Full transcript
0:00Welcome back to Big Sister Wellness
0:01podcast. I am so excited because we have
0:04one of my old friends here, Camella. And
0:08no, I haven't seen him in
0:09>> over 10 years.
0:10>> Over 10 years. We met in college. And I
0:14mean,
0:14>> no, we met in high school.
0:15>> We did meet in high school. I just did
0:17this. I just did this the other day with
0:19somebody. She's like, "No, we met each
0:21other."
0:22>> I know. I was an insignificant single
0:24rancher. I knew you were, but I vividly
0:28remember meeting you and
0:30>> some of the other girls for sure.
0:38>> You know, our 20 year reunion is coming
0:40up next year and I'm like,
0:43>> I was class president at the high
0:45school. I graduated from L Creek, which
0:48is inside. So, technically, I'm supposed
0:50to play that, but I'm just going to
0:52delegate it to my D.
0:53>> Perfect.
0:54a very impressive.
0:56>> Now, by the way, I'm done. They're
0:58already like, are we getting party? I
1:00don't know. I didn't even get invited.
1:02>> I did not even get invited, though.
1:03Like, I did not know this was me. So,
1:05that's cute. Anyways, we're super
1:07excited to have Cam on here today. You
1:10might recognize him from reality TV, but
1:14that is not who he is. He has grown so
1:18much and he does so many cool things to
1:21help others, and we're just so excited.
1:23We're excited. We're so excited to share
1:25his story. And he's also the demon
1:29warrior and we're just excited to get
1:31into that as well. But before we do, we
1:34like to start off.
1:37We like to start off each episode with
1:39just like a pop culture segment and get
1:42your feedback.
1:43>> Okay.
1:43>> On what we have to say. Do you have
1:45yours?
1:46>> You don't have one,
1:48>> Brooks? I know. I've been really talking
1:50because y'all know Taylor always brings
1:52them. Do you know what I have? Okay, it
1:55is cool. So, I get y'all's thoughts on
1:59this.
2:00>> Okay. And
2:02I don't know. It's kind of weird like as
2:04a Christian standpoint, but here we're
2:06just going we're going to throw it out
2:06there. I like to hear like the crazy
2:08things. What do we think about the
2:10pyramids? Have you all been seeing
2:13things about the pyramids? And who built
2:16them? It wasn't even
2:18>> I mean I personally think it was about
2:20>> what's that
2:21>> giants
2:25our last episode we science
2:28>> okay let's hear more
2:29>> tell me everything
2:31>> um so when when you think about like
2:35just from an engineering perspective the
2:39size of each of those stones in the
2:42pyramid like they didn't have at least
2:46to high knowledge the kind of equipment
2:48and tools to have it with such
2:50precision. So it would take something
2:53supernatural like
2:56in other words the old school giants of
2:58the Old Testament to
3:01build something of that magnitude.
3:03>> Wow. Okay. Look, this is what I've been
3:06saying. But also the way that the
3:10pyramids are um placed, they also align
3:14>> true north. Yes. Wow.
3:18And well, a lot of people are saying
3:19giants and aliens and they were working
3:21together. Maybe it's just the giants and
3:22maybe it's just the aliens, but you
3:25can't
3:27even explore them cuz it's like I'll say
3:30it's like their only thing, but
3:34protected. Um, it's not I've never been
3:38there.
3:39If you think about it, like people who
3:42tend to do a deeper dive in these quote
3:44unquote conspiracy theories
3:47>> either a end up being right and censored
3:50or [clears throat] unaligned.
3:52>> Yeah, I know.
3:54>> So, you always have to proceed with
3:56caution when you start to go through
3:58those radicals. Um, I have a lot of
4:00friends uh that I wouldn't say like full
4:03on conspiracy theorists, but a lot of
4:06things that they have said like a couple
4:08years ago now is like not a conspiracy.
4:13>> So, we also have to use our best
4:15discernment when we go on those rabbits
4:18as to like why we're going through those
4:20rabbits. Are we doing it because we're
4:22having a disagreement with a friend who
4:25may be a secular friend or relative? Or
4:28do we feel that by doing a deeper
4:31investigation into this conspiracy is
4:34going to bring us to a better
4:36understanding of our own personal
4:37relationship with God? Yeah,
4:38>> that's the lens I try to see through
4:40because the like bottom line conspiracy
4:43theories or um these secular debates,
4:48they can be a distraction from God or it
4:51can be almost like an apologetics move
4:54to grow deeper in the faith. So I would
4:55just caution anybody if you're going
4:58down that rabbit hole, make sure you
5:00have the right posture going into it.
5:02>> That's that's such a good call.
5:04>> Yeah. What is the when you say
5:06>> Yeah. when it when it comes to that.
5:08>> And I am so glad that that was what he
5:11brought up because literally that was a
5:12perfect tie into the previous I was
5:15talking about giants. I was like, "Look,
5:16they were in the Bible. Giants are
5:18things."
5:19>> Yeah.
5:19>> They're not.
5:22>> Yeah. Well, you must have referred to
5:25some of the clips like they had some uh
5:28soldiers that were there when that
5:30happened. And you know, me working with
5:33the VA, I understand that a lot of
5:35military personnel are like, I mean, you
5:38think our regular corporate NDA is
5:39intense, but like when you start going
5:41into the deep state stuff, like talk
5:45about fear, if you speak up, you will be
5:47alive.
5:48>> So, I try not to get too deep into that
5:51cuz a it's outside my big scripture even
5:54tells us don't lean on your own
5:55understanding. Mhm.
5:57>> So I try not to lift up those uh those
6:01boulders that can take down
6:06something else. Don't come after us
6:08100%. Our 500 followers
6:13>> are listening. You know look at digital
6:16metrics because there's spiritual beings
6:18out there that are listening to every
6:20conversation we have.
6:21>> Let's go this up. Seriously, I love it.
6:25I I'm so glad that you shared your
6:26thoughts on that cam. I think that's
6:28honestly a perfect
6:30something else. So, I love the elements
6:32about elements. Um
6:34>> into getting to, you know, more about
6:37you. So, um we're going to do a whole,
6:39you know, preview of you into the show,
6:41reading a little bit more specifically
6:43about your background, all the things,
6:44but we want to hear it from source. So,
6:46tell us about who you are, who you
6:49identify as, and um how do you move
6:51through this world? For starters, um,
6:55one of the things that has been most
6:57transformative in my life and my faith
7:00journey is doing prison ministry. And
7:04through prison ministry, one of the
7:05things we talk to our brothers and
7:07whites about is it's not about who you
7:10are, it's whose you are. Yes.
7:12>> And when you see life through that lens
7:14of of whose you are, which I know that
7:17I'm a child of God and I'm an
7:19inheritance to the throne made possible
7:21through the blood of Jesus. Like if I
7:25don't start out with that identity,
7:27everything else is just going to inform
7:29my ego. Cuz you know, part of my
7:30testimony, which I'm sure we'll unpack
7:32in some capacity, was me being very much
7:35in the world and and trying to seek fame
7:38and notoriety. And what I found from my
7:41own personal experience is is through
7:43those pursuits, the more of me I try to
7:46feed, I'm blocking out the blessings and
7:49the protection from God, quite frankly.
7:51So I'd say first and foremost, my
7:53identity comes from a being a follower
7:56of Jesus. I don't even like to use the
7:58term Christian because that's been
8:00weaponized throughout the years and all
8:03this denominational divide which is not
8:05scriptural at all. So I just try to say
8:07look I'm a follower of Jesus. Uh it's my
8:10job every day to be almost like a
8:12gardener plant as many seeds and not
8:15worry about do I need to go back and and
8:17water that seed that I planted. God's
8:20going to handle all that. So first and
8:22foremost follower of Jesus second I'm an
8:24advocate for uh patients with limp
8:27edema. That's a disease I was born with.
