THINKWELL

AGEWELL

Hope in Ketosis: Nancy and Jerry’s Road to Cognitive Recovery

00:00:00:00 – 00:00:22:22
Speaker 1
And for me, you know, the caretaker. It’s like, it’s okay. It’s okay to take a nap. It’s okay to go eat. It’s okay to walk away. It’s okay to go out in nature. It’s okay. And I think that’s what I needed to to hear. It’s okay. Live into me. And I think that it’s one of these things where it’s practice.

00:00:22:23 – 00:00:47:06
Speaker 1
It’s not perfect. A far cry. We are not doing the program perfectly. But if we fall off the horse, we’re getting back into the saddle. Because we know that when we went into ketosis, when we are in ketosis, we can think clearly. Both of us can think clearly.

00:00:47:08 – 00:01:11:03
Speaker 2
Welcome. In today’s episode, I’m honored to introduce you to two incredibly inspiring people. Jerry and Nancy Nelson. This conversation is really close to my heart because they aren’t just regular podcast guests. Danny and Nancy join me for the 12 week Reversing Alzheimer’s Transformation program, and they are living proof that it is possible to meet a diagnosis with both grace and courage.

00:01:11:05 – 00:01:32:05
Speaker 2
I have seen them inspire others with my own eyes, and I’m excited that they are here to share some of their journey with you so that you can be as inspired as I’ve been. Together, they’re going to tell you about how they navigated the journey of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis with resilience and humor and even deep love and commitment for one another.

00:01:32:07 – 00:01:56:22
Speaker 2
You’ll hear about daily practices they use, how they’ve implemented the bread and protocol at home, and how they continue to find hope, connection, and joy through the ups and downs of this difficult path. Their story is one of transformation, not just in their health, but in mindset, relationships and in purpose. I think you’ll find their perspective uplifting, honest, and full of hard won wisdom.

00:01:57:00 – 00:02:14:20
Speaker 2
Let’s dive in. Jerry and Nancy, welcome. I’m so excited to have you here. Right before we hit recovery, you were sharing one of the routines that you practice each day, and it’s called just for the day. Would you mind sharing that with our listeners?

00:02:14:22 – 00:02:42:07
Speaker 3
No, I’d love to. Just for today, I’ll try to live through this day only and not tackle all my problems at once. I can do something for 12 hours that would appall me if I felt I had to keep it up for a lifetime. Just for today, I’ll be happy. This is so be true about Abraham Lincoln, said that most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.

00:02:42:09 – 00:02:56:01
Speaker 3
Just for today, I’ll adjust myself to what is and try not to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my luck as it comes and fit myself to it.

00:02:56:03 – 00:03:21:07
Speaker 1
Just for today, I will try to strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. Just for today, I will exercise my soul in three ways. I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. If anyone knows of it.

00:03:21:08 – 00:03:42:00
Speaker 1
It will not count. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do. Just for exercise. I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt. They may be hurt, but today I will not show it. Just for today, I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can. Dress. Become angry. Keep my voice low.

00:03:42:08 – 00:03:51:09
Speaker 1
Be courteous. Criticized. Not one bit. I won’t find fault with anything, nor try to improve or regulate anybody but myself.

00:03:51:12 – 00:04:06:01
Speaker 3
Yeah, I know what we’re here. Don’t do. You forgot. Well, yes. For today I’ll have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I’ll have it. I’ll save myself from two pairs. Hurry and indecision.

00:04:06:03 – 00:04:18:28
Speaker 1
Just for today, I will have a quiet half hour all by myself and relax during this half hour. Some time I will try to get a better perspective of my life.

00:04:19:00 – 00:04:32:20
Speaker 3
I will be unafraid, but especially I will not be afraid to notice what is beautiful and to believe that as I give God the world, so the world will give to me.

00:04:32:22 – 00:04:33:14
Speaker 1
Amen.

00:04:33:17 – 00:04:54:14
Speaker 3
Amen. And we give that to all of our children. They all have one at their place to sow, and they have a hard times, I see. Did you read the just for today? And they usually we feel better sometimes on that second one where I tell somebody something I’m not supposed to, I have to do that over a couple of times.

00:04:54:17 – 00:04:58:05
Speaker 3
So it’s not just the everything. So.

00:04:58:07 – 00:05:25:17
Speaker 2
So I think our listeners can already tell why I’ve invited you here. You are a testament to who you know, doing the hard work and to living your best lives possible despite the curveballs that get thrown your way. And I think it’s because of that, that you are this exemplary example of what’s possible with the Bredesen protocol. And I’m excited and delighted to share.

00:05:25:17 – 00:05:37:04
Speaker 2
Have you share your own story here on this platform? So, Jerry, Nancy, would you mind just starting with the story of Jerry’s diagnosis?

00:05:37:06 – 00:06:06:18
Speaker 1
So about two years ago, we had been going to Mayo Clinic, where from Rochester and Mayo Clinic is our home. Everyone has a story about Mayo Clinic and saving lives. And so we’ve always had that trust, that backbone. We talked with Jerry’s family med doctor just because he was having some issues with memory and each time we would talk with him, he would just do simple things like, where are you?

00:06:06:20 – 00:06:31:14
Speaker 1
You know, do you know the day and do you know who the president is? And then basically we got blown off. I went back and I looked at emails and they were as far back as 2019 when we questioned this. But Jerry’s true diagnosis came in July 2023. So for four years we had wandered and we were told, no problem.

00:06:31:18 – 00:06:50:00
Speaker 1
You know, don’t worry about it. So then our youngest daughter was getting married in August, and they did a brain scan on Jerry, and it came back, with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. And that would have been one month before her wedding.

00:06:50:03 – 00:07:20:27
Speaker 3
Well, and then on top of that, I fell ten times, in one day. You know, and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. And so I just kind of shook it off to my shoes. Are two bigger, you know, that I was stumbling on them. And, so that led to more of my not being able to find keys and not be able to, actually remember the arm walking in the door.

00:07:21:00 – 00:07:45:04
Speaker 3
Now, since that time, that’s all kind of come back and it’s going well thanks to your programs. And, now I can remember almost everything. So of the stuff I don’t want to remember anymore, but that’s normal. But, anyway, so we went there, and when we got the doctor, we had, they did all the X-rays and all that stuff.

