Black Boomer Besties from Brooklyn
Black Boomer Besties from Brooklyn
Ep139: Your money or your weed? How I got both! With Dr. Hermé Damas
Dr. Hervé Damas shares his transformative journey from NFL player to cannabis wellness pioneer, sparked by his mother's cancer recurrence and her powerful challenge to him to find his true purpose. His path through medical school, personal health struggles, and ultimately walking away from a lucrative radiology career demonstrates the power of betting on yourself when facing life's greatest challenges.
References:Dr. Damas CBD
https://www.instagram.com/doctordamas/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/drdamascbd/?hl=en
Dr. Herve Damas On Benefits Of CBDhttps://youtu.be/rT5iQOopTv0?si=YcwA-G3l3MFOehEV
#FlowertothePeople: How CBD May Be Able to Help With PMS With Dr. Damashttps://youtu.be/JKgqIT9TjPo?si=MT4bEpAEEtPW4Ewi
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So, guys, we promised you a part two with Dr Damas Hervé Damas and we're going to go into how this. Actually, it was both the physical pain that came from his sports injury blew out his knee and the emotional pain of hearing that his mother was again, her breast cancer had come back, and how that now set him up for the second, even more amazing phase of his life.
Leslie:It's almost like a fourth phase of his life, so many phases. It's like how old are you, brother, how old are you again Come on now, for real, though for real though he's been drinking that fountain of youth, he's been using some kind of potions and cream. Let me tell you, don't, let me find out, don't, let me find out.
Angella :So, continue with your story please.
Dr Damas:Oh man. So, yeah, this was tough. I was, you know, this was was 2000, I want to say it was 2002, 2003. I was, you know, teaching at trenton state, everything, oh you know, comfortable life here. I am professor, you know, everything's smooth. I'm like on, you know, I'm doing my whole thing and uh, I just get a call, random call, from for my brother. Oh, you know, we used to call my mother, the old lady. Oh, you know, old lady, she hasn't been feeling well well over the weekend, you know, she just really couldn't breathe and I called the ambulance today and I was like what? Like I thought she just had a cold and he's like. That's what I thought too, you know, and so and so there were some really, I think in that part of it there were some interesting things that happened. So she winds up getting sent to a hospital. Far, I think it was called like Queens General at the time. I don't know what it's called now, but we were living in Springfield Gardens.
Dr Damas:They took her to the hospital, like half an hour away, yeah, on like I don't know where. It was York Boulevard. I can't remember. This place was terrible, like I remember this and I wasn't in medicine at the time. But I just remember walking into this room and it was just like a bed. It was just my mom in a bed and it was like you know, there was nothing else in there. And I was like you know, there was nothing else in there and I was like I guess she's going to be leaving.
Dr Damas:Like you know, this doesn't look like you're keeping her it's a typical underfunded, you know city hospital, and so she's there, she can't breathe. And the second day I think we were there, you know, I came to see her. This is the most, and I hope I get to see this guy one day in life, because I mention him all the time. You're not a resident, it's round. You're not a resident, you're round. Sure sure. I didn't know what any of this was at that time. Right, I just knew there was a group of people that would come into the room.
Leslie:And then they turn and leave. Yeah, Talk amongst themselves.
Dr Damas:Yeah, this is one guy, um, and he was like a, you know, he was like an arab or an indian guy, I can't really remember this one and he stops and he goes. Hey, I gotta tell you something. That was like what's up? He's like if I tell you this, you cannot tell anybody that I said this to you. I, I will deny that I said this to you and I was like yeah, well, that's a way to start.
Leslie:Yeah, sure, yeah. What are you talking?
Dr Damas:about Right and he goes. Your mom doesn't have pneumonia, goes. I looked into history. She had a history of breast cancer. He goes. I've seen this before on my other rotations. She probably has her. You know, her breast cancer is back. You know, yada, yada, yada. And then he says to me if I were you, I would get her out of this hospital as fast as I can. And I was like what? And he was like if you?
