Full Transcript for Getting Back Up Takes the Most Strength - Brooke Waupsh

And in different stages 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.979 of my life, whether it be mentally, connecting 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:29.639 through being outdoors and just having space 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:33.479 and feeling present, to in my mid -20s getting 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:38.599 crazy into work, starting to feel anxiety, I 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:42.189 learned that pushing myself physically in different 00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:46.990 ways really helped out in that. And then in the 00:02:46.990 --> 00:02:49.490 past several years, I know you know, but going 00:02:49.490 --> 00:02:53.469 through a breast cancer journey, that was its 00:02:53.469 --> 00:02:57.050 own challenge in itself. But from the physical 00:02:57.050 --> 00:03:00.349 aspect, I went from being the most active I had 00:03:00.349 --> 00:03:03.750 been in my life to kind of starting over and 00:03:03.750 --> 00:03:06.750 navigating what that felt like mentally and physically 00:03:06.750 --> 00:03:10.939 and really redefining, you know, what Challenges 00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:14.020 meant for me they got a little bit smaller, but 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:17.139 they got a little bit more important and more 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:20.620 frequent and Yeah, so it's evolved over time 00:03:20.620 --> 00:03:22.960 That's just a good lesson for everyone to take 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:24.840 away with because I think lots of times people 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:28.039 actually start to identify Who they are like 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:31.080 as their identity based off of what they do whether 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:34.900 it's their physical pursuit or or their job But 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:37.159 the truth of the matter is we're always evolving 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.919 and it might be different based off of our current 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.719 circumstances in life. Yeah, absolutely. So when 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:46.900 you say that you're active as a kid, like, what, 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:51.479 what, what, what'd you do? Oh, well, you know, 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:53.680 rode my bike everywhere back in the day when 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:58.069 we could. Um, and, uh, was always exploring the 00:03:58.069 --> 00:04:01.009 woods. Uh, didn't call it hiking, but was doing 00:04:01.009 --> 00:04:04.469 that all of the time. Um, I played a little basketball. 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:08.389 I was on the dance team. I did swimming. So, 00:04:08.469 --> 00:04:12.530 you know, pretty much all of it. It just, to 00:04:12.530 --> 00:04:15.150 your point, I never identified as I am a runner. 00:04:15.389 --> 00:04:18.350 I am a marathoner. I am, you know, one sport. 00:04:18.350 --> 00:04:22.009 It was just staying active. And then As I got 00:04:22.009 --> 00:04:24.509 older, maybe when some of those organized sports 00:04:24.509 --> 00:04:29.149 disappear a little bit, you're re -figuring out 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:31.370 how to weave that back into your life, what is 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:33.709 meaningful. And for me, it was also things that 00:04:33.709 --> 00:04:37.350 I hadn't tried that I wanted to put some dedication 00:04:37.350 --> 00:04:41.470 into. And staying active for me became trying 00:04:41.470 --> 00:04:44.250 a lot of different things, whether it was kickboxing 00:04:44.250 --> 00:04:48.769 or, you know, boot camps. I think you and I did, 00:04:48.829 --> 00:04:52.550 what was it? The Warrior? The Warrior Dash, yeah. 00:04:52.930 --> 00:04:55.589 Warrior Dash, yeah. So, you know, those were 00:04:55.589 --> 00:04:57.810 all challenges to me of, I've never done that. 00:04:57.910 --> 00:04:59.889 That seems interesting. I think I could do that. 00:05:00.550 --> 00:05:03.310 And yeah, so I've just kind of hopped around 00:05:03.310 --> 00:05:07.990 with being active, but have had some real moments 00:05:07.990 --> 00:05:10.689 in life where I've had to be intentional about 00:05:10.689 --> 00:05:14.410 that and choose how to maintain that in my life. 00:05:14.470 --> 00:05:17.089 When you, you know, start growing a family, when 00:05:17.089 --> 00:05:21.220 you get into a career that consumes all of your 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:25.279 time. And some of it has also been, how do I 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:27.899 make this part of my lifestyle something that 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:31.579 can be social and not just, you know, a check 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:34.420 of the box of making sure I get a certain activity. 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:38.879 I love that this idea of experimentation. And 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:40.779 I think you also touched on on this as well, 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:44.720 like this idea of play. Like, yeah, there's there's 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:48.269 there's no reason to not try. all of these things 00:05:48.269 --> 00:05:50.170 and if there's something that grabs your interest 00:05:50.170 --> 00:05:53.290 give it a shot because you don't know what it 00:05:53.290 --> 00:05:55.750 is that like where it's going to take you like 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:58.529 the people that you meet or what what actually 00:05:58.529 --> 00:06:01.730 intrigues you and and gets you excited i will 00:06:01.730 --> 00:06:04.110 say on that note though i did i think it was 00:06:04.110 --> 00:06:06.649 in seventh or eighth grade i decided to try synchronized 00:06:06.649 --> 00:06:11.350 swimming that is hard tell tell us about that 00:06:11.410 --> 00:06:14.709 That is really hard. It's something that, you 00:06:14.709 --> 00:06:17.089 know, I think maybe watching it in the Olympics, 00:06:17.089 --> 00:06:19.470 it's like, that looks so pretty. That's really 00:06:19.470 --> 00:06:22.310 neat. And also having some dance in my life, 00:06:22.829 --> 00:06:26.050 I saw something and signed up for it with a friend 00:06:26.050 --> 00:06:28.170 and realized, oh my God, that is really hard 00:06:28.170 --> 00:06:32.730 and I might drown. So anyway, lots of respect 00:06:32.730 --> 00:06:35.769 to people who do

synchronized swimming. Oh yeah, 00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:38.970 absolutely. What is like, what is your, like, 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:41.740 your motto when it comes to just your life. It 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:43.339 sounds like physical activities, like is a must, 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:45.879 like I have to have different activities and 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:47.399 be curious and lots of different things. And 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:48.959 why is that important to you? Like it just seems 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:50.620 like you're very like, I'm gonna try lots of 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:51.759 different things and it's important to move my 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:55.379 body. But why? Yeah, well, yeah, lots of different 00:06:55.379 --> 00:07:01.339 reasons. I feel better. But also my I guess motto 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:04.279 is, I think this is on one of my social media 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:06.360 handles, but it's it's staying active in all 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:09.990 things. Like that's that's very meaningful to 00:07:09.990 --> 00:07:13.310 me. I can get bored doing the same thing all 00:07:13.310 --> 00:07:17.769 the time. So to me, again, the variety, trying 00:07:17.769 --> 00:07:21.310 new things, challenging myself with them, finding 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:26.069 things I don't like, but I tried it. To me, that's 00:07:26.069 --> 00:07:29.990 important in staying active and then also being 00:07:29.990 --> 00:07:33.610 a mom. I want to be an active parent. I want 00:07:33.610 --> 00:07:39.430 to be a good role model for my son and for how 00:07:39.430 --> 00:07:43.189 he engages in life, how he experiences life. 00:07:43.250 --> 00:07:46.350 And a lot of that is through, you know, keeping 00:07:46.350 --> 00:07:51.709 that curiosity and exploration top of mind when 00:07:51.709 --> 00:07:53.990 you're doing things. I love that. Is that like 00:07:53.990 --> 00:07:56.310 a double meeting? Seeing actively engaged in 00:07:56.310 --> 00:07:57.629 all things. Is there like a double meeting there 00:07:57.629 --> 00:08:00.689 as well with that? I just, I feel like that's 00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:02.990 kind of describes my approach to life, whether 00:08:02.990 --> 00:08:08.199 it's Been work whether it's in community whether 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:11.439 it's in activity whether it's in being a parent 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.639 or a family member or friend You know when you 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:17.519 pick kind of a short snippet to sum it up that 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:20.879 that's what came to my mind Has there been anything 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.459 in your life that you've done it in this like 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:26.220 realm of being you know physical pursuit or physical 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:29.689 activities that yours like wow that was So much 00:08:29.689 --> 00:08:31.949 fun. I want to do more of this when I travel, 00:08:31.949 --> 00:08:34.669 you know I'll look at different hikes and that 00:08:34.669 --> 00:08:37.570 is something where it's like wow This this brought 00:08:37.570 --> 00:08:40.009 me to a whole new experience and I would have 00:08:40.009 --> 00:08:43.149 ever seen or been a part of had I not wanted 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:48.110 to just Step out into kind of the unknown But 00:08:48.110 --> 00:08:50.889 I think that happens in a lot of different ways, 00:08:50.889 --> 00:08:54.250 you know, I'm I'm on a breast cancer survivor 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:58.330 dragon boat team and that's something that was 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:01.769 totally out of my comfort zone. I had actually, 00:09:02.049 --> 00:09:05.289 I was in physical therapy for, gosh, probably 00:09:05.289 --> 00:09:09.570 a year and a half, getting mobility back, healing. 00:09:09.870 --> 00:09:13.590 And I was in a restorative class, a Pilates class, 00:09:13.690 --> 00:09:16.950 actually at Ballet Austin. And somebody in that 00:09:16.950 --> 00:09:18.950 class who was also a breast cancer survivor had 00:09:18.950 --> 00:09:20.769 mentioned this dragon boat team. I was like, 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:28.129 what is dragon? It says dragon. I'm in. That 00:09:28.129 --> 00:09:31.090 sounds cool, right? And so it piqued my interest 00:09:31.090 --> 00:09:32.490 because that's my thing. It's like, I've never 00:09:32.490 --> 00:09:33.929 heard of that. I feel like I should know about 00:09:33.929 --> 00:09:36.350 that. I should try it. And so she said, you know, 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:39.990 we do guest paddle, paddling sessions. And do 00:09:39.990 --> 00:09:42.250 you want, do you want to come? And I said, of 00:09:42.250 --> 00:09:45.370 course. And so I went and that is something, 00:09:45.370 --> 00:09:49.009 you know, to your point where I was in the boat. 00:09:49.029 --> 00:09:53.450 It was a very emotional day for me. But I was 00:09:53.450 --> 00:09:57.210 like, I have to do more of this. And, you know, 00:09:57.210 --> 00:09:59.210 I've been on that team for two and a half years 00:09:59.210 --> 00:10:02.509 now. And that has opened up all kinds of experiences 00:10:02.509 --> 00:10:04.669 being on the water. I had never really been a 00:10:04.669 --> 00:10:08.470 water sport person. Was it the synchronized swimming? 00:10:08.590 --> 00:10:10.190 Like after that experience, you're like, I'm 00:10:10.190 --> 00:10:12.289 out. Just like not only is it no synchronized 00:10:12.289 --> 00:10:15.889 swimming, anything with water. Right. Yeah. That 00:10:15.889 --> 00:10:18.509 or maybe, you know, wakeboarding a few times 00:10:18.509 --> 00:10:22.659 my life, taking some nosedives. But This was 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:24.799 totally different because here I had just been 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:30.509 through a really traumatic, scary experience 00:10:30.509 --> 00:10:33.309 in my life. And then I was now on a boat where 00:10:33.309 --> 00:10:38.370 every breast cancer survivor has a very different 00:10:38.370 --> 00:10:41.830 journey, right? But one thing I can say