8:29Probably go into that same capacity. Um,
8:31I'm also an advocate for individuals
8:34living with limb loss or limb breast.
8:36So, spoiler alert, I am an ampute.
8:41>> So, that's been I guess a new identity.
8:45I've been walking in the past uh 4 years
8:47now as an ampute and um I'm someone who
8:52just does his best to love people. Well,
8:55point
8:56>> it. That's so true. you're just such a
8:59cool and such a sweet person and oh my
9:03gosh, I'm so excited for y'all to hear
9:05more of his testimony and more of his
9:06health story as well. Um I think for me
9:09personally and I was looking at your
9:11timeline.
9:12So you've had this your whole life,
9:15correct? When were when when
9:18did you start noticing like, oh,
9:20something's wrong?
9:21>> Yeah. Um, for starters, I think it's
9:24really important for the audience to
9:26understand how extraordinarily blessed
9:29we are in 2026 to have this access to
9:33medical resources. Um, just the internet
9:36in general. So, to answer your question,
9:39um, I was 11 years old. It was about
9:4220201. So, this is pre- internet era,
9:45right? And so, um, I was a three sport
9:48athlete. Baseball, basketball, football.
9:50primary love I would say was basketball
9:53and it was during um a little league
9:55basketball game that as I was running up
9:58and down the basketball court um it
10:00looked like I was limping and skipping
10:02and so the parents and the coaches were
10:04like hey are you okay you seem like
10:06you're in pain out there and so from
10:09there my parents said hey let's let's go
10:11to your primary care doctor because
10:12that's what we do and obviously the
10:16primary care doctor at that time had no
10:17idea so he referred me out to
10:19orthopedics So then I go to orthopedics
10:21and they do what they do, X-ray. So in
10:25that X-ray at age 11, it was really easy
10:28to identify that my right leg was an
10:30inch and a half shorter than my left. So
10:32there was that discrepancy which would
10:34explain why I was standing and let me
10:36off the court. I told people it's like
10:38wearing one shoe on one foot and no shoe
10:40at all. So I was having a lot of lower
10:42back pain.
10:43>> Okay. And were you when they noticed
10:45that you were limping, did you feel
10:48pain?
10:48>> I did. I had lower back pain, but
10:51honestly, we just chocked it up to
10:53growing pains cuz I was pretty tall for
10:55my age. Um, and so we thought, hey, this
10:59puberty is these rapid grows. It's like
11:02part for the course. And my mom's like,
11:04I'll show you kind of tough it up. So
11:08when that orthopedic surgeon did the
11:10X-ray initially, he not only saw the
11:13lettering discrepancy, but he also
11:15noticed some spots on my distal femur,
11:17which from that imaging, he thought it
11:19was osteocaroma. So for the listeners,
11:21that's bone cancer.
11:23>> And I remember him saying osteio saroma,
11:28bone cancer. And as an 11year-old, when
11:31you hear the C word, you just assume
11:34that's like death because one of my best
11:36friends um had just lost her mother to
11:39breast cancer like a couple weeks prior
11:40to that.
11:41>> So that was my first I guess
11:44introduction to chronic illness. And it
11:48took about a year from the date of that
11:52initial um uh x-ray to ultimately be
11:56referred to the right specialty doctor
11:58who then diagnosed me with lympadeema.
12:01>> Wow.
12:02>> Yeah.
12:03>> Wow. And for those listening who don't
12:05know what lympadema is, can you walk us
12:07through that?
12:08>> Yes. So
12:10high level we all have a lymphatic
12:12system and most people don't even know
12:13what that is but like you know for
12:15example uh when you have strep throat or
12:18sore throat you know you feel your lymph
12:20nodes in your neck well you have
12:22channels of lymph nodes all throughout
12:23your body and smaller than the lymph
12:26nodes or the lymph vessels and just to
12:28give you like a visual context. So the
12:31average vein is about the size of like a
12:33spaghetti pasta and the average limb
12:36vessel is like the size of a single hair
12:38follicle.
12:39>> So way smaller.
12:42Most people who've never heard of
12:43lympadeema may get some uh association
12:47to it always had breast cancer because
12:50in the breast cancer space when you have
12:52a woman or male who have breast cancer
12:55if they remove lymph nodes out of their
12:58armpit area or done any sort of chemo
13:01radiation surgical intervention what can
13:03happen is once the lymphatic system is
13:06impaired they can develop secondary
13:08lympadeema. So like for a breast cancer
13:10patient I think the data says over 37%
13:13of breast cancer survivors will develop
13:16lympadeema
13:18and there's two types of lympadeema.
13:20There's primary which is the hereditary
13:22or born with it some sort of lymphatic
13:24malfformation. Um that's what I was born
13:27with and it predominantly impacted my
13:29right leg. So I'd say in my right knee
13:33and my upper thigh and lower abdomen
13:36area is where I experience most of this
13:38chronic swelling and secondary edema is
13:42secondary to some sort of intervention
13:44like surgery, cancer treatment, stuff
13:46like that. So to paint a picture of
13:50patient population in the US alone, it's
13:52over 10 million.
13:53>> Wow.
13:54>> Which is more than the AIDS, MLS and
13:57Parkinson's patient population combined.
14:00Oh my.
14:00>> But the reason most of you have probably
14:03never heard about it is breaking it down
14:05to like medical school. In the medical
14:07school curriculum, there's maybe 30
14:10minutes of the lymphatic system, the
14:14whole system, not even edema. So a lot
14:16of these practitioners once they
14:18graduate from medical school, they start
14:20seeing patients, they're not equipped to
14:22properly diagnose and properly treat.
14:25And currently the juncture of lympadema
14:27is chronically progressive in nature and
14:30as a patient you have to really take it
14:33by the reins and use all the different
14:35uh treatment and management modalities
14:37to keep it from progressing to a certain
14:40point. So I have been dealing with
14:42managing the disease since I was 11.
14:45>> Wow. How do you manage it? What are some
14:48good takeaways if somebody is listening?
14:50Maybe they just got diagnosed. What are
14:52some things that you're doing that's
14:53actually helping?
14:54>> Yeah. Um the kind of
14:57I'd say general protocol for lympadeema
15:00whether it's secondary or primary
15:02doesn't really matter cuz it's all about
15:04fluid dynamics right you have an
15:06accumulation of lymphatic fluid so the
15:09best way I can describe it as far as
15:11like a sensation I know you're a former
15:13athlete I'm assuming you played sports
15:15in some capacity or dance have either
15:18roll or strain your ankle before okay so
15:20you know when you roll and sprain it
15:22that instantaneous
15:24that's actual lymphatic fluid. So,
15:26picture if you had a rolled ankle that
15:28stayed swollen the rest of your life and
15:30like progressively got worse to your
15:33calf and ankle and knee. Um, and and you
15:36guys may have seen the show My 600 lb
15:38Life went on now. I'd say the vast
15:40majority of his patients have secondary
15:43due to their obesity. Their vascular
15:45system and their lymphatic system gets
15:47so overwhelmed. It's poor circulation.
15:49So that fluid just pulls in that area
15:52and inflames inflames and flames. So how
15:55do we treat it? Well, you treat it by
15:57different compression modalities. So
15:58there's compression harness. Um and this
16:01isn't like the Lulu leggings. This is
16:04like metal grade.
16:07Yeah, gradient compression. Um there's
16:10pneumatic compression pumps. So you guys
16:13may have been to a gym and seen um the
16:17recovery pumps that morning. So that's
16:19for like just general circulation. So
16:22lympadeema pumps are very similar. So it
16:23squeezes the extremity, moves that
16:26fluid, helps it drain and so on and so
16:29forth. Um the other treatments are
16:31having a certified lympadema therapist,
16:34not a massage therapist because there is
16:36a very big difference between a
16:39certified lympadema therapist who's been
16:41trained to train the lymphatic system
16:43versus a massage therapist who's just
16:46hopping on aesthetic train. We're going
16:48to train your lymphatics. Lymphatic is
16:50important for everyone regardless if you
16:52have or not. And there's even lymphatic
16:54fluid in our brain. And there's studies
16:56that are showing if you have poor
16:58lymphatic fluid circulation in your
17:00brain that leads to Alzheimer's,
17:03dementia, other nerve degenerative
17:05diseases. So having good lymphatic
17:08health regardless if you have lympadema
17:10or not is so incredibly important. So
17:12it's all about inflammation management.
