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Lorena
And we'll.

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Stephanie
See. Like, I want to reach out to her.

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Lorena
Yeah. You need to talk to. She's incredible. And so, you know, I just thought, well, maybe there's some kind of an emotional connection here. And, like, you know, I did go to, like, a therapist to kind of like, does a little bit of muscle therapy, like, what is it called, muscle testing? Right. So we went to this muscle testing class, and then, like, going to the class, you get to do a session for like $100, like they'll they'll do a session with you.

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Lorena
And so I did, and we talked about some things and it was really good when like, you know, I try to practice like some of the things that she taught she, you know, taught me and you know, like in some ways I felt better. But in other words, I'm like, this isn't really fixing my problem, but okay, you know, I'm just going to keep going.

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Lorena
Going on, living my life. You know, I don't feel like it's too much of a hindrance, but, you know, basically, like, I just it was like I was not paralyzed completely, but I had, like, this lasting numbness, like coming off of an epidural. And so I couldn't feel basically from like my rib cage to my feet had this like that, just a slight numbness, like the, the sensation of, like your top layer was just kind of gone in some aspects.

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Lorena
I was like super sensitive and others it was just like, I doesn't I can't really feel that.

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Stephanie
Didn't you, when we went to lunch, didn't you say something like, well, I kind of have some neuropathy here and there?

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Lorena
Yeah. It's basically what it is. Yeah. It was. Yeah, that's what it was. I couldn't think of that. So yeah, it was like neuropathy all throughout. But there wasn't pain with it because see like a lot of times neuropathy neuropathy associated with pain not just the numbness tingling I didn't really have so much of that. It was more just like the numbness and so it wasn't until like last year, like exactly a year ago from now that like, started getting like leg pain.

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Lorena
And I was like just it kind of built where I was tripping and falling and I was like, oh my gosh, my first. My mind went to M.S. because you hear about Christina Applegate and the Hellboy check. I can't remember her name, I don't know. She was in, like, legally blond, and, she was the dark haired girl and legally blond.

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Stephanie
Yeah. I would have no idea what her name is.

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Lorena
Okay. But anyways.

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Stephanie
Like, how do I know Reese Witherspoon?

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Lorena
Yeah.

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Lorena
Yeah. But, anyway. But, you know, so she's had M.S., and I was like, oh my gosh, do I have M.S.? And so like, it took me a while to get back into my doctor because I don't go to the doctor all the time. Because I was totally health I was healthy. Yeah. You know how.

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Seth
Long between birthing your eighth child Wyatt.

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Lorena
Yeah. Right. And this is about two years.

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Seth
So you kind of lived with this. Neuropathy, numbness, partial paralyzation. Something's wrong. But no, for two years.

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Lorena
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I would try to do, like, all my normal things. Like, I could still get on the horse and ride, you know, I could go on walks with my kids. It hadn't slowed me down. So I was like. But the thing that did slow me, actually, what it did slow me down was I really couldn't run.

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Lorena
So I stopped. Like my legs were so heavy it felt like trying to run on land was like trying to run on water. Like run in a pool. In a swimming pool.

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Stephanie
Yeah.

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Lorena
Just that my legs were so heavy and it was like, I look so funny trying to run. And it was just like this thud, thud when I would to run. And so that was a hard thing. That was only one of the hard things, was like trying to keep up with my toddler at the time. You know, after having my baby, I couldn't run after my crazy, you know, two three year old.

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Lorena
So that was hard. But yeah, it was it wasn't until like I started getting pain, then I just and and tripping and falling. You know we'd go on a walk and like I would trip in and fall and like okay. Yeah. And I have trouble getting up trying to get up off of the floor was got more difficult.

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Lorena
Our house has different levels. It was a couple two steps up to go to one side of the house to the other two steps up, two steps down. And trying to go up and down the steps I was like an 80 year old, I was groaning, I was like holding onto the wall and I was like whoa, this is weird.

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Lorena
This is. Yeah okay.

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Lorena
Some things I now.

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Lorena
This was really wrong. So, you know, I hadn't been to the doctor for a long time, and so I had to basically get in with the doctor I had last seen. It was it was getting in with her was took longer because I was basically like a new patient. So I had to wait a few months for my appointment with her, which was just before Christmas.

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Lorena
And then you know, I think it was, I think she had me do some blood work just before Christmas and met up again with her in January. And, you know, by that time, like I was trying to, I was just having a little bit more pain and just I'm like, okay, something's really not right. And I feel like my quality of life is diminishing.

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Lorena
I'm getting more weak. I'm tripping and falling, and I really nervous like a baby, were very, very passionately baby were wanted this connection with my last baby actually. I mean, I've baby born since 2007.

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Seth
What if my baby wore baby?

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Lorena
Yeah, baby. Where? So, like carriers.

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Stephanie
Like. Like the wrap. We had the girls.

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Lorena
Yeah, that's called baby wearing. Oh, yeah.

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Seth
Oh, baby. Did you say Baby Bjorn?

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Lorena
No, just baby more.

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Seth
I never even.

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Stephanie
Heard of. Like, she wore her baby.

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Seth
Yeah, right. I've never heard.

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Lorena
Yeah, so I was I mean.

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Seth
I know, like I'm a newbie.

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Lorena
I'm like, oh yeah, I know this baby.

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Stephanie
More like he's wrapped to the babies, you know, around. Yeah.

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Lorena
So, like, you know, you have the Sally wrap and then they have like, you have carrier like, structure carriers. Yeah, yeah yeah yeah. So like little like fancier, nicer looking than, like the Baby Bjorn. And a lot better for the babies. Hips, hip health and everything. They provide a little bit more support on their, their legs don't just dangle, you know, they have a more of an Em shape, which is much more healthy for their growing, for the developing.

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Lorena
Yes. And actually still, like my last 2 or 3, I wore a lot and, you know, it was like it was made my life simple. Okay. Because I have a large family to shop for and my cart was always super full. Yes. And then I can't have, like, little kids in the car or carry a cart, you know, a carseat carrier taking up space.

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Lorena
So, yeah, wearing my baby in a wrap or in a carrier just was. I mean, it made my life so much simpler. And it was safer, right? Because I had toddlers, it's sometimes keeping them intact. You know, I could leave my car and go after my toddler if I need.

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Lorena

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Seth
Exactly, exactly. Yeah. And just the pure connection.

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Lorena
Absolutely. Babies love it. You know I nursed my babies like a nurse in the carrier while I'm grocery shopping. I mean it was like for busy moms. Like it just makes so much sense when you can do you know, your babies always want to be born. You know, they want to be close to you. You're not spoiling them by holding them all the time.

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Lorena
And I'm just I love holding my babies. I don't like sharing my babies, passing them around.

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Stephanie
Yeah. So. And when that baby's inside you like, your heartbeat is their comfort. And so when you wear the baby, it brings them that comfort in that process.

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Lorena

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Seth
So you'll appreciate this because you're a horse. You're horse girl. So how old was Hannah when we went on.

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Lorena
Patrick us.

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Stephanie
She was like maybe.

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Lorena
Nine, eight, nine.

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Seth
Eight, nine months. So the two of us, we decided we're going to go to the high you winters. So that's, you know, we're talking Rocky Mountains in in northern Utah. We're going to we're going to pack in horses. Right. So Steph's on a horse, I'm on a horse and we've got a pack horse. I'm wearing Hannah. But I'm wearing it like I don't know.

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Seth
It's a wrap. Some rat.

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Stephanie
Wearing I don't I.

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Seth
Was, I was baby I was I was baby wore.

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Lorena
As you're baby wearing. Yeah that's me wearing.

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Stephanie
Like.

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Lorena
Baby words Preston.

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Stephanie
Yes. Oh baby wore. You wore my baby.

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Seth
Seriously. You are the thing that I am the most, uneducated father. Like. Like I'm a first. Like I'm the tank is. I know what this is. I've worn the I baby wore.

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Stephanie
I have babies, I've been baby.

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Seth
I'm baby work. But I didn't know what I was doing exactly. So I was baby wearing.

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Lorena
Now there's a word for this.

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Lorena
This is a new word.

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Seth
This is a new word. It was like when I started having kids. I never heard this word. Okay.

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Lorena
Well, when.

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Stephanie
When you were baby wearing, I don't even. I didn't call.

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Lorena
That.

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Lorena
I didn't know you get it.

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Stephanie
That it's a newer.

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Lorena
Thing, a totally new word.

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Lorena
Thank you.

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Lorena
Because, I mean, like I said, I've been wearing since 2007. I had like this sling and it would I would hold my toddler, like, on my hip and kill my shoulder. Yes. You know, and like but I and then it was probably my fifth that my sister in law like made like a homemade rap that worked just like the solid rap, you know, with all the different crosses and ties.

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Lorena
Right.

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Stephanie
And that was the one that you used when the girls were like, yeah.

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Seth
I needed your help with that, because that thing was.

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Lorena
Oh yeah.

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Seth
But but the point being, I was baby wearing, I was horseback baby wearing.

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Lorena
I know I would not done that.

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Seth
It was amazing. It was a little. Well, I mean, you know, you've got a baby and you're.

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Lorena
You're you got to be soon. You're allowed to do what a stupid. Well, you know what I, I there.

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Lorena
Are some they won't judge. And then there are some that will judge harshly.

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Lorena
So in the time of baby when.

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Seth
I'm going to come back to, to to the Native American, my Native American heritage.

00;11;08;20 - 00;11;10;06
Lorena
There's so many cultures.

00;11;10;06 - 00;11;12;27
Lorena
That be anywhere in South and over.

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Seth
The world moving, moving with baby. So anyway, we had this amazing packed trip. We went fishing. We, you know, packed everything in, including the baby. And,

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Lorena
That's really.

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Seth
Had a little rodeo. We had some some little rodeo times too.

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Stephanie
I think mainly just at one point.

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Seth
Were there you kind of had a little dicey area, but I.

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Stephanie
Wasn't wearing the baby, so it wasn't, is.

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Lorena
It? Still, I'm still, you know, the horses.

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Lorena
Animals with a mind of their own. You can't predict what they're going to do. It's true. I mean, it's fun, but it's can be scary because I know I, my husband and I, before we had kids, we went up to Prescott Trail riding and he was on my older horse and I was on my younger one, and my older horse acted like the idiot.

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Lorena
And my young one was the reliable thing for once, because she looks at everything and freaks out. I mean, and like he there was somebody with his bright orange jacket and he was just like, what the heck is that? And there is a like, drop off on the side of us. And my husband is on that horse and he's like kind of backing away.

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Lorena
And I'm like, okay.

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Lorena
What do we do?

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Lorena
Like we were with my other friend who's very experienced horse woman and she's like, just get him close to April. Maybe my horse. She's like, just, just push. Push Pete's face into April's butt and just make him just follow.

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Lorena
Really close.

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Lorena
And, you know, it'll it'll. And it did it totally works. I mean, we just just followed April, like, super close. Like, kind of like when you go through a haunted house and you're grabbing.

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Lorena
Onto your friends. But the scary part, horses are the same.

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Lorena
Anyway. But yeah, that was that was a bit scary. But yeah. So like where I know we know my my husband and I have.

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Seth
Done that, but now we've got this girl who. Yeah, she's been on horses since she was a baby. She was baby one.

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Lorena
Yeah. That's that. Oh my, my top man. My oldest four kids all basically were riding as babies and and beyond. You know, we showed like I taught them what I knew, you know, about riding in competitions, you know, and yes, you know, it's it's a hobby. It's it keeps them out of trouble. They all had a lot of fun.

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Lorena
We create we made a lot of memories doing it.

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Seth
How's your oldest?

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Lorena
She's 18. Okay. Yeah.

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Stephanie
She and, Isaac went to school together.

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Lorena
Yeah.

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Seth
Really?

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Lorena
They were friends, and they played like we did a couple play dates and stuff when they were really little. Yeah.

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Seth
So take us so. So jumping back to the. We're jumping back to baby warring.

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Lorena
Yeah. Oh. So, you know, like I, I felt it was I was like, okay. Is this like the end of my ability to like baby wear and all of that. And so I, you know, I just I went to the doctor, my husband came with me and I was like, crying. And he's like, why are you crying? And I'm like, because this is like so much.

00;14;17;06 - 00;14;34;10
Lorena
I don't know what's going on with my body. And I'm so frustrated. I'm now I'm frustrated now. I'm just level. I'm like, okay, I need to find out what's going on. And I'm crying because I'm a little bit scared to find out what's going on. Yeah, yeah, it's it's the fear of the unknown, right? Yes. And so I got testing done.

00;14;34;12 - 00;14;56;06
Lorena
You know, I got some kind of an a testing, which is like an autoimmune test. Okay. Thought it might be lupus. So, you know, I had a referral for a rheumatology neurology. And I begged my practitioner did, like, let me go to physical therapy. I'm like, do I qualify for physical therapy is something that like, I can go to physical therapy because I'm just getting weak by the day.

00;14;56;08 - 00;15;21;01
Lorena
You know, it's it's interfering with my quality of life and my ability to clean my house and take care of my kids and so I was able to do that. And physical therapy did help, and it kind of sustained me because I had to wait like I want to say, it was almost two months for my rheumatologist. It took me forever to get my neurologist appointments.

00;15;21;03 - 00;15;21;29
Lorena

00;15;22;01 - 00;15;48;17
Seth
And how frustrating is that, too? Yeah, when you've got something we're not just talking about, you know, some benign little problem or annoyance. We're talking literally about your safety. I mean, if you're. Yeah, if you're tripping and falling. Yeah, yeah. While caring for babies, you know, let alone just being independent. Yeah. Like we're talking about this. This is escalated to this is a serious impairment on my ability to function.

00;15;48;17 - 00;15;54;03
Seth
That's right. And then you're sitting around with not you're not even waiting for testing. You're you're waiting for the appointment.

00;15;54;03 - 00;16;12;10
Lorena
You're waiting for the appointments to do all the tests. Right? Yeah. So I mean, yeah, because I was so we met January, I think it was like end of January. We met up again. She had bloodwork. I did my my bloodwork, and I had to wait a couple weeks for results and even just getting in with my regular doctor.

00;16;12;10 - 00;16;33;19
Lorena
Right. She's not easy to get into, but she is very good. She was fantastic about listening, which is very rare in the medical profession, to just have somebody really listen. Yes, and that was so helpful. And so yeah, I yeah, it was about two months that I had to wait because I want to say end of January.