pretty 00:10:41.830 --> 00:10:45.350 confidently is they've all had upper body trauma. 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:50.210 And to be in a boat, that is, it's 22 people. 00:10:50.330 --> 00:10:54.679 on what is basically a giant Camille and there 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:58.620 there's two people to a rail and you're you're 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:03.500 paddling in sync um with you know the mobility 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:05.279 that you probably thought you were never going 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.179 to get back at some point at least that's how 00:11:07.179 --> 00:11:09.539 I felt because for quite a while I couldn't lift 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:14.559 my arms over 45 degrees and here I am full stroke 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:18.830 you know paddling in sync Um, in quiet really, 00:11:18.830 --> 00:11:22.590 it's very kind of a meditative feel as well. 00:11:22.950 --> 00:11:25.990 Um, with, with these women who have all powered 00:11:25.990 --> 00:11:29.669 through their own journey. So it was, it was 00:11:29.669 --> 00:11:32.450 very powerful. It was very emotional for me that, 00:11:32.470 --> 00:11:36.289 that day to see, um, a group of women who've 00:11:36.289 --> 00:11:39.190 chose to get stronger, who've chosen to push 00:11:39.190 --> 00:11:43.470 their bodies to a different level. Um, and so, 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:46.279 yeah, that, that is something that I. Instantly 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:47.960 was like I have to do more of this. Okay, I had 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:50.320 more questions about the so many questions We're 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.379 gonna go into we're gonna get into this now the 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:55.679 nitty -gritty So you mentioned two people to 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:58.139 an or is that what you like or to a row? What 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:00.159 does that look like? So you got one side the 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:02.379 other person has the other side and there's ten 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:05.539 rows and then you have a Drummer at the front 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.220 who's the person who is you know making the calls? 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:10.799 Keeping everybody in sync telling us when to 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:13.820 accelerate pull back push harder and then you 00:12:13.820 --> 00:12:16.350 have someone steering the boat like an actual 00:12:16.350 --> 00:12:20.190 drum, like boof, boof. In races, yes. In races, 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:24.730 the drum comes out. I've actually, that was a 00:12:24.730 --> 00:12:27.669 new thing this past year. I was the drummer, 00:12:27.710 --> 00:12:31.730 which I had never been as well. Last year I was 00:12:31.730 --> 00:12:35.909 re -diagnosed with breast cancer in January and 00:12:35.909 --> 00:12:40.309 I navigated through that part of it. I went through 00:12:40.309 --> 00:12:43.820 30 rounds of radiation. And it was during a time 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:47.539 where we were preparing for a race in Vancouver. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.840 It was our first international race that we were 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.720 going to be a part of. So I had planned the trip. 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:55.940 I had plans to get my son with me. And because 00:12:55.940 --> 00:12:59.179 of the radiation, I couldn't train. And I was 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:00.940 not going to be able to compete in that race. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.299 And that was hard. But I decided, you know what? 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.789 I'm still going. and also wanted that to be an 00:13:08.789 --> 00:13:11.529 example for my son of, you know what, if you're 00:13:11.529 --> 00:13:14.009 injured, if you're hurt, you still show up for 00:13:14.009 --> 00:13:16.809 your team. I love that. You know, this is your 00:13:16.809 --> 00:13:20.129 tribe. This is your community. And so we still 00:13:20.129 --> 00:13:24.269 went to Vancouver and it was right before that 00:13:24.269 --> 00:13:26.570 race, actually somebody had to drop last minute. 00:13:26.929 --> 00:13:29.710 And so they knew I could not paddle, but they 00:13:29.710 --> 00:13:31.970 said, you know what, will you be the drummer? 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:35.049 We want you to be on the boat. So it was very 00:13:35.049 --> 00:13:38.750 special. Some of them didn't think, Nathan, you 00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:41.750 might find this funny, but some of them weren't 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:44.129 sure if I could, you know, find my big voice. 00:13:45.830 --> 00:13:49.809 And so as soon as, you know, I had to learn how 00:13:49.809 --> 00:13:53.669 to be a drummer and what calls to make, you know, 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:57.330 within a couple of weeks. And sure enough, you 00:13:57.330 --> 00:14:00.529 know, I brought out the Big Brook voice and now 00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:04.259 they're all like, what? What an asset we had 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:06.360 no idea and they've asked me to be a drummer 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:10.960 multiple times now What a great story though 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:14.159 you being like, hey, you know what my son and 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:15.639 I were still gonna go out we're gonna be there 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:17.820 for the team but then the team like reciprocating 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:20.519 that and being like Hey, she's gonna be there. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:22.879 How can she participate and they extend that 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:24.960 invitation to you to continue to be part of that 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:29.399 community Man, it's so cool. That is so cool 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:33.620 now I know that this journey with the Dragon 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:38.259 Boat team, it still continues to this day. And 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:40.980 Vancouver wasn't the last international competition 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:43.100 that y 'all went to, was it? Right. So this summer, 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:47.779 we went to France. And that was something that 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:50.200 we've been working toward for two years. So right 00:14:50.200 -->

00:14:55.039 after Vancouver, France was on the docket for 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:59.610 us to be a part of. So amazing because it was 00:14:59.610 --> 00:15:03.269 an international race. So there were about almost 00:15:03.269 --> 00:15:07.129 200 breast cancer survivor teams from all over 00:15:07.129 --> 00:15:10.850 the globe. It's a very, you know, very powerful 00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:15.149 event to be a part of, but it was exciting because 00:15:15.149 --> 00:15:22.750 we, out of that 150 teams, we came in 18th. You 00:15:22.750 --> 00:15:26.289 have heats, right? So a heat of five teams, five 00:15:26.289 --> 00:15:28.950 or six teams that'll race. And we came in second 00:15:28.950 --> 00:15:32.330 in our first one, then got first place in the 00:15:32.330 --> 00:15:35.929 following two heats. And that was a new challenge 00:15:35.929 --> 00:15:38.830 too, because our first day got rained out. So 00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:42.929 they gave us this bonus day at the end. But instead 00:15:42.929 --> 00:15:46.450 of doing our standard 500 meter race, they made 00:15:46.450 --> 00:15:50.440 it a thousand meter race. Oh. We had not. Well, 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.299 I mean, we do endurance practicing all the time, 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:57.820 but we had not practiced to race. Race at full 00:15:57.820 --> 00:16:00.059 power. Double the length, right? For a thousand 00:16:00.059 --> 00:16:03.340 meters. Yeah. And we came in first place in that 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:05.600 heat. It was pretty exciting, but it showed us, 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:08.620 you know, again, coming together and the trust 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:11.179 that we have in the boat and what we've put into 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:13.679 it that we could, you know, we're going to make 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:16.840 this happen. Yeah. What does it feel like to 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:19.639 row? I just don't know. Is it physically exhausting? 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:21.120 Is it more mentally exhausting? Are you just 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.539 like, it's just you can't train for it? Tell 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:26.220 us about what that feels like. It is a full body 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:28.879 workout. You don't think about it. You think 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:34.220 about it being your arms. But really, your leg 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:39.039 is driving. So your leg is up against almost 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:42.399 the seat in front of you. And there's a movement 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.870 with your leg where you you know, bend your knee, 00:16:44.909 --> 00:16:46.549 push forward, bend your knee, push forward. So 00:16:46.549 --> 00:16:49.190 you're really doing a leg drive and you're planting 00:16:49.190 --> 00:16:53.009 the paddle and then pulling it back. But it's 00:16:53.009 --> 00:16:55.490 not like a bicep, you know, movement like this. 00:16:55.490 --> 00:16:58.389 It's a straight arm pull. Yeah. You're using 00:16:58.389 --> 00:17:01.870 a lot of your torso, right?