17:14>> Absolutely.
17:15>> What you need is important.
17:18>> I have a question you asked. It's kind
17:21of a secondary to your question. We have
17:24a lot of moms. We have a lot of parents
17:25who come in. You know, if their kid has
17:28just been diagnosed, is there something
17:29that you would tell a parent or even
17:32that you would tell that kid who was
17:34diagnosed?
17:35>> So, one of the biggest blessings was
17:38after I was on the reality TV show who
17:40may impact it later if not irrelevant.
17:43I was introduced to a lympide therapist
17:47who lived in Texar, small little
17:49bordering town between Texas and
17:51Arkansas and she had this idea of
17:54starting the first ever summer camp
17:57specifically for kids with lympadeema
18:00and she reached out to me and kind of
18:02explained the mission and vision behind
18:03it and like it took no time for me to
18:06say yes I'm all in that. So going to
18:10this camp, it's called camp watching
18:11shop to Betty and to Britney, the
18:14founders of this camp. It's not only for
18:17the kids to come and interact with other
18:20kids from all across the US with
18:21lympadema and other vascular diseases,
18:24but it's also for the parents and the
18:26caregivers because something like
18:28lympadema, as I mentioned, it's chronic
18:30and progressive. There's not currently a
18:32cure. So it's all about management,
18:34having the right tools to stay in front
18:37of the disease versus the disease
18:39controlling you. You're very reactive to
18:41the health. So the advice I would give
18:44the kiddo is you're not defined by your
18:47emphyma. It is something that's going to
18:49make you different. But if you allow
18:51this to basically mold your character,
18:55your work ethic, it's going to serve you
18:57far greater than maybe your normal peers
19:01who haven't had to deal with a chronic
19:03illness or disease. And for the parent,
19:05I would say or the caregiver, I would
19:07say be patient. Um, compliance is super
19:11important, but what works for one
19:13patient may not work for your child. So
19:16um there are a lot of great resources
19:18out there um but there's also bad
19:20resources and that goes for all
19:21healthcare right so you have to do your
19:23best discernment of what is going to
19:25work best for me or for my child and
19:28validated with people who are actually
19:30credential to give you those uh pieces
19:32of advice
19:34>> 100%
19:35>> yes and that's such a good point and I
19:37want to kind of add on to that so having
19:40a support system when you have a chronic
19:44illness is such a game changer because
19:48going through it alone is so so hard and
19:52not only having this person but having
19:54them be educated just saying hey I'm
19:56just going to read a little bit more
19:58about it is so it's just it's just so
20:01much more help for you and it's
20:03comforting and you feel like okay I'm
20:06not in this alone
20:07>> and um so I think for parents or maybe
20:11you have a wife or a husband or
20:13boyfriend girlfriend whoever it is is
20:15going through something like this, just
20:18hey, what what can I do to just be there
20:20for you? Or what can I, you know, what
20:22can I educate myself? What would help
20:24you make this a lighter load? Uh I just
20:28think that there's such a far way and or
20:31a long way. Um
20:33>> far end.
20:35>> Yes. But yeah, just it doesn't it
20:38doesn't take a lot to just ask that
20:40question. And so I think that's just
20:41such a really good point. A support
20:43system. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And I went
20:47over 10 years without meeting a single
20:51male with lympadema. And so when I was
20:55initially diagnosed at age 11, um most
20:57of the patients were breast cancer. So
21:00not only upper extremity, but also
21:02female and skewed a lot older than 11
21:04years old. So when I would go to these
21:07durable medical equipment facilities to
21:09get my compression garments to get the
21:11pumps and stuff, it was a lot of um so
21:15they have the prosthetic boobs and
21:18I just
21:20>> I just felt I just felt honestly so out
21:22of place. And when you're an athlete,
21:25you never want to project to your coach
21:27or to your teammates at your own
21:29ability. And for me, like what did that
21:32tangibly look like? Well, it looked like
21:34me hiding my disease for over 10 years.
21:36>> And so when it came to athletics in
21:39junior high in high school, I would
21:41literally have to sprint from the class
21:43to the athletics locker room because I
21:44wanted to be the first one in the locker
21:46room to put on my compression garment.
21:48So none of the guys would see. Um and at
21:52the time it felt very isolated and
21:54alone. But like as I did a lot of inner
21:56healing um through God's grace and
21:59mercy, you know, he he revealed to me
22:01that I was terrible about giving myself
22:03grace and the things that I used to see
22:07as a burden as a younger child. uh all
22:10the self-maintenance and management that
22:12I had to do to maintain a normal
22:14baseline, let alone wanting to compete
22:16at varsity basketball and then
22:18eventually college basketball, which I
22:20did, required so much more than the
22:23average person. So again, something that
22:25I thought was just um a waste of time
22:28was actually instilling me a work ethic
22:30that has catapulted me in relationships
22:33and my career and even just my faith
22:35journey um altogether.
22:39Okay. One thing that I do want to touch
22:40on is I was looking at your timeline.
22:43Cam had sent us before the episode a
22:45timeline of just kind of his health his
22:48health journey and everything that he's
22:50gone through and it's very extensive.
22:53But there are a couple of years when we
22:56were in college that are not on there.
22:58It's just completely blank. And so I
23:00want to know about your college years,
23:03how you handled this and your college
23:05years. Um, and then when you were like,
23:08"Oh crap, I need to get it together."
23:10>> Yes. So, my freshman year of college, I
23:15wasn't at&m. I was at a small D3 school
23:18up in Abalene, Texas, Harden Simmons.
23:21>> And I was playing basketball there and
23:24it had always been one of my biggest
23:26dreams to play collegiate basketball. I
23:28didn't care if it was D3 or D1.
23:30Obviously, you shoot for D1. If you
23:32miss, you land amongst D3. So, um, for
23:36me it was more so to prove to my high
23:39school coaches and the doctors who said
23:42that I would never be able to play
23:43basketball at that level. So, I was out
23:47there in Abalene and it was kind of
23:49culture shock growing up in Houston Katy
23:52going up to a dry town, right? No
23:56alcohol uh, sold there and it was a
23:58private Christian school and I wasn't
24:00really walking with the Lord then. So, I
24:02wasn't um really, you know, leaning into
24:06that element of it. Um, and once I
24:09realized the physical demands of the
24:11game and and if you've been a collegiic
24:13athlete, it is a full-time job,
24:16especially in the offseason. Um, I just
24:18I realized that my passion and love for
24:20the game had died down and I felt like,
24:22okay, I can have that bucket list check
24:24mark of I played college basketball,
24:28right? And and the funny part about it
24:29was um I only shot the ball twice and I
24:34made them both.
24:36>> So I'm shooting 100% to the field. So I
24:39don't even think Michael Jordan, LeBron
24:40James has that accolade. So I got that
24:42on them.
24:43>> But I had this desire at the time to
24:48have the real college experience. And
24:50most of my friends from high school were
24:51either at UT or&M and I eventually
24:55transferred&M my sophomore year. and
24:58through that uh got very much into the
25:01party scene, was no stranger to the
25:03Northgate bars and joined fraternity and
25:07basically all the things that I used to
25:09prioritize with my health, like getting
25:11the right amount of sleep, the right uh
25:13diet, and obviously exercise, competing
25:15in basketball went out the window. I was
25:18uh taking 15 hours a semester working
25:21part-time at the apartment complex I
25:23lived at. And then I was pledge class
25:25president for a fraternity. So, sleep
25:27was not a luxury. Um, was not drinking a
25:30lot of water like I do now. It was uh
25:33old Formula 4 logo and
25:35>> all of the other poisonous stuff that
25:38the uh early 2000s, if you know, you
25:40know. And what did that do to my health?