00;16;33;19 - 00;16;50;27
Lorena
I met with her and my appointment with the rheumatologist wasn't until April, and there was some miscommunication within neurology, the referral, getting to neurology on time. And so I didn't even get my appointment done until end of May. Okay, so I had all this talk.

00;16;51;05 - 00;16;52;26
Seth
About 4 or 5 months.

00;16;52;29 - 00;17;21;16
Lorena
Yeah, yeah yeah. So thankfully the physical therapy did help. And you know I had balance issues. So like I couldn't stand on one leg in balance I'd fall over right away. Close my eyes I fall over. So I did some chiropractic work. After I had Wyatt, I thought maybe, maybe there's like a compression of my spinal cord or something, you know, maybe, like pinched nerve or something.

00;17;21;18 - 00;17;40;10
Lorena
So I, you know, I did treatment for about eight months and, you know, kind of got to a plateau, but I got comfortable and I got a little bit stronger. I kept working through it and I feel I feel like that was good for my body. And so, I mean, I once I started having the pain and everything, that's when I felt like, okay, I need to figure this out.

00;17;40;12 - 00;18;10;19
Lorena
Yeah. So, you know, so I, I did the physical therapy, I got to into the rheumatology, did all these tests, X-rays, MRI, and they couldn't find anything. Now, a lot of my thoughts, my pain was like my lower back. My sacrum area was like where I would feel any kind of pain, and also the pain would be in my hips, like, what is it called, like bilateral down here?

00;18;10;19 - 00;18;14;07
Lorena
I can't think of it. It's called back home to me. No.

00;18;14;09 - 00;18;17;02
Lorena
Like.

00;18;17;05 - 00;18;41;19
Lorena
So sitting down for a long periods of time was really painful. I stopped going to church because I couldn't even sitting for more than ten minutes was just too painful. And so I would just go to church whenever I'd feel like I could handle it. But yeah. So rheumatology didn't find anything, which was great. But at the same time, like, because, you know, it would be very difficult to live with an autoimmune disease.

00;18;41;19 - 00;19;09;14
Lorena
Yes. Right. Having lupus or something, there's no cure for it. It's more or less you are cope coping, you know, just in your diet and everything, which I was like, well, I guess I could kind of deal with my diet, but I do eat pretty well already. And here's the other thing. Something I was going through my mind was this process of like having this pain and like this, this lasting and progressing debilitating.

00;19;09;16 - 00;19;37;28
Lorena
I have not debilitating, but this progression of of not being able to do anything right and feeling like my body's breaking down. And I started to feel like, well, buddy, why did you portray me like I've taken such good care of you? I haven't done drugs. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do energy drinks either. You know, I, I don't do tons of sugar, but I do have my fair share.

00;19;38;03 - 00;19;59;09
Lorena
Like, you know, like anybody. But I'm not, like, crazy having sugar, like, every single day, you know, I just, I indulge whenever I feel like it. If it's around sometimes maybe I overindulge, but who does it really like? Especially with teenage kids who, like, make cookies on a Sunday or whatever. Just because.

00;19;59;10 - 00;20;01;29
Seth
As Thor would say, another?

00;20;02;02 - 00;20;03;18
Lorena
Yeah.

00;20;03;20 - 00;20;20;27
Lorena
So, you know, I was just feeling like, oh my gosh, like, why did my body betray me? I thought if I did all these things, I would be I'd be healthy. And I guess just like having I had a little bit of a mental breakdown there, but I was feeling confident with the progress I was making in physical therapy.

00;20;21;00 - 00;20;46;25
Lorena
I also decided to go to my doctor and get some adjustments there, because I heard about this one and she was really good. She helped write this, this book about it. And so I'm like, well, because she's like one of the best. She's one of the OGs because she learned under this guy who basically, I don't know if he really necessarily like, invented it, but I think he's one of like the founders of the whole practice.

00;20;46;26 - 00;21;10;07
Lorena
Oh. Well, and and so she coauthored this book and, in fact, it's funny because a lot of my friends, they all knew, like, a lot of people knew her. She's she's helped with people's infertility. She's helped with, Oh, my gosh, I can't even think of anything like it. Just so many things. So many, so many physical ailments.

00;21;10;08 - 00;21;28;12
Lorena
I mean, issues with organs and all kinds of stuff. And it's not just about because there is a connection with, like how your body like the balance of and the alignment that your bones and your muscles all need to be in in order for even proper organ function and things.

00;21;28;12 - 00;21;38;14
Stephanie
And so I know they need they don't have any myo practic myo practitioners. Yeah. But in Utah they're not really.

00;21;38;14 - 00;21;38;25
Lorena
Yes.

00;21;38;25 - 00;21;46;23
Stephanie
I've looked everywhere. I've even asked a few my doctors I know here in Arizona, and they're like, nope, there's one in Utah right now. Anyways, we need to.

00;21;46;25 - 00;21;49;04
Lorena
Yeah, we need to change that.

00;21;49;06 - 00;21;51;08
Seth
That's why we're putting it out right here.

00;21;51;10 - 00;21;52;20
Lorena
I guess they're putting it out.

00;21;52;22 - 00;21;57;09
Stephanie
If anybody knows of one in Utah, we need one. Yeah.

00;21;57;16 - 00;21;59;19
Seth
So we go now. We are in May.

00;21;59;22 - 00;22;26;06
Lorena
Now we're in May. Okay. So get to the neurologist final. Yes. So finally get into the neurologist. You know, tell her some of my ailments and you know, so that MRI that I had my doctor ordered, she ordered my MRI from T12 to L4. Okay. So like my lower back. And this is why it's important my neurologist, I don't know, let her know what's going on.

00;22;26;08 - 00;22;49;29
Lorena
I do get migraines too. So I thought, I wonder if there's any kind of a connection I would go to the malpractice. I'd get adjusted, helped a little bit with my migraines, but towards the end there and started like after seeing the neurologists and stuff, when I'd go to the malpractice car, I would. I feel fantastic right after my appointment and then like within 12 hours I would just get like major migraine.

00;22;50;01 - 00;23;10;09
Lorena
And I was like, oh, there's just there's just something my body does not like. And so I was telling the neurologist about this and she decided we wanted, let's do an MRI of like, your brain in your whole spine. And I was like, okay, that sounds good, because I told her where the the numbness had started was like my rib cage all the way down.

00;23;10;09 - 00;23;36;22
Lorena
And she was like, okay, so we need to go a little higher in this MRI because I see you got it. Like your lower, you know, like your lower back. So schedule my MRI for June 15th. I have my mother and I go with me because I have to do it with contrast. And I'm still nursing what my goal was nurse him to about three and then just kind of let it go, you know?

00;23;36;24 - 00;23;49;09
Lorena
So I go to this appointment, my mother in law comes with me because I'm like, I don't know if I'm going to have a, you know, just for safety purposes, like, I want someone with me in case I have a reaction to the contrast. You just never know. Yeah. I don't want to go by myself. Yeah.

00;23;49;14 - 00;23;50;10
Stephanie
It's always wise to.

00;23;50;12 - 00;24;10;05
Lorena
Yeah, yeah. And my husband's working and I don't want to bug him. And so. So she comes with me and she's waiting and we're getting all the, you know, imaging done. And so after my last image I, you know, they have me go and get dressed and, and he's like okay, so the doctor wants to see you. So don't leave right away.

00;24;10;05 - 00;24;30;17
Lorena
And we need to give you the CD of the exam of your images. So I was like, okay, that's weird. And I look at her, I'm like, this is they found something. That's when I was like, okay, I know there's something coming. So we get to a private room and she's not my regular neurologist. She's one that I had seen.

00;24;30;17 - 00;24;53;07
Lorena
I had seen her in the before because she, she was doing some other testing, like some muscle testing on me, about a week before. And so I did recognize her and, and that she was like, okay, so we found something on your MRI. You have a mass that is compressing your spinal cord. Now, we don't know what it is.

00;24;53;10 - 00;25;12;13
Lorena
But we recommend you go to the ER across the street, like right now. Today we've called them, let them know that you're coming, but you need to go and get this figured out because this might paralyze you and we don't know what it is. Okay. But it's just this large mass. It's pushing your spinal cord against your spine.

00;25;12;15 - 00;25;32;18
Lorena
And so, like, you know, then I'm just, like, crying, you know? And, call my husband and let him know they found something. They want me to go to the E.R.. I don't know what to do. I'm starving. I don't know if I should go home and if I should go. We should go eat something. Or hurry and rush over to the E.R. and just get in right away.

00;25;32;20 - 00;25;50;29
Lorena
We. We're going to come home and go home, and I was gonna get something to eat, and then I just. I'm like, you know what? Let's just go to the E.R. in case they have to call the office for whatever reason. And so they gave me the disk and send us to the E.R.. And so, yeah, we we get there and, of course, it's like a few hours of waiting.

00;25;51;02 - 00;26;10;17
Lorena
You go through triage, you know, they knew I was coming. They're also giving the disc to somebody, radiology to see if they can read it. So we're praying that they can read it so I don't have to get another MRI. Right. Because that MRI was like 45 minutes. It was it was quite long. It was shorter than.

00;26;10;19 - 00;26;12;03
Seth
45 minutes in the machine.

00;26;12;04 - 00;26;30;08
Lorena
In the machine? Yes. I mean, because they were doing my brain and my spine that previous MRI had done was probably about 20 minutes and it was just my lower back, you know, and it wasn't too bad this time. It was like, I didn't have music right. Oh my goodness. And I mean, that's not normal really. It's not normal.

00;26;30;08 - 00;26;37;18
Lorena
I think what it was the first time I got an MRI, I was very I was really spoiled because it was like headphones and there was a little music in the background. That was great.

00;26;37;18 - 00;26;37;29
Seth
Cheese and.

00;26;37;29 - 00;26;40;03
Lorena
Crackers. Yeah. So I my hair.

00;26;40;04 - 00;26;48;03
Lorena
I was like, wait, you know this neurology place they have like their big old fancy machine and what, you don't have music playing in there like. Right.

00;26;48;05 - 00;26;56;26
Stephanie
Anyway, I've had a few done and they've always had music. I don't know if they had headphones back that I was in seventh or eighth grade or something like that. So, you know, 25 years.

00;26;56;26 - 00;26;58;03
Lorena
Ago. Yeah, yeah.

00;26;58;04 - 00;27;00;10
Seth
There may be some changes.

00;27;00;13 - 00;27;04;17
Stephanie
So we didn't have the headphones for that music. And I'm claustrophobic. And so I'm like.

00;27;04;20 - 00;27;05;19
Lorena
I can't imagine.

00;27;05;19 - 00;27;07;18
Stephanie
Okay. I just I go in there and close my eyes and.

00;27;07;18 - 00;27;24;27
Lorena
Just like, yeah, I close my eyes anyways. And I'm not claustrophobic, okay. Like, I used to like to be like tight, like, you know, zipped up super tight. Oh, no. And sleeping bags and everything. I mean, I don't anymore like this, but I can handle it like I'm okay, so. Yeah. I don't like those. Yeah. So we waited.

00;27;24;29 - 00;27;26;23
Seth
And you didn't get to eat during this time.

00;27;26;27 - 00;27;46;09
Lorena
You know, my mother in law during triage. My mother in law office is funny. My mother left enough to get me some food because we're like, we're going to be waiting for a while. And so like, so she went and got me food. So we're still, like, kind of waiting in like, the most common area really don't have, like, we don't have the whole triage curtained room yet.

00;27;46;12 - 00;28;07;14
Lorena
You're still kind of in the big waiting room with everybody, but they know you're going to go, you know, you're they're waiting for a bed in that part. So. Right at the time she comes in with food, I get into that waiting room area or I get into like, a room, you know, the triage rooms. And of course, they tell you, you know, eating or drinking case.

00;28;07;15 - 00;28;08;11
Lorena
You have to have surgery.

00;28;08;11 - 00;28;09;24
Lorena
Exactly. Okay.

00;28;09;24 - 00;28;23;11
Lorena
But like before, they told us that I did get to eat like a banana, and I had, like, half of a granola thing, and I had some water. And then this nurse comes in and, like, right, I'm like drinking. And he's like, wait, you're not supposed to be drinking anything, is.

00;28;23;14 - 00;28;23;27
Lorena
This you have.

00;28;23;27 - 00;28;27;13
Lorena
To do surgery. It's like, no more eating from now on. I was like, okay, and I.

00;28;27;13 - 00;28;28;12
Lorena
Just it's.

00;28;28;13 - 00;28;40;18
Lorena
Like I'm just drinking my water, just not even, anyways. But that was. Yeah. So I did get a little bit, but then I started getting like this raging headache because my blood sugar is just. Oh, yeah, I always get a headache if I don't eat enough.

00;28;40;20 - 00;28;45;26
Seth
Well, by this time, you'd probably gone. You were fasting. Fasting for the MRI?

00;28;45;29 - 00;28;58;12
Lorena
You know, I didn't need to fast for the MRI. No, but just the timing of everything. That day, I ate late. And so, you know, I went to my MRI and just thinking, oh, like I'll eat when I get home.

00;28;58;12 - 00;28;59;12
Stephanie
Yeah, totally.

00;28;59;17 - 00;29;00;20
Seth
Hours later.

00;29;00;20 - 00;29;28;20
Lorena
Hours later. Yeah. So anyways, we get into triage, they're still trying to read the, you know, radio at the desk. And so we're, we just waited for a little while longer. But then I by that evening, they took me to another room. They're like, okay, we're going to admit you. They had a neurosurgeon come down, and she was a, she was a neurosurgeons, nurse practitioner.

00;29;28;25 - 00;29;47;07
Lorena
That's what she was. And she showed me the imaging. She kind of explained what they saw and showed us, and she was like, you were going to need surgery. We don't know what this is. We don't know if it's cancers or not. And I don't know if it was dumb or smart of me to be like, well, I know if it's cancer, I'm not doing chemo.

00;29;47;09 - 00;29;49;11
Lorena
Oh my God. She's like, well.

00;29;49;11 - 00;29;52;13
Lorena
Let's just wait till we get to that. You know? I mean.

00;29;52;16 - 00;29;52;29
Lorena
It was.

00;29;53;05 - 00;30;15;22
Lorena
Quite large. It was a large tumor. She's like, it looks like something that's been there for a while. So you know, well, but she's like, you are going to need surgery to get this to take care of your. Yeah. So we're going to. Yeah. Yeah. And so you know they went ahead and schedule the surgery had we meet with them.