Yes. Yeah. It is 00:17:01.870 --> 00:17:05.170 exhausting. We, but it feels great, you know, 00:17:05.170 --> 00:17:09.730 and we race in kind of sprints. So, um, 200 meter 00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:13.690 races, those will take, um, we, we just, Fine. 00:17:13.950 --> 00:17:16.869 We just finished in our first sub one minute 00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:20.630 race time for the 200 meter, but that's around 00:17:20.630 --> 00:17:26.009 a minute ish and the 500 meters are, um, you 00:17:26.009 --> 00:17:28.930 know, somewhere around a couple of minutes. We 00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:31.390 practice two to three times a week for an hour 00:17:31.390 --> 00:17:33.829 and a half. So obviously you take breaks during 00:17:33.829 --> 00:17:36.950 that hour and a half, but, um, it is definitely 00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:42.519 a very good workout. Your first story of showing 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:47.349 up. to practice. It was kind of emotional for 00:17:47.349 --> 00:17:49.390 you. It was different. It was a new experience. 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:52.609 It was super meaningful. You shared a quick story 00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:55.230 about Vancouver and how they kind of invited 00:17:55.230 --> 00:17:57.210 you to still participate, even though you couldn't 00:17:57.210 --> 00:18:00.089 because you were back going through treatment 00:18:00.089 --> 00:18:03.210 as your breast cancer came back. When you think 00:18:03.210 --> 00:18:06.990 about France, do you have any specific moments 00:18:06.990 --> 00:18:09.609 that come to mind that really stand out? Yeah, 00:18:09.609 --> 00:18:13.630 I mean, I think for me, it was It was kind of 00:18:13.630 --> 00:18:16.609 a culmination of getting my strength back. You 00:18:16.609 --> 00:18:21.269 know, it was this big event that there had been 00:18:21.269 --> 00:18:23.890 a couple of years leading up to this, the Vancouver 00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:26.569 one I wasn't able to participate in, and then 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:30.589 being part of such a big, important race and 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:35.130 being part of this community now that, again, 00:18:35.130 --> 00:18:39.430 I feel like is my tribe. I mean, the whole thing 00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:42.390 felt just like a big moment. But I think when 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:47.670 we outpaced ourselves and had our own personal 00:18:47.670 --> 00:18:51.369 records at such a big venue and such a big event, 00:18:51.630 --> 00:18:54.329 that was just, you know, really showing you that 00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:58.289 you can come back and you can push harder. And, 00:18:58.289 --> 00:19:00.990 you know, there's there's women on our boat that 00:19:00.990 --> 00:19:05.009 are still intrigued. There are women on our boat 00:19:05.009 --> 00:19:08.859 who are living with cancer indefinitely. And 00:19:08.859 --> 00:19:11.640 that is something that you know, I look around 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:15.380 and I'm so inspired by the the people around 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:19.200 me and one of the things with this group of women 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:24.609 that I a moment that I just found really Really 00:19:24.609 --> 00:19:29.269 hit me hard and well was really inspiring was 00:19:29.269 --> 00:19:33.279 so with with breast cancer, any cancer probably, 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:36.940 the journey doesn't just have an end date. A 00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:38.740 lot of people are like, oh, I'm glad that you're 00:19:38.740 --> 00:19:44.220 through it. It is quite the marathon that can 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:47.299 be everlasting that people don't recognize. One 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:50.099 of the things I've experienced is after my recurrence, 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:54.779 I've now had five surgeries and I'm currently, 00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:59.079 I'm doing great, but I'm on two... medications 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:02.720 daily for five years. So that's a new challenge 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.519 for me that I'm facing because they give you 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:12.440 crazy fatigue. They make your joints hurt to 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:15.640 where in the morning sometimes I get up and like 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:19.059 can barely walk for quite a while until I can 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:21.559 get moving again. And so there's things like 00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:26.130 that where it can, you know, mentally really 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.849 take you down a bit. And I remember I was having 00:20:29.849 --> 00:20:32.470 this day where I was feeling kind of, you know, 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.839 I don't want to go to practice. I'm so tired. 00:20:35.539 --> 00:20:38.380 And then I finally thought, you know, I need 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:41.619 to go. I'll feel better when I go. And it was 00:20:41.619 --> 00:20:46.220 that day where my seatmate next to me, who is 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:50.039 older, she's actually in her early seventies, 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:54.619 was paddling full, full power. And then we stopped 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:56.900 for a break and she's talking to me about, oh, 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.519 how she had chemo yesterday. And I was sitting 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:05.029 here feeling like, oh, I'm having fatigue and 00:21:05.029 --> 00:21:07.589 maybe I'm not going to go. And it's things like 00:21:07.589 --> 00:21:10.549 that where it's just, wow, you can, you know, 00:21:10.589 --> 00:21:15.049 I think about that every single day of I'm making 00:21:15.049 --> 00:21:22.240 a choice. I may feel less energy. I may feel 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.720 weaker. I may feel like I'm rebuilding strength 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.720 from, you know, what I used to have, but I could 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:34.759 choose to not show up or you can and you can 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:39.500 push through. And so, yeah, that was a very inspiring 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:42.480 kind of moment for me on the boat with my team 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:47.200 as well. Oh, so amazing. It's like inspiring 00:21:47.200 -->

00:21:49.480 to hear that. Thank you for sharing. What dawned 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:51.339 upon me, you know, as you're sharing this, you 00:21:51.339 --> 00:21:54.660 know, you're a two -time cancer survivor, right? 00:21:55.019 --> 00:21:56.359 And I do want to ask some more questions about 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:59.519 that in a moment. But what's so amazing is so 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:01.779 often I think we all think that physical pursuit 00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:03.599 is just like, you're pushing your past, your 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:05.180 physical limits, you know, physically type stuff. 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:09.039 But what if those limits are because of other 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:10.720 things outside of your control, like cancer, 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:12.599 right? And so then what does that look like? 