25:44Well, um it was basically you mentioned
25:47this gap in the timeline. So, right when
25:49I graduated from&M, I'm in the real
25:52world. I'm working. I'm taking a client
25:53out to happy hour and as soon as I get
25:55home, when I step out of my truck, my
25:58right leg just it it felt like this pain
26:02that I'd never experienced before. It
26:04was a deep like pulsating, throgging
26:06pain, but a whole body ache, too. So, my
26:09whole body felt warm. And at that time,
26:12I didn't have much medical training. I
26:13wasn't in medical sales. Um, but I just
26:16immediately thought it was uh like a
26:19blood clot. And so I had my uh roommate
26:22at the time, he took me to the emergency
26:23room and you know they did a train of
26:26the of the knee fluid and you know sent
26:28it off and turns out it was an
26:30infection. So that was my first bout of
26:33infection which looking at the medical
26:35timeline. So that was in 2014 that that
26:38happened. So from 2014 all the way till
26:412021 I had like nine different bouts of
26:45infection.
26:46>> And I tried elimination diets. So, I did
26:49paleo for a while. I started working out
26:51again. And it was odd because we
26:54couldn't really identify this common
26:57denominator that was causing these
26:59random sporadic infections. And each
27:01time I had an infection, it would
27:03require emergency surgery where they
27:05would have to drain the knee joint. Then
27:08I'm starting physical therapy,
27:09occupational therapy, learning how to
27:11walk again, um managing pain. And the
27:15way our healthcare system works is to
27:17keep you in that system. So they're
27:20going to give you in uh you know a pain
27:22medication and they're going to give you
27:23an antibiotic which obviously there are
27:25certain scenarios where it's
27:27appropriate.
27:28But for me being in my early 20s, you
27:31don't want to give an early 20-year-old
27:33who is a party animal on the weekends
27:35oxycottton or lyin or all these other
27:38really strong narcotics. And it is by
27:40God's mercy and grace that I did not
27:42develop an addiction to those things.
27:44And I think it's because they were
27:45introduced into my system at a young
27:47age. They just stopped working. So if
27:49something's not effective, I have the I
27:53guess wisdom to just say, "Nah, we need
27:55to try something else."
27:56>> But you can only do the kitchen sink
27:59approach for so long. And that's what I
28:01felt like I was doing. Um I've been to
28:04medical facilities on the east coast,
28:06west coast, and everywhere in between.
28:09And even though I had access to those
28:12top facilities, there was still like
28:13this medical mystery as to why these
28:16infections kept reoccurring. Um, I think
28:20a big part of it is diet. Uh, obviously
28:22we borrow what we eat. And um, I used to
28:26think that I could be a casual drinker,
28:28you know, take a client out or have a
28:30nice glass of red wine with a steak,
28:32whatever, sip on some bourbon. But I
28:34realized for me in my body, especially
28:36with the lympadema side of things, I
28:39needed to eliminate or minimize anything
28:43that was going to cause any sort of
28:45inflammatory response. And for me, that
28:47was alcohol. And so the last sip of
28:50alcohol I had was on November 13th of
28:532023.
28:54So coming up on what is that? 3 years
28:57sober. Um, and that's been a huge
29:00benefit to me. Um, and not only that,
29:03like it just also helped me realize like
29:05in relationships, whether it's
29:07friendship or pursuing a romantic
29:09partner, you don't have to be drunk to
29:11be funny or to have a meaningful
29:13connection. Cuz usually if you're
29:15drinking after midnight, nothing good
29:16happens.
29:17>> Unless you're in the end of marriage.
29:20[laughter]
29:20>> Our parents were right. It's crazy.
29:22>> Exactly. And and look, like I don't want
29:25to get too like preachy to people, but
29:28>> do it. I've realized that for me and
29:31like my testimony and for hundreds of
29:33other testimonies I've heard, I don't
29:35care if it's in a prison or if I'm
29:36talking to fellowship of Christian
29:37athletes, regardless of your age, your
29:39background or where you're at in your
29:41life, often times rock bottom is so
29:44necessary.
29:45>> And I can sit there and be a man and try
29:47to intervene and help somebody, but when
29:50I see someone going down the wrong path,
29:52the best thing I can do is just pray for
29:53them and and say that God, hey, this is
29:55part of your plan.
29:57um I'll be there as a safety net to like
29:59help them, but I don't ever want to
30:01enable somebody, but I also don't want
30:03to interfere in what God's doing. And
30:04often times, I've seen it time and time
30:06again that rock bottom is that
30:08foundation that somebody needs to say,
30:10"Hey, look, this is the death of my ego.
30:13This is me realizing I can't do this on
30:15my own. I don't care how strong I am,
30:17how much friends I have." It doesn't
30:19matter if you don't have the foundation
30:22of God in your life because he's the
30:24creator of our lives. He's the best
30:26engineer. He has specifically designed
30:29our bodies to fight away infection to um
30:34handle any foreign bodies that may, you
30:36know, be in our perimeter. And in our
30:39healthcare system, it has been designed
30:41in a way for big pharmaceutical
30:43companies to give you one thing that's
30:45going to be codependent on the next
30:46thing they develop. So your body is not
30:50doing the natural engineered mechanics
30:53that God has created it to do. And I
30:55realized that with my lympadema, why am
30:57I going to put things that are going to
30:58cause more inflammation when I already
31:01have a deficiency in my lymphatic system
31:04that doesn't process fluids like the
31:06average person. So I had to learn the
31:08hard way through countless surgeries.
31:13>> Is that the camera? What is that?
31:15>> Is that you?
31:15>> That's it. Is
31:18>> [laughter]
31:20>> Which leads us to amputations due to
31:22diabetes
31:25transition. [laughter]
31:28>> I have a CGM.
31:30>> Oh, okay.
31:30>> Yes. And it just died. That's what it
31:32was talking about. [laughter]
31:34>> I was like, is that what you were
31:35hearing on the camera? They're like cuz
31:37man, I missed that
31:38>> different.
31:40But I did want to kind of what what he
31:43was saying. God designed our bodies to
31:45be able to heal on our own. Brooks and I
31:47say this all the dang time. And we live
31:51in a world where on every single corner
31:54there are a Walgreens or a CVS that are
31:59meant to you. It's literally made to go
32:01in, do you have a symptom? I'm here to
32:03suppress your symptoms. I'm here to put
32:05band-aids on your symptoms. That's
32:06literally what you go into a Walgreens
32:08or a CVS for. Um, instead of listening
32:11to what your body is saying, our bodies
32:13are designed so beautifully and it is
32:15such a blessing when your body is giving
32:18you a symptom.
32:20Just take a breath and listen to it and
32:22then go from there and stop trying to
32:25silence the the words that your body is
32:29trying to tell you, just screaming at
32:31you 24/7. Like, just listen to me. You
32:34have a skin rash. Okay, we need to
32:36figure that out. Your eye hurts. You
32:37have constant earachche. If you have
32:39something wrong with your nose, I don't
32:41[laughter] know. But listen to what your
32:43body is telling you. And if it's a
32:44constant chronic thing,
32:47start there.
32:48>> Yes. Yeah.
32:49>> Yeah. I when I was driving here from
32:52Austin, um, you know, one of the things
32:54that we are hearing a lot in our culture
32:56is, you know, GLP ones.
32:59>> Let's go. And what about what the Lord
33:02put on my heart specifically this
33:04morning as I was driving here is we all
33:06need GLPs, but that's God's loving
33:09presence.
33:10>> Woo! Amen.