00:07:45:07 – 00:07:58:06
Speaker 3
And so, we never thought that they’re going to tell me I had dementia. And they said. They said, yes. You have, what, stage three or stage one or what? I don’t even remember which state.

00:07:58:08 – 00:08:24:25
Speaker 1
What Jerry had ended up doing is all of the diagnostic testing, anything that the hospital recommended, he did the spinal tap, the brain scans, he anything that they recommended, he he went through and so we had had at least three doctors that had said he had mild cognitive impairment. They were very specific in locating the area in his brain that was affected.

00:08:24:27 – 00:08:50:05
Speaker 1
And so we knew there were three areas in his brain. First was the large motor skill. And that made sense because he was falling a lot. We thought that it had to do with his vision, with depth perception. But the second area in his brain that was affected was his vision. And he would buy prescription glasses not only through the hospital and through different companies.

00:08:50:05 – 00:08:52:21
Speaker 3
Here. I got 25 hits here.

00:08:52:23 – 00:09:13:13
Speaker 1
And, you know, one day this one work and then another, you know, so it made so much sense that his vision and then the third area in his brain that was affected was short term memory and aphasia. So forgetting little words or, you know, trying to remember the name of a town and you can describe everything, but you can’t come up with that name.

00:09:13:13 – 00:09:19:02
Speaker 1
It’s like right at the tip of your tongue. And so that’s what they had diagnosed Jerry with.

00:09:19:05 – 00:09:43:28
Speaker 3
Yep. And the doctor got up and we did all these tests and that. And so we sat down and he says, okay, I’ll see you next year. I said, I thought, what do you mean next year? I’m dying, you know, cause I said, I thought, I thought, well, heck, dementia means I’m dead. And so we went ahead and with it and, emotionally, it was it was strong on us.

00:09:43:28 – 00:10:03:28
Speaker 3
But we, you know, we we went ahead, said, okay. And, and we kind, I thought, what do you mean goodbye to see you next year. You know, it was almost like it took the wind out of us. And then we, went and we started to talk to the kids, and they were. They thought the same thing.

00:10:03:28 – 00:10:24:09
Speaker 3
And then finally, me and Nancy were talking. We said after we went through about a month or 2 or 3, I think maybe a while before we met you, we left the hearing and, it thought, you know, we had talked to them all about them. We and Nancy said she, you know, we never give up on anything.

00:10:24:10 – 00:10:48:18
Speaker 3
I said, I love her, she said, you love me. And I think if you don’t have that, in your relationship, I think no matter what you try, you ain’t gonna be going home. Probably said I shouldn’t say that, but it’s, But when you love each other, you know, and you really do, then you love each other for good or bad.

00:10:48:18 – 00:10:51:20
Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah. And,

00:10:51:22 – 00:11:12:04
Speaker 1
So, our first neurologist, she had told us to get our life together, go home, update your will, update your trust. You need to wrap up all of these loose ends. And so she told us, get your life together. And then she had said that there’s a treatment out there called Lecanemab that Jerry would be a perfect candidate for.

00:11:12:07 – 00:11:40:05
Speaker 1
And so that was like our carrot. That was our hope. And then, Jerry was going to do the lecanemab. We were all set for it. And then they came back and they said, we did DNA genome testing. And there is a medical contradiction. We can’t move ahead. So our Earth was rocked again. We were shattered because that when she explained it, that was the hope.

00:11:40:07 – 00:12:04:22
Speaker 1
And it was like that was the light at the end of our tunnel. So then we were like, okay, well, we’ll go anywhere. We looked at places in Australia, places in London, we’ll go wherever we need to go to get the best possible medical treatment. We are going to fight this. And so then the next step was we did a trial through Mayo called the Start trial.

00:12:04:24 – 00:12:27:20
Speaker 1
And that was see, 1812. We were three months into that trial and then out of the blue, they contacted us and said, we need to retake blood tests. So we went through all of that numerous times, like for three weeks. They were drawing blood and wondering if they were drawing it incorrectly or what’s going on here.

00:12:27:22 – 00:12:38:10
Speaker 1
So then they they came back, they sat us down and they said, we have to dismiss you from the trial because of your blood.

00:12:38:12 – 00:13:03:04
Speaker 3
Red blood. Yeah, yeah. But anyway, we all bleed. So then we just sat down and we said, well, you know, we don’t, you know, we don’t step back. I mean, we tried to be nice to everybody and do the right things, but in this case, let’s just put that aside. And I know I want a, three day reprieve of, dementia.

00:13:03:05 – 00:13:26:13
Speaker 3
I don’t want to talk about dementia. I don’t want to listen to it for the next three days, because we were starting to feel ourselves getting angry at each other. That’s really what we’re starting to happen. And so we prayed. I got my other little part here. They said, yeah, it’s it. It was on my part that I tell Lord, make me an instance by piece where there is hatred.

00:13:26:13 – 00:13:54:25
Speaker 3
Let me show love. Where there is injury pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where is despair? Where it is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy. Oh, divine master Grant and I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love.

00:13:54:25 – 00:14:07:10
Speaker 3
And for it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born eternal life. So we that’s what we got back on.

00:14:07:14 – 00:14:09:18
Speaker 1
And you’re the hope. Yeah. You are the heart.

00:14:09:18 – 00:14:11:02
Speaker 3
In the crystal. Yeah.

00:14:11:02 – 00:14:38:15
Speaker 1
So what’s crazy is I had sent a message to a girl friend. Her father had passed, and she responded back to me. I want you to check out this clinic. And so it was really for my allergies. So I checked out this clinic in Rochester, and it was called Wellness on Wednesday. And I have the date March 20th, 2024.

00:14:38:17 – 00:15:01:15
Speaker 1
And they said, you aren’t going to believe this, but the allergy one just passed. But next week we’re going to be talking about the British Sun approach. And I said this is when like our faith is is huge. And it gives you goosebumps because I said the daily Bread is an approach. And they said, yeah. And I said, shut the front door.