Dr Damas:tell anybody I told I didn't say it yeah, I did not say it, but he's like I've seen before and that's not what she does not have pneumonia. So I'm like you know, again, I'm naive to all this and I'm like this is crazy. So I have a good friend of mine who played football tech too. He's a cardiologist, an individual cardiologist at Jersey City Medical Center now. But good friend of mine oh, I'm Sean, and I'm like Sean, like I, just my mom is in the hospital. This dude just blah, blah, blah. At this time he was doing like his residency or fellowship at New York Presbyterian and he's like what? And I'm like that's what the dude said to me and he's like we got to get her out of there.
Leslie:Yeah, so he calls, he makes some connections.
Dr Damas:They do a hospital. He gets his program. Director makes some connections. They do a hospital. He gets his program. Uh. Director makes some calls, they do a hospital, hospital transfer to get my mom in a new york presbyterian which is right across from the memorial sloan kettering, one of the best cancer centers. And as soon as they get her in there, boom, they tap her, they take about like two liters of fluid off of her. She couldn't breathe. Like it was crazy and like even everybody was like oh my god, how is she even still alive?
Leslie:and I was like two leaders of fluid in her lungs and they're sitting on her giving her antibiotics, god damn it you know that was like.
Dr Damas:So I was like what is going on? I was like this is, this is crazy, like out of nowhere. And I'm constantly now calling my friend. So every time we have a little conference with the physicians, I'm calling Sean hey this is what they said.
Leslie:What does that mean?
Dr Damas:What does that mean?
Dr Damas:And during that time, I felt very I would say incomplete or inadequate, because I was like, wait a minute, I can't do anything for my mother. I don't understand what's going on. I should be able to do more in this situation, like I have the means, I have the wherewithal. I'm this powerful person? Yes, yeah, I'm powerless right now. Thank goodness I have Sean, right. But I was like this is not good. I don't like this whatsoever, right, I'm unable to help her out. And so my cousin told me that I was in the car with her one day and she said I looked her in the face. Now I'm going to get emotional, I don't remember this. But she said I looked her in the face and I said I feel powerless right now. I'll never let this happen again. I remember this right now. I'll never let this happen again. I remember this. And she I remember when you said that and she said I know this guy. She goes. I don't know what he's up to, but he means it.
Dr Damas:So I don't remember that but she says that to me all, that she's like I remember you sitting in the car with me saying that I will never feel this like, yeah, this power again. And so about, uh, two years later, um, I used to go see my mom all the time and now you know, she's going through it, like she's going through it, she's going to chemo, she's going radiation she's going through the pain.
Dr Damas:I'm now like I had to give her an enema. She's constipated, she's on morphine for pain, she's itching. You know she's not doing well. Sometimes I come see her, she's drooling and you know she's gotten to the point where she's like I had enough. So this is at the point in her life like I've had enough of all this stuff. And meanwhile I'm like you know this is a lot for me too like I'm here you know this is a lot for me too Like I'm here to, like you know, giving my mother enemas. I never thought this would be like you know what I'm saying.
Dr Damas:And I'm like, and I'm looking at my mother and she's scratching and half the time she's like drooling and I'm like I don't understand what's going on here. And she one day I'm in there and she goes come, let me talk to you. And I'm like, and you know, you know your mom, we all know our mothers. There's a certain way that they speak to you yeah that you know this is going to be a little bit hard you gotta lean
Leslie:in there.
Dr Damas:Yeah, right, so I remember, I, I remember the whole thing because she had this big, she was always cold and she was chilly, she had a hat on, she had lost all her hair and so you know she had all that stuff going on, um, and she's like you know, I love that you come around and see me all the time. You're such a wonderful and I was like, oh, you're buttering me up there's an ask I was like, I know there's an app, what do I need to buy?
Dr Damas:Like, what do I got to put together?
Leslie:I was like I know you need some food or something you need to build for me.