00;30;15;22 - 00;30;33;26
Lorena
You know they admitted me so I had to stay the night. So I was planning on going home. You know, I couldn't nurse white for 24 hours. And here I was like, oh, my gosh, now I have to surgery, you know, like, that's it. No, more like, this is this is the end of my breastfeeding journey for my last baby.

00;30;33;26 - 00;30;35;04
Lorena
You know.

00;30;35;07 - 00;30;38;04
Seth
Not the way you would have scripted it now.

00;30;38;10 - 00;30;56;11
Lorena
And so anyway, that, so the next day, I was doing more blood test. I had to have another MRI. They had to wait 24 hours for I could do an MRI. And then they also did a CT. So all these things okay, I don't put anything in my body except Tylenol or ibuprofen if I really, really need it.

00;30;56;13 - 00;31;08;25
Lorena
I've been like, I'm. I take homeopathic medicines. I just do a lot of, you know, holistic methods of everything. And so like I'm like, oh my gosh, now I'm really going to get drugged up.

00;31;08;29 - 00;31;11;22
Lorena
Yeah. Right. Yes. Was.

00;31;11;24 - 00;31;31;00
Lorena
But you know, I'm like asking questions like what does this do. What's this for. What are the risks of this? Okay. Well, you know calculating everything I'm like, okay, I guess I'll just it'll be okay. Felt like it'll be okay. I had a lot of people praying for me, and, I mean, that that meant the world.

00;31;31;00 - 00;31;36;26
Lorena
I could feel that I cried so much. I haven't cried that much in a very, very, very long time.

00;31;36;28 - 00;31;44;23
Stephanie
I can't imagine because, I mean, you're going through all this and you're like, okay, we don't even know what it is. Yeah, but I have to immediately go into surgery. Yeah.

00;31;44;26 - 00;31;59;12
Lorena
And not knowing if I'm going to like, survive surgery or if I'm going to like wake up from surgery, like if they're going to get it all, if is it cancerous? What if it paralyzes me doing the surgery like all of these? What is right? Am I ever going to ride a horse again?

00;31;59;12 - 00;32;04;14
Stephanie
Yeah. And then on top of it, like a breastfeeding is, is I.

00;32;04;17 - 00;32;05;03
Lorena
I don't know.

00;32;05;08 - 00;32;12;10
Stephanie
What am I trying to say. You know, it's it's almost like a spiritual journey. It is. It's this beautiful connection between you and your baby.

00;32;12;10 - 00;32;12;27
Lorena
Yeah.

00;32;12;29 - 00;32;16;07
Stephanie
And then to not get to choose to stop doing that.

00;32;16;07 - 00;32;19;04
Lorena
Yeah. This is one of the hardest. Huge. Yeah. It was huge.

00;32;19;04 - 00;32;20;22
Stephanie
That alone would make me bawl my eyes.

00;32;20;28 - 00;33;02;22
Lorena
Oh, I cried so much before and after I tell you. Yeah. So, so we had a lot of prayers. So Saturday evening, my kids got to come see me, and, you know, I just I'm like, I want to see the kids. So after all this testing is done, it kind of quiets down. And, my husband brings my my mother in law, they bring all the kids, and, you know, my he's told my older to what's going on then we tell everybody, you know, all of them and it's really emotional, you know, like I'm their worlds and but they all they were all so wonderful about it.

00;33;02;25 - 00;33;26;04
Lorena
And, so that was fantastic to just have them come. And after they left, Nick and I, my husband and I were just talking and we were just like this. I'm like, this is not how I want to do things. I don't know, should I should I postpone this? I, I don't know if I want to have these rods in my back for the rest of my life, because this is what it's going to take.

00;33;26;04 - 00;33;39;01
Lorena
They're probably going to, you know, they take out the tumor, they're going to have to put rods and my titanium rods in my back. So I'm going to have rods and screws and I'm like, am I going to be able to function like normal. You know, what's it going to be like.

00;33;39;03 - 00;33;45;29
Stephanie
And this might be a really naive question but so is it because they have to go through bone and other things. Yes.

00;33;45;29 - 00;34;05;15
Lorena
So I think what they have to together typically I, yes they have to take apart bone depending on how the tumor is attached I think they may have to remove some of the like. If the tumor is like on the bone, they might have to remove some of that. But I yeah I think with a lot of them that's how it comes okay.

00;34;05;15 - 00;34;27;00
Lorena
That's what they do. But I still I'm still not 100% sure how my rods and everything are all fitted in there, but they're just they're there. And, anyway, so, so my husband are, like, talking about this, and I'm like, I'm just. I kind of wonder, should I just go home and just try to, like, shrink this naturally?

00;34;27;07 - 00;34;27;26
Lorena
Okay.

00;34;27;28 - 00;34;49;24
Lorena
Is this something I can like research into about? How did you know? But we don't know if it's cancers or benign. Yeah. And I'm like, well, I don't really want them to do a biopsy because I know that biopsies can be not a good deal. Good. Good thing either. Yeah. Because that can actually cause cancers to spread if it is cancerous.

00;34;49;26 - 00;35;14;16
Lorena
So I had some earthly angels come in the form of some really good friends that live nearby. When I, when I would see she, she does fascia work and she did some fashion melting those last couple of weeks before and I mean like my body just loved it. Responded so well to the work that she did. And I was like thinking, oh man, things are gonna look up.

00;35;14;16 - 00;35;31;27
Lorena
Maybe it's just we thought, maybe my fascia is too tight. Maybe that's what's causing all of this tightness around, you know, the nerves and everything. But, you know, she did work on, like, my, my neck, and she felt like some kind of a blockage. She has magic. I mean, I just I call him magic hands, but she just.

00;35;31;27 - 00;35;52;27
Lorena
She really has this gift. Her hands. Like, she can just feel the flow in a body, and it's just amazing to her. Oh, yeah. I'll give you her info. She's fantastic. And. Yeah. So. So she came and. And then another really good friend came, and, you know, I'm like, I've never had surgery. You guys, what do I.

00;35;52;27 - 00;36;11;09
Lorena
I don't even know what to expect. I kind of don't want to do this now. Like I'm feeling like I want to run. Okay? The the fear, the fight, the fight or flight. I'm feeling the flight being coming. And, so we talked and they both had had surgery. And so they were able to just kind of talk me through it like it's no big deal.

00;36;11;09 - 00;36;33;07
Lorena
Like they'll put you to sleep and and you'll just wake up and you'll just, you know, you'll just deal with it. But they're like, it's not that bad. And and we laughed a lot. And that helped. I love to laugh. I love that just attitude is everything. And that just really lifted me up to just have some things to talk about and just laugh about.

00;36;33;07 - 00;36;54;14
Lorena
It just totally took my mind off of me and my problem. And then I felt like, okay, I feel like I, I can do this. I feel like this is the right move now. Like, I feel like this is God telling me this is okay because I brought you to trusted people and they, you know, like through their voice, you know, this is the right move.

00;36;54;16 - 00;36;55;26
Seth
And laughter is good medicine.

00;36;55;28 - 00;37;27;09
Lorena
It is the best medicine. We laugh a lot in our house. I mean, I we're it's always just something that we that I, I mean, I'm glad Steph has known me for a very long time and it's just something we always do. We just it's laughter is the best. And so, something really cool, I wanted to share with my, my daughter is, so my daughter, the veil is very thin for her.

00;37;27;11 - 00;37;51;27
Lorena
And, and so she can see, you know, she can see spirits good and bad. And, so my husband had told her, my oldest, like, what was going on, having the surgery, and she was feeling really nervous, and she got into the hospital room and they came in and she saw two angels standing on the either side of my bed.

00;37;51;29 - 00;38;12;21
Lorena
And she's like, now, I didn't know. You know, they didn't look familiar to me like any family members I know. But she's like, but but I did know is they were there to help with the surgery. And she told me this late that night when I, I, I don't remember if they called me or I called them just to talk to them.

00;38;12;23 - 00;38;45;13
Lorena
And she told me this and then I just knew okay this everything's going to be okay. And I can't tell you. I mean it was just a miracle. I woke up from my surgery and it was like the, the neurosurgeon told me they'd gotten the entire tumor. They're taking it for biopsy and everything went well. And, so I just it it was a bit of a recovery, trying to get used to feeling these rods in my back.

00;38;45;15 - 00;39;11;18
Lorena
And, you know, some of the side effects from the pain medicine that they gave me. You know, we're just not so fun. And, but, you know, I was able to get through it. I use a lot of natural remedies to get through that stuff, and I just. I stopped taking, like, the Percocet and the morphine, like, by day, by Wednesday, my surgery was on Sunday, and I was wednesday-thursday.

00;39;11;18 - 00;39;32;27
Lorena
I was taking just like, Tylenol and, Norco, which the Norco, I think cause like some, you know, Norco causes constipation and stuff. So, like, I wish I had known that. Yeah. That's it. I didn't ask questions on some of those. I didn't realize that that was a side effect. But now I wish I had known. Now I know, and it's like everybody talks about it.

00;39;32;27 - 00;39;55;11
Lorena
Oh yeah, that's one of the main things. So anyway. But but yeah, just my husband just oh my gosh, she's such a rock. I mean, he was there with me the entire time of the hospital taking care of me, making sure I wasn't ever left alone. You know, if he needed to go home for something, he made sure I had somebody at the hospital with me.

00;39;55;13 - 00;40;15;18
Lorena
And, And, I mean, he didn't get any sleep and probably just hurt his back. Even worse, just being there. And then when I got home, I mean, he was having to get up every hour, hour and a half to turn me over, help me go to the bathroom. I mean, it was like it was really difficult to sleep.

00;40;15;18 - 00;40;38;08
Lorena
Those first two weeks was like the hardest. But it, it just it got better. But I cried so much like I, I there I had a huge support system while I was in the hospital. We had meals brought in that week. I was in the hospital and the week after, and that really took care of my family for me.

00;40;38;08 - 00;40;58;03
Lorena
We had friends sending activities for my kids, and then, and then after that, I mean, just more meals brought in for a while. And, and my kids were is so, so helpful. So I homeschool and we took a break this, you know, that was our.

00;40;58;05 - 00;40;58;07
Lorena
It.

00;40;58;09 - 00;40;59;04
Seth
Was that last year.

00;40;59;08 - 00;41;01;08
Lorena
That was just this last summer. Yeah.

00;41;01;10 - 00;41;02;12
Seth
That was this summer. That was.

00;41;02;12 - 00;41;03;10
Lorena
This summer. Just like.

00;41;03;10 - 00;41;03;23
Seth
Three months.

00;41;03;23 - 00;41;04;11
Lorena
Ago. Yeah.

00;41;04;12 - 00;41;06;03
Seth
Oh we don't when you're saying June.

00;41;06;09 - 00;41;07;12
Lorena
Is this is this.

00;41;07;12 - 00;41;08;07
Seth
This is just this.

00;41;08;07 - 00;41;09;08
Lorena
June. Yeah.

00;41;09;15 - 00;41;10;02
Seth
Okay.

00;41;10;02 - 00;41;35;06
Lorena
Yeah. I'm, I'm four months out. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, my kids were all helping, so I'm glad that my I've taught we've taught our kids to work hard. I mean, they're, they're workers. They they I we have a day every week that we clean, you know, they do their schoolwork, but we have a day where we we do cleaning, and or they help me with whatever needs to be helped with.

00;41;35;06 - 00;41;35;16
Lorena
Right.

00;41;35;16 - 00;41;36;15
Stephanie
It's like homework day.

00;41;36;21 - 00;41;51;08
Lorena
Yeah. Well, and, you know, we incorporate some of those skills even in their homeschool. Like where they're helping, you know, they get credit for helping cook all the time and like learning to cook things so my girls can make tortillas. They can make.

00;41;51;11 - 00;41;52;22
Seth
I make homemade tortillas.

00;41;52;22 - 00;41;54;09
Lorena
Homemade tortillas.

00;41;54;09 - 00;41;55;13
Stephanie
He's like Stephanie.

00;41;55;16 - 00;42;00;20
Lorena
Yeah, yeah. You know, they know how to make tamales. So I do like tamales. Yeah.

00;42;00;23 - 00;42;09;12
Seth
There's nothing quite like homemade. There is only homemade tamales. And then everything else which calls itself tamales.

00;42;09;19 - 00;42;15;16
Lorena
Yeah. Well, like, you know, you can buy Costco tamales and everything, but it's just. And some people are okay with that.

00;42;15;16 - 00;42;17;09
Lorena
Yeah. Some people.

00;42;17;11 - 00;42;19;17
Seth
Like most of us, have to be okay.

00;42;19;17 - 00;42;21;22
Stephanie
With one time. I bought some there and they were pretty good.

00;42;21;23 - 00;42;22;13
Seth
I'm not saying that.

00;42;22;13 - 00;42;24;00
Stephanie
They were decent, they definitely.

00;42;24;03 - 00;42;26;26
Seth
But we're talking about healing hands.

00;42;26;26 - 00;42;29;00
Lorena
Making some.

00;42;29;02 - 00;42;30;13
Seth
Right.

00;42;30;16 - 00;42;35;02
Stephanie
Things and Encanto.

00;42;35;05 - 00;42;58;14
Lorena
Oh yeah. Yeah. The tamales. And what else do we we they learn how to make all kinds of stuff. I mean, they help with dinner. And so they were helping a lot. Like while I was gone, they could do they there was a lot they could do. And so we I don't know, I just my kids were just amazing.

00;42;58;16 - 00;43;16;16
Lorena
Just helping all the time, especially with the little ones. Okay. So we're talking about, like, having to just cold turkey. No more nursing my almost three year old and, like, you know, it's how I'd get him to go to sleep through the night, right? It's like part of our nightly routine. So that was a challenge for them.

00;43;16;16 - 00;43;22;19
Lorena
They were they were the ones dealing with that. I was just gone and they were dealing with getting him to bed and everything. Oh man.

00;43;22;22 - 00;43;26;19
Stephanie
Yeah. It's probably taught them a lot of to go through this experience.

00;43;26;19 - 00;43;32;19
Lorena
Oh they did when I came home they were just. Mom, you do so much, you don't realize how much you do.

00;43;32;19 - 00;43;35;10
Seth
Oh, yeah. You're like, come on, come on.

00;43;35;15 - 00;43;36;11
Lorena
Yeah. Stop.