00:15:01:22 – 00:15:28:03
Speaker 1
I am reading his book. And it’s like, if you look at all of I have highlighted everything and, you know, triple underlined. And it was like, this is the answer. And so we went to a Wellness on Wednesday class, and that is how the whole bettison approach. The door was fully opened. And then that doctor had issues with her parents and so had to stop being our doctor.

00:15:28:08 – 00:15:54:11
Speaker 1
And so that’s when we hooked into Recode and the Apollo Health. And that’s when we found you and your book. And it’s like, we just really believe that God puts people on our path for a reason, and that all of those doors that Mayo kept closing on us, it was for a reason. It was for a reason. Going through it was no fun.

00:15:54:13 – 00:15:57:26
Speaker 1
But coming through it, it’s amazing when we look.

00:15:57:26 – 00:16:18:17
Speaker 3
Back and we had a lot of tragedies right before that was our son fell off, 85ft cliff. He was pronounced dead. And that day where we were in this high rate. Right, priest? Mountain that they happened to have,

00:16:18:19 – 00:16:19:18
Speaker 1
All of the ambulance.

00:16:19:18 – 00:16:41:25
Speaker 3
That’s off the ambulances. Yeah, they’re they never went down this hill as high as it was, and they’d never done a test like this. So here’s these three things. Testing him. Our son, they can’t find him. He. Because he was stuck. He fell off this 45ft into the tree branch and it went through him. And then all of a sudden they got those their well.

00:16:42:00 – 00:16:43:20
Speaker 1
And then he went 40 more, so.

00:16:43:23 – 00:17:02:15
Speaker 3
They went 40 more. And, the 40 more of them or he was dead. They said the one, rescuer. He said, I got this, I got this, and he went up and they weren’t looking. He got it. You know.

00:17:02:18 – 00:17:25:15
Speaker 1
Pretty amazing. He ended up tracking our son on the trail, and he breathed for him. He handcuffed. Breathe for him for 45 minutes. And I think about that like when I’m exercising, you know, and it’s like, I can’t do this. And it’s like he kept thinking of his son and he kept pressing the bag, pressing the bag 45 minutes and they had to jury rigged ropes and closed off the highway.

00:17:25:21 – 00:17:36:13
Speaker 1
And then they were able to reach him. And then they had to bring him slowly off from the hillside. So, yeah, we we’ve had to deal with traumatic brain injuries.

00:17:36:13 – 00:18:01:09
Speaker 3
And they said, get your family together. He will not make it overnight. He didn’t go back to Rochester and then lacrosse. He can’t go back to Rochester. Rochester. Because if we if we fly him there, you’ll die anyway. And, anyway, long story short, he was supposed to be in the hospital forever. He recuperated, but then for weeks, he’s out.

00:18:01:12 – 00:18:23:01
Speaker 3
He’s in the, you know, the hospital all day. You know what? I came when I came up to see him. We went to see him, there. We slept on the floor for four days or five days, and, anyway, so we’ve had that miracle happen, and usually was one of ours. Her mother or my grandmother.

00:18:23:01 – 00:18:29:27
Speaker 3
My grandmother raised me and, I could hear all over me. Don’t give up.

00:18:30:00 – 00:18:31:01
Speaker 1
Yes.

00:18:31:04 – 00:18:34:04
Speaker 3
So anyway, how do I get in? And that’s.

00:18:34:07 – 00:18:53:15
Speaker 2
You. And getting through people’s worst nightmares. Right. Yeah. I’m seeing your child a down. Oh yeah. And Alzheimer’s. Oh yeah. And yet here you are returning to your faith, returning to your love for each other. Which, your love for your family and then having a good time.

00:18:53:15 – 00:18:55:00
Speaker 1
Yeah. Yeah.

00:18:55:02 – 00:19:02:19
Speaker 2
Well, you know what’s growing old if you don’t enjoy parts? Yeah. We’re going to get hit with these tragedies throughout life, right?

00:19:02:21 – 00:19:03:04
Speaker 3
Right.

00:19:03:10 – 00:19:28:00
Speaker 2
So what if you choose to come back to is it the anger and frustration and the why me or. Yeah, the gratitude and the love and joy. Yeah. We are. Yeah. Exemplary. Yeah. Regard. Yeah. You guys faced these closed doors, these repeated closed doors at Mayo thinking, okay, we’re here doing the best medical care possible. And there are these brand new drugs.

00:19:28:02 – 00:19:31:18
Speaker 2
You get your hopes up, and they’re very, very let down. Get your hopes.

00:19:31:24 – 00:19:32:06
Speaker 3
Right.

00:19:32:12 – 00:19:42:02
Speaker 2
Down right. Sort of guided towards this path of revisiting the Bredesen protocol. And that was how you ended up in our our 12 week coaching program.

00:19:42:02 – 00:19:47:02
Speaker 3
Right, right. And it was wonderful. It is wonderful. Still. We really enjoyed it.

00:19:47:04 – 00:20:04:14
Speaker 2
Everyone a little bit more about it because it’s hard work, right? It’s not as easy as getting it. Yeah. You’re taking a pill. Yeah. Yeah I mean you guys obviously you’re not afraid of hard work. We know that you. Well sleep on a floor. So with your child, you’ve built a successful business together.

00:20:04:20 – 00:20:05:13
Speaker 3
You’re right.

00:20:05:15 – 00:20:14:22
Speaker 2
Kids, you are no stranger to hard work. What makes you dig in and really embrace the program? And how did you do it?

00:20:14:24 – 00:20:37:20
Speaker 3
Because we knew it by listening to you. We knew that this is something we should be. And we talked about it, and we went to it as if we had, had a chance to eat cake all day. Yeah, that’s how good it was. Yeah, we continue to, but, you know, and it at first it was we had to get really silly.

00:20:37:20 – 00:20:44:15
Speaker 3
We get rid of it all. We got rid of everything. You know, it seemed like, anyway.

00:20:44:17 – 00:21:13:01
Speaker 1
But funny, our first doctor from Rochester, who was with the Bredesen program, she was like, don’t worry about the ketosis, don’t worry about that. And then when we joined your program, it was like, no, you need to worry about it. Yeah. And so for her, for us, there are certain moments where we’ll try something because I feel like we’re in this together and we have experienced life.