Dr Damas:So he's like listen, she goes, this stuff that you're doing here with like the body and the physical fitness and stuff, like she goes. I see you're doing here with like the body and like the physical fitness and stuff, like she goes I see you coming, I'll go, are you happy? And I was like I got a great job. Um, like you know, I run my own thing. I'm writing, I'm blah, blah, blah, this and that, and then she's like okay, cool, we are. She goes, are you happy? I was like I don't have a problem. You know I don't have any problems. I just bought a new truck. It's mad expensive. I'm living life. And she's like you still haven't answered my question. And I was like I wasn't emotionally ready for this kind of conversation.
Leslie:And she's like the time is now. I need to speak to you right now.
Dr Damas:Listen, she said and this is going to tie back to before she says to me when you play football, there was a thing about you, she goes. There was a whole thing about you the way you walk, the way you move, the way you approach life, she goes. You are a different person, she goes. Now you're kind of just gliding through life, being everything she goes. But I remember she goes. I remember you had a fire about you. There was another thing, and she goes why are you just doing what you're doing now? And I was like what are you talking about? Like, you know, I got a good job, it's comfortable. And she goes yeah, but you're too young to be chilling out right now. So at the time I was 32, she was like and I was like what? And she goes why don't you go do something that you really want to do? Oh, yeah, oh, it's like like what, like what?
Leslie:are you talking about?
Dr Damas:she goes well, didn't you want to be an astronaut? And I was like, yeah, when I was a kid, I'm too old for that, like that, that's like that ship has sailed right. And she goes uh, yeah, you can't get in, there's age limits, like it's a whole thing. I was like mom, I'm out of that thing. Right, she goes well.
Dr Damas:Didn't you like architecture? And I was like that was the class I took at tech. I liked the drawing and stuff, but I didn't really like it Because I did enjoy like the technical drawing. You know stuff that you doing tech, right, yeah, technical join, yeah, yeah. And then she said, well, what is stuff you're doing with the body? Now? You're into health and fitness and taking care of people and all this stuff. She was won't you become a doctor? And I was like a doctor. Like at my age I was like a doctor. He was like you know how much school? I remember saying you know how much school I gotta go back and do all that. And she goes to me and this is where she got me. She goes well. You never struck me as the kind of guy that was afraid of hard work and I was like, ooh.
Angella :They'll do it to you. It's like ooh, you just get weak.
Leslie:How long? She dropped the phone. What Mic drop.
Dr Damas:Yes, I was like you know what, like, if that's my objection, you know, let me think about it. I went home and I thought about it. I called my brother, patrick, who's an attorney, and I was like yo, patrick, I think I might go to medical school. It was like 11 o'clock at night and he's like I think I might like, like you know, give up everything, go to medical school. It was like 11 o'clock at night and he's like I think I might like, like you know, give up everything, go to medical school. And he's like, oh, that sounds great. I, yeah, and I'm held up the phone on me and I was like what?
Angella :what just happened? It was 11 o'clock at night. Now he probably was.
Leslie:He probably was on a date, had somebody there. He's like my crazy brother, get off this phone.
Dr Damas:I thought he was going to be like some brother, Like what you want to do what? Or like, oh, that sounds stupid. Right right, right, you can do it. They hung up. It was like 15 seconds and I'm like I don't even know. So I went to sleep the next morning 15 seconds and I'm like I don't even know.
Dr Damas:So I went to sleep 15 seconds, yeah, it wasn't even like so. Next morning I thought about it and I was like you know what she's right? Um, let's go. And um, well, fortunately she wanted to pass in August of 2004. And then that's when she passed, august of 2004. That's when I, uh, I, I was like it's time for me to go to school. Um, so I packed up my stuff. I had already I had fallen in love with florida, used to come down here to miami, come on vacation. It was like if I was ever going to leave new york, I moved to miami. So she passed away. August 2004, november 2004,. I was in Miami Election day. The whole Bushcore, amy Chastain.
Angella :Yeah.
Dr Damas:Driving to U-Haul. Listening to all of that on the radio. I got here in November 2004. In January 2005, I enrolled at Florida International and started my pre-med, my post-bacc program.
Leslie:Oh my God, oh my God.