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:15.519 And so it's just really dawned upon me that just 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:18.180 that, like hearing that story about, you know, 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:20.500 the lady in the early 70s who had chemo the day 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.460 before and was peddling her best, then what strength 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:25.420 and willpower it took to just perform and do 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:27.539 that. How did that shift your perspective and 00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:29.140 just viewpoint going forward after hearing that 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:31.980 from her? I think, you know, people say this, 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:37.759 but so much of it is mental as far as how far 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:42.750 you can go, you know? And that's something that 00:22:42.750 --> 00:22:46.289 I remind myself of all the time. And again, with 00:22:46.289 --> 00:22:50.210 my son, something that I want him to see and, 00:22:50.210 --> 00:22:53.869 you know, he's been at our races. He's our biggest 00:22:53.869 --> 00:22:57.029 fan. This past year in France, we decided maybe 00:22:57.029 --> 00:22:58.910 he's a mascot as well. I don't know, because 00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:01.490 it's just me and him all the time and he's going 00:23:01.490 --> 00:23:04.809 to be there. So it was a good reminder in that 00:23:04.809 --> 00:23:08.349 moment that I could have just let myself feel 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:10.819 weak and not want to you know, push myself to 00:23:10.819 --> 00:23:14.779 be involved. And, you know, when I do move through 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:16.579 those things, and everybody does, we all have 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:19.759 those days or times or points in our life. And 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.059 outside of the cancer, I've had a lot of loss 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:24.279 in my life. I went through a divorce. And so 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:28.180 I've been through like cycles of big challenges 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:31.079 that get you emotionally and can have an impact 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:35.180 physically, too. And it really is just taking 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:38.579 that moment to decide. you know, what you want 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:41.319 to do and how you want to challenge yourself, 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:43.640 whether that be physically at certain levels 00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:47.029 or just stay active. How do you find the strength? 00:23:47.470 --> 00:23:50.109 How do you find the moment to keep going? For 00:23:50.109 --> 00:23:53.029 example, like after you experience like feeling 00:23:53.029 --> 00:23:55.269 so, as you mentioned right before you and Larisha, 00:23:55.329 --> 00:23:57.309 like I'm tired, I'm exhausted, like, you know, 00:23:57.390 --> 00:23:59.450 there's real physical limitations happening within 00:23:59.450 --> 00:24:01.869 your own body that like normal people don't have 00:24:01.869 --> 00:24:03.730 to, people on a daily basis don't have to experience, 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:06.240 you know. And yet from the strength to go on, 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:07.339 like, how do you be like, no, I'm going to do 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:09.200 this. I think for most people, it's a really 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.759 good excuse to, you know, very valid reason. 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:13.400 People be like, no, you should take some time 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:15.599 off. But you're like, no, I'm going to go. Where 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:17.059 does that come from? Where do you find that? 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:19.640 I don't know. I think, I think where it comes 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:24.160 from is I have done it enough times to now I 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.460 go back in my mind and think about how much better 00:24:26.460 --> 00:24:30.109 I felt afterward. And so just being able to remind 00:24:30.109 --> 00:24:35.220 myself that I felt better. and I could do it. 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:38.240 I've done, you know, I showed even small increments, 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:41.539 right? So after I had a double mastectomy and 00:24:41.539 --> 00:24:43.859 after that, all I could do was walk. That was 00:24:43.859 --> 00:24:46.700 like the first thing I could do is like, okay, 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:48.880 I'll get to walking around the block. Okay, now 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:52.440 I'll go a little bit further. And this came to 00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:53.920 mind because the other day I was looking through 00:24:53.920 --> 00:25:00.140 photos and a photo popped up. from 2022 and I 00:25:00.140 --> 00:25:03.559 was walking the lip strong race here in Austin 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.579 and I looked at the date and it was two months 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:11.200 after my surgery which was a significant surgery 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:16.000 where I had you know had surgical drains in for 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:19.849 quite a long time I was you know it was a lot 00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:22.710 of healing. And I was like, Oh my God, I can't 00:25:22.710 --> 00:25:25.769 believe I walked that race two months after my 00:25:25.769 --> 00:25:29.809 surgery. So again, it was like one of those reminders 00:25:29.809 --> 00:25:37.859 of, I felt

very beat down. And I felt like I 00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:43.259 know activity is something that makes me feel 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:46.500 better. And again, the challenge was very different 00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:49.779 at that point than it was years before when I 00:25:49.779 --> 00:25:54.109 was doing boot camps and doing kickboxing. And, 00:25:54.269 --> 00:25:58.470 you know, and I had to just kind of reframe it 00:25:58.470 --> 00:26:02.289 and take the small steps and recognize those 00:26:02.289 --> 00:26:05.730 as progress and as an achievement. Your hard 00:26:05.730 --> 00:26:09.309 right now is different than what your hard was 00:26:09.309 --> 00:26:12.269 10 years ago. Yeah. But because you did hard 00:26:12.269 --> 00:26:15.359 things 10 years ago, you'd be like, I could still 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:16.799 do hard things now. It might be a little bit 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:19.220 different, but I could do it. I could take that 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:21.940 next step. What a beautiful, beautiful message. 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:24.519 It's so beautiful. And I think you're like, you 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:25.779 know, Nathan always talks about this is like 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:27.859 everyone's heart is different, but like the feeling 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:30.279 is the exact same. The fear in your mind, the 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:32.559 feeling in your body is the exact same. Heart 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:35.319 is hard. And some, some days we can have, we 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:36.940 can handle more hard, less hard, but it doesn't 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:38.359 really matter. It's just the same feeling and 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:40.799 overcoming is huge. You shared a little bit about 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.579 the role of having practice doing hard things 00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:45.839 all throughout your life and kind of being able 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:50.279 to look back on that, say, Hey, I can, I could 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:52.940 do this too. Right. I can, I can do this too. 00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:56.460 Um, but then you also shared that story about 00:26:56.460 --> 00:27:01.769 your seatmate and how she was going through something 00:27:01.769 --> 00:27:04.589 and still showed up for practice and you're like, 00:27:04.589 --> 00:27:06.910 Oh, I could do it as well. How many, how many 00:27:06.910 --> 00:27:09.230 boats did you say were in France? Was it 150? 00:27:09.849 --> 00:27:15.589 18. Yeah. Yeah, we came in 18th, but there were 00:27:15.589 --> 00:27:19.829 150. They came in 18th. But there was 150 boats. 00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:23.559 And every single one of these boats had 22 women 00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:27.099 who were, was it specifically breast cancer survivors? 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:30.000 Yes, this one was specifically breast cancer. 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:35.130 I mean, I can't help but think the power of that 00:27:35.130 --> 00:27:40.720 gathering. Oh, yeah, it was just, I mean, I just 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:43.259 love to hear like even to get like a glimpse 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:46.779 of what that's like to have all of these amazing 00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:51.450 women who have gone through what arguably could 00:27:51.450 --> 00:27:54.369 be considered like the hardest thing that a human 00:27:54.369 --> 00:27:57.410 can go through in life, having cancer and surviving 00:27:57.410 --> 00:28:01.789 it. And they're all out there competing, rowing 00:28:01.789 --> 00:28:06.130 their hearts out, competing in a worldwide competition, 00:28:06.430 --> 00:28:09.289 but you're all there together kind of in that 00:28:09.289 --> 00:28:13.009 and have that same story. Just if there's anything 00:28:13.009 --> 00:28:15.490 you could do to help us kind of like feel what 00:28:15.490 --> 00:28:20.049 that felt like. It is hard to like share that 00:28:20.049 --> 00:28:23.950 feeling, but it was overwhelming. And one thing 00:28:23.950 --> 00:28:29.269 that we do when it is breast cancer only, Dragon 00:28:29.269 --> 00:28:33.269 Boat. races is we do a ceremony, it's called 00:28:33.269 --> 00:28:35.609 a flower ceremony, where in the middle of all 00:28:35.609 --> 00:28:38.730 these races, in the middle of the day, we pause 00:28:38.730 --> 00:28:43.089 and we stop and there will be women on the boats. 