00;43;36;11 - 00;43;38;14
Stephanie
Please stop.

00;43;38;16 - 00;43;41;00
Lorena
What was that again? What was that again?

00;43;41;02 - 00;44;02;26
Lorena
Yeah. You're like, I don't know how you writing things like I know, right? I mean it was I was really surprised. They were also grateful. But I'm like, I'm sorry guys. Just because I'm back, I, I'm not going to be able to do anything for eight weeks. Wow. They he said no bending lifting twisting. Couldn't carry anything. Lift anything heavier than 3 pounds.

00;44;02;26 - 00;44;04;04
Stephanie
Did you laugh.

00;44;04;06 - 00;44;06;26
Lorena
Like I was like, oh that's funny.

00;44;06;28 - 00;44;25;27
Lorena
I'm like, okay, well I don't want surgery again. Yeah, I really don't. I mean, that was that was a really hard surgery. Oh, so I didn't tell you was how big the two like where how big it was. So the tumor was found. It was t 5 to 10, ten and a half. 11. So he had to do my.

00;44;25;27 - 00;44;50;07
Lorena
My incision is T4 to t 11, and my rods are somewhere in between all of that. Oh my God it's. But so that first time I completely missed it. Remember I told you it was t12. L4. Yeah. Completely missed it. Yeah. So, So, yeah, I didn't want to have surgery again, and I, I adhered to all my restrictions.

00;44;50;09 - 00;44;52;17
Lorena
I milked it for as long as I could as frustrating.

00;44;52;17 - 00;44;52;29
Lorena
As it is.

00;44;52;29 - 00;45;12;08
Lorena
Because, you know, as a mom, like you want things done a certain way or like to be done now and then, just like I just had to let it go. Yeah. And I honestly, I feel like I'm a pretty relaxed mom. I have a lot of patience, which I learned from riding horses because I had a green Brook horse when I was about 17 years old, and she taught me a lot.

00;45;12;08 - 00;45;35;29
Lorena
I still have her. Really? Yeah. She's 26 now and she's blind, but she's, you know, she's still happy and answers to her name and knickers and stuff. And so I feel like, well, she'll go when she's ready and, you know, we'll just keep her happy and comfortable. But yeah, she taught me a lot. She was crazy. Wild horse.

00;45;36;01 - 00;45;44;01
Lorena
I mean, that horse crow hopped. You know what that is like just. Yeah, I mean, that thing, I would it's like it's.

00;45;44;03 - 00;45;44;28
Seth
Kind of like, kind of.

00;45;44;29 - 00;46;04;09
Lorena
Yeah, like about, like, imagine how a deer like, jumps just like straight in the air. Yeah. That that girl could do it. Like, she was extremely athletic. It took so much to wear her down to get her brain to think. So we'd have to do a lot of, like, pre running. Like I would have to lunch or basically just run her in circles around me.

00;46;04;11 - 00;46;24;13
Lorena
Lots of brown work with her, but she's, you know, she's great ground, ground manners. And I mean, she's the sweetest thing. She's just like a big dog. But when you get on her back, like, she's just like her brain just, rewires to just this really wild animal. It just doesn't. Yeah. She's just. She's a different animal.

00;46;24;13 - 00;46;43;02
Lorena
But she taught me so much, so much patience. Because you couldn't get. You couldn't get angry at her for doing anything, or it would just make her flip out more. And so I just had to always stay calm, no matter. Like she freaked out. I had to be calm. And, you know, motherhood has been I mean, I never plan on having eight kids.

00;46;43;05 - 00;46;45;00
Seth
I was yeah, I was gonna say, how did you get to eight?

00;46;45;00 - 00;46;46;13
Lorena
Because how do we get to eight?

00;46;46;13 - 00;46;47;11
Lorena
Yes.

00;46;47;13 - 00;47;02;00
Lorena
I mean, because growing up I was like, maybe two. I wanted to live on a ranch and have lots of horses and dogs and live with my best friend. I don't even know where my husband was. I mean, my friend, my best friend. And I like ten years old. We were planning out our lives, and I don't know, we didn't.

00;47;02;02 - 00;47;07;21
Lorena
I don't know, we were just going to be roommates and have this all this land and take care of horses and do kind of.

00;47;07;21 - 00;47;09;19
Seth
Sounds like a my Little Pony motif here.

00;47;09;20 - 00;47;13;28
Lorena
It was, you know, it was wild.

00;47;14;00 - 00;47;38;29
Lorena
But yeah, it was, you know, I wasn't until like high school area that I got. Okay, I think I might, I might be okay. Like having kids, maybe 1 or 2, you know. But I didn't think I'd be a stay at home mom. I worked for a long time, and I worked and had toddlers. I stopped working when I had my fifth because, like, just her feeding schedule and care was like round the clock.

00;47;38;29 - 00;48;00;28
Lorena
I was trying to get her to gain weight, and at that point I was just like, I feel like I'm I'm stretched thin here. You know, my oldest was I think she would have been first or second grade. I think she was about actually second grade when I had her. So it was like, you know, trying to get them to school and do all of that.

00;48;01;00 - 00;48;06;10
Lorena
It felt like it was just it was time to hang up that my working mom had, you know.

00;48;06;12 - 00;48;21;06
Seth
You talk about, you mentioned something about feeling really strongly about independence and individuality as a mother and not losing yourself in motherhood.

00;48;21;06 - 00;48;22;01
Lorena
Yeah.

00;48;22;03 - 00;48;23;09
Seth
What does that look like?

00;48;23;12 - 00;48;44;05
Lorena
For me? That looked like sharing my passion with my kids. So, like, I was big into horses and I taught my kids to ride and when my oldest was four, you know, she was out there. I mean, they were always out there with me when I was cleaning up with them. I've given pony rides and, so that was like just such a healthy outlet for me.

00;48;44;08 - 00;48;55;13
Lorena
Yeah. To just always be taking care of the horses and incorporating my kids with that. And I mean, getting a little bit of me time to ride, you know, it was a great distress there.

00;48;55;15 - 00;49;12;29
Seth
So basically I'm going to invest in myself. I'm going to make sure that I can de-stress. I'm going to make sure I connect with horses. This is my passion and kids can, you know, they can come along like I'm going to share that with them. But it's it's not going to it's my plate that they can share in.

00;49;12;29 - 00;49;16;28
Seth
It's not me. Yeah I self-sacrificing so that.

00;49;17;04 - 00;49;37;06
Lorena
That's right. Yeah yeah yeah I didn't force them into it. I introduced it to them and they enjoyed it. And we just kept it going. Like if they didn't want to ride they didn't have to ride. But unfortunately they're all like me and they love riding I mean even so all of my kids, they love riding as little babies.

00;49;37;06 - 00;50;00;18
Lorena
They would cry if I took them off of them off the saddle. I mean teeny tiny, they just they loved it. They rode with me. My fifth one, she would ride with me and, my horse, he he has the most, the smoothest jog. I mean, it's just like, pitter pat. It is so soothing. Just you could ride it for for days.

00;50;00;18 - 00;50;17;17
Lorena
And my, my fifth one, she'd fall asleep like it would just totally put her to sleep. She would sit in front and we'd just be jogging around in our backyard, and he would just. She she'd be asleep. And I have, like, videos and pictures of me, like, holding her, like she's just totally asleep.

00;50;17;19 - 00;50;20;27
Seth
So you saying. And Joe, we're talking. We're talking cantaloupe. We talking, we're talking.

00;50;20;27 - 00;50;25;04
Lorena
Like the lower the like a no slower than a trot is slower.

00;50;25;05 - 00;50;26;26
Seth
Like a fast walk.

00;50;26;29 - 00;50;43;20
Lorena
It's a, it's a real trot. But it's just, it's real slow and smooth. Really. Yeah. But these are show horses. Yeah, I think so. They, they move a little different. Yeah. Yeah. They're not like ranch you know ranch ranches more like you know you got the fast track because you're, you're out there doing things. You got to be quick.

00;50;43;20 - 00;50;53;24
Lorena
You're moving cows. You got to be quick. You know. So these are like pleasure type where it's like, you know you take it real slow. You want your love to be real smooth. So what's.

00;50;53;24 - 00;50;54;07
Seth
That look?

00;50;54;10 - 00;50;55;26
Lorena
Oh no. She's like.

00;50;55;27 - 00;50;56;22
Stephanie
That's like oh I.

00;50;56;22 - 00;50;58;01
Lorena
Mean, what's that feel.

00;50;58;04 - 00;50;59;01
Lorena
Like?

00;50;59;04 - 00;51;01;20
Seth
That's Stephanie's style right there.

00;51;01;20 - 00;51;03;09
Lorena
She's like as fast as him.

00;51;03;13 - 00;51;04;19
Stephanie
I'm like.

00;51;04;21 - 00;51;21;18
Lorena
Gay. It takes a lot of stamina. It takes a lot of muscle to stay on and go fast. No, it really does. It does, it does. I mean, all of it. I mean, because I mean, I, I did all the disciplines, I did English, Western, I did jumping, I did the gymkhana. So I did the barrels and the poles.

00;51;21;21 - 00;51;35;28
Lorena
So I know and like to get my horse to be slow. Sometimes you have to like I'd sit and I'd run them around as fast as I could and I'm like huffing and puffing afterwards. I'm like, oh my gosh, I feel like I was running, you know, because just trying to stay on that. Yeah, right.

00;51;35;29 - 00;51;36;15
Stephanie
It's true.

00;51;36;16 - 00;51;57;05
Lorena
I'm like, I'm pushing him and he's like, and then I, you know, then I bring him down to slow and he's just collects up and he's just like this rolling lope. And it's just it feels amazing. I'm like, I can my little ones can like sit and lope with him. And he's he's real smooth. Yeah. So it is.

00;51;57;05 - 00;52;18;01
Lorena
It's a lot of fun. I'm not gonna be able to get on the horse for a little while longer. It's looking like. So I got clearance September, mid September. I got clearance to just start physical therapy and just do whatever. Start living your life. And, But I asked him, so how can I get on the horse?

00;52;18;01 - 00;52;36;06
Lorena
He's like, you have to wait at least three more months to have some more X-rays and make sure all of your rods and everything are still good. And then we'll talk about you getting on a horse. That makes sense. Yeah, hard to do. So it is hard because my last experience on a horse, I fell off like I was trying to get on.

00;52;36;06 - 00;52;40;02
Lorena
I don't know, my horse. Was he? Yeah.

00;52;40;02 - 00;52;42;01
Seth
He this is earlier this year.

00;52;42;01 - 00;52;44;06
Lorena
This is earlier this year. This was like.

00;52;44;09 - 00;52;48;13
Seth
Going through the mind, you know, of the neuropathy.

00;52;48;17 - 00;53;08;15
Lorena
Yeah. So it was like, you know, I had done physical therapy for a while. I can't remember when I tried to get on, but I got some really nice bruises from that fall. Like he just kind of took off. He he spooked and he was just I don't know, he was just having a really off day, like my daughter came off of him and I was like, oh my gosh, he can't do that.

00;53;08;15 - 00;53;27;21
Lorena
So I had to get on like I was going to get on and correct him. And he was just like, nope, not doing it. So luckily I have a great trainer to come. Moments like that, I was like, I can't ride. She's like, I'll be over there. Oh, that's good. So she's she's come a few times, but I mean, he's a great horse.

00;53;27;21 - 00;53;44;02
Lorena
It was just he was just an off day. And but yeah he's, he's my little ones can just like pull him along to just lead him along. And he's just there. I mean he's we've had some really great memories with him.

00;53;44;05 - 00;53;47;28
Stephanie
So I love horses there are amazing creatures.

00;53;47;28 - 00;53;57;13
Lorena
You learn so much. They're just they're, they're they're in the present and it's like they teach you so much about that. Yeah.

00;53;57;16 - 00;54;17;02
Stephanie
Now that we have some of our own horses, well I guess we always have since we were married. But now that I've been around horses more, I just that connection with them like it really I've always loved horses. I think they're absolutely beautiful and they're so strong. Yeah I love to see them run like it's it's even just think about, like, brings me joy.

00;54;17;05 - 00;54;18;19
Lorena
Yeah, it really does.

00;54;18;19 - 00;54;33;01
Stephanie
And so it really, you know, since having horses like I can just see why they're there are Oh my goodness. I can't even think of what it's called. But where they have places where people can go and heal equine equinoxes.

00;54;33;02 - 00;54;33;14
Lorena
Yes.

00;54;33;15 - 00;54;35;02
Stephanie
That's what it's called, equine therapy.

00;54;35;04 - 00;54;36;27
Lorena
There is there's so much therapy.

00;54;37;00 - 00;54;39;18
Stephanie
Much more sense. That's a way.

00;54;39;20 - 00;55;01;07
Lorena
Like what is the pleasure of going and feeding an animal, like feeding a horse, carrots and apples. And I mean our horses, they eat all kinds of things. They like orange rinds, like the orange peels, watermelon rinds. So my horse actually got an eye injury one time. I mean, a total fluke accident. I don't even know what he scratched his eye on.

00;55;01;09 - 00;55;24;21
Lorena
And the vet came by and was like, okay, you need to give him like three different drops in his eye. And fortunately it was him and not April, because April would be a nut and I would have to have probably paid another 5 to $800 to have him do like this automatic lavage system. That would basically, it's like an IV of something directly into the eye, you know?

00;55;24;23 - 00;55;44;16
Lorena
So like this whole contraption that just like it's just there and you just, you know, syringe it through or something. So he he was great where if I, if I just gave him some food, while I was, like, pushing it, you know, holding his eye open and putting drops in.

00;55;44;18 - 00;55;46;08
Seth
He was he was okay.

00;55;46;11 - 00;56;02;28
Lorena
He was totally okay with it. And I had to do it. It was like having a newborn. I mean, it was like every I think I was out there like every 4 or 5 hours or something. It was maybe less, even round the clock for a couple of weeks. And I had a little baby at the time, too.

00;56;03;00 - 00;56;17;05
Lorena
She was only, I want to say she was like six months or so. Wow. And I was doing this. So it was like, it was so crazy. But luckily I was up in the middle of night feeding her. And so it wasn't a big deal of just like.

00;56;17;08 - 00;56;18;11
Stephanie
Don't get her on that schedule.