00:21:13:06 – 00:21:43:09
Speaker 1
And so what Jerry has been subjected to, I’ve been subjected to and I often wonder, like, I should probably get tested. Jerry has the appeal for Gene. He we know that. We don’t know if I have it or not, but I look at it like everything that he is doing for brain health, brain stretch exercises, everything that he’s doing that I need to do that and our kids need to do that and the grandkids need to do that.

00:21:43:16 – 00:22:07:15
Speaker 1
And so if anything, I look back and I feel guilty because we had three square meals a day, you know, when they were growing up, but they were not health food, you know, and and I look at that and that was a huge moment for both of us, because we could both feel that we thought so much clearer once we went into ketosis.

00:22:07:17 – 00:22:29:01
Speaker 1
And at first Jerry’s like, I’m not going to put my finger and I’m like, I’ll break my finger, you know? And so then, you know, we both wore and we still both wear the continuous glucose monitors. And just now he’s like, well, why is yours so low? And mine, you know, and it’s like it’s a learning curve. And I think that it’s one of these things where it’s practice.

00:22:29:01 – 00:22:55:25
Speaker 1
It’s not perfect a far cry. We are not doing the program perfectly, but if we fall off the horse, we’re getting back into the saddle because we know that when we went into ketosis, when we are in ketosis, we can think clearly. Both of us can think clearly. When Jerry uses the steam room, you know, letting go of those toxins, it’s huge.

00:22:56:00 – 00:23:19:17
Speaker 1
And there are certain days it’s like we don’t have time, you know, like we’re just so busy and then we will notice in each other, you know, not the same energy level and the blank stares. And we have the thing, the huddled, the hungry, angry, lonely and tired. And so before Jerry would have a lot of, I call them Alzheimer stares where it’s like looking off into space.

00:23:19:24 – 00:23:48:14
Speaker 1
And I might as well not even be talking to him because he’s not picking up the pieces type thing. And honestly, this guy like even reading the just for today, he really had stopped reading. And so now he’s the one. It’s like, well, I prefer audiobooks while get audiobooks. And it’s like every time we turn around, we’re in the car and let’s turn on Doctor Sanderson, let’s turn on Doctor Brita.

00:23:48:18 – 00:23:57:12
Speaker 1
And so we do these, you know, your deep dive and, you know, let’s just enjoy the day. Yeah. Let’s enjoy each other.

00:23:57:12 – 00:23:58:01
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:23:58:03 – 00:24:04:12
Speaker 2
Right. And so are you able to enjoy the day when you can’t have sugar? I think this is when I go oh yeah.

00:24:04:15 – 00:24:20:10
Speaker 3
We don’t even. Yeah. We don’t even miss it. I mean, there were some of the recipes that we got from you and I think I’m still I have trouble with bread. That’s my problem. I sneak in bread, like, for hamburger. I use the bread, you know.

00:24:20:17 – 00:24:42:04
Speaker 1
And I’ve found some places online where they use different ingredients. And so the glucose, the continuous glucose monitor, it will still stay, you know, steady. The line is steady, where I can live without bread. And so he eats the hamburger buns from a company online. We get it delivered, and it’s like, hey, it works. It’s it’s all good.

00:24:42:09 – 00:24:48:18
Speaker 3
The problem is, though, that now, lately I may. It’s going up the numbers went up more than what it should.

00:24:48:18 – 00:25:09:09
Speaker 1
So an insulin resistance number. We just had a blood test done. Cherries A1C is starting to creep up just a little bit, but glucose and everything I think is really like. What? What did you think was the other big light that came on with the protocols and things that you used?

00:25:09:11 – 00:25:10:10
Speaker 3
The big light.

00:25:10:13 – 00:25:13:27
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah. Cheerios got the B light over here.

00:25:13:27 – 00:25:28:01
Speaker 3
The light. I didn’t know what you meant. We also had light the side. You guys get every light there is now she’s dark and blue light and white light in the bedroom that can sleep. The white lights go on. You know, so.

00:25:28:01 – 00:25:30:01
Speaker 1
You’re v, you’re v light over there.

00:25:30:01 – 00:25:53:12
Speaker 3
Yeah, I know what it is. Yeah, I wear that helmet. That’s when really, I’m amazed how that has brought me around so fast. The memories in not stumbling through all my words are not all of them. But I’m amazed that. And it seems like, everything is working. And then. But then there’s some stuff that falls behind, you know, it seems.

00:25:53:12 – 00:25:59:17
Speaker 3
And I gotta go back, clean that up. But I always had to do that with the baby’s diapers and everything.

00:25:59:20 – 00:26:22:17
Speaker 1
But ironically, the three areas that in Cherry’s brain that were affected from all of the beginning brain scans and we had neuro psych exams also. But the three areas that were affected now, cherry has not had a fall in almost two years. This July will be two years, right? I don’t know.

00:26:22:19 – 00:26:28:16
Speaker 3
And and every now and then my left foot will drop. But that’s only after I’m really tired. Yeah.

00:26:28:18 – 00:26:43:11
Speaker 1
And then glasses. The same eye doctor who did his exam before retested his eyes and he’s like, wait a minute, I got to redo this. He redid it the second time and he said.

00:26:43:14 – 00:27:05:26
Speaker 3
I never yes, he’s never had anybody’s eyes get better, is what he told me. Yeah. And I said, well, I’ve been taking this program and with medicine. And I said that it seems like I don’t even use them really. Most of the time these are I take them in an off only because I get tired. My eyes get tired sometimes.

00:27:05:29 – 00:27:28:29
Speaker 1
But cherry just head is. I had his driver’s license renewed. I mean, he’s still, you know, driving and doing all of that good stuff, but he didn’t need his driver’s license, his his glasses. He no longer needs them. And that’s been like forever. And so we have not had a fall in almost two years. The vision has improved, documented.