Dr Damas:February 2005,. I was, like you know, an old pre-med. I guess I was 33-year-old, with 18-year-olds pre-med. I guess I was 33 year old with 18 year olds. I had my oldest son miles. November of 2005. Oh my gosh, I was working at at a gym. I was running a gym. I was like I had to keep like paying the bills. I was older, I was like couldn't stop it. So I was like commuting to school, coming back picking up miles from these. Sometimes I actually brought miles to school, coming back picking up miles. Sometimes I actually brought miles to school with me in a stroller Like this is like real. That he was like in class.
Leslie:Oh my gosh.
Dr Damas:In class with my kid in the stroller when are we writing? This book.
Leslie:When are we writing this book? You probably have a couple of books about you already, right?
Dr Damas:Yeah, Brother Miles, yeah, Miles went to school. Miles went and shout out to Miles he's going to Hobart and Smith this week, so he's 21 now, or so 19. 19 years old.
Leslie:Hey Miles, hey Miles.
Dr Damas:Yeah, it'll be 20 in November and so, and then you know, then came the next time somebody told me I couldn't make it. I had my pre-med advisor at FIU he's supposed to write your letters and all that stuff and he told me. He told me his brother's hilarious. He wasn't a brother, but I'm gonna call him a brother. Yeah, that man is hilarious now, but he pissed me off. Don't make Dr Thomas mad. Yeah, yeah.
Leslie:That man is hilarious now, but he pissed me off hey don't make Dr Thomas mad.
Angella :That's the thing, don't make him mad.
Dr Damas:You won't like him when he's mad. It's funny because that's my nickname with my frat I'm the Hulk they call. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
Dr Damas:You won't like him when he's angry. That man told me I should be a nurse or a physical therapist and I was like but why? I was like but I want to be a doctor, why would I be a nurse or therapist? So he said you're too old, he goes, they're not gonna accept you to any school, blah, blah this. And then I was like don't you remember telling that? Yeah, if you ever tell me what I can or cannot do?
Dr Damas:But I didn't say that nicely, it was some expletive. Wow, don't you. I was like are you out of your goddamn mind? You're supposed to be writing my letter and you're telling me what I can't, are you crazy? So I went to my professors, I went around him and I went directly to my professors and I I was like that jackass said he's not going to write my letters. And they were like what? You're like the best student in the class because I was busting it out too right with a kid and working and this, yeah, exactly, so I got to do my thing, so um what's crazy that I only got.
Leslie:This is painful to hear what they're doing to us. This is painful.
Dr Damas:I got admitted to one US medical school which was NOVA Southeastern. Now here, it was an osteopathic school. At the time there was a difference between allopathic MD schools and DO schools. I didn't want to be an osteopath, I didn't know much about it. I didn't want to be an osteopath, I didn't know much about it. Yeah, I got into a bunch of foreign schools and they were in Nova, had told me okay, we're going to put you next year, you're going to get in the following year. It's like, bro, I'm already 37, you know, say now, this has been four years of me going to pre-med now and doing all this stuff. Yeah, yeah, you take two classes at a time. It wasn't all through, right, oh my.
Leslie:God, our stories are so similar.
Dr Damas:Yeah, so that's crazy, right. So I wound up going to school in Nevis in the Caribbean, a school called Medical University of the Americas Nevis, all right. I went there class president for a couple years there did the whole thing.
Leslie:Of course you were, of course you were Of course you were.
Dr Damas:If you stuck around any longer, you'd be the dean of students.
Leslie:Anybody doubt it?
Dr Damas:I didn't know. I don't run for these things, right? They just nominate me. Yeah, what happened was this is interesting. When got back to Chicago, we do our clinicals in Chicago, my surgery attending one day just said to me hey, man, like like you're so good with your hands and operating room this and that, and you're really in tune. I had done a report on a triple a repair abdominal aortic aneurysm and he was like man, you just like, it's like I think you would love this thing called interventional radiology. When I was like I never heard of that homeboy, yeah, and he's like. I got a cool friend and one of them he's a buffalo bills fan. He would love to meet you. I, you should go check it out. I went and did ir rotation, fell in love with ir, completely fell in love with ir. Yeah, this is the thing. So wound up doing my whole thing. You're matched into radiology, did my?