00:28:43.089 --> 00:28:45.710 We normally blend the boats with different teams 00:28:45.710 --> 00:28:48.769 being on each one and you go out and we take 00:28:48.769 --> 00:28:53.210 a moment and we honor those that we've lost that 00:28:53.210 --> 00:28:55.509 are still fighting the fight and the ones that 00:28:55.509 --> 00:28:57.950 have survived. And you know, you throw a flower 00:28:57.950 --> 00:29:02.230 out to the water. So in this instance, you see 00:29:02.230 --> 00:29:05.009 all of the power, the energy, there are hugs, 00:29:05.049 --> 00:29:07.690 like from women, from different teams, people 00:29:07.690 --> 00:29:10.990 who can't speak the same language, but high -fiving, 00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:13.930 exchanging our team, like we've got our logo 00:29:13.930 --> 00:29:16.289 on pins, little metal pins, and we're exchanging 00:29:16.289 --> 00:29:19.369 jerseys and pins with other competitors. But 00:29:19.369 --> 00:29:23.829 it is this community where everybody is cheering 00:29:23.829 --> 00:29:25.890 each other on and supporting each other because 00:29:25.890 --> 00:29:30.029 it's more than about the race. It's the fact 00:29:30.029 --> 00:29:34.420 that the women there have showed up and they've 00:29:34.420 --> 00:29:39.079 chosen to be there and to push through so much. 00:29:40.119 --> 00:29:45.680 And a lot of it too, I hope that the team and 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:50.460 events like that drive awareness around being 00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:56.059 able to be confident about having physical challenges 00:29:56.059 --> 00:30:00.059 and activity back in your life. in a positive 00:30:00.059 --> 00:30:04.440 way, even through

such a difficult journey. That 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:08.960 flower ceremony sounds amazing. Yeah. Not a dry 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:13.400 eye. Like it is, I'll send you, I've got aerial 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:17.140 shots. They had drones, of course, and you can 00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:19.819 see all the boats and you can see thousands of 00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:23.240 people wearing pink, you know, the flowers in 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:28.700 the water and it just, it's very impactful. understanding 00:30:28.700 --> 00:30:31.759 this whole journey that you've been on post breast 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:35.940 cancer and doing these dragon boat races and 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:39.299 everything. I'd love to like backtrack a little 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:43.319 bit as that, as the journey started, right? Cause 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:46.539 I'm sure like most people, well, you were super 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:50.039 active. You said you did kickboxing, you did 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:52.680 boot camps. You haven't mentioned this, but you 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:54.720 actually led a bunch of boot camps, right? Like 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.039 you are actually like the teacher and that was 00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.980 helping other people with their physical activity. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:02.720 And if I remember correctly - That has an interesting 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:05.740 story to it as well. Oh, well, I would love to 00:31:05.740 --> 00:31:08.359 hear that story. We would love to hear this story. 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:13.779 Yeah, so I mentioned early on that another kind 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:16.140 of meaningful time in my life where I realized 00:31:16.140 --> 00:31:20.539 that physical challenge was Felt good and was 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:23.220 very healthy for me was when I started experiencing 00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:27.599 anxiety, which is pretty normal for Early professionals 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:30.220 in the mid -20s, you know, you always hear like 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:33.140 go out and exercise well I really did find that 00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:38.950 it it helped me and so flash forward if you years 00:31:38.950 --> 00:31:42.329 later, after working at, you know, a very intense, 00:31:42.650 --> 00:31:46.470 high energy startup, I had quit that job. And 00:31:46.470 --> 00:31:51.309 I decided to take some time off to figure out 00:31:51.309 --> 00:31:54.789 what I wanted to do next. And in that time off, 00:31:55.170 --> 00:31:57.450 and I had just gotten married too. So I was like, 00:31:57.529 --> 00:32:00.369 okay, this is kind of like a pause. I made like 00:32:00.369 --> 00:32:03.109 a little bucket list of things. And one of them 00:32:03.109 --> 00:32:05.849 was I want to get certified as a personal trainer. 00:32:07.059 --> 00:32:11.900 And I signed up to go through the certification, 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:16.200 and I kind of forgot about it. Like, you could 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:21.420 start the classes and,

you know, the certification 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:23.799 piece of it really at any point within like six 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:28.279 months, right? And in that time, I got pregnant. 00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:31.700 And then they were contacting me saying like, 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:33.460 hey, you already signed up for this. You said 00:32:33.460 --> 00:32:35.759 you were going to do it. You only have a couple 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:39.559 more months, you still want to do it. So I ended 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:41.799 up getting certified as a personal trainer when 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:46.650 I was six months pregnant. And that was an interesting 00:32:46.650 --> 00:32:51.950 journey. And people thought it was crazy. After 00:32:51.950 --> 00:32:56.009 I had my son, I discovered a group called Stroller 00:32:56.009 --> 00:32:59.750 Strides. And it's a larger organization called 00:32:59.750 --> 00:33:03.430 Fit for Mom. They teach these exercise classes 00:33:03.430 --> 00:33:06.950 and parks all around the town where you can bring 00:33:06.950 --> 00:33:11.210 your child and get your physical exercise done. 00:33:11.650 --> 00:33:13.710 So I went to a couple of them and they found 00:33:13.710 --> 00:33:15.910 out I was actually certified. So they asked me 00:33:15.910 --> 00:33:19.789 to start training them. So I did those. I signed 00:33:19.789 --> 00:33:21.809 up to be a sub. I was like, I'm not going to 00:33:21.809 --> 00:33:25.069 fully commit. I'll be a sub. But then when you 00:33:25.069 --> 00:33:30.170 have a group of women who are the trainers, there 00:33:30.170 --> 00:33:34.250 were a lot out for getting pregnant again. They, 00:33:34.589 --> 00:33:37.349 you know, family stuff comes up. So I was, I 00:33:37.349 --> 00:33:40.869 was doing these classes like six days a week 00:33:40.869 --> 00:33:44.529 for quite a while. But then I started, yeah, 00:33:44.609 --> 00:33:48.829 teaching my own boot camps that were just with, 00:33:48.829 --> 00:33:53.200 you know, anybody. Yeah. Funny story, how I got 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:55.660 the certification. It was not the ideal time. 00:33:56.440 --> 00:33:57.859 Yeah. You're like, and that escalated quickly. 