00;56;18;11 - 00;56;38;00
Lorena
Yeah, yeah. Anyway, so he was great about that, but yeah, the eat anything and it was, you know, it would it was just it's very therapeutic to just just feed them, just go out there and just be with them and brush them. And my girls just they love doing that brushing out their tails and giving them a bath.

00;56;38;03 - 00;57;08;16
Seth
You people talk about having spirit animals, right? Whatever. But but animals in and of themselves, I mean, they obviously have a body and they have a spirit. But there is something about horses that is obviously therapeutic, but there is something majestic about these animals who are not predators. Right? They're they're not hunters. They they are the prey. Really.

00;57;08;18 - 00;57;34;01
Seth
But there is something magical, honestly, there. They're like a magical spirit animal. Right. And when people around them, if if you will allow yourself to bring down that wall of fear because they are big. Right. Yeah. They are muscular. They're so stinking powerful and so you can see it's just interesting. We have people coming in from all over the world right, because of our business.

00;57;34;01 - 00;58;00;28
Seth
And so we will host people at the house. And you know we live the Western style. So we've got people from Thailand, in Japan, you know, in Asia coming over and and having experiences, you know, China, Taiwan, Mexico coming and having these experience with animals, many of them, it's the first time they've ever been around a horse. And some people have this wall and this fear, like this protective wall around them.

00;58;01;00 - 00;58;21;14
Seth
And even if they get up on this horse, they are they got the tightest. But, you know, they're just like, they're like a scarecrow, you know, kind of like, you know, imagine a scarecrow. Yes, moving. And other people get on and it's like they melt right into the saddle and, you know, they they it's like there's a there is a connection there.

00;58;21;15 - 00;58;43;02
Seth
It's one of the most beautiful things in the world to see someone connect with, with a horse. We had, we actually had dear friend of ours, recently said, hey, I'm just he's from out of state. Hey, do you mind if we pop by on a Saturday morning? No, I don't mind. If you pop. I get over here.

00;58;43;04 - 00;59;01;00
Seth
I got a van. I got a minivan full of kids. And so he had a few of his kids, and his. His younger brother was with him, and he had a few of his kids. We just want to say hi. The horses. Okay. Yeah. That's great. You're not you're not going to come to our house, come down to the barn and just say hi to the horses.

00;59;01;03 - 00;59;07;21
Seth
We're going to saddle these horses up. Right. Hey, do you guys want to ride the kids? Like. Yeah, we want to ride. That's like. We don't.

00;59;07;23 - 00;59;13;00
Stephanie
And the friends, the other guys, they were like, well, no, it's okay. We just don't trouble yourself.

00;59;13;03 - 00;59;17;23
Seth
Like, we're saddling up these horses. We're taking these kids out on these horses.

00;59;17;25 - 00;59;19;05
Lorena
Yeah.

00;59;19;08 - 00;59;41;04
Seth
And like I said, we're we're the original owner builder of our house. We live on a mountain. She was so smart. And so when we got a slope, she was so smart, so smart to take the backfill and literally create a full size roping arena. Right drill pipe, fence all around, steer shoots. Right? I mean, it's it's set up.

00;59;41;04 - 00;59;42;05
Seth
It's set up for the set.

00;59;42;05 - 00;59;43;03
Lorena
Up for for.

00;59;43;03 - 00;59;45;03
Seth
Raining foreigners. Honestly.

00;59;45;03 - 00;59;45;20
Lorena
Yeah, yeah.

00;59;45;21 - 00;59;46;16
Seth
Barrel. Anyway.

00;59;46;18 - 00;59;47;21
Lorena
So yeah.

00;59;47;24 - 01;00;00;18
Seth
So we, I'm like, we're just going to saddle these horse up, like, unless you tell me. No, basically I'm doing it right and you can even try and tell me no. And I still might do it. Yeah. You're on my territory right now. And you got kids here. So,

01;00;00;20 - 01;00;02;03
Stephanie
Are you guys are super close to.

01;00;02;03 - 01;00;21;01
Seth
Where we are, and so we saddle up the horses. Oh, thanks so much. And we got these kids out on these horses, and, you know, some of them were, you know, they rode for a little bit, and they were good. They were done. And some of them, in fact, our daughter Hannah, and these two other girls, they're all within, like, two years of each other.

01;00;21;03 - 01;00;38;07
Seth
And we need to go to the far side of the pasture to gather, one of these mustangs, because we have two mustangs or BLM. Yeah, land wild mustangs in Nevada and the Utah herds. And, and now one's 20 and one's ten, and they're just. These girls are going to ride rodeo this year. They actually started last year.

01;00;38;07 - 01;00;59;20
Seth
Right. And rodeo barrels and bulls and they've got their first rodeo, first rodeo of this season coming up November 2nd. I think these mustangs are amazing. Like, they're just amazing, amazing creatures. As I'm halters up, I'm getting a lead line on this horse. He's way we're way far from the barn. We're down the other end of the pasture.

01;00;59;22 - 01;01;08;29
Seth
And I had all these three girls because they wanted to help me. Right. Ours. And then two of theirs. And I said, girls, let's just throw you up on this horse. Bareback. Yeah, I.

01;01;09;01 - 01;01;10;01
Lorena
Stack them up there, right.

01;01;10;03 - 01;01;12;10
Seth
Stack them all these three and three little eight year olds just.

01;01;12;10 - 01;01;13;24
Lorena
Walking back way faster.

01;01;13;24 - 01;01;15;03
Lorena
For you. Amen.

01;01;15;09 - 01;01;35;07
Seth
It is. And but there was I honestly, I felt like it was a little. God moment where he was like, have these girls do this? Yeah. So I threw our daughter up and hey, girls, do you want to get up? Yeah. Through all three of these girls up. Something about being on a bareback on a horse to where you can feel them.

01;01;35;09 - 01;01;36;26
Seth
Right. And so these three girls.

01;01;36;28 - 01;01;42;16
Lorena
It's totally different. Feel bareback versus having a saddle. You feel every movement in their body.

01;01;42;16 - 01;02;03;22
Seth
Every muscle, every twitch. These girls were were grinning from ear to ear. They were just tickled pink. And as as this mustangs just moving and they're feeling just these, you know, these little undulations. And, and I yelled to to one of our, one of our friends and check out these girls. And of course, he's like, oh, that's awesome.

01;02;03;22 - 01;02;30;19
Seth
And anyway, we did all this riding, and one of these girls in particular just she melted into the saddle. Right. And very, very, great presence. And at the end and, you know, I was pony around first and then I and I let go and I said, okay, he's yours. And, you know, and she was, you know, doing the poles and all slow stuff, right.

01;02;30;24 - 01;02;55;18
Seth
Walking around but kicking up dust. And, and I said, how was it? She's like amazing. And I asked my friend, he said, listen, I just talked to my daughter and we just got back from Disneyland. And I said, okay, compare them. What would you choose Disneyland for this? And she's like, oh, horse, you know that? Yeah. Is a tribute to this amazing, this amazing.

01;02;55;18 - 01;03;16;24
Lorena
Creature. Yeah, it really is. My kids. I haven't been to Disneyland. I mean, we took our oldest three, I think years and years ago, and none of them have been back. You know? And, I mean, there's just a lifetime of memories we've made going to horse shows, doing writing in our backyard that just trump all the rides and everything at Disneyland.

01;03;16;29 - 01;03;25;09
Lorena
Yeah, it's, you know, I love it. You brought up that you don't hesitate to invite people to ride, you know, even if they just want to come in like, oh.

01;03;25;16 - 01;03;25;22
Lorena
Just.

01;03;25;22 - 01;03;45;24
Lorena
Let's kind of be the horses a little bit and just pet them. No. I'm going, do you want better? You're going to get on. Yeah. Like honestly it it's the, it's the best feeling to share that. Yeah. With people that you know I have a, I have a really good friend who showed horses with me and she's running a nonprofit at her, arena up in, not Green Valley, but it's north.

01;03;45;24 - 01;04;03;10
Lorena
It's north Scottsdale, okay. Rio Verde, that's what it is. And I mean, they have she's like, I want to expand this opportunity to kids who wouldn't have the privilege. I mean, riding horses, it's a dying art. Nobody does it. It's way too expensive, right? It it's really people.

01;04;03;10 - 01;04;04;05
Seth
Are being priced.

01;04;04;05 - 01;04;05;14
Lorena
Out. Yeah.

01;04;05;17 - 01;04;06;27
Stephanie
Yeah, very time consuming.

01;04;07;01 - 01;04;28;22
Lorena
It is time consuming. And you just everything, everything about it. It's just like it's difficult to find land to have to keep them or anything. We were so fortunate when my parents moved, you know, to the property they have where we could have horses right in their backyard. Yeah. It's it's a dying art and I love to share it.

01;04;28;24 - 01;04;43;04
Seth
I feel like I say I'm not going to allow it to die. Yes. Like I can't, like no I know I'm right in the country song. Right now about about cowboy and then how this is never going to end. Yeah. So I I don't know that. Yeah. Man.

01;04;43;06 - 01;04;44;22
Lorena
That's so awesome.

01;04;44;25 - 01;05;02;13
Seth
Things you learn. Thanks. Thanks for showing up. I've been thinking about that, though. Yeah, yeah, there are there are pressures. There are pressures that are changing the way of life. And and, you know, we're from the West here, but you know, I can say I'm the East. The eastern folk been around a long time. They've been riding horses a long time in Virginia.

01;05;02;15 - 01;05;25;08
Seth
Right. But there are a lot of pressures, urban pressures, economic pressures that are pushing, horse culture. I mean, it's not it's not on the way out, but it is becoming less available for a lot of people. That's right. So people who want to extend that. And. That's right. I, I absolutely love it. We have a friend, Brett, shout out to Brett, Brett's wife, who should be listening.

01;05;25;08 - 01;05;46;04
Seth
Hopefully he's listening to podcast. You can share it with him. He, he called me and he said, hey, I texted me, actually, I got a son. It's his birthday turning. I think he's turning three. Maybe it was four. Do you remember? I don't remember. Anyway, his dream is to interact with horses and, you know, like, I don't want to take your time.

01;05;46;04 - 01;06;14;14
Seth
Like, I know you guys are super busy, but could he come down? Get on down here for this kid's birthday. I'll make it. We are going to make this happen. So we had him on this. This 20 year old Mustang shadow. And, got to interact with him and, you know, caress him and pat him and feed him, and and, like, you want to get on, you know, he's a little scared, but yeah, we put him on and we pony that kid around and and, became like, from this kid's this young man's perspective.

01;06;14;21 - 01;06;32;27
Seth
This is my best friend. Like, this animal is now a part of me, right? Like there's this connection. And months and months and months later might even get a year later. I had made a post on Facebook or something, you know, of me riding shadow or something, and this particular friend had to text and say, just see you now.

01;06;32;29 - 01;06;43;12
Seth
We're so like my son connected with your post because of that experience that. Yeah, like, he feels connected to this horse, like it's part of it's partly his.

01;06;43;12 - 01;06;43;23
Lorena
Yeah.

01;06;43;29 - 01;06;44;24
Seth
You know.

01;06;44;27 - 01;07;04;03
Lorena
Well, I, I taught lessons to some of the kids in my neighborhood when I was a teenager. I taught lessons even beyond that. When I was teaching my own kids, you know, it helped me out to expand. You know, it gave me the opportunity to share with other people, not just my own kids.

01;07;04;05 - 01;07;07;11
Seth
It's an outlet beyond your own family.

01;07;07;13 - 01;07;22;29
Lorena
And, and so, you know, there are kids out there that have connections to my horse April right now that, you know, care about how she's doing and everything. And you know, it was it's a pleasure to be able to share that it really is.

01;07;22;29 - 01;07;29;04
Stephanie
It's really fulfilling it is to see their interaction and how much joy, you know, that people get from it.

01;07;29;07 - 01;07;34;14
Seth
Okay, let's let's talk to those docs. Let's, let's, you know, let's make sure you get back up on that horse soon.

01;07;34;19 - 01;07;41;29
Lorena
Oh, yeah. No, I'll definitely that is definitely going to happen.

01;07;42;02 - 01;07;42;13
Lorena
Oh, yeah.

01;07;42;17 - 01;07;44;16
Seth
How long have you been writing?

01;07;44;19 - 01;08;03;07
Lorena
So I started writing when I was nine. My dad took me on trail rides out in the desert, so. I mean, but since I was, like my brother, when I was, he's 15 years older than me. So when I was about 4 or 5 years old, he got me, like, My Little Pony or something like that.

01;08;03;07 - 01;08;21;18
Lorena
And like, after that, I just loved horses anywhere I would see a horse. I just loved horses. Talk about them all the time. Read about, and so my dad was like, okay, well, I think you're old enough. We'll take you, you know, trail writing. You're in. So we we did that and it just kind of grew from there.

01;08;21;18 - 01;08;49;11
Lorena
He had a business partner that, her sister in law had taught lessons and showed horses. And so he got me in taking lessons with her. And then she just kind of looped us into the the competition side of everything, which is really fun. I learned a lot, and doing that, you know, it, it really did build my self-esteem to, you know, to learn and to be out of my comfort zone.

01;08;49;13 - 01;08;55;28
Lorena
Right. But, I mean, I was with the horse that I loved, but, you know, there was a lot of ups and downs with that. There's a lot of opportunities to.

01;08;55;28 - 01;08;57;00
Lorena
Learn and.

01;08;57;02 - 01;08;58;02
Lorena
And to fail.

01;08;58;02 - 01;09;03;18
Seth
And what I was like when you say there's a lot of opportunities to learn what that means is, man, there are a lot of tears.

01;09;03;18 - 01;09;05;06
Lorena
There are, yes, a lot of a.

01;09;05;11 - 01;09;06;26
Lorena
Lot of frustration and tears.

01;09;06;29 - 01;09;07;27
Seth
That are shed.

01;09;08;01 - 01;09;09;03
Lorena
Yeah.

01;09;09;06 - 01;09;23;27
Seth
Yeah. We have girls who are going through that right now. Yeah. You know, their first rodeo was this, this calendar year, this past calendar year. And, some struggles. You know, when we the first rodeo, they did it. They were the win was.

01;09;23;29 - 01;09;24;07
Lorena
It was.

01;09;24;07 - 01;09;25;05
Stephanie
Horrible.

01;09;25;08 - 01;09;25;24
Seth
Imagine.

01;09;25;24 - 01;09;27;00
Lorena
Yeah. Oh, I know.

01;09;27;01 - 01;09;28;26
Seth
You know, I we and supposed.