Leslie:all right, let me just say. Let me just say something that most of the people don't know. Obviously, as a physician, I understand, understand. So I'm, in order to do your radiology residency, your first year, you have to choose what they call a. In your intern year, you have to do either medicine internal medicine or you have to do surgery general surgery, or they have these things called a prelim year, where you do a lot of little things. Guess which one is the most challenging to do, especially if you don't want to be a surgeon this brother picks to do general surgery.
Leslie:That means you're standing in the OR doing suturing and retracting and he doesn't even want to be a surgeon because you just do that for a year. I chose internal medicine because anesthesiologists are weird.
Angella :We're the internists of the OR.
Leslie:So I'm like I'm doing internal medicine. This brother says I guess I'll just do surgery for a year.
Dr Damas:Yeah, okay.
Leslie:That's crazy, a surgery intern. You never sleep.
Dr Damas:No, I didn't. You never sleep no.
Leslie:I didn't. You never sleep and you got miles Anyway.
Dr Damas:I had a youngest son, Apollo. He's named after the Apollo space mission.
Angella :Oh my gosh, you're killing me over here, you're killing me.
Dr Damas:And so yeah, but you know, they didn't have me doing a lot of retracting. I actually I did a lot. They actually tried to get me to stay on. You tried to get me to um, to switch the vascular, uh, but I was like no, this is really, you know, like no, no, no, no we will give you it. I was. I'm straight. This is like a whole lot. I'm going back to Florida, I'm going to stay in New York and then. So in between that time, what happened was?
Angella :Yeah, get to the CD, because this is the we need to learn.
Dr Damas:I started getting headaches, really bad headaches, and I wasn't able to sleep. I mean, they were like debilitating headaches. Um, it felt like somebody was putting their like fingers into my skull, rip my. I was unbearable and then I wasn't able to sleep. So I started like self-medicating tylenol I was thinking benadryl, go to sleep and I was doing all this stuff. My head was killing me and, um, I started getting anxiety. This is while I was in Chicago during my clinical years in med school, so I'm like I'm falling apart at the seams.
Dr Damas:So I was really, with all the evenings I go in and I'm like something is wrong. It was a sister who was. She was a pediatrician and I was like, hey, there's something wrong. I was like every time I walk into a room my heart is beating fast and I don't know what that's about Right, I was like I don't know what that's about. And that's not you?
Leslie:Yeah, that's not you.
Dr Damas:And I was like I got headaches and like I can't sleep and like I've been losing weight. I was like this is like I'm delirious, you know. And so she like they hooked me up. She hooked me up with some of her colleagues. I was seeing an endocrinologist, a neurologist, I saw a psychiatrist. I was doing it and then I had another surgery.
Dr Damas:So I wound up on Xanax, seroquel, oxy's and Perks whole surgery. I couldn't take the Oxys and Perks. They like that was the worst feeling ever. I couldn't tolerate the Xanax, which is an anti-anxiety medication, out of it. So I couldn't tolerate that. I was just like in bad shape.
Dr Damas:So I was like post-surgical, I couldn't get anything for my pain. So I was just like I'm just going to take Tylenol, forget it, I'll just suck it up. I'm not sleeping, I can't take these Xanax. If I take the Benadryl, I'm groggy throughout the day, like I can't get anything and I'm still super nervous, like something's wrong. So let me tell you how bad it was. And then this is something that people with medicine I failed the step two, clinical skills. There's a. There's a board exam where it's basically a test of english profession. You just got to go in there and like just ask you see a patient and then type a note like it's not, like you don't have to do. I had not slept one in three hours and maybe three and a half, four weeks per night. So when I got into that thing like I didn't know what I was.
Leslie:I literally yeah, yeah, you were really breaking down my whole thing was allowed, illegible.