00:27:29:02 – 00:27:53:28
Speaker 1
And then the third thing is short term memory. And it’s like we keep asking when, when do we get to retest? You know, these I want to know. You know it’s not a bad thing. We look at that as a good thing. And Jerry had another neuro psych review through Mayo, and it came back better, about maybe four months ago.

00:27:54:00 – 00:28:06:12
Speaker 1
And we have a social worker, and the social worker said it was probably because you went and relax and that you knew what they were going to be asking. And it’s like.

00:28:06:15 – 00:28:07:19
Speaker 3
I didn’t know it.

00:28:07:22 – 00:28:16:15
Speaker 1
All right. You know, you you can believe what you what you need to believe. But we’ve experienced it and it works.

00:28:16:22 – 00:28:22:23
Speaker 3
It works. Thanks for that pink stuff you gave us.

00:28:22:25 – 00:28:24:04
Speaker 1
Relaxed. Mac.

00:28:24:07 – 00:28:33:06
Speaker 3
Think. Thanks for that. I relaxed, all right. So relaxed on that. I know I go an extra hour a day and then still.

00:28:33:13 – 00:28:38:11
Speaker 2
Definitely plug that back when you found out about the kids.

00:28:38:13 – 00:29:03:25
Speaker 3
Yeah. Yeah I was against well that day when I tell you story of that me and my wife were getting ready where they’re now getting towards senior citizens, and we thought, well, we’re gonna go on a cruise and that and we and so she went in and she said, but the doctor wanted to talk to her because she’d come up with some theories.

00:29:03:26 – 00:29:04:23
Speaker 3
Yeah, some checks.

00:29:04:25 – 00:29:06:00
Speaker 1
For blood work.

00:29:06:02 – 00:29:25:15
Speaker 3
We might test. And so he asked her to come in. So I dropped her off because it’s busy there. And I said, call me when he brought me to pick you up. And I know I went a ways. And according to the doctor clinic, you need to come up to the clinic. We got to throw you somewhere. Coffee?

00:29:25:15 – 00:29:43:04
Speaker 3
I thought, oh, no, something went wrong. My wife, I mean, I thought, oh, just, you know, it’s just all. You’re going to go do stuff. We didn’t have the kids all the time on that. So I got there. And that’s for your kids. Then they weren’t born.

00:29:43:07 – 00:29:45:02
Speaker 2
Free, but you had three older kids.

00:29:45:02 – 00:29:47:05
Speaker 3
So I had to. Yeah, we had three older kids.

00:29:47:07 – 00:29:48:05
Speaker 2
Oh, they.

00:29:48:08 – 00:29:54:07
Speaker 3
They were, they were in there, what, 16, six now. And it’s one.

00:29:54:09 – 00:29:55:24
Speaker 1
No. That’s true. Let me do the math.

00:29:55:24 – 00:30:03:22
Speaker 3
I think they’re 15 or 16 or 17, I don’t know. They were good kids. And, you have 30. You have three years.

00:30:03:22 – 00:30:04:08
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00:30:04:10 – 00:30:28:23
Speaker 3
Difference in between. Yeah, yeah 30 years. So we were getting up there and I thought, well, hey, can I, we’ll go take that cruiser this and that. We did take a world cruise, but that was before this happened. And so that get in there and that I, I think it was a nurse told me that the doctor the doctor said sit down at the nurse said, sit down.

00:30:29:00 – 00:30:57:13
Speaker 3
The doctors come and and then he came in and they said, okay, get on. No, she got cancer or something. You know, some reason here and this is terrible, but I was more worried about her then. And he says, your wife’s pregnant and you gotta be shitting me. Okay. Yeah, I that’s exactly what they said. You. Yeah, I we’re getting ready to travel.

00:30:57:16 – 00:31:25:19
Speaker 3
Yeah. This is popped out of. Yeah. So every time I ever go up there to see Nancy or anything they say here, you got that? They gave me that little runaround. But it was fun. And we ended up not having one new two. Not two. We ended up with three. So now we got triplets and we’re trying to figure that out, you know, how we’re going to handle all that, and, they’re just wonderful.

00:31:25:19 – 00:31:57:27
Speaker 3
All that came along and I think we enjoyed them without telling the older kids much, much more than they ever. You. No no no no. Yeah. All right. And they, they grew right along and we loved them. And we still do know now or whatever. Those triplet kids just had a baby. And, just recently, they’re in their 30s now, but, just had a baby, and, my wife can’t do anything but tell her how good that baby is.

00:31:57:27 – 00:32:05:15
Speaker 1
So I do, I do, I take the phone, you know, like at the grocery store when she sends me pictures, I’m like, oh, isn’t she adorable in this?

00:32:05:17 – 00:32:06:21
Speaker 3
Yeah. Yeah.

00:32:06:22 – 00:32:25:09
Speaker 1
But she she she should be the Gerber baby. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we’re loving it. We are loving it. And and I think that Jerry has improved so greatly over the last like 22 months. He’s talking about doing another development and getting back into work and all of this. And I’m like, I.

00:32:25:09 – 00:32:30:02
Speaker 3
Turned 81. I gosh, I got this feeling around.

00:32:30:02 – 00:32:53:22
Speaker 1
Wow. So it’s like, oh come on, you know, like it’s really time to retire now. And that’s when we look back at all of this diagnosis. I had run a company and I had to leave abruptly. And two of our boys, then they took the reins over. And I look back and I think I never would have left them because they’re my kids.

00:32:53:22 – 00:33:17:09
Speaker 1
And I loved hanging out with them all day at work, and I didn’t know if they had the ability to actually take the reins. And they have proved then time and time and time again that they do have that ability and that this is where I need to be here. And hanging out with Daddio. Because life is short.

00:33:17:14 – 00:33:19:14
Speaker 3
He can’t hang out all the time.

00:33:19:16 – 00:33:20:08
Speaker 1
I know.

00:33:20:08 – 00:33:32:03
Speaker 3
I know, you get a house or it’s about a foot long and I. I go about 100ft long and I will want to have when she goes the other half, and then we can work together for that.

00:33:32:03 – 00:33:37:09
Speaker 1
Thank thank God. Like during Covid, you know, it’s like you go to one wing and I’ll hang out.