00:33:58.180 --> 00:34:01.160 I think a common theme that I keep hearing around 00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:04.859 your story, Brooke, is as your life has evolved 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:09.079 and as you've had different experiences, whether 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:12.500 it was intentional or not, you find community 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:16.119 to support you kind of in that time period. And 00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:20.019 I love that. Right? You're a new mom. I'm also 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:21.780 a certified personal trainer. How can I bring 00:34:21.780 --> 00:34:24.239 these things together? Oh, look, I can work out 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:26.179 with a bunch of other moms who have their kids 00:34:26.179 --> 00:34:28.760 with them as if I have a newborn. And now I can 00:34:28.760 --> 00:34:32.639 be part of that community. You're a breast cancer 00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:36.119 survivor. You were invited. Well, you were invited 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:39.420 while you were at a restorative class at Ballet 00:34:39.420 --> 00:34:42.340 Austin, right? Another community that was specifically 00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:45.519 around breast cancer survivorship. And then we're 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:50.300 part of the Dragon Boat team. There's a powerful 00:34:50.300 --> 00:34:54.739 lesson, I think, for all of us to really make 00:34:54.739 --> 00:34:57.699 sure that we are finding our tribes, that we 00:34:57.699 --> 00:35:00.699 are finding those communities that can be there 00:35:00.699 --> 00:35:04.460 for us, but then we can also be there for them 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:08.050 in times of difficulty and hardship. Mm -hmm. 00:35:08.389 --> 00:35:11.170 And I will say, too, I mean, outside of just 00:35:11.170 --> 00:35:13.309 the times of difficulty and hardship, I mean, 00:35:13.429 --> 00:35:17.360 those are... obviously times where it is very 00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:20.920 important, but just in normal day life. So in 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:24.900 my normal life of just being an adult and getting 00:35:24.900 --> 00:35:28.679 older or different chapters of your life, I, 00:35:29.059 --> 00:35:32.000 outside of a breast cancer group or a mom's group, 00:35:32.409 --> 00:35:34.989 Um, you know tennis is something that I plan 00:35:34.989 --> 00:35:38.690 on doing one as a physical challenge for me Um, 00:35:38.750 --> 00:35:41.130 it's a whole different upper body movement that 00:35:41.130 --> 00:35:43.750 I I wanted to start tennis to just have a new 00:35:43.750 --> 00:35:46.969 outlet and and again kind of a social outlet 00:35:46.969 --> 00:35:52.510 but a hobby and a sport As I got older and and 00:35:52.510 --> 00:35:54.769 then with breast cancer delayed it. So that's 00:35:54.769 --> 00:35:58.110 something that it's You know, so on my list that 00:35:58.110 --> 00:36:01.150 i'm getting back to and getting into and I think 00:36:01.150 --> 00:36:03.820 that You know, finding those things, whether 00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:07.940 a challenge led you there or not, but it is, 00:36:08.099 --> 00:36:10.119 there are those communities that come together 00:36:10.119 --> 00:36:12.480 through different activities that's great on 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:16.099 a social level as well as physical. It's not 00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:18.659 surprising at all that your exploration continues, 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:22.159 right? This idea of questing and trying things 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:24.519 and finding play in life and finding challenge 00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:27.559 in life. Is this something that you have continuously 00:36:27.559 --> 00:36:31.360 been drawn towards and pulled towards? And I'm 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:34.000 not surprised that that still continues for you. 00:36:34.539 --> 00:36:36.639 And if I may throw out some

suggestions, tennis 00:36:36.639 --> 00:36:38.980 is amazing. Love it. Paddle is awesome. Pick 00:36:38.980 --> 00:36:41.960 a ball. It's, I'm telling you, it's great. I'm 00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:44.619 sure you've done it. So this is brought to you 00:36:44.619 --> 00:36:49.119 by the national. I know. So when did you find 00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:53.579 out about your cancer that happened? Do you mind 00:36:53.579 --> 00:36:55.280 sharing that story? Because I think it's just 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:57.059 helpful for the listeners to understand just 00:36:57.059 --> 00:36:59.400 how that impacted your life and how you got through 00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:02.380 that story. If you wouldn't mind sharing. Well, 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:07.039 it's an interesting time in life because I think, 00:37:07.099 --> 00:37:09.940 you know, we had all just gone through a pandemic. 00:37:10.639 --> 00:37:14.199 I had just gone through a divorce and I was starting 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:18.530 a startup company of my own. Um, and my mom's 00:37:18.530 --> 00:37:21.449 health went downhill, so I was, uh, in a position 00:37:21.449 --> 00:37:25.250 of being a senior caretaker. So all of these 00:37:25.250 --> 00:37:27.730 things kind of happened. I finally like settled 00:37:27.730 --> 00:37:30.989 all of this in my mind. And I remember, you know, 00:37:31.190 --> 00:37:33.789 the 2022, the new year, I was like, okay, not 00:37:33.789 --> 00:37:36.210 where I thought I was going to be, but moving 00:37:36.210 --> 00:37:39.809 forward, you know, like things are where they 00:37:39.809 --> 00:37:43.110 need to be and moving forward. And it was five 00:37:43.110 --> 00:37:46.150 months later where I found I had a breast cancer. 00:37:46.250 --> 00:37:53.349 And so it was shocking. It was scary. It was 00:37:53.349 --> 00:37:59.840 a month after I had turned 38. And, you know, 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:04.469 I hit the floor. I will say I picked up the phone 00:38:04.469 --> 00:38:06.909 when I shouldn't have for results that were quite 00:38:06.909 --> 00:38:09.210 important. And it was before a couple of investor 00:38:09.210 --> 00:38:11.730 meetings and sales meetings I had for my startup. 00:38:12.250 --> 00:38:14.730 So I put the phone down first and said, I'm going 00:38:14.730 --> 00:38:17.170 to have to set that aside for a moment, like 00:38:17.170 --> 00:38:19.510 in my head, I got through that and then I hit 00:38:19.510 --> 00:38:24.329 the floor. And it was, it was devastating. It 00:38:24.329 --> 00:38:28.989 was, you know, I had just been through several 00:38:28.989 --> 00:38:31.210 challenges and this is where you're trying not 00:38:31.210 --> 00:38:34.010 to choke up, but I had just been through several 00:38:34.010 --> 00:38:37.190 - We're criers here, it's okay. Yeah, big things 00:38:37.190 --> 00:38:41.489 and been like, okay. I got through that. I did 00:38:41.489 --> 00:38:44.250 it. I'm moving forward. And then when I got the 00:38:44.250 --> 00:38:46.110 news of breast cancer, it was the moment where 00:38:46.110 --> 00:38:50.809 I felt like, this is the challenge. This was, 00:38:50.809 --> 00:38:54.210 this was the big punch that knocked me over, 00:38:54.210 --> 00:38:56.530 you know, and am I going to get through this? 00:38:58.300 --> 00:39:00.659 And I think it's hard to a lot of people with 00:39:00.659 --> 00:39:02.460 people going through cancer will say, you got 00:39:02.460 --> 00:39:04.420 this, you got this. And sometimes you feel like, 00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:06.780 but what if I don't? I don't know. People ask 00:39:06.780 --> 00:39:08.780 me, how'd you get through all of that? I didn't 00:39:08.780 --> 00:39:14.679 see any other I didn't see any other way, but 00:39:14.679 --> 00:39:19.360 to take it head on and just move through it. 00:39:20.840 --> 00:39:23.900 And so you, you know, big, big things like that, 00:39:23.920 --> 00:39:26.760 you start breaking up into, okay, like small 00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.440 steps of, I'm going to do this first. So I'm 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:31.940 going to, you know, get through this. And again, 00:39:31.980 --> 00:39:33.860 in that moment too, I looked at, okay, I just 00:39:33.860 --> 00:39:35.559 got through these things that I thought were 00:39:35.559 --> 00:39:38.599 the hardest thing I've been through in my life. 00:39:38.889 --> 00:39:41.289 At the time, they were that mountain. Now they're 00:39:41.289 --> 00:39:44.690 the mole hill. And this too is going to be in 00:39:44.690 --> 00:39:48.949 the rear view. I just need to, you know, move 00:39:48.949 --> 00:39:52.099 through it in the best way that I can. And for 00:39:52.099 --> 00:39:56.880 whether it's getting that call that you have 00:39:56.880 --> 00:40:01.710 breast cancer or any other thing that could have 00:40:01.710 --> 00:40:03.750 that type of impact on people's lives. I think 00:40:03.750 --> 00:40:05.550 that it's a guarantee that all of us are going 00:40:05.550 --> 00:40:07.789 to have something like that at least once in 00:40:07.789 --> 00:40:11.030 our life happen. If you wouldn't mind sharing, 00:40:11.150 --> 00:40:13.329 I mean, first you said you hit the floor. What, 00:40:13.429 --> 00:40:16.230 what did that actually look like? Like what, 00:40:16.349 --> 00:40:20.010 what was that? And then what was it that allowed 00:40:20.010 --> 00:40:22.849 you to like transition from that to then get 00:40:22.849 --> 00:40:24.869 to that mindset that you just described, which 00:40:24.869 --> 00:40:27.900 is, well, I'm going to step forward. I'm going 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:29.559 to move forward. I've gone through hard things 00:40:29.559 --> 00:40:31.360 before. I'm going to make through hard things 00:40:31.360 --> 00:40:36.139 here. But just for you, can you think of what. 00:40:36.230 --> 00:40:38.969 what it was that actually kind of helped you 00:40:38.969 --> 00:40:42.570 to make that transition from just being on the 00:40:42.570 -->