Dr Damas:I think they gave me like feedback and they were like yo, we can't even. I was like I'm like I can speak english now. So I was like messed up and the woman I was dating at the time she was the one that kept on saying you should try some weed, it'll help you go to sleep. And I was like that's preposterous because I'm in med school.
Dr Damas:I'm a doctor, yeah yeah, and they're giving me all the tests they give me and that's not something that they talk about, absolutely not. And then it went on three months later. She was like you know, people say they smoke weed and they go to sleep. And I was like are you crazy? Yeah, they'll be like, yeah, you get kicked out of school, you get arrested and that stuff doesn't work. It wasn't until I went to that and I like failed that basic test which was like you can't like a. You know that's crazy, like somebody at my level and not bigging myself up, but but my level yeah.
Dr Damas:That's not something that you that's not like a thing. You knew something was wrong. That wasn't you. Yeah, I was asking people. I knew something was wrong when I went, like I was like something's wrong, like I can't walk into a room.
Leslie:Help me, help me.
Dr Damas:Yeah. So I finally I was like you know what, let me go try this weed stuff out. So I went to see one of the boys at med school. I was like yo man, I want to buy some weed. And he was like you, you want to buy some weed. I was like yeah, and he was like oh man.
Leslie:It's about to go down.
Angella :We got him.
Dr Damas:Mr Goody Two-Shoes.
Angella :He's human after all.
Dr Damas:I've grown to this dude spot to buy the weed and my entire mind is making scenarios like I'm going to get arrested. It's going to be in news Like former NFL players arrested for buying weed.
Leslie:You're in there shaking. You're going to people like this what.
Dr Damas:I tell you what I bought the weed, my ex, she rolled it up. I didn't even really smoke a little bit in the high school yeah, yeah, I coughed most of the time to this day.
Dr Damas:I don't smoke yeah I don't smoke a smoker. Um, I coughed. I went to sleep, I slept 12 hours and I was like that's a coincidence, I don't believe it. So then the next night, I smoked again. I choked most of the most of the time I was doing. I slept 10 hours. It's like I don't believe it. So the third night, the third night, I didn't smoke. I was up to four o'clock in the morning. I was like this is no good.
Leslie:Somebody's telling you buddy.
Dr Damas:The fourth night, which was a Sunday, got to be at the hospital for rotations. In the morning I was like I'm going to smoke. I smoked, I went to sleep. I got to the hospital I wasn't nervous anymore Like I was. I wasn't like nervous, I was calm. Calm, my headache was gone and I was like there's no way, this is a coincidence. So then I started like googling stuff. At the time I learned how to make my own tea, so the ganja tea. Going back to that part one, I learned it because I don't like to smoke, so I learned how to boil my own tea. So I had a little bottle of tea in my fridge.
Dr Damas:Every night I would come home, I'd practice whatever my suturing, whatever it is I needed to do, read whatever I needed to read. I'd drink my little tea an hour before bed, lights out, wake up in the morning, refresh, and I was like, oh my God, game changer Game changer Game changer, yeah, and I was like.
Dr Damas:So one day I was just like, if I'm going through this, imagine how many other people are going through this. And I was thinking to myself and I am not someone who didn't have access, I had access to all the doctors, all the tests, everybody. They were like they liked. They liked me, right, they liked me. It was like I like you, Boy, you're one of us, Like I got you, it wasn't anything like that we had access to everything and it was terrible for me.
Dr Damas:And then I hear about the concussion thing. I didn't know this and they were like. Then I hear about the concussion thing with them. I didn't know this and they were like. Then I started hearing about oh, you know some of the stuff that you. You know that you're experiencing a whole bunch of other dudes that played football by having the same issues headaches- you know insomnia right Like anxiety movement. I was like there's no way, that's important.
Dr Damas:Like to do that like how is it that, like all of these dudes are going through that and I'm by myself? I'm like I'm completely far away from the game.
Angella :What's the common denominator here?
Dr Damas:yeah, right. And so at that point I remember saying to myself when I get a chance, there is some work for me to do here. Cause I know what it did for my life, cause I was really trying my best, I went and I saw help. I went to see you know I was, I was on, you know, anti-anxiety yeah you you did what you, you did everything you could do. They asked me to do. I was going by the book and doing it was making things work.