00:33:37:16 – 00:33:43:25
Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah. I said I’ll do the other hand. There we go. Yeah. There and eat.

00:33:43:27 – 00:33:44:05
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00:33:44:07 – 00:34:07:08
Speaker 3
Talk and do whatever the thing is I. But it looks good. You know, I really can’t complain. Yeah. No, our kids are good. I mean, they’ve got problems too. Like. Yeah. Everybody does. Yeah, but they stick with our reading. Stick with it. Nice. Send them a hello reading. Every night we pray together. My dog now is learning.

00:34:07:10 – 00:34:27:28
Speaker 3
When we start our father, she gets up and comes over. It gets in the way. And then we have their dog that she wants to go to the bathroom. Usually I say, can I give her a treat then too? But anyway, I babble along. But you know, it’s, it’s life is good. I you know, it really is.

00:34:27:29 – 00:34:28:21
Speaker 3

00:34:28:24 – 00:34:44:02
Speaker 1
And your program works. It works. And it’s like, you know, if we can shed the light, you know, and and share the goodness to just if it reaches one person, it’s worth it because it really it really works when you work it.

00:34:44:04 – 00:35:03:08
Speaker 3
Yeah. And here’s the deal. The kids say, right, we say, now you guys get to try to get in this. They say, oh, we can’t give up sugar. ISIS yeah. You can’t I do it. And they say, no, we can’t give on to Syria. And so I watch them gain 50 pounds, on a bomb and one day and I said, well, you gotta eat that.

00:35:03:08 – 00:35:27:21
Speaker 3
Not really. Not that much, but you know, and then, one day, my own son is his wife. She was a baby. And, you know, she eats sugar all the time. But I can’t do what you want. But I say, well, you know, and so we’ll see what happens. But I’m trying to get them to at least take a job, you know?

00:35:27:24 – 00:35:28:17
Speaker 3
You know.

00:35:28:19 – 00:35:31:03
Speaker 2
Leading by example. Oh, yeah.

00:35:31:05 – 00:35:31:28
Speaker 1
Exactly.

00:35:32:05 – 00:36:02:20
Speaker 2
Who knew if you guys were to think back to that month before your daughter’s wedding, when you found out that there really was something going on? Yeah. What would you tell yourself? What do you wish that you had maybe done different or learned earlier? Is there anything that really stands out? You know, I know this path. I think what I want to do is for people who are out there kind of in that position where you were that month before your daughter’s wedding, what do you wish you had known?

00:36:02:22 – 00:36:31:26
Speaker 3
Well, the program, Natalie, your program, it’d be natural. I mean, to have got all this information that’s all around us now. That’s where you listen and podcast. It’s a yeah, we have, I guess. And, just you and the other doctors that are fighting this thing where the all time doctors seems like they don’t honor even bother at this is that’s here.

00:36:31:28 – 00:36:53:03
Speaker 3
You know, you all get to will put together, you know, and and whatever it was, they were saying see you next year, you know, and, so that part I’d want to hear better, I guess. I, I like I say take it easy, you know, take it easy. Don’t like when we first like I said, we we start to get mad at each other.

00:36:53:03 – 00:37:15:05
Speaker 3
We very seldom ever get mad. We do. You know, you can’t be happy all the time. So there’s something that I. Right there. I left a mess in the kitchen or something. And our advisors. And she was bickering at me too much. But that’s all, you know, that’s all part of it. That’s only about 1%. All the rest of it’s pretty good.

00:37:15:08 – 00:37:40:04
Speaker 3
So you know that learning together, doing this together and not having to fight your spouse or not having to be have one of them be nervous all the time, or one of them correlate. I was there when we were going through this at the beginning here I was afraid to even talk because as I write guys, she’s going to come up with some other thing and be concerned for me.

00:37:40:06 – 00:38:01:09
Speaker 3
But I still didn’t want to talk because if I talked and didn’t yet know the name right away, she’s going to say what I had to say. Oh, I wasn’t talking about that, that go, you know, you do the little bit like that now. I still do that once in a while, but I don’t want to be an invalid.

00:38:01:12 – 00:38:21:08
Speaker 3
You know what? You’re get afraid. You don’t want to do this. You know that. But thank God there’s people like yourselves that have stepped out now, and I. This is just huge. If you worked program, if you work the program your way but don’t work a way, work it your way. You know.

00:38:21:10 – 00:38:33:22
Speaker 1
I think if somebody would have been able to tell me everything’s going to be okay, everything’s going to be all right, because you don’t know you’re right.

00:38:33:25 – 00:38:37:24
Speaker 3
Yeah. You just you don’t owe it feel. And we have, you know, I mean.

00:38:37:24 – 00:39:08:01
Speaker 1
We were checking out assisted living and getting, you know, companies, everything in order. And it came, like, really fast. And no one was able to say, like, this would be the progression, you know, like, and and so I felt like I needed to do everything today and I should have had it done yesterday. And so if someone would have been able to say, there’s hope, you know, there’s a light and we say, yeah, yeah, we got.

00:39:08:03 – 00:39:11:01
Speaker 3
The eyes there. Oh yeah. Oh we can’t.

00:39:11:03 – 00:39:12:28
Speaker 1
Yeah. Everything’s going to be all right.

00:39:12:28 – 00:39:22:20
Speaker 3
Can’t sit around and not do something. And when that day comes, that’ll probably still be felt like grinding it out of the place. Oh no.

00:39:22:24 – 00:39:23:21
Speaker 1
Oh no, oh.

00:39:23:21 – 00:39:47:03
Speaker 3
No. It’s may get I mean, but how’s it goes now? I feel that way from my standpoint and, and it’s you can say but from my standpoint I really feel like we came back a long ways, but it kind of can get scary at times. Nothing big. But when it starts regressing back and then it comes back, back and forth, then they say, well, who’s eating it?

00:39:47:03 – 00:39:49:09
Speaker 3
My brain now. Now, I didn’t say that.

00:39:49:14 – 00:40:12:09
Speaker 1
Or or if we have bad nights, bad sleeping nights. It’s like sleep is so important. And no one had ever told us that sleep is so important. And so we have apps that we’re able to look at to say, yeah, I had a good night’s sleep last night, and a lot of times I need to first ask myself, how was your night before I look at the app.