33:10>> Because when we focus on that
33:13>> and there's a great book um by uh Dr.
33:16Joshua Axe. It's called the Biblio Diet.
33:19>> Yes. So, it talks about, you know, diets
33:22and nutrition from a biblical
33:24perspective because our bodies are a
33:27temple of the Holy Spirit and we're
33:28supposed to steward it well. So, I
33:30started thinking like, okay, if um I'm
33:33going to stop taking these
33:34pharmaceutical pills, what's my pain
33:36management regimen going to look like?
33:39Okay. Well, it's cold plunging. Now, for
33:41me, it's red light therapy. It's
33:43actually more prayer time because when I
33:46allow myself to receive God's presence
33:49and rest in that, my nervous system is
33:53drastically like, okay, you're not in
33:57fight or flight mode anymore. So, um,
34:00that's helped me drastically. It's just
34:02prayer time. Um, and I love the book of
34:05Romans because the Apostle Paul is like
34:07the master class of what is the purpose
34:11of paint? And for me um not just with
34:14the lympadema
34:16>> but with the amputation
34:18yes it's things that happen to me but
34:20also it's something God gave me as a
34:23gift to steward it so I can meet other
34:25people who are going through those
34:26seasons of limb loss or lympadema where
34:29they feel helpless and I can say look no
34:31I've been there I'm going there I'm
34:34experiencing it now but you don't have
34:36to do it alone and here's the pearls of
34:39wisdom that I gained from doing it the
34:41wrong way.
34:42>> You know, if you can if you can have one
34:44conversation and whether it's through
34:46watching a podcast, um that can help
34:48change the trajectory of someone's life.
34:51Again, that's what we're called to do.
34:53And that's being those gardeners,
34:55planting those seeds that we may not
34:58even know the difference that you're
34:59making in that patient's life
35:01>> uh for years down the road. And you
35:04talked about in one of your other
35:05episodes uh just this whole notion of
35:08generational health.
35:09>> That really stood out to me because our
35:11culture talks about generational wealth.
35:13It's all about money.
35:14>> Yeah.
35:14>> But health is wealth and that's why you
35:17have to invest in that. And like for me,
35:19both of my parents, they have their
35:21Libra systems on and I'm like, you know
35:24what? If that means I need to cut out
35:26sugar and I need to be more disciplined
35:28in how I'm proactively treating my body,
35:32>> it ends with me. Yeah,
35:33>> right. Like when the Lord blesses me
35:35with kids,
35:36>> Mhm.
35:37>> God forbid they do have one evil. Well,
35:38guess what? Someone who's lived it, who
35:40has all the right resources, my kids
35:42aren't going to have the same fear that
35:43my parents have.
35:45>> Absolutely.
35:46>> I have
35:48Can you see them from there? I mean,
35:50>> ghostm [laughter]
35:55is bringing a whole new vibe to the pod.
35:58The ASMR vibe. [laughter]
36:00>> I have a question. Yes.
36:02>> So as somebody as Okay. As somebody who
36:06went through a cancer journey, um you
36:08had mentioned that it's prevalent in
36:11breast cancer.
36:12>> Yes.
36:12>> So I had an endocrine cancer. Um
36:16>> is more prevalent than breast cancer by
36:17the way.
36:18>> Okay. Well, then I have more questions
36:19for you. [laughter]
36:21>> Yikes. Okay. So I
36:26I haven't shared my health story. I we
36:28will do an episode on my whole health
36:29story. It's just it's
36:31>> give a little spoiler, little nugget.
36:32>> Yeah. So, I had a thyroid cancer and I
36:36had to get my whole thyroid removed
36:38apparently. I wish I could go back and
36:41literally punch myself in the face and
36:42be like, "Do not remove your thyroid.
36:44You don't need to. You can heal this on
36:46your own."
36:46>> But, you know, you live and you learn.
36:48So, while I was in surgery, they also
36:52removed eight lymph nodes is what I
36:55remember them saying. uh because they
36:57may or may not have been cancerous.
36:59Still never got the answer of whether
37:02they were cancerous or not. So now here
37:04I don't have some lymph nodes and I
37:06don't have
37:06>> a thyroid.
37:08>> Here's my question to you and um I was
37:12talking to my husband about this the
37:13other day and I was like I kind of feel
37:15like and I don't know a lot about
37:17lympadeema but I was like I kind of feel
37:19like I might have like starting phases
37:22of lympadeema and he was like
37:23[clears throat] why do you think that?
37:25Um, I don't have any pain, but my my
37:28question is is when I do drink, and it
37:31can be like two beers. Yep.
37:33>> Okay. My legs swell.
37:35>> Yep.
37:35>> So bad.
37:37>> Yes.
37:37>> What is that?
37:38>> Okay. So, I would give the caveat to the
37:40listeners that I am not a medical
37:42doctor.
37:43>> I always So, I just I always like to
37:46give that caveat cuz you know, some
37:47people take something I say as like
37:49medical law and they run with it. So in
37:53general, alcohol causes inflammation for
37:56everybody regardless if you have
37:58lympadema or your cancer survival. So
38:02there's also an environmental element.
38:04So we live here in Texas when it's
38:06really hot and humid, we all swell more.
38:08So for listeners who don't have
38:10lympadema or cancer history, you may
38:11notice in the summertime, if you live in
38:13a very hot, humid environment, it's hard
38:15to take off your jewelry.
38:16[clears throat] We're all more inflamed
38:17in the summertime. So you have an
38:19environmental element, you have the
38:20dietary element. So things that you
38:22ingest in your body that can cause
38:24inflammation and in your case your
38:27lymphatic system has been impaired
38:29>> to a certain extent.
38:31>> So you mix all that together,
38:34how would you expect the alcohol to be
38:36processed in your body if it's not
38:38working? It's it's like if you expect to
38:41go on a freeway
38:43>> and you want to be there and it takes
38:45the average person 5 minutes to get
38:47there, but it's going to take you 10
38:49minutes because you basically have
38:51blocked channels or blocked lanes to use
38:53the highway analogy that it's not going
38:55to flow as efficiently. And especially
38:57in pregnancy too, a lot of women their
38:59foot and ankles will swell during
39:01pregnancy and even post pregnancy,
39:02right? So um for you I would say
39:07obviously you would want to get the
39:08proper diagnosis of lympadeema but for a
39:11lot of head and neck cancer patients
39:13where they start to remove lymph nodes
39:16in that area the prevalence of
39:19lympadeema is even higher than breast
39:20cancer. It's like 70 to 80%.
39:23>> Oh wow.
39:23>> Um and every patient responds
39:25differently as far as the rate of
39:27progression. So like we were talking
39:29earlier, your body is giving you
39:31signals. And if you know certain food or
39:33certain activities or certain
39:34environments are going to induce more
39:36inflammation, you got to prepare for
39:38that. So in your case, it may be either
39:40eliminating the alcohol all together or
39:42if you know, hey, it's unavoidable and I
39:44still want to have a couple glasses of
39:46wine or beer, whatever your your poison
39:48may be. Uh maybe maybe you wear u some
39:52compression socks or um aquatic therapy
39:55is great. because the most non-invasive
39:57way to stimulate the lymphatic system is
39:58to be in a pool. So there's a lot of
40:01different ways and there's self
40:02massaging techniques you can learn. So
40:05basically there's no silver bullet but
40:08your body knows what's going on and if
40:10you feel like there's something off then
40:12it may be worth investigating with a
40:14specialist who can say you know what yes
40:16Taylor you do have lympadema or no this
40:18is just reactionary to xyz
40:21>> right so how do they how do they test
40:23for lympadeema
40:24>> there's a couple different ways um there
40:27are several imaging procedures they do
40:30where they basically inject this it's
40:32called endocyanide night green, IC
40:35green. It's this dye that they inject
40:37into your lymph vessels and uh they turn
40:40out all the lights and they have these
40:41cameras that's like military grade night
40:44vision goggles so they can track the
40:46movement of that dye through your lymph
40:49vessels. And if that fluid's not moving,
40:51you know, at a normal rate, you can see
40:54like for example, for me, when I had
40:56that imaging done, my left leg totally
40:58normal, those veins and those lymph
41:00vessels, the fluid was moving just like
41:02a normal person. to get to my right leg.