01;09;28;28 - 01;09;29;14
Lorena
To win.

01;09;29;14 - 01;09;30;24
Lorena
And horses was not a good match.

01;09;30;29 - 01;09;33;15
Seth
It's only a good match when there's no riders involved.

01;09;33;15 - 01;09;35;00
Lorena
Exactly, exactly.

01;09;35;00 - 01;09;37;14
Seth
Run with the wind. You know out there.

01;09;37;16 - 01;09;38;02
Lorena
You try to.

01;09;38;08 - 01;09;40;11
Lorena
But yeah, not when your kids are riding.

01;09;40;12 - 01;09;40;26
Lorena
You know.

01;09;40;26 - 01;10;03;18
Lorena
That's like anxiety level 100 for me. Easily when your little ones are riding. I mean, I would be mine started riding on their own and it's just like it's just one of those untie the apron string moments, okay? Because it's like, oh, I hope I did enough to teach them how to ride well, and I hope I train that horse well enough to take care of my baby, you know?

01;10;03;19 - 01;10;04;05
Lorena
Yes.

01;10;04;07 - 01;10;10;20
Lorena
And it's funny because I relate it now to, like, teaching my kids to drive, you know.

01;10;10;26 - 01;10;12;02
Seth
These different horses.

01;10;12;05 - 01;10;32;01
Lorena
There's different words there. Yeah, it really is. And it really has helped like that patience level. And, you know, our communication because it's like I taught them every I taught them how to ride horses. And so, you know, coaching that along with riding horses okay I can coach them to drive a car.

01;10;32;05 - 01;10;32;18
Stephanie
Oh my.

01;10;32;18 - 01;10;40;15
Lorena
Goodness. Actually my dad did help a lot with that. But once he got her going I was like, okay, I can take over. I can I can be calm here.

01;10;40;17 - 01;11;05;10
Stephanie
With, our 20 year old, when she was learning how to drive like from the beginning, I'm like, I promise you, you should learn from dad. Not because of a bad driver, but because just the relationship we have. And, well, I mean, it is a lot more stressful for me. I feel like. And just the relationship they have, I'm like, maybe dad should teach you.

01;11;05;10 - 01;11;16;06
Stephanie
And she's like, oh, it's fine. I'm like, no, really? And then I think it was like the first or second time we drove together. I mean, she she did, you know.

01;11;16;08 - 01;11;16;24
Seth
Go a little.

01;11;16;28 - 01;11;18;24
Lorena
Learning. She was learning.

01;11;18;26 - 01;11;22;02
Stephanie
It was like, oh, you know, like breaks.

01;11;22;02 - 01;11;22;22
Lorena
Up.

01;11;22;22 - 01;11;31;25
Stephanie
You know, type of moment. And then she was like, yeah, I think you're right. I think dad should teach me.

01;11;31;27 - 01;11;34;28
Lorena
I'm like, okay, I'm good with that. That's all.

01;11;35;01 - 01;11;39;25
Stephanie
She's like doing a drive, like to finish out, you know, just drive down to the church. I'm like, no, we're good. But yeah.

01;11;39;27 - 01;11;42;17
Lorena
Like, I think dad.

01;11;42;19 - 01;11;47;21
Stephanie
That should do it from here on out. It's kind of funny.

01;11;47;23 - 01;11;50;12
Lorena
Yeah, that is funny because it is.

01;11;50;12 - 01;12;13;29
Lorena
It's an I mean, it it's a lot of emotional investment there. Okay. Like we're. Yes, we feel a lot and it's hard for us to, just like stifle it down. Yeah. It's like going through a haunted house, like I do all the screaming. And my kids are like, mom, it's not even that bad. I'm the one who's, like, hanging on there and screaming the most and the loudest.

01;12;13;29 - 01;12;24;12
Lorena
And so yeah, it's oh, that's good. It's a bit of that, but I don't in the car, I'm much better. I can handle things in the car. Yeah, I.

01;12;24;14 - 01;12;38;26
Stephanie
Feel like I did pretty good, but it was just like there was I. To her credit, there was a house on fire and she was watching that. Yeah. Oh yeah. Well, she was trying to turn. She is also like, what.

01;12;38;28 - 01;12;40;05
Lorena
I don't like.

01;12;40;08 - 01;12;45;07
Stephanie
There was a ditch there. So I mean I think it was handled the best it could.

01;12;45;08 - 01;12;47;04
Lorena
I think so too.

01;12;47;06 - 01;12;51;09
Lorena
I think so too. But give yourself her grace. Go. Yes. Yeah.

01;12;51;11 - 01;12;55;19
Stephanie
Yeah. It was actually kind of validating. Like. Like I already told her.

01;12;55;21 - 01;12;56;03
Lorena
Yeah.

01;12;56;08 - 01;12;59;28
Seth
You home. You are homeschooling eight children.

01;13;00;02 - 01;13;02;12
Lorena
Well, seven now because my first one graduated.

01;13;02;12 - 01;13;09;28
Seth
Well, that makes it easy then. Great. So what what led you. So you've been homeschooling for how long now?

01;13;10;01 - 01;13;35;25
Lorena
Since Covid, since, you know that 2020, 20, 2021 school year, my kids didn't want to go back. I didn't want to deal with all the things. And my kids loved being home. They hated going to school. I have like one of my older ones was getting tested for like IEP, like she was about to get tested for IEP and then Covid hit and she never got tested.

01;13;35;27 - 01;13;55;19
Lorena
And she was just kind of pushed through. We went to a charter school. They don't have a whole lot for people who need like IEPs. So, you know, her teachers just worked with us. We did what we could. Right. And, so it just wasn't a good fit. So I moved her to a public school, and she did pretty well there.

01;13;55;19 - 01;14;21;27
Lorena
But that's where they decided. Yeah. And she needs to be tested for an IEP. So just kind of do things a little different for her. And then Covid hit and it was just like whatever. And I just she didn't want to go back. It was just it was so much anxiety with, with the all the changes and, and my other ones were doing well enough that they weren't where they wanted to go back.

01;14;21;27 - 01;14;45;20
Lorena
They didn't care about not seeing their friends. They liked having a little bit more free time with when they were doing like online school for a bit. And so we just decided it was just it was time. And it's funny, because I had wanted to homeschool my kids for the selfish, unselfish reason of we'd have more time to ride the horses.

01;14;45;22 - 01;14;46;19
Lorena
Because.

01;14;46;22 - 01;15;08;14
Lorena
The school took up so much of our time. It was they'd be gone all day. I mean, in Arizona, we'd summertime, we'd be like riding. We'd start riding like 8:00 at night and be up 10 to 10:00 at night. So it's like when the sun goes down and it's actually cool. And.

01;15;08;17 - 01;15;08;29
Stephanie
If you want.

01;15;08;29 - 01;15;12;15
Seth
To call it, I was gonna say thank you. Yeah. I only in Arizona and.

01;15;12;16 - 01;15;14;05
Lorena
Only in Arizona. I would say.

01;15;14;08 - 01;15;16;22
Seth
Only there's, we would call it cool because I was thinking, so, you.

01;15;16;22 - 01;15;17;25
Lorena
Know, I'm a native in.

01;15;17;25 - 01;15;22;25
Seth
The summer, but she said, so they're riding in the summer. Okay.

01;15;22;28 - 01;15;24;21
Lorena
Yeah. We would ride in the summertime.

01;15;24;21 - 01;15;27;08
Seth
At 8:00, so it's only like 105.

01;15;27;11 - 01;15;28;17
Lorena
You're right. Yeah.

01;15;28;17 - 01;15;30;19
Seth
Awesome. Yeah. The cool part of the day. Right.

01;15;30;19 - 01;15;35;12
Lorena
But yeah, I mean, it is a difference. You can feel it 110, 105. You could feel the difference.

01;15;35;13 - 01;15;36;10
Lorena
Yes.

01;15;36;10 - 01;15;49;02
Lorena
But yeah. You know, it was because our show season was September, September, October, November. We take off December January and start up. February, March, April, may.

01;15;49;04 - 01;15;49;26
Seth

01;15;49;29 - 01;16;14;13
Lorena
And so it was, you know, to get enough time to train and everything it was you just wanted it would just be nice to have more time in the day, especially in the fall months when it finally in the spring months when it finally cools off. Yeah. You know, the days are shorter in the winter, in the fall, winter.

01;16;14;13 - 01;16;33;15
Lorena
And so I would lose that, that peak time to ride. Because you know they would be at school and then they'd come home and they would have hours of homework. And it just like they didn't have time to play with their friends. It was just so much it was a great charter school, but it was very demanding.

01;16;33;17 - 01;16;40;11
Lorena
And if I could go back, I probably would have changed it somehow. I probably would have changed where they went.

01;16;40;14 - 01;16;41;26
Seth
So it was autonomy for you?

01;16;41;27 - 01;17;04;10
Lorena
Yeah, yeah. And so, you know, I just wanted to be able to take them on adventures just randomly, you know, just go enjoy the weather in Arizona and when we could. I mean, Covid was so different for us because of our large family. We we had fun.

01;17;04;12 - 01;17;04;17
Lorena
You.

01;17;04;17 - 01;17;24;09
Lorena
Know, we didn't miss, like, not seeing too many people or anything because my kids all had each other and it wasn't we, you know, we'd go on day trips with my grandparents, with their grandparents, you know, and so it was it wasn't too bad. I mean, it was it was a lot of fun. Sounds beautiful. Yeah, it really was.

01;17;24;09 - 01;17;46;15
Lorena
And I'm like, well, they didn't want it to end. We can do this. We can do some school and then go and have fun and have some free time and unstructured play, and also have time to do all the work and the chores too, that need to be done, you know, and that's one way that I don't like stretch myself too thin because when I was an early toddler mom, it was like I was working.

01;17;46;17 - 01;18;14;22
Lorena
And I mean, I we I'd stay up so late. My hours, my, my every day would be like 15 hour days, at least on average, because from when I got up, taking care of all of them and going to work, coming home and doing, you know, just household things, taking care of the babies and dinner. And it was just, I felt like I was going through survival mode for a while, you know, and, I mean, thankfully my outlet was horses.

01;18;14;22 - 01;18;35;12
Lorena
And so I made time in the evenings. So my husband suffered because he wouldn't always get a really nutritious meal because it'd be like tortillas and eggs for dinner or something like, so simple, you know? But, you know, with kids, you can just you can get away with that. Yes. But my poor husband, I mean, it's just.

01;18;35;15 - 01;18;35;27
Seth
It's not like.

01;18;36;03 - 01;18;38;22
Lorena
Get out of it. I got away with things. I was like, I was.

01;18;38;22 - 01;18;43;24
Lorena
Working till like 10:00 at night. So that's also how I got away with it. He would already eat something before coming out.

01;18;43;24 - 01;18;45;08
Seth
For dinner, honey. Yeah.

01;18;45;11 - 01;18;48;00
Lorena
Yes, yes. Perfect.

01;18;48;02 - 01;19;07;05
Lorena
That's how I kept my sanity. Was doing a little bit of that taking that time for me. But, I would be like vacuuming at 10:00 at night and trying to get things done. So, you know, when my kids got older and more capable, more able to do things, you know, I assign them chores and I don't pay them for their chores.

01;19;07;05 - 01;19;23;05
Lorena
They just do it to help because when you're an adult, nobody pays you for that. Right? But everyone you know, they can do how they do if they want to pay their kids, that's totally fine. Allowances are great too. Great way to teach money management. My kids, they have other ways that they can learn that they earn money too.

01;19;23;05 - 01;19;25;03
Stephanie
And it's kind of how we do things. So yeah.

01;19;25;08 - 01;19;26;05
Seth
We have a philosophy.

01;19;26;05 - 01;19;34;06
Stephanie
Oh go ahead. We just talk to them about like we're as a family. We're a team and we work together to make the team run well.

01;19;34;10 - 01;19;34;21
Lorena
Yeah.

01;19;34;26 - 01;19;46;07
Stephanie
And so that's why we have, you know, specific, duties on the house that we each have. And, and then we have other things that, you know, they can go work and earn some money if they choose to.

01;19;46;10 - 01;19;47;12
Lorena
That's right. So.

01;19;47;15 - 01;20;11;05
Seth
Yeah. Well, and they also learn you got to give them opportunities to learn like learning experiences. Right? Yeah. We we have this philosophy in our house and it actually stems from Jamestown right back back in the 1500s. Right, 1600s, whatever it was. And that is this. There was a rule in Jamestown, if you don't work, you don't eat right.

01;20;11;08 - 01;20;30;10
Seth
It's all aristocratic. Right? My position. I'm sorry. We're here in the new world that you have none of that to rely on. You don't work, you don't eat. And so that's that's probably the most famous quote in our house. If you say one at the front end of it, the kids will finish the.

01;20;30;10 - 01;20;32;17
Lorena
Yeah, yeah, that's right.

01;20;32;20 - 01;20;38;22
Stephanie
And sometimes happily and sometimes begrudgingly. We don't eat.

01;20;38;25 - 01;21;05;17
Seth
And it doesn't take long for, doesn't take very many experiences for them to find out that they best not just a nice, a nice little saying. We actually follow through on that. So you didn't do your chores the entire day. Okay. It's great. It's dinner time. We're cooking dinner. We got something amazing tortillas and eggs, right? Some bacon or whatever that be, you know, and we're cooking up good food.

01;21;05;20 - 01;21;34;26
Seth
Okay. How can I help you? I'd like to eat. Have you gotten your work done? No, you don't work. You don't eat. You know, I've done. Our kids have missed meals, right? But not very many, you know, because they realize. Oh, yeah, and think. And you are welcome. You are welcome. Because someday it's not going to be quite that easy.

01;21;34;26 - 01;21;55;22
Seth
But it's the bite, right? The consequence, the payment that you're gonna have to make, it's going to be a lot bigger if you don't learn it right now. Yeah. So that's my favorite thing. And every once in I get an extra portion because they didn't eat right. That's really what this is about. This is what this is about.

01;21;55;25 - 01;22;02;01
Stephanie
So how do you or how would you talk to others by advocating for themselves in the health care system?

01;22;02;04 - 01;22;26;15
Lorena
Oh, that's a good one. You know what you're going for if you are going if you have some idea about why you're there, you know, just stick to what you do and do not want done to your body. Right? Like have a game plan. Plan before, I learned this when I was pregnant, like in my pregnancies. You know, you just kind of go with whatever they tell you.