00:40:45.920 floor to being like, I still might be on the 00:40:45.920 --> 00:40:47.840 floor, but I know I'm going to be able to get 00:40:47.840 --> 00:40:49.739 up and I am going to be able to take the step 00:40:49.739 --> 00:40:53.960 forward. Well, and I think, you know, I let myself 00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:57.219 be on the floor for a moment because it's like, 00:40:57.219 --> 00:41:01.579 uh, okay, like this is that you let yourself 00:41:01.579 --> 00:41:06.909 feel and react and be human. Um, but you can't, 00:41:06.929 --> 00:41:09.570 I couldn't stay there, right? I mean, honestly, 00:41:09.750 --> 00:41:13.530 a big thing for me was my son. Um, and not everybody 00:41:13.530 --> 00:41:17.090 has that. Um, but for me, that was in the forefront 00:41:17.090 --> 00:41:21.769 of, in my mind of, you know, I will get up, I'm 00:41:21.769 --> 00:41:24.969 going to move forward. We're going to navigate 00:41:24.969 --> 00:41:28.429 through this. And, um, and I, and I did with 00:41:28.429 --> 00:41:30.889 him when he was, you know, he was six years old 00:41:30.889 --> 00:41:34.809 at that point. Um, and again, my mother, needed 00:41:34.809 --> 00:41:40.050 a lot of care. And so it was really hard to figure 00:41:40.050 --> 00:41:43.130 out how do I take care of myself while I'm taking 00:41:43.130 --> 00:41:52.619 care of other people. And that led me back to, 00:41:52.619 --> 00:41:59.010 again, more like finding the time to stay active 00:41:59.010 --> 00:42:03.690 in my life, take long walks, kind of figure out 00:42:04.329 --> 00:42:08.389 what this was going to look like step by step. 00:42:08.570 --> 00:42:13.090 And I realized along, you know, along that time 00:42:13.090 --> 00:42:17.989 that a lot of community showed up for me. I think 00:42:17.989 --> 00:42:21.090 that experience for me, the biggest like life 00:42:21.090 --> 00:42:25.590 lesson that I was, I feel like meant to learn 00:42:25.590 --> 00:42:29.550 at that time was it's okay to ask for help and 00:42:29.550 --> 00:42:33.969 to accept help. And I'm very bad at that. And 00:42:33.969 --> 00:42:37.269 this was, whatever you call it, the world, God 00:42:37.269 --> 00:42:43.590 telling me, no, you will learn this lesson to 00:42:43.590 --> 00:42:47.150 ask for help and to have people offer that to 00:42:47.150 --> 00:42:51.570 you. And so that was something that I had to 00:42:51.570 --> 00:42:55.150 accept and to let people walk side by side with 00:42:55.150 --> 00:43:01.369 me and navigate the journey with me. So what 00:43:01.369 --> 00:43:04.989 I heard was, It sounds like one of the first 00:43:04.989 --> 00:43:10.940 things is center on what that reason why to continue 00:43:10.940 --> 00:43:13.860 is. It sounds like your son was a big reason 00:43:13.860 --> 00:43:19.159 for you, but for everybody, there is a why. Why 00:43:19.159 --> 00:43:22.980 should you continue to move forward? Then focus 00:43:22.980 --> 00:43:26.960 on a plan. It helps to start to understand, okay, 00:43:27.179 --> 00:43:29.760 so what is the next step? Can I figure out what 00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:32.210 that next step is? What is that plan? But then 00:43:32.210 --> 00:43:35.489 that third one, and boy is it hard for especially 00:43:35.489 --> 00:43:37.710 if you're a high achieving individual that's 00:43:37.710 --> 00:43:40.469 extraordinarily capable in so many different 00:43:40.469 --> 00:43:44.789 facets of life to actually not only ask for help, 00:43:44.789 --> 00:43:47.809 but accept it. Yeah. What's so amazing too is 00:43:47.809 --> 00:43:50.010 just like any one of those things by itself would 00:43:50.010 --> 00:43:52.670 be enough to knock someone on the floor, you 00:43:52.670 --> 00:43:54.110 know, like any one of them just by it, but to 00:43:54.110 --> 00:43:58.059 have it all happen at once, just to your point, 00:43:58.079 --> 00:44:01.489 you're like, no, you will get help, right? It's 00:44:01.489 --> 00:44:03.690 like you don't have an option here, which is 00:44:03.690 --> 00:44:07.429 amazing. The big thing I've always kept in my 00:44:07.429 --> 00:44:12.280 mind too Is that you know, don't It's weird to 00:44:12.280 --> 00:44:14.679 say this out. Don't worry and until you need 00:44:14.679 --> 00:44:19.500 to worry and that's that's hard to Think about 00:44:19.500 --> 00:44:21.260 when you just got news that you have cancer. 00:44:21.260 --> 00:44:25.820 It's like Now's the time to worry Right now I'm 00:44:25.820 --> 00:44:29.179 worried. You also I had to you have I had to 00:44:29.179 --> 00:44:32.559 catch myself from going to Worst -case scenario. 00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:35.789 Yeah catastrophizing right? Right. It's like 00:44:35.789 --> 00:44:39.349 there's time between Where I am right now to 00:44:39.349 --> 00:44:45.349 that and let me take that first next step and 00:44:45.349 --> 00:44:50.889 You know, I think really Giving yourself grace 00:44:50.889 --> 00:44:54.090 to I mean that was something that I had to learn 00:44:54.090 --> 00:44:58.849 of it's okay to not Be able to do this activity. 00:44:58.849 --> 00:45:01.690 It's not it's okay to not be as strong It's okay 00:45:01.690 --> 00:45:04.949 to need to take a moment for yourself or to take 00:45:04.949 --> 00:45:08.389 a notch down on something, you know to be able 00:45:08.389 --> 00:45:12.849 to focus on getting That strength back whether 00:45:12.849 --> 00:45:15.170 it's mental at the time physical at the time 00:45:15.170 --> 00:45:17.489 and so that's the big thing that I've learned 00:45:17.489 --> 00:45:21.730 over all these years is how to Like adjust but 00:45:21.730 --> 00:45:26.099 not give up or not let something go out of my 00:45:26.099 --> 00:45:29.599 life for forever. Like I said, the activities 00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:32.019 I do now are completely different. My lifestyle 00:45:32.019 --> 00:45:33.960 is completely different than it used to be, but 00:45:33.960 --> 00:45:39.780 it's still where I feel good

and where I'm pushing 00:45:39.780 --> 00:45:43.980 myself to do the things that make sense for me 00:45:43.980 --> 00:45:49.920 in this moment. Was that that day that you found 00:45:49.920 --> 00:45:53.960 out with your cancer journey, was that the lowest 00:45:53.960 --> 00:45:59.010 of the low? Um, that's hard to say. Um, I mean, 00:45:59.150 --> 00:46:04.269 I would say, yeah, probably pretty close because 00:46:04.269 --> 00:46:09.250 just the initial shock, you know, you, you get 00:46:09.250 --> 00:46:12.050 nervous when you're getting tests done and there's 00:46:12.050 --> 00:46:16.309 a concern, but then you in the back of your mind, 00:46:16.329 --> 00:46:18.690 you do go to the bad place, but you also go to 00:46:18.690 --> 00:46:20.409 the place of it's going to be fine. We're going 00:46:20.409 --> 00:46:22.590 to call it's going to be fine. I'm healthy. I'm 00:46:22.590 --> 00:46:24.110 young. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. 00:46:24.429 --> 00:46:27.269 Right. And then they called and it was not fine. 00:46:28.030 --> 00:46:35.849 And so that was something I just could not comprehend 00:46:35.849 --> 00:46:42.090 at all. And it was probably the lowest moment 00:46:42.090 --> 00:46:46.170 in it just because I had finally felt like I 00:46:46.170 --> 00:46:50.510 just got through these other big milestones and 00:46:50.510 --> 00:46:53.989 challenges and now's my time. That's what I felt 00:46:53.989 --> 00:46:59.300 like. the time for me. This is the time of rebuilding. 00:47:00.719 --> 00:47:03.639 I mentally got myself there. And then it was 00:47:03.639 --> 00:47:08.019 like, you know, this is what you're going to 00:47:08.019 --> 00:47:13.760 do now. So, you know, I think after the double 00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:19.519 mastectomy was pretty low. But also at the same 00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:23.500 time, it was low. But then I quickly got to a 00:47:23.500 --> 00:47:26.449 moment of me and I got through that. All right, 00:47:26.650 --> 00:47:33.199 now I know how I feel. Now I know what I can 00:47:33.199 --> 00:47:36.159 do tomorrow. I don't know. It's hard to explain. 00:47:36.820 --> 00:47:40.340 But like I said, it's an ongoing journey. And 00:47:40.340 --> 00:47:43.940 I had five surgeries in all. I think I counted 00:47:43.940 --> 00:47:46.840 at one point. I've been cut in like 25 different 00:47:46.840 --> 00:47:54.639 places through those surgeries. a lot more than 00:47:54.639 --> 00:47:57.619 upper body when they're cutting into your legs 00:47:57.619 --> 00:48:01.260 and, you know, it's just, it's a lot. And after 00:48:01.260 --> 00:48:04.300 each thing, I would feel like, okay, I'm recovering. 00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:07.159 I'm getting mobility back. I can now lift a five 00:48:07.159 --> 00:48:09.019 pound weight. And then it's like, oh, you've 00:48:09.019 --> 00:48:11.639 got to have surgery again. So it became kind 00:48:11.639 --> 00:48:17.760 of this really painful, challenging yo -yo a 00:48:17.760 --> 00:48:22.420 little bit, but also I learned after each thing, 00:48:22.420 --> 00:48:25.730 well, I did I did get my strengths back and I 00:48:25.730 --> 00:48:28.849 did make it to this point and I'm just going 00:48:28.849 --> 00:48:32.670 to do it again. One of the big lessons that I've 00:48:32.670 --> 00:48:35.750 learned that you touched on is that it's not 00:48:35.750 --> 00:48:39.719 the people who can keep going that make it the 00:48:39.719 --> 00:48:43.219 farthest. It's the person that can keep starting. 