41:04When that fluid's going from the bottom
41:06and starting to drain up, it would be
41:08stagnant in my knee and my upper thigh
41:11region and that would explain the
41:12inflammation. And with lympadeema,
41:16one of the things that a lot of patients
41:18experience is reoccurrence of infection
41:19because your lymphatic system is
41:22directly associated to your immune
41:24system. It moves that fluid to help
41:26fight infections. But if that fluid is
41:28not moving, it becomes stagnant and it's
41:31almost like a cest pool for bacteria
41:33infection to thrive. So for me, if I'm
41:35not moving that fluid, I'm going to get
41:37an infection. It's going to result in
41:38another surgery. And you know, I 10 out
41:41of 10 don't recommend that. and they put
41:43you on strong antibiotics which over
41:46time your body develops um immunity
41:48towards that up the dose up the dose and
41:51you're staying in the system the way the
41:53system was created
41:54>> right
41:56um okay well thank you I'm going to go
41:58get that checked out um I do have
42:02another question sorry I have all the
42:03[laughter] questions so here recently
42:06you just had another really big scare um
42:09and I was actually messaging your mom I
42:12believe she was she had to
42:14>> my project manager
42:14>> during
42:16and if she's listening you are a
42:19sweetheart an angel I just felt for her
42:22so much but she I I was like okay what
42:25do I need to do I was praying for you
42:27>> yeah you had some prayer warriors
42:28>> I did I
42:30>> I'll literally cry but I was so worried
42:32for you and um she responded she said
42:35it's not good
42:37>> um and so yeah talk us through that like
42:40and your roommate
42:43Yes. Oh my gosh. So, um this was most
42:46recently. So, I had a torn labum in my
42:50hip.
42:51>> And um that's just from me being a very
42:53active above knee ampute. And um another
42:57thing that's common with active amputes
42:59is a thing called nuromomas, which is a
43:01overgrowth of that nerve ending um
43:03almost like a tumor. And my body was
43:06screaming at me because I was in like
43:08agonizing pain every day wearing my
43:10prosthesis. But in that time, I was
43:14thinking the destructive way of no pain,
43:16no gain. But there's situations where
43:19pain is bad pain and you need to get it
43:21looked at. So when they repaired my
43:25labum and this was in April this year, I
43:28was recovering from that surgery doing
43:29physical therapy and one night I was by
43:34myself in Austin and my body just
43:37started to feel very similar like it did
43:39when I was talking about earlier when I
43:40had that first infection.
43:42>> It is a very specific pain. Um, and this
43:45time I was home alone at my house in
43:49Austin and I have this king-size bed and
43:51usually I lay on the right side so I
43:53can, you know, reach my nightstand.
43:54That's usually where I have my phone
43:56plugged in. This time I was in the
43:58middle of my bed and my phone was out of
44:00reach.
44:01>> And when the pain hit, it was like 11
44:04out of 10 pain. And it was the first
44:07time I experienced temporary paralysis.
44:09So, I couldn't move my left leg at all
44:12and my amputated side, which had just
44:14had that hip surgery 2 weeks prior. I'm
44:17literally laying on my back in agonizing
44:19pain and I can't reach my phone.
44:22>> Thank the Lord I had my Apple Watch. So,
44:25I was able to use this to call my friend
44:27Drew. Drew child, Drew,
44:29>> go Drew.
44:30>> But he didn't say the date. He was on a
44:32date with his girlfriend.
44:34>> Drew
44:35bros before.
44:37[laughter]
44:38>> Tori's great. Good luck, Tori. Um, so I
44:41called my other buddy from my Bible
44:43study in Austin who lived close to me.
44:46>> Yeah.
44:46>> And he rushed over to my place and my
44:49front door was locked.
44:51>> Oh my gosh.
44:51>> Holy cow.
44:52>> But earlier that afternoon as I was
44:54walking the perimeter of my living room.
44:56So I have my front door. I have two
44:58large sliding glass doors leading to the
45:00front yard and I have two more in the
45:02backyard. As I was walking the perimeter
45:04to make sure, you know, cuz I live
45:06alone, to make sure my house is locked
45:07and secure. As I was walking by that
45:10last sliding glass door, there was this
45:13like Holy Spirit like nudge that wasn't
45:15an awful voice, but it was like, "Just
45:17keep moving."
45:19>> So, in other words, I didn't lock that
45:21last door.
45:22>> Wow.
45:23>> And when my buddy arrived, like 10
45:25minutes after I called him, first of
45:27all, I'm like scream like, "Bro,
45:28emergency 911. You need to get here
45:30now." When he arrived, he couldn't get
45:32in. And I'm like, "Bro, go around to the
45:34backyard. It's open." So, he was able to
45:36come in and then call uh 911. The
45:39paramedics came and and rushed me to the
45:41hospital. And long story short, um I
45:44ended up developing um an infection in
45:46my hip, which I was 7 hours away from
45:49going into septic shock.
45:50>> Wow.
45:51>> So, we wouldn't be having this
45:53conversation um had it escalated to
45:56that. And
45:58through that experience and through the
46:01amputation, um, what I've learned is
46:04when I go through these like traumatic
46:06health experiences,
46:08it's often God's way of like physically
46:11slowing me down.
46:13>> And that was also the first time I was
46:15in an inatient rehabilitation hospital.
46:17Like most of my hospitalizations was
46:19like at the longest, like maybe 5 days
46:21if I had an active infection, had the IV
46:24and all that. But this was the first
46:26time I was at a longterm
46:29hospital in Houston, Memorial Herman,
46:32and I was surrounded by traumatic brain
46:35injury patients and spinal cord injury
46:36patients. And these are patients who
46:39likely will never walk again. A lot of
46:41them are nonverbal. And it was so
46:43humbling to be in that environment, but
46:45I also realized like, God, I know that
46:48I'm going through this agonizing pain,
46:50but you also have me here for a reason.
46:53And I just want to be obedient to that.
46:55Um, if you want me to have a
46:56conversation with a nurse or a therapist
46:59or a patient here, like, Lord, I'm
47:02available. And when you pray that
47:04powerful prayer, Lord, I'm available, he
47:07will send you. Um but oftentimes it's to
47:10places and faces that you would have
47:11never imagined. And so spending that
47:14month in that inpatient rehab hospital,
47:17um first off, thank you for the prayers.
47:19I I felt that from the community. And
47:21there's just something powerful about
47:22having prayer warriors out there. It
47:24makes it more digestible
47:26>> and there were several patients there
47:29that I just got to connect with and at
47:32the heart and soul level. Um, and I
47:34never want to force Jesus down people's
47:36throats because that was never effective
47:38for me when I was walking in rebellion.
47:41But, uh, just saying, "Hey, look, like I
47:43know you're going through a tough
47:44season, but I promise you, God has a
47:46bigger plan for this." Um, on the
47:48horizon. You know, they talk about the
47:50pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
47:52Well, in order for a rainbow to happen,
47:53there has to be a storm.
47:55>> And God will often times not only put a
47:57storm in your life, but will walk you
47:59through that storm. And it looks very
48:01different from from person to person.
48:03But having already gone through that, it
48:06gave me the confidence to be able to go
48:09talk to other people
48:11>> in that facility who are far worse off
48:13than I was.
48:15>> You were used by the Lord. There's no
48:18question about that.
48:19>> I also am so grateful for the amount of
48:21analogies that you're using. It really
48:23helps make things more digestible as you
48:26just mentioned. But um yeah, from an
48:28understanding perspective, I don't think
48:29that there's anybody that will listen to
48:31this episode and walk away confused. Um
48:33it's we really appreciate your clarity
48:35on everything.