01;22;26;18 - 01;22;47;07
Lorena
But one thing that always stuck with me was, you know, not getting any shots. I mean, my first pregnancy 18 years ago, almost 19 years ago now, you know, that was just a constant, like it was just a no brainer. You don't get shots during pregnancy. So. And then also and then they changed it and I like was asking like, why?

01;22;47;07 - 01;23;08;14
Lorena
Why would they change it. And then you look at the risk benefit of what they're offering. And what the alternative is. And if they even offer an alternative if this doctor is not open minded about, you know, what you want, what you do and do not want for your body, then I, you just you always have the, the choice to just choose a different doctor.

01;23;08;16 - 01;23;10;07
Seth
Yes. You're the CEO.

01;23;10;08 - 01;23;18;02
Lorena
You're the CEO of your body. And so you don't. And you're, you know, you're you're paying them their. Exactly. So I mean they should do what you want.

01;23;18;02 - 01;23;36;12
Stephanie
So a lot of people forget that like they're working for you. And so it's okay to say no or even in the hospital like I remember after. Was it during or after my first baby. And people were like did you know like if you and a nurse don't vibe you can actually ask for a new nurse. It's okay.

01;23;36;12 - 01;23;55;01
Stephanie
Like you're paying them, they're working for you. Just like if you had an employee that you guys weren't vibing and you needed to let them go, you do that, right? Yeah. And the same thing for for being in the hospital or whatever your situation, you know, with health care, having a nurse or a doctor, that's what you get to choose.

01;23;55;04 - 01;23;57;08
Stephanie
If it's a right fit or not.

01;23;57;10 - 01;23;59;29
Lorena
Yeah. I was like, exactly, exactly.

01;24;00;02 - 01;24;01;27
Stephanie
Choose a different nurse I know.

01;24;01;27 - 01;24;19;18
Lorena
Well, I had to complain about one nurse. My, you know, after my surgery, I did complain about one of the nurses because she was slow to bring me my meds and or even help me go to the bathroom. I mean, I had back surgery and I it was very difficult for me to get up. I couldn't understand why my arms don't work.

01;24;19;20 - 01;24;40;24
Lorena
And like, I mean, my back was cut open. Yeah. All those muscles were, were torn apart. And so they're they're healing. I mean I couldn't I was it was, I was so out of it and just kind of dumb. And I was like, why is it like bother me to hold my phone? I mean, I was really bored and I was hardly on my phone because I couldn't hold my phone up very much.

01;24;40;24 - 01;25;05;28
Lorena
And it was like it was just inconvenient. Right? And physically, I wasn't comfortable just doing it, you know? But I had this nurse. It just did not she she was just hardly around. And they just wouldn't help me when I need to go to the bathroom. And so it was like I definitely told on her. And, you know, I had great nurses otherwise.

01;25;06;00 - 01;25;32;04
Lorena
And honestly, I mean, even all of my experiences being in the hospital, I mean, all of my babies were hospital births. And I mean, I always had fantastic nurses. So I've been spoiled. But I will definitely pick out a bad nurse if I have to. And the other thing is like, you know, having, So, you know, during pregnancy, just picking and choosing what things I want to do, what tests I wanted done.

01;25;32;06 - 01;25;55;01
Lorena
And, there's that, that glucose test. And as soon as I learned that there was an alternative to drinking that horrible. Yeah. Drink that. So many people just they, they drink it because it's to test your, if you're diabetic or not during pregnancy. Okay. Yes. It's a test for, decisional diabetes. You have a choice to not drink that.

01;25;55;01 - 01;26;11;17
Lorena
You can do an alternative. And I went to some midwives and I asked them I'm like are you guys open to me. Like you know doing 50g of this kinds of this kind of sugar. Like juice, maple sirup or whatever gummy gummy bears. I think it was something.

01;26;11;19 - 01;26;12;07
Stephanie
I've been told.

01;26;12;07 - 01;26;32;09
Lorena
Jelly beans. Jelly beans, that's what it is. It's not gummy bears, but jelly beans, like 50g of sugar within like, five minutes. And then they test your blood every an hour an hour later. And so, you know, as soon as I learned that I like it, I just did it for all of mine. Yes. It changed my blood work.

01;26;32;11 - 01;26;52;08
Lorena
It really did. It changed my blood work. I wasn't, I wasn't borderline diabetic. Every time I'd have to. I mean, I had to do the retest, which was a three hour glucose test with a couple during a couple of my pregnancies. And I'm like, I didn't have time to do it because I was like, it was early on when I had four kids and I was working.

01;26;52;11 - 01;27;14;17
Lorena
And so it was really inconvenient for me to do that. And so as soon as I had my last ones, you know, it was almost a no brainer to choose the alternative number one, because I don't like putting a lot of extra foreign things into my body, you know? Yes. I mean, there's a lot of toxic things in that drink that are not good for your baby and they're not good for you.

01;27;14;17 - 01;27;39;19
Lorena
And it's just like an overload of like, what your system naturally would have if you were really, you know, just 50g of sugar. Yeah. You know, I mean, yeah. Anyways, so, you know, you just you just learn I, I learned one way of advocating is just already decide what and and do all of your research beforehand and pick and choose your doctors and ask questions like what's what's this for.

01;27;39;19 - 01;27;41;27
Lorena
What's like what are the side effects of that?

01;27;41;29 - 01;27;55;27
Stephanie
Not to be afraid to ask too. I know there are some doctors I haven't necessarily experience as a whole lot, but I know some who have where they ask questions and the doctors get frustrated sometimes because they don't know the answer or because they don't want to be questioned.

01;27;55;28 - 01;27;56;10
Lorena
Yeah.

01;27;56;18 - 01;28;08;12
Stephanie
And it's like, no, this is this is what I should be doing to make sure that this is the best thing for me or my child or whomever. Yeah. You know, to figure this out or not, just be told.

01;28;08;15 - 01;28;08;24
Lorena
What to.

01;28;08;24 - 01;28;20;24
Stephanie
Do. And I was one of those weirdos that actually loved the glucose drink at the time. I think I would probably throw up if I drink it now. I'm a lot healthier. And then back then.

01;28;20;25 - 01;28;31;12
Lorena
It wasn't that bad for me either. Like it didn't taste as horrible, but it wasn't it, you know, it wasn't like, oh, I want more of this. You know, it wasn't anything like that. But I was tolerated.

01;28;31;14 - 01;28;31;25
Lorena
I was like.

01;28;31;25 - 01;29;03;19
Stephanie
Oh, I could drink more of this. But but then finding out, you know, all the ingredients and I'm like, what? Why are they having us drink this? This is horrible for you. Yes. So we once you know, you know better. You should do better. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. Something else that I don't think a lot of people understand is that I've seen so many women in different groups online, especially like pregnancy groups and stuff like that that are like, oh, I'm like 35 weeks along, my doctor and I do not get along.

01;29;03;19 - 01;29;27;14
Stephanie
They're being pushy. They're telling me what to do, you know. Do you think it's okay if I switch doctors? Yes, yes. Like is this going to be the best environment for you and your baby if you guys, you know, you already have that relationship with your doctor. Yeah. If you don't, then yes. Go look for another one. There are so many out there Jacqui.

01;29;27;16 - 01;29;51;29
Lorena
Also, now I have an 18 year old and I'm like, okay. She went on a trip with my parents and I'm like, okay, well, I write a letter to, you know, I write a letter, letter authorizing my parents to, to seek health care if they need it in emergency or an accident for my kids. And they're allowed to be present for anything that is done to my kids until I can get there and consent.

01;29;51;29 - 01;30;01;01
Lorena
And they're going to follow what I want. And so but my oldest I said you're on your own. Do you want to write a letter for me.

01;30;01;04 - 01;30;03;07
Lorena
You know like do you need me to.

01;30;03;09 - 01;30;28;07
Lorena
Do you need a letter for me. Like, but she knows what she wants for her body. But I was like, you know, I think we need to be proactive about teaching our young adult children, that maybe getting them, like, a living will or something like that. Yeah. And you need to choose somebody to advocate for you, because if you go in to the emergency room on your own, you're on your own.

01;30;28;09 - 01;30;50;04
Lorena
Yeah. Okay. I, I can't help you. They're not going to listen to me. So if you want me to be an advocate for you, we need to find, you know, we need to put it in writing. I think about both. Yeah, well, I read that's something that's really, really important for, I think it's just really important.

01;30;50;04 - 01;31;13;22
Lorena
Like a lot of us with this, you know, with a mindset of like, I want my bodily autonomy. Autonomy here, like, I, I don't want anything to done to my body that I don't consent of. Yes. And like, I have my husband, like, every time I go into the hospital, I have a living. Well, my husband, he's you know, I've had it since my first one and it's basically the same, you know, nothing changes.

01;31;13;22 - 01;31;30;21
Lorena
It's like he's the one that's going to decide what's done in the event I can't choose for myself. But it should also be that way for our adult children to know, like if they don't have a partner or somebody, you know, a spouse like legally able to make those decisions.

01;31;30;23 - 01;31;59;08
Seth
Well, there's so many people who don't know how to advocate for themselves because they don't know what they want specifically. I mean, we all kind of generally think I want to be healthy, but it's almost as if we have absolved ourselves of the responsibility, the responsibility for our own health, because they're smarter people. Right? I mean, there are people who who are educated, who are trained for me to be healthy, right?

01;31;59;08 - 01;32;22;04
Seth
For me to live a life full of optimal health. And I think what people are starting to realize is, and this this is with all due respect to the many, many great health care practitioners right from all different types of disciplines. But as we talk, you know, I mean, this podcast is about being the CEO of your mind, your body and your money, right?

01;32;22;04 - 01;32;26;09
Seth
The big three self-care things for women and men.

01;32;26;09 - 01;32;28;29
Lorena
But this shows for women,

01;32;29;01 - 01;32;34;06
Seth
Is that wait a second. Not everybody has my best interest in mind.

01;32;34;09 - 01;32;34;19
Lorena

01;32;34;25 - 01;33;12;08
Seth
Wait a second. What? We're feeding our children that is in the system. Right. Well it just kind of naturally flows through the the, our economic system, our infrastructure, our delivery, our groceries. Wait a second. Who's controlling that? And is it for when you walk into a grocery store, folks, 80% of what you are going to walk by is processed, highly processed or ultra processed, right?

01;33;12;11 - 01;33;18;03
Seth
And then when you get and then when you develop some condition that you need, you need some professional help with.

01;33;18;03 - 01;33;18;27
Lorena
Substance.

01;33;18;27 - 01;33;48;28
Seth
Assistance. What we're realizing is and many, many health care practitioners are coming out and saying this, listen, I'm just I'm serving a revolving door for the same problems, and I don't necessarily have the training. Right. What I can do is I can give you some meds. Right. And again, this is not a condemnation of the entire system and all of the the individuals, stakeholders within the system.

01;33;49;00 - 01;33;52;09
Seth
But it is a finger pointing at the system.

01;33;52;11 - 01;33;53;28
Lorena
Yeah. Right. Yeah.

01;33;54;00 - 01;34;03;05
Seth
Like is that is the health care system there for health and for healing or is it there to.

01;34;03;08 - 01;34;06;06
Seth
Address symptoms. Right. Right.

01;34;06;08 - 01;34;31;24
Stephanie
I think it was when I was in medical assistance call that one of my teachers spot a different teacher for each subject. And one of my teachers said, you know, when people complain, you have to remember that the doctor is still practicing. I was like, you know, so don't give them, you know, well, here, take care of me.

01;34;31;24 - 01;34;38;15
Stephanie
It's, you know, like but council together. Let's figure this out and just remember that they're they're still practicing.

01;34;38;15 - 01;34;41;06
Lorena
That's right. That's so true.

01;34;41;09 - 01;34;49;21
Stephanie
It's so important. Especially as women I feel like God has really given us, a natural instinct, gut instinct.

01;34;49;23 - 01;35;17;21
Lorena
Intuition. Yes. It's it's women are very intuitive. It's part of our divine feminine role. Yes. Is that intuitiveness? Yes. As far as, like, listening to that intuition, I had been doing some digging into this, the role of the health care system. I had been looking into, the reasons for why doctors suggest and push certain medical things on children.

01;35;17;24 - 01;35;39;15
Lorena
So I've been doing some deep diving that way. My mother in law had been trying to educate me for years, and I had, you know, I my husband and I felt comfortable with the research I had done where I felt like, well, I feel like this is really necessary. But I started doing that diving because I started looking at, you know, I started practicing alternative healing, which was, homeopathy.

01;35;39;17 - 01;36;02;02
Lorena
I had a really good friend, who I mean, she helped me going when I was going through. I had a really bad bout of the flu. My family and, she helped us. She helped me figure out, like, what remedies I needed. And, I mean, they really helped us to just turn that around because the medical systems answer was, oh, just fluid and Tylenol.

01;36;02;02 - 01;36;22;21
Lorena
There's nothing you do. Just got to write it out. But there was more to it, you know, and, and I learned a lot more about supplements that can help boost the body's immune system and different things. My mother in law also helped with that, too, because she had done a deep dive into herbal medicine, and she'd done a lot of that.

01;36;22;23 - 01;36;37;06
Lorena
So when I had my fifth, I mean, it was we I done all the well visits and stuff. And so I went back and did some more. And so I'm like, okay, well, I'm, I'm not going to just do all of the things that they're recommending. I mean, you know.

01;36;37;07 - 01;36;37;19
Lorena
One of the.

01;36;37;19 - 01;36;38;23
Seth
Things that we were talking about vaccine.

01;36;38;25 - 01;36;43;14
Lorena
We're talking about vaccines. Yes. I don't know how much I should say. Oh, you're good. Okay.

01;36;43;19 - 01;36;48;13
Seth
I we're talking about vaccines right here. Make sure you pick this up.

01;36;48;16 - 01;36;56;28
Lorena
And so I was in that office I was going to I can send it to 1 to 1 shot. I'm like, okay, we're just I want to space out because she's at that age. I'm getting all of these ones.

01;36;56;28 - 01;36;58;15
Seth
Why do we need to give them?

01;36;58;15 - 01;36;59;05
Lorena
Why do we need to give.

01;36;59;05 - 01;37;02;08
Seth
Them the bazooka gun? Exactly right. Yeah.

01;37;02;10 - 01;37;06;19
Lorena
I mean, now it's 72 doses. It's insane. It's insane.