00:40:12:09 – 00:40:35:06
Speaker 1
So I’m not influenced, but it’s like those were some nights we just don’t get the right amount of sleep. So then it’s like you make the decision, I’m not going to jump in there revising the wills today. You know, where where it’s like you’re not always going to be at 100%. But you know what? When I was 40, I wasn’t at 100% when I was 60.

00:40:35:10 – 00:40:53:29
Speaker 1
You know, I wasn’t that so to accept that. Yeah. You know, we always say, mama said there’d be days like this. You know, mama said, you know, and it’s like. And then you look at that and and address it. And for me, you know, the caretaker, it’s like, it’s okay. It’s okay to take a nap. It’s okay to go eat.

00:40:53:29 – 00:41:05:24
Speaker 1
It’s okay to walk away. It’s okay to go out in nature. It’s okay. And I think that’s what I needed to to hear. It’s okay. Live in me.

00:41:05:27 – 00:41:06:21
Speaker 3
It’s a.

00:41:06:23 – 00:41:16:17
Speaker 2
You use a tool called halt. You mentioned the H8E. Would you if an example of one of the ways that you each use that.

00:41:16:19 – 00:41:41:03
Speaker 3
Or you’re saying Nancy uses without me can see she says you need to teacher. You know. And I say, yeah, I think it’s just those things are green trim programs that I’ve been in being a recovering alcoholic 50 years. They’ve been no, not drinking tar or is that some of their programs were very big, very good. Help me.

00:41:41:11 – 00:42:05:10
Speaker 3
And then, that just stuck with me. So when I got into these problems, there is a way to get out of them. I mean, maybe not. Yeah, something that’s some miracle, but just there is a way to get your mindset different. I don’t read much. I am read only one book in my life in her. But I do listen to tapes and I’ve listened.

00:42:05:12 – 00:42:28:20
Speaker 3
I’m one of them. So hard. Yeah, hungry, angry, lonely and tired. Any of those we both can tell for each other is already because of. She is keyed up in me. Ears to hear are having a problem or I’m having a problem. She really knows and I usually know she says, you need a dap. I said no or something like that.

00:42:28:23 – 00:42:49:17
Speaker 1
And and you’ve heard of the word hangry. You know, and it’s like, I think in our society when I do go into work is like, you can push through breakfast, you can push through lunch, you can do it. And it’s like, now I realize I really can’t because I am not the best version of me when I go hungry.

00:42:49:19 – 00:42:59:20
Speaker 1
And just like when I’m tired, do I get cranky? I need a nap. I know that, and it’s okay for me to say, you know what, I. I need a nap.

00:42:59:22 – 00:43:25:04
Speaker 3
I think another thing is just loving each other in a way that not that you walk around. I love you, honey. I love you, honey. No, I just just, you know, we knowing each other’s on the same good and how everything is going good. And most of the time since we got away from early dementia from the clinic and that and working the programs, we are on 90% to 99.

00:43:25:04 – 00:43:39:03
Speaker 3
I mean, we just start. We both kind of know and we both can work in the same program is very important and hate to bring somebody else in on it because they probably talk in conversation with us.

00:43:39:06 – 00:44:02:11
Speaker 1
And I think there’s a myth out there about this. I don’t know if you want to call it recovery, but our program, our protocol, it doesn’t have to be expensive. You know, a lot of it. And and like I say, I use it at my age, the kids, the breathing techniques where it’s like that doesn’t cost anything to breathe.

00:44:02:11 – 00:44:15:26
Speaker 1
It doesn’t cost anything to walk in, you know, go outside and take a walk. These, these things where it’s like where I can see a huge difference in myself. It’s not a big expenditure.

00:44:15:28 – 00:44:34:17
Speaker 3
Yeah. And I think it’s important. It is. Sometimes you feel like they’re just waiting for you to kick over, you know, the people around you and you say, I’m not going yet. I got in, I got gotta watch the three ducks. I just went back there. I think they left things back there. They’re on on our pool area.

00:44:34:19 – 00:44:54:02
Speaker 3
But anyway, it’s, it’s just great. It’s good because we both know what’s going on. If he out of here, the husband and wife that they lived together, you know, if they’re together and they’re in love or whether they’re in love or not, I don’t know. We are, as all I can say. And we don’t. You think.

00:44:54:03 – 00:45:02:23
Speaker 1
You. Yeah. But I think it can work without any support. Like a daughter, a mother, a father, a friend. It doesn’t have to be a spouse, right?

00:45:02:23 – 00:45:29:09
Speaker 3
Right. But with that going on, it makes it much easier. Oh, yeah. You know, we went through the hard and we did the hard, hard. But you’ve been through the hard stuff so that you know it. It’s the program itself, the reading. And like I say, I got the audiobook books, but it’s great. I had fact I had the, packet medicine and, iPod here.

00:45:29:12 – 00:45:31:08
Speaker 1
Yeah, just minutes ago.

00:45:31:09 – 00:45:56:06
Speaker 3
Minutes ago, I didn’t and I didn’t I it was in the steam room, actually. You guys said, well, I’m tired of singing country western Christian songs because I not country western guys. So I like I like the one where God says, why me, Lord? Thank you. I like seeing her the. And I listen to Joyce my ears sometimes and and nose guy Joel Osteen and some of them.

00:45:56:06 – 00:46:05:22
Speaker 3
So yeah I figured God soothe me all day. I can’t read 32 because he’s been with me all day. But yeah, I do both. Oh, sometime.

00:46:05:24 – 00:46:26:27
Speaker 2
You folks have life to live. You’ve got. Yeah, tend at kids and grandkids to adore and enjoy. And it seems as if this turnaround in your health for both of you really it’s a lot for you to enjoy all of that more. It’s created more capacity. Yeah. Even though you’ve got to put time into it each day. Oh, yeah.

00:46:26:27 – 00:46:28:26
Speaker 2
I’m gonna pass on the chocolate cake.