00:48:44.920 --> 00:48:47.619 Because you're always going to get a reset. There's 00:48:47.619 --> 00:48:50.460 going to be a time when you fail. Things aren't 00:48:50.460 --> 00:48:54.630 going to go the way that you want to go. that 00:48:54.630 --> 00:48:56.909 after that failure after that fall down or after 00:48:56.909 --> 00:48:59.750 that other surgery are you willing to get up 00:48:59.750 --> 00:49:02.949 and start again even if it's back at zero yeah 00:49:03.110 --> 00:49:06.829 and yeah that's you know I thank you for sharing 00:49:06.829 --> 00:49:10.219 that story yeah and I think that getting back 00:49:10.219 --> 00:49:13.420 up probably takes the the most strength absolutely 00:49:13.650 --> 00:49:15.849 Well, I have something I like to call floor time 00:49:15.849 --> 00:49:17.989 where I just lay on the floor and just lay there 00:49:17.989 --> 00:49:19.670 and just give up on live for a few minutes. And 00:49:19.670 --> 00:49:21.630 that's wonderful. But, you know, for just those 00:49:21.630 --> 00:49:24.889 listeners, I need that. But to Bruce's point, 00:49:25.070 --> 00:49:27.530 you gotta get up. That's one of the most effective 00:49:27.530 --> 00:49:29.730 things, though, if you're feeling totally overwhelmed, 00:49:29.909 --> 00:49:34.030 is just lay like you just on the ground, on the 00:49:34.030 --> 00:49:35.909 earth, lay there for a few moments. It's supposed 00:49:35.909 --> 00:49:41.099 to be very helpful. Practice to lift it. I'm 00:49:41.099 --> 00:49:43.039 in the second night. It's wonderful. Getting 00:49:43.039 --> 00:49:45.940 up part though, that's so hard and so inspiring 00:49:45.940 --> 00:49:47.960 to hear what you're doing. Just hearing that 00:49:47.960 --> 00:49:51.300 you had been cut 25 different places, right? 00:49:51.460 --> 00:49:56.079 I'm just like, it's just amazing to hear what 00:49:56.079 --> 00:49:57.739 you've been through and just the strength to 00:49:57.739 --> 00:49:59.880 keep going, to start again, to mention, right? 00:50:00.119 --> 00:50:02.300 And so I think for so many people, especially 00:50:02.300 --> 00:50:04.460 nowadays, like there's such a focus on this. 00:50:05.099 --> 00:50:07.059 external lotus of control where people, it's 00:50:07.059 --> 00:50:08.639 just like things happen to us all the time. It's 00:50:08.639 --> 00:50:11.199 just like, well, why try anymore? Because just 00:50:11.199 --> 00:50:13.159 bad things are gonna happen, you

know? And so 00:50:13.159 --> 00:50:14.579 it's just, but hearing you, it's just like, no, 00:50:14.659 --> 00:50:18.139 you gotta find something inside to keep going 00:50:18.139 --> 00:50:19.619 and going and going. It's just that the amount 00:50:19.619 --> 00:50:21.579 of strength that you've built to do that, it's 00:50:21.579 --> 00:50:24.579 just, it's needed, it's inspiring. So, oh, thank 00:50:24.579 --> 00:50:28.010 you for sharing that. I have a question for you, 00:50:28.010 --> 00:50:30.110 and this is not to ask you to be the spokesperson 00:50:30.110 --> 00:50:33.829 for every breast cancer survivor, because everybody 00:50:33.829 --> 00:50:36.230 has their own personality. Everyone has their 00:50:36.230 --> 00:50:38.789 own journey and all those things. But there is 00:50:38.789 --> 00:50:42.809 no doubt that all of us know at least a person, 00:50:42.829 --> 00:50:45.010 but probably multiple people who have gone through 00:50:45.010 --> 00:50:46.969 breast cancer and who are going to go through 00:50:46.969 --> 00:50:50.550 breast cancer. So if you could just share, at 00:50:50.550 --> 00:50:53.789 least for you, what was the best way for people 00:50:53.789 --> 00:50:57.099 to show up for you? while you're in that journey. 00:50:57.619 --> 00:51:00.780 And it's not that whoever else this happens to, 00:51:00.780 --> 00:51:02.179 they would need the same thing, but at least 00:51:02.179 --> 00:51:04.519 it might be able to help to be somewhat instructive. 00:51:05.820 --> 00:51:09.559 Yeah, I will say it is so important to show up 00:51:09.559 --> 00:51:13.559 for people going through it. That is what, you 00:51:13.559 --> 00:51:15.639 know, in low moment, it keeps you going and just 00:51:15.639 --> 00:51:18.300 knowing people are thinking about you, that they're 00:51:18.300 --> 00:51:21.980 rooting you on. It is hard and it can become 00:51:21.980 --> 00:51:26.400 overwhelming when they reach out with good intentions 00:51:26.400 --> 00:51:29.940 but ask, what's the prognosis? What's going on 00:51:29.940 --> 00:51:32.360 next? How do you feel? Like asking questions 00:51:32.360 --> 00:51:34.920 because you feel like now you need to answer. 00:51:35.019 --> 00:51:37.360 So I think the best way that you can support 00:51:37.360 --> 00:51:42.280 is to say things like, I'm thinking of you, let 00:51:42.280 --> 00:51:44.679 me know if you'd like me to come take you to 00:51:44.679 --> 00:51:48.019 an appointment, to come do some like cleaning 00:51:48.019 --> 00:51:51.679 around your house. Is there a day that's good 00:51:51.679 --> 00:51:54.659 this week to drop off food, but make it very 00:51:54.659 --> 00:51:58.900 specific in how they can help? Because the how 00:51:58.900 --> 00:52:01.820 can I help question was really hard for me to 00:52:01.820 --> 00:52:04.559 answer. And also, I don't like asking for help. 00:52:04.739 --> 00:52:07.340 So then it was really hard to answer of coming 00:52:07.340 --> 00:52:09.539 up with things that I felt would be appropriate. 00:52:10.980 --> 00:52:14.340 But even just sending a message of I'm thinking 00:52:14.340 --> 00:52:18.050 of you don't feel like you need to respond. you 00:52:18.050 --> 00:52:20.909 know, that kind of thing of just showing up and 00:52:20.909 --> 00:52:23.829 sharing that you're there is really helpful. 00:52:24.510 --> 00:52:26.170 Awesome. Well, thank you for sharing that. And 00:52:26.170 --> 00:52:29.570 I have to ask, since we have you here, is there 00:52:29.570 --> 00:52:32.130 any, like, I'd love to hear a story and a shout 00:52:32.130 --> 00:52:35.050 out to someone who really did that for you. Gosh, 00:52:35.170 --> 00:52:39.909 I can think about so many people actually. And 00:52:39.909 --> 00:52:44.539 it was, you know... very surprising to me because 00:52:44.539 --> 00:52:47.780 I kind of felt like in my own little silo for 00:52:47.780 --> 00:52:52.639 a while. And then, you know, I had coworkers 00:52:52.639 --> 00:52:55.440 reach out to me. I had neighbors reach out to 00:52:55.440 --> 00:53:00.440 me. I had family members that were that were 00:53:00.440 --> 00:53:03.699 helping. But I will say, you know, there were 00:53:03.699 --> 00:53:08.409 people that sent me like little surprises along 00:53:08.409 --> 00:53:10.630 the way, like with not surprises, but things 00:53:10.630 --> 00:53:14.940 without you know, contacting me too much would 00:53:14.940 --> 00:53:17.719 send me like fuzzy socks to just like feel comfortable. 00:53:17.860 --> 00:53:19.900 But I don't know if there's one person I could 00:53:19.900 --> 00:53:23.000 shout out because it really was like this huge 00:53:23.000 --> 00:53:27.019 community of people. All right. So Brooke, I 00:53:27.019 --> 00:53:31.539 mean, I would love to sit here for longer and 00:53:31.539 --> 00:53:34.219 longer to hear all these stories. And I mean, 00:53:34.400 --> 00:53:38.079 the wisdom that you brought and the strength 00:53:38.079 --> 00:53:41.579 that you've shown and the inspiration was super 00:53:41.579 --> 00:53:45.619 powerful. But we do have to end the podcast at 00:53:45.619 --> 00:53:49.099 some point. And with that, we always like asking 00:53:49.099 --> 00:53:53.829 our guests the same question. After everything 00:53:53.829 --> 00:53:56.389 you've been through and everything that you've 00:53:56.389 --> 00:54:01.050 pushed past, what remains? What remains? I hope 00:54:01.050 --> 00:54:06.030 a lot remains. Life remains. I don't have one 00:54:06.030 --> 00:54:10.110 specific goal. I think I've mentioned my son 00:54:10.110 --> 00:54:17.889 a lot. And my big focus now is really investing 00:54:18.980 --> 00:54:25.579 my time and energy and being an example for him 00:54:25.579 --> 00:54:30.539 of how to live life, stay active. And so that, 00:54:30.619 --> 00:54:32.980 for me, is kind of the chapter that I'm in right 00:54:32.980 --> 00:54:37.460 now that remains is to just embrace that. And 00:54:37.460 --> 00:54:40.300 I'm excited. He's in soccer now, and he actually 00:54:40.300 --> 00:54:42.719 just asked me if I would train him on the side. 00:54:44.340 --> 00:54:47.840 And so I felt very flattered that this little 00:54:47.840 --> 00:54:51.320 guy who saw me go through all of that, who... 00:54:51.880 --> 00:54:54.340 You know, has seen me lay on the couch, who has 00:54:54.340 --> 00:54:58.699 seen me get back up, is now asking for me to 00:54:58.699 --> 00:55:01.900 share that strength and train them in the gym 00:55:01.900 --> 00:55:05.860 too. So that remains as being a part of history. 00:55:08.250 --> 00:55:12.440 Well, that's Brooke's story. And like every story 00:55:12.440 --> 00:55:15.500 on this show, the finish line wasn't the point. 00:55:16.079 --> 00:55:18.480 If something in this episode stayed with you, 00:55:18.780 --> 00:55:22.639 write it down. Sit with it. and then go do something 00:55:22.639 --> 00:55:25.860 with it. If you're not on your path yet, this 00:55:25.860 --> 00:55:27.920 is your sign to start. It doesn't have to be 00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:30.519 big, it just has to be real. New episodes are 00:55:30.519 --> 00:55:33.099 dropping all the time. Subscribe so you don't 00:55:33.099 --> 00:55:35.519 miss the next one. And if this show meant something 00:55:35.519 --> 00:55:37.780 to you, share it with one person who needs to 00:55:37.780 --> 00:55:40.579 hear it. I'm Nathan Baumeister. And I'm Matt 00:55:40.579 --> 00:55:44.500 Carlson. This is What Remains in Okapi Podcast. 00:55:45.119 --> 00:55:45.860 We'll see you next time.