01;37;06;22 - 01;37;08;10
Stephanie
Aren't they looking to even add more?

01;37;08;16 - 01;37;22;05
Lorena
Yes. Oh, they already have. I mean, if you added the Covid vaccine at six months. That's right. Right. I think they've cleared that one up. The flu vaccine that's added to the the other schedule that was already so blown exorbitant.

01;37;22;05 - 01;37;22;20
Lorena
Yes.

01;37;22;21 - 01;37;31;00
Stephanie
Yes. Well, I mean, if you go back to when you and I were, you know, young girls. Oh yeah, there were like maybe 18, I thought we were.

01;37;31;03 - 01;37;31;24
Lorena
Yeah.

01;37;31;27 - 01;37;36;07
Stephanie
And now it's closer to 80 or more. Yeah. Like, this is crazy.

01;37;36;07 - 01;37;36;27
Lorena
It's so crazy.

01;37;36;27 - 01;37;42;06
Stephanie
Even even the, the formulas of what they're using have also changed.

01;37;42;08 - 01;37;44;21
Lorena
Yeah. And it's okay.

01;37;44;23 - 01;37;45;08
Stephanie
I'm like, we.

01;37;45;08 - 01;37;47;24
Lorena
Could go off. We could go, oh, because I was.

01;37;47;24 - 01;38;14;25
Lorena
Recently in a medical office with my daughter, and I was reading, you know, they're little. They have fliers like your child is exposed to hundreds of thousands of immunological, bacteria and substances every, every day. And their body is over there tactic. Except there are toxins mixed with those, you know, hundreds of immunological things that are in the vaccines.

01;38;15;03 - 01;38;44;22
Lorena
And that is why. And without those toxins, the body will not automatically react to the immunological substances. Right. It needs those toxins to activate. So I'm at this night, I'm at this. Well, visit that was supposed to be nine months. I think she was about 12 months. Right. So I was going I was okay, I'm just going to consent to this one because I want to be good and follow all the rules.

01;38;44;25 - 01;39;05;14
Lorena
So I, you, I'm waiting for them to come back with it. And I just get this awful feeling like deep dark. You were doing something wrong feeling. And I was just like okay I'm going to listen to this. And so I said you know what? I changed my mind. We'll just we'll do it next time we come in.

01;39;05;16 - 01;39;28;24
Lorena
And I didn't go back. I mean, I didn't go back and get more. Yeah. And, I don't regret it. And I think that there was a reason for that. And I may not know the definitive answer, but I know that there was probably something that could have happened. And this child actually has speech delays. She didn't talk till she was close to three.

01;39;28;26 - 01;39;39;04
Lorena
And, you know, I think that those vaccines early on did contribute to her to, to this thing because anyway, yeah.

01;39;39;04 - 01;39;46;00
Stephanie
We've had experiences with at least one or more of my siblings who've had reactions to it also when they were very,

01;39;46;02 - 01;39;46;24
Lorena

01;39;46;27 - 01;40;11;23
Stephanie
And, you know, just having that gut feeling and realizing later that, oh, that's why I had that gut feeling. I mean, it wasn't me, but, well, actually, I, I actually did go through that with my first biological child where I was like, I can't stomach this, I can't do it. But I was so young and naive, and I mean, I, I'm, I don't necessarily hold it against me because I don't know better.

01;40;11;26 - 01;40;36;08
Stephanie
And you can't do better when you don't know better. Yeah. And, but I just remember thinking back and be like, I literally had to have my husband. Then be in the office and hold down my child because I couldn't stomach it. I was crying while it was happening, you know, because I didn't necessarily know how to trust and even know what that intuition was telling me at the time.

01;40;36;08 - 01;40;37;06
Lorena
Yeah.

01;40;37;08 - 01;40;49;17
Stephanie
Thankfully no big reactions came from it. Like, I could have right? But it's so important to listen to that and to also recognize, like, I'm sure you had so much peace once you said, okay, no, not right now.

01;40;49;19 - 01;41;01;25
Lorena
Yeah, I did it all the way at that awful feeling went away immediately and I was just like, okay, I think, I think I made the right choice here. Yes. And, you know, even listening to my kids and they're like, I don't.

01;41;01;25 - 01;41;02;13
Lorena
Want to get any.

01;41;02;13 - 01;41;21;10
Lorena
More. They didn't like it. They really they they didn't like it. Well. And they were they were so relieved. And I'm like, we're not doing those anymore. And they were like, yes, they were awful. I mean, they had reactions when my kids would get sick all the time after having them and the pain in their arms afterwards. They remembered that.

01;41;21;10 - 01;41;32;01
Lorena
And they're just like, so I mean, if we if we want to listen to our kids, right? Like, they we talk about listening to your kids, they felt like something's wrong.

01;41;32;04 - 01;41;44;25
Seth
There's a growing number of people who are starting to. I'm not even say anti-vax, but just it's a questioning again, it's it's it's self-advocacy, right? To make America healthy again.

01;41;44;28 - 01;41;46;14
Lorena

01;41;46;16 - 01;41;48;29
Seth
Sorry I just a message from our sponsors.

01;41;49;02 - 01;41;50;28
Lorena
I guess.

01;41;51;05 - 01;41;51;24
Lorena
I had 2%.

01;41;51;24 - 01;41;55;23
Lorena
Support, I had 2% support.

01;41;55;25 - 01;42;21;07
Seth
But I mean how could you not want to make America healthy again anyway. Right, right. But the the answer is that you have to be an advocate. You got to be an advocate for your for your self-care, for your self-esteem, for your health, like you can't for your education. Like we're hitting all these buttons today. I'm not saying there's I'm not saying we're not saying that public school is a thing.

01;42;21;09 - 01;42;48;21
Seth
No, but know what you're doing. Know where you want to get, and then you need to you need to kind of, work back from there to say, okay, how are we going to operate here? Right. Okay. Yeah. I think the best way to get immunity is to get the full schedule. That's never been done before of vaccines when kids are under it, you know, you know, but so many people are starting to question so many things about that schedule.

01;42;48;28 - 01;43;00;06
Seth
Right. And it's starting to come, I think, a relief to many. You know me because you know how it is. You go in the doctor's office and you like, I know I'm not comfortable with this and you're shamed.

01;43;00;08 - 01;43;00;26
Stephanie
Oh, yeah.

01;43;01;00 - 01;43;09;10
Seth
You are shame. My moms are shamed. Yeah, by primarily male physicians, some teachers.

01;43;09;10 - 01;43;11;04
Stephanie
And it's not just Mel. So it's just.

01;43;11;04 - 01;43;33;00
Lorena
I just feel so. No, no, I was berated by this one female doctor, this pediatrician, because I, I, I had a son is my first son. We had six girls. We had six girls total. We had five girls in our first son. And I didn't want him to get the vitamin K shot. My husband was asleep and I was in there.

01;43;33;05 - 01;43;53;27
Lorena
You know, I I'm, I mean, I wasn't like, groggy or anything, like, I was totally aware I knew exactly what I, and I, I mean, I just I took it I took her berating about all of her fear tax about, you know, the risks of not getting it. But I was confident in my decision and I felt like it was the right move for him, and I didn't.

01;43;53;27 - 01;44;08;11
Lorena
And he was fine, you know? But my backup with my next child was I'd got vitamin K shots. So when they came in and asked me, oh, I'm going to give them the oral, not the case. It was a bottle of oral vitamins.

01;44;08;13 - 01;44;08;18
Seth
Or.

01;44;08;18 - 01;44;22;06
Lorena
Something. Yes, yes. So, so with my next to, I always had that oral vitamin K that I told them I had, and I'm going to administer this. Now, I would only going to it if I felt like I needed to.

01;44;22;10 - 01;44;22;27
Seth
Yeah.

01;44;22;29 - 01;44;28;27
Lorena
Yeah. Look, I but I had it because I was prepared and that's the other thing is like, they prey on you. I mean.

01;44;29;04 - 01;44;30;15
Seth
They prey on ignorance and fear.

01;44;30;16 - 01;44;57;19
Lorena
They do they do know. And, part of the empowerment I felt was when my friend taught me about homeopathy, I felt like I wasn't afraid of my kids getting sick anymore. Right. I could write out all of these childhood diseases, common colds, all of these things, because I had extra tools in my tool bag. Right. And it the fear is gone because you don't know what to do.

01;44;57;21 - 01;45;00;06
Lorena
That's where the fear plays out. Oh, I don't know what to feel.

01;45;00;06 - 01;45;06;02
Seth
Powerless. That's right. I don't want to see my child suffer. And I don't know. And because I don't know.

01;45;06;03 - 01;45;21;21
Lorena
I have to know your limits. Right? You have to know. Okay. How much do I do at home? Okay. Time to take the kid. Like, if you ever get to this point. And I've done everything that I've learned how to do the hydration and all of those things, and it's not enough. My child maybe is burning the fever too much.

01;45;21;21 - 01;45;25;22
Lorena
Okay, time to get fluids. You know, go in. You just have to know your limits.

01;45;25;22 - 01;45;51;23
Stephanie
Totally. Just recently, I had a an awful case of strep and double ear infection. Awful. And we tried everything. Reached out to, you know, my natural doctor, talk to my neighbor who's absolutely incredible. And anything that she's suggested has always worked. But it was not touching it at all. And I was like, stuff, I've never said this before, but I want to die like it was so bad.

01;45;51;23 - 01;46;13;01
Stephanie
The pain everywhere had to show and my naturopath was finally like, Stephanie, there is a time and a place for antibiotics. Yes, we've been working on your gut. Yes, it really does destroy your healthy gut microbiome and everything she's like. But there are other things that we can do to build it up and, you know, to work through while you're taking the antibiotics.

01;46;13;01 - 01;46;28;10
Stephanie
And then also afterwards, she's like, but you need to understand there's a time and a place and nobody else, you know, just just your body needs assistance sometimes. And that was definitely one of those times. I had to have it in like 12 years or more. So I'm like, okay, I guess, you know, I need to support my body.

01;46;28;10 - 01;46;34;23
Stephanie
And this time this is what it is and it's okay, you know? So yeah, there definitely is a time and a place for that.

01;46;34;23 - 01;46;58;00
Lorena
Yeah, I mean, I didn't the rheumatologist, back when I was dealing with things like the rheumatologist offered a six day course steroid. And I mean, I filled it and I just looked at it and I just felt like, no, it's not going to do anything. Like I muscle tested on myself. And my body was just like, no, you don't need this.

01;46;58;02 - 01;47;17;25
Lorena
And so I told her, I said, I'm sorry. I just I really didn't feel comfortable taking them because I've done my research on steroids and it could make my condition worse. So I said, I'm not going to take these, and I'm glad I didn't. And you know what? I didn't result. I come back to the tumor story.

01;47;17;27 - 01;47;48;15
Lorena
I didn't tell you guys, so, I, they did a biopsy of my tumor after taking it out, and thank goodness it was benign. And I think that was just a complete miracle. It was benign. And, the healing that has come from having that, I mean, it's just a miracle almost immediately, like, I couldn't feel like when my leg hairs were prickly, like that was the level of numb, like the neuropathy and numbness that I had.

01;47;48;18 - 01;48;11;12
Lorena
And, after surgery, I could feel like I could feel the surface layer of my skin again. And so it was like, and now I'm just I'm four months out and I have so much more strength and my balance, my bounce came back, probably about six weeks, eight weeks or something. I try to, like, stand on my leg.

01;48;11;15 - 01;48;31;00
Lorena
I stand on one leg and I could do it. I mean, it was just little by little, but I mean, I've just huge strides in only four months because they told me it could take 12 months to a year. You'll see what progress you make. That's what you get. Holy cow. So yeah. So I mean, that in itself is another miracle.

01;48;31;00 - 01;48;44;10
Lorena
I think God has work for me to do and I'm just so grateful for that. Right. Like I just feel completely blessed. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it. But don't we all feel like we don't deserve the good things in our life? Sometimes. Sometimes? Yeah.

01;48;44;13 - 01;48;47;06
Seth
You know I deserve it. Just everybody say I deserve everyone.

01;48;47;08 - 01;49;11;11
Lorena
Yes you do. You do deserve it. You give yourself grace like, yeah, every day. I mean, I, I may not accomplish all of the things on my to do list, but I'm, I'm trying and I just I give myself grace for it. And I just know, like, God knows my heart. Right. And I'm just going to try to do my best every day to, you know, serve my family and and help, you know, teach them whatever they need to know because I'm still here.

01;49;11;11 - 01;49;27;25
Lorena
So they have a lot to teach them. And I mean, I in I had thoughts in the mirror like, I mean, just that MRI the day before my surgery and I just didn't know. I mean, I was so emotional. I was crying in there and I'm just like, God, I am not going to give up. I'm not ready to leave my kids.

01;49;27;28 - 01;49;48;24
Lorena
So let me die. I just I want to keep going. This is me now. Like I'm going to fight. If it's cancer, I'm going to fight, but I just I don't I'm not ready to go. This is it. So, you know, you make choices all the time, right? And we shouldn't give up even if we're 80 years old.

01;49;48;26 - 01;49;54;25
Lorena
You know, I think that we always have something to give you. Don't stop doing good things.

01;49;54;28 - 01;50;25;26
Stephanie
Just figuring out all these things with health and how I can support my body, you know, with either supplements or exercising. The way I eat, the way I think, you know, how I was just watching a video, I think today on, how it can change, like the synapses and stuff in your brain, just the way you talk to yourself, and all of that and how much I'm looking forward to getting older because I'm doing all this stuff.

01;50;25;26 - 01;50;43;07
Stephanie
I'm learning, I'm growing. I'm I'm talking to other people about it. And, just continuing that journey so that I can be happy and healthy and help others as I age. Yeah. And so I can be a dang good grandma.

01;50;43;09 - 01;50;47;04
Seth
And cut. It's a wrap.

01;50;47;07 - 01;51;02;11
Stephanie
Thank you so much for being here today. And thank you for sharing this episode with that one friend who needs this conversation. Thank you for all the ratings, the reviews, the comments, and especially the support. We so appreciate you.

01;51;02;14 - 01;51;16;14
Seth
Now, if you want to take a peek behind the curtain and be the first to know about special previews, backstage updates here at the show, and especially some private collection content that doesn't come out in the regular show.

01;51;16;16 - 01;51;21;14
Stephanie
Be sure to join our VIP community at the Forever Young show.com.