00:46:28:28 – 00:46:29:23
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:46:29:25 – 00:46:40:04
Speaker 2
The whole point of growing old is to enjoy it and to be there with the people that you love. There’s more capacity for that these days compared to a couple of years ago.

00:46:40:09 – 00:46:40:27
Speaker 3
Right.

00:46:41:00 – 00:46:42:07
Speaker 1
Amen.

00:46:42:10 – 00:46:52:22
Speaker 2
Are you good? Yes. I ask everyone. I think that we cannot guess. But I’m curious what brings you the most joy at this stage together?

00:46:52:24 – 00:47:06:00
Speaker 3
I think for us, I think being together, it’s really that’s the only show for us. And then the kids are busy, you know, they’re on their way up to go do the thing. So yeah, but we love being together.

00:47:06:00 – 00:47:22:13
Speaker 1
I have a sister who always says, now, can you guys hang out all of the time? Yeah, all of the time. And it’s like we like each other. Yeah. And also like, even if you want to go rummage sale and or, you know, pick anything, it’s like, that’s who I want to be with, you know? So yeah, first.

00:47:22:13 – 00:47:33:06
Speaker 3
Time you get a little uppity here I do it. You. And then they say, I know it. It ain’t going to make it. Yeah, yeah. You know. So yeah, you got the naysayers. And so.

00:47:33:10 – 00:47:33:29
Speaker 1
In life.

00:47:34:01 – 00:47:44:27
Speaker 3
I don’t know if that’s where we are, you know, we’d rather be together and no matter what it is, I mean, we get apart. Nancy goes, does her stuff and I do mine.

00:47:45:00 – 00:47:45:27
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00:47:45:29 – 00:48:09:27
Speaker 3
I think is the whole we have no problem with telling somebody we’re in love with each other, because a lot of people don’t want to tell, but especially be there to fight the night before something we do that we get that once in a while, it up on our high horse so that that’s that’s what I think is a about and that our kids are good but they can be trouble.

00:48:09:29 – 00:48:32:02
Speaker 3
You know, they just wait. They’ve got, you know, straight up big, boards. Even a daughter who’s just their youngest daughter, she was telling us the other day what the. I can’t take it. They got the baby was having trouble. Would she get eyes? And we had three of them. When you guys are running around, that’s different, she said.

00:48:32:02 – 00:48:32:09
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:48:32:11 – 00:48:35:12
Speaker 1
Sleep deprivation. I’m going to go help her for a while.

00:48:35:12 – 00:48:35:27
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:48:36:00 – 00:48:51:24
Speaker 1
She’s going and that’s something else like that. You know where before I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Jerry for a long period of time. Where now I feel like, oh yeah. Yeah. No, he’s he’s he’s fine on his own. It’s good.

00:48:51:24 – 00:49:09:11
Speaker 3
And so, you know, and that’s part of it too. I was getting kind of angry. I didn’t need Eunice always being not around me. I mean, really, it was when we got more into the ranch and I didn’t need you. You what you say? How do you spell that? Yeah. I don’t need that.

00:49:09:13 – 00:49:29:10
Speaker 1
I we we have a lot of cameras in our house, and I would call Jerry from work, and he would hit the my phone off, and I would be on the camera saying, excuse me, buddy. Yeah, I heard I saw that, you know, so, yeah, he felt like he was under a microscope and he no longer has. I just walked off camera.

00:49:29:10 – 00:49:32:22
Speaker 1
Nails. Yep. He’d unplug the camera.

00:49:32:24 – 00:49:41:10
Speaker 3
But I don’t need it. I mean, no you don’t you don’t need it. Is he at work? And. Yeah, I don’t know. Why do I get to do.

00:49:41:12 – 00:50:02:09
Speaker 2
You guys are in operation. I’ve learned so much. I’ve lost so much. And I know that so many people are going to enjoy, not only enjoy listening to this, but they’re going to have hope and they’re going to get outcomes. They’re going to feel inspired to do the work it takes so that their brain function can be optimized just like you.

00:50:02:10 – 00:50:18:17
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah. And, you know, thank you for sharing your vulnerability, your your humanity. Right. That none of us are perfect, none of us are doing it perfect. And the program is asking a lot, but you can get the benefit and still be human right there.

00:50:18:18 – 00:50:19:07
Speaker 3
Right?

00:50:19:09 – 00:50:30:24
Speaker 2
You guys, again, you’re just the poster children for this program. And I couldn’t be more grateful for the generosity of your time and sharing, just being willing to share your story.

00:50:31:01 – 00:50:31:11
Speaker 3
Yeah.

00:50:31:13 – 00:50:42:00
Speaker 1
So we are so grateful for you. Right. And you shining your light and the awareness and the hope. All right. Thank you.

00:50:42:03 – 00:50:42:26
Speaker 3
Yeah, you.

00:50:42:29 – 00:50:45:00
Speaker 1
Thanks for giving us life back.

00:50:45:07 – 00:50:48:03
Speaker 3
Yeah. Anyway. It’s great.

00:50:48:08 – 00:50:51:24
Speaker 1
Well, thank you, Doctor Sanchez. We greatly appreciate.

00:50:51:27 – 00:50:53:18
Speaker 2
It. We can’t tell your kids about it.

00:50:53:21 – 00:51:20:08
Speaker 3
Not for now. No, I don’t like that. They’re gated. They know. They. They say all. Grandpa. And then I. I like these little ventriloquists. They say like Mortimer and those guys. And you’re holding your hand. You’re hanging are. Yeah. You know. Well, now the kids run around the great grandchildren and run around. They want to see them. Now, when we see that and they’re in that box, they’re there with that up.

00:51:20:08 – 00:51:25:12
Speaker 3
And they, they all go either that’s Marjorie. Well, they’re doing.

00:51:25:12 – 00:51:28:27
Speaker 2
Doing what? And that’s what fun.

00:51:28:29 – 00:51:29:25
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah.

00:51:29:25 – 00:51:32:01
Speaker 2
That’s a privilege to know you guys. Thank you.

00:51:32:05 – 00:51:34:16
Speaker 1
You’re going thank you so much.

00:51:34:16 – 00:51:36:05
Speaker 3
Thank you. And we’ll be watching you.