48:36>> Thank you.
48:36>> Yeah. On such big topics.
48:39>> Yes. And also [laughter] I thought Drew
48:42was your roommate.
48:44>> No, I'm 37. I'm a grown man. I'm a
48:46homeowner.
48:49>> Cam, the pictures that I saw and I was
48:51like, "Oh, maybe they still live
48:52together." you know [laughter]
48:54that we are both home in Austin. So
48:57>> I love that and I love that you have him
48:59and
49:00>> but but again like the importance of
49:02community um in a large community
49:04because like at that point in time like
49:07this isn't a dig and Drew
49:08>> um he just wasn't available there.
49:11It was a regular Saturday night. He was
49:13on date night with his girlfriend. So I
49:15I'm not mad at him. Eventually they did
49:17come by and they were there in the
49:18hospital with me in Austin. But like
49:20>> if I didn't have that small group where
49:22my buddy Gorov who was the one who
49:25ultimately showed up um yeah it wouldn't
49:28be a very different conversation of a
49:29conversation at all just because of the
49:31rate of progression of that infection. I
49:33mean so agonizing and I don't even use
49:36the term excruciating pain because
49:38actually the roots of that uh
49:41excruciating
49:48pain I will never compare myself to the
49:51suffering that Jesus went through for
49:52all of us. So, um it it just really gave
49:56me a a deeper perspective that um like I
49:59mentioned uh the book of Romans is my
50:02favorite book and my favorite verse in
50:03Romans is Romans 5 3-4. It says,
50:05"Therefore, we rejoice in our suffering
50:08because suffering brings perseverance.
50:10Perseverance brings character and
50:12character brings hope which is only
50:14found in Jesus." So if if I can
50:17repurpose that pain to make somebody
50:19else's pain more digestible and and
50:21point them back to Jesus, which is the
50:23ultimate position for me in my health
50:25journey and my faith journey, like that
50:27makes all this pain worth it. And I
50:29would go through every single one of
50:31these hospitalizations and infections
50:34over 10fold if it's going to bring
50:36someone else closer to God.
50:37>> Wow. I recognize that currently most of
50:40your listeners and audience are probably
50:43skewing more on the female side of
50:46mothers, young adults, young females who
50:48want to, you know, eventually start a
50:50family. And I just want a quick
50:52commentary on the state of masculinity
50:56in our US culture. Um, you know, you got
50:58one radical end of the spectrum, this
51:00whole red pill, you know, the Andrew
51:02Tates of the world who, uh, could not
51:04disagree with more in that whole
51:06environment, and then you have the other
51:09end, which is like the very soft beta
51:11male.
51:12>> And as I was thinking about that,
51:14driving here, uh, another analogy the
51:16Lord put on my heart was as a little
51:19kid, did you guys ever have the betetta
51:20fish?
51:21>> Mhm.
51:22>> Okay. So, one thing interesting about
51:24the betetta fish um specifically with
51:26the males is so you never put two of
51:30them together because they will one will
51:32kill the other one, right? But when I
51:35think of like how that may like align
51:37with our culture today,
51:40>> most beta males are isolated. They're
51:42living in a world of isolation. And one
51:45of the things that the beta fish does
51:47when you put a mirror to the fish tank,
51:50even if it's by itself, it will attack.
51:52So, it's basically attacking itself.
51:54>> And when you have these beta males who
51:57aren't living and walking with the Lord
51:59and don't have older men discipling them
52:01and they're not discipling other people,
52:04what happens is they isolate and they
52:06can't even stand their own reflection.
52:07And when they see their own reflection,
52:09it's like they attack it. And how do
52:11they attack it? By how they live. They
52:13eat bad. and they don't work out. They
52:15become passive. Uh they indulge in
52:17pornography. They become serial dating
52:21app users because of just the
52:22disposability of that culture. And it's
52:24it's not a knock on dating apps. They
52:26can be effective if two godly people are
52:29using it in the right way. But I just
52:31feel that like most of the men are
52:33either aggressively red pill toxic
52:36masculinity or you have these beta males
52:39like the betetta fish who live in
52:41isolation in these small tanks and they
52:43can't even stand their own reflection
52:45because it's just going to cause them to
52:47self harm in whatever way that is. So
52:50again, that's the importance of
52:52community and walking with people who
52:54are aligned with your values and your
52:57integrities and um the right health
53:00regiment because if we want longevity,
53:03you can't Amazon Prime your health. You
53:05can't we look for so many hacks and
53:07shortcuts, but when you go down that
53:10road like you're you're you're robbing
53:12Peter to PayPal. We talked about, you
53:14know, especially in the pharmaceutical
53:16space, often times you're masking a
53:18symptom, which is ultimately
53:20compromising something else.
53:22>> Yes.
53:23>> So, whole health starts with aligning
53:25yourself to your creator.
53:27>> Mhm.
53:28>> And then from there, the fruits of the
53:30spirit will help you navigate where to
53:31go in community and diet and exercise
53:34and all the things that I know you guys
53:36probably preach a lot about.
53:37>> We do in chiropractic. Actually, we call
53:39it above down inside out. Adio is kind
53:41of the the motto of chiropractic. Um
53:44Taylor calls a lot of what you were
53:45saying the boring basics, right? Getting
53:47the boring basics right. So, thank you
53:49for touching on that. Show your husband,
53:51show your boyfriends, show your sons.
53:53>> Yes.
53:54>> Show the men in your life.
53:55>> Oh, I have Okay, I have two two things.
53:58[laughter]
53:58You told beta the beta fish story. I
54:01have a crazy beta fish story.
54:03>> That was wild. I'm not sure.
54:05>> Here [laughter] we go.
54:07The homeless guy in your
54:09>> Thank you. I don't know if we can get
54:10guys over that. Let's [clears throat]
54:11hear it. Let's try. Let's try it.
54:13>> Okay. So, my son had a betta fish. We
54:15kept it on the kitchen counter. Um, and
54:18so, you know, the counter is a hard
54:20surface. Anyways, we had him for 5
54:23years. His name was Texas. Well, one day
54:25I come out and he's out of his tank. I
54:28would feed him every morning and I was
54:29like, "Oh no, where did he go?" Well, he
54:31was on the kitchen counter and I was
54:33like, "No." And he wasn't moving. I was
54:35like, "Dude, you just we loved you so
54:38much. she's just going to do that to us.
54:40And I was like, something's telling me
54:42to just pick you up and throw it back in
54:44the water cuz I was nervous about my son
54:45cuz he's so just like so sensitive. And
54:48I was like, oh my god, if he sees Texas
54:50is dead, then
54:51>> Texas is really going to be dead.
54:54[laughter]
54:54>> So I threw him in the water. It wasn't I
54:57think I had to wake him up an hour later
54:58for school.
54:59>> I go wake him up and he's like, "Oh, I
55:01can't wait to see Texas." I was like,
55:02"Shoot." Goes over there. Texas is
55:05swimming.
55:06>> And I was like, "I'm sorry. Do you have
55:08a zombie fish? Like what is [laughter]
55:09that? But he was like swimming in a
55:11weird way. Like it was like he's like
55:12not well. He was just kind of like
55:14pulsing weird. I was like, "Oh no, he's
55:17a zombie." Like this is crazy.
55:18>> See, I think the big takeaway there
55:21building to the analogy I was just
55:23talking to is environment matters. When
55:25that beta is not in the environment he
55:27needs to physically, emotionally,
55:29spiritually thrive,
55:30>> it's a destin.
55:31>> It is.
55:32>> Right. And God created the fish to live
55:34underwater. God created us to live above
55:36water. But we're drowning in our own
55:40habits of chasing after success, the
55:42perfect body, the perfect family. You're
55:45just inevitably going to drown when you
55:47don't realize that, hey, the environment
55:49that we're in is the body that God has
55:51given me, the time here on earth on this
55:53side of heaven. We have to steward it
55:55the best way we can. We can't do it
55:56alone or in a vacuum.
55:57>> Yes. And I'm going to take it one step
55:59further. that betta fish Texas had a had
56:02another believer whether he was a
56:03believer or not pulling him along
56:05putting him back in that environment
56:06with the Lord. The Lord redeemed that
56:08like come on now.
56:09>> He could not have jumped back into the
56:11whole
56:11>> he could not have
56:12>> that community aspect.
56:14>> He dies later that night.
56:18>> But you know what? That gave him another
56:19eventually going to die. And the best
56:21part of dying is where we go for
56:24eternity if you're in the right.
56:25>> Yes. Exactly.
56:26>> So, but I do want to say this is so cool
56:28cuz again, God designed every single
56:30creature just so beautifully. I looked
56:33it up cuz I was like, he's not a zombie,
56:35is he? Like no one knows. Apparently
56:37with goldfish and betta fish when they
56:39jump out of the water, if that happens,
56:41their whole body will harden. All of the
56:43liquid, all of the water will go to just
56:45their organs to try and keep them alive.
56:48So he was a little bit alive. Anyways, I
56:51threw him back in the water and kind of
56:52like did this twitch and he was like,
56:54"Okay,
56:55>> I got I got some water back in my
56:56veins." But how crazy is that?
56:58>> That is pretty cool.
56:59>> That is [laughter] pretty cool. And I
57:00love analogies.
57:02>> RIP Texas.
57:03>> RIP Texas. You were a good fish.
57:05>> Oh my gosh.
57:06>> Okay, I have another question for you
57:08while we wrap this up.
57:10>> Unless you have anything else that you
57:12want to say.
57:12>> Yeah.
57:13>> I have to know about your time on the
57:16Dang [laughter] Bachelorette.
57:19>> And that's all the time we have for this
57:21episode, folks. Tune in next week.
57:23>> It was [laughter]
57:24like I just want to know because I know
57:26you and you are just y'all he's a catch.
57:31I don't know if you're if you're dating
57:33anyone or if you're talking with
57:34anybody, but the Bachelor and I want to
57:37know what did they do to just kind of
57:39cuz they'll take a villain and they'll
57:41run with it or they'll take whatever
57:43they did with you and they'll run with
57:44it and they just amplify it and you're
57:46like, "What the heck? This isn't me. Why
57:48are y'all making me look like this?"
57:50>> So, just high level without diving too
57:54deep into it. For starters, I was not
57:56walking with the Lord then,
57:58[clears throat]
57:58>> right? Like so, um, I was on the back
58:00end of a breakup, ironically, with a
58:04chiropractor.
58:04>> Oh, okay.
58:05>> Canadian who got deported to Canada.
58:07>> Wow.
58:08>> Another story for another time.
58:09>> Oh my gosh. Yeah. Next episode.
58:10>> And my my parents at the time were on
58:13the verge of a divorce.
58:15>> Uh, fortunately, they they did not get a
58:17divorce. They're still together. Buddy
58:19Kathy, good job.
58:21>> But that was the time period where I was
58:23just so desperately seeking affirmation
58:26just from the world.
58:28And when you go in like the reality TV
58:30or show biz or you know the world of
58:32influencing whatever you want to call it
58:34where your affirmations come from the
58:38world and not people who actually love
58:39and care about you. You're basically
58:41setting yourself up for disaster. So
58:43from my experience there um I had a lot
58:46of false confidence because I got the
58:49first rose of the season.
58:50>> So you got the first rose. So I was
58:52thinking, okay, based on data,
58:54historical data, the guy who gets the
58:56first rose wins. And then you have all
58:58these producers that are like pumping
59:00you with confidence and hyping you up.
59:02But those same producers who are pumping
59:04you up with confidence are also
59:06simultaneously in the background with
59:07their headphones talking to other
59:10producers who are talking to other
59:11contestants. and they're just like these
59:13puppet masters orchestrating this crazy
59:16social science experiment to draw up as
59:19much drama as possible because let's
59:21face it, most people watch reality TV
59:23for the drama.
59:24>> Why do we do that? Because we feel that
59:26if we escape from our own realities, our
59:29own drama, we can have a little bit of
59:32entertainment watching these other
59:33people. But these are real humans, real
59:35souls. And again, I didn't understand at
59:39the time that I was basically being
59:41propped up to be one of the villains
59:43>> because I don't hear the other
59:45conversations that the producers were
59:46having with other guys in the mansion.
59:48Um, I didn't understand some of the
59:50cheap editing tricks that they did on me
59:53until I was watching back the episode in
59:55real time uh with friends and family.
59:58And often times I'd have to pause it.
1:00:00What had happened was like they would
1:00:02even take segments of something I said 2
1:00:05hours before but then juxtapose it as I
1:00:08thought I was having in real time with a
1:00:09guy because the camera angles were the
1:00:11back of my head and they would have my
1:00:13voice over in there.
1:00:14>> Wow.
1:00:14>> So like all that to say like my big take
1:00:17away from being
1:00:19>> in that world was you can believe who
1:00:23the world says you are or you can
1:00:25believe who God says you are. And that's
1:00:28like what really um got me re-evaluating
1:00:32my personal relationship with Christ
1:00:34because I can believe everything that
1:00:37everyone else says or I can believe what
1:00:38God says. And that that's why the song
1:00:40You Say by Lauren Dagel just hits so
1:00:42hard when you've been in an identity
1:00:44crisis because that's what's wrong with
1:00:46our culture. All this gender confusion,
1:00:48it's an identity crisis. Uh the
1:00:50depression, the anxiety, all of that. If
1:00:54you look at the roots of if you pop open
1:00:56the hood of that soul, they don't know
1:00:59who's they are and they don't have the
1:01:01right people in their corner reminding
1:01:03them who they are.
1:01:05>> So if anybody listening is considering
1:01:08reality TV, um just know that they will
1:01:11expose your deepest darkest secrets,
1:01:13your deepest, darkest insecurities. And
1:01:16when you sign the NDA, you have to live
1:01:18with the edit they give you for up to 2
1:01:20to 3 years. Wow. So that's just a world
1:01:22that I lived in for 2 to 3 years
1:01:24believing that I truly was a villain.
1:01:26It's almost like reverse imposture
1:01:29syndrome.
1:01:29>> Wow.
1:01:30>> I believed a lot from the enemy. And
1:01:33I've lived in that identity for 2 and
1:01:351/2 years. And I numb the pain with
1:01:37drugs, alcohol, and
1:01:40>> just physical relationships with anybody
1:01:41that would have me.
1:01:42>> Mhm.
1:01:43>> And that's not the way to live your
1:01:45life.
1:01:45>> There's always a breaking point there.
1:01:47>> Wow.
1:01:48>> But God's always there at the end of the
1:01:49breaking point. So that's the beautiful
1:01:51part of of redemption through him, not
1:01:53through what any of us do.
1:01:55>> It's just receiving that love. That's
1:01:56why I said the best GLP is God's loving
1:02:00presence and it's available at all times
1:02:01to every single person.
1:02:03>> So good. So good. Cam, thank you so
1:02:06much. Seriously, thank you for sharing
1:02:09everything that you've shared and with
1:02:10the passion and the energy that you
1:02:12brought today. It's it's felt here 100%
1:02:15and definitely felt through the camera.
1:02:17So, thank you so much.
1:02:18>> Thank you.
1:02:18>> Yeah. Thanks and giggum. Ready?
1:02:19>> Thanks and giggum. Giggum. You got your
1:02:21ring on.
1:02:22>> This is our year.
1:02:23>> Let's go. This is it.
1:02:24>> This is our year.
1:02:26>> Thanks and giggum.
1:02:28>> [laughter]
1:02:29>> I love