Angella :And you believed it too. That's the thing you believed Every time you tried something. You believe that, okay, this has got to work.
Dr Damas:This is the thing I was doing. Like you know, I was doing 24 hour urine things. Somebody thought I had like an adrenal tumor, like feel I was doing all kinds of stuff, types of stuff.
Dr Damas:So I was getting it all done and then come to find out you know, now that I look, you know we put this all together was and I really believe this in my heart the reason that you know I did get the knee injury was so I didn't destroy my brain enough that I could maintain my cognizance. You know, I really believe that and you know a lot of people said that to me and my close friends circle, like everything that you've done in life has brought you to this. From the experience with my mom and watching her go through her treatment and constipation and the itching and the withdrawals and the drooling, you know, towards the end of life, just kind of like you know having medication options that just didn't do well for her and her at one point saying I want to see a naturopath.
Leslie:You had to see it all. You had to see it all, and then your mom had to tell you Irve, I don't see the joy mom had to tell you, irve, I don't see the joy, yeah, so that's how this all came about, you know.
Dr Damas:So I take care of a lot of football players. That's how I started A lot of the dudes. You know, I actually had my teammates, my former teammates, like both, you know, college and the pros were my patients, family members, my own family members. My father, you know, went through a lot the last couple of years. He just got home, end stage renal disease he was, you know, he had a foot amputation, he had a stroke and I walked into that hospital.
Dr Damas:I swear to god, he and he knows this, he knows that when he goes to see a doctor, the first thing he says my son's a doctor, call him. So I get these calls all the time. Every time he goes to the ER he goes something. He goes call my son the doctor, right, and then I'm able to have conversations with my father's physicians that I couldn't have with my mother's physicians. You know which is something that I remember, my mother's physicians. You know which is something that I remember, like you know and you know. So it's all kind of come full circle.
Dr Damas:You know, I take care of my teammates, I take care of my family. You know I'm able to. You know I'm a big advocate. I'm a member of the NFL former players chapter in South Florida. I'm the health and wellness captain, so I take care of a lot of the guys in terms you know, their medical conditions and their families. I've had to do interventions for guys who've been suicidal and guys who've had breakdowns, like their wives have called me and like we need you. He's not going to talk to anybody else.
Dr Damas:I had, you know, one of the cheerleaders from from tech the other day, who was the cheerleader when I was there. She called me and had some stuff going on with people in her family. She was like I need you. I'm like, oh, wow, what's that? So, you know, I'm able to be in a space with my experience and my, my expertise that I'm able to add a certain amount of, um validity and and and rational thinking to this space. Um, not a. I'm not like the snoop dog of this. You know, I'm not like the come, smoke, weed and have a good time?
Angella :yeah, because I know that that's not what you're about you. You actually create like specialized.
Dr Damas:If you have a problem, I'll go try to find a solution.
Dr Damas:I've done a research study on CBD and the quality of life in retired professional athletes. I've worked with Mike Tyson's cannabis company and, as a matter of fact, he was in one of the chapters of the study, you know. So you know, going back to what we talked about in part one, you know, and what I talked about on the radio is that you know, we as a people we sometimes have to go it alone because, like I kind of had to do the same thing, right, I tried all this stuff and it's like it ain't working.
Angella :Yeah Right, it makes you think you're crazy, yeah, yeah.
Dr Damas:And so you know, having the ability to speak to somebody or having a resource that you can trust, you know that's reliable, that's common sense. I don't look for, you know, silver bullets. There are no silver bullets. I think that the the breadth of my experience when it comes to health and wellness and what I was doing running the wellness centers, teaching how you know, health and exercise, science, exercise, physiology all that stuff doing research and now being can be, you know, being a radiologist. Gen surge played, like all all that stuff. Yeah, I had a stroke. I ran out. You know I read his CT. You know, with neurologists I was like, you know. So you know it's positioned me to do what I'm doing and I'm grateful to be able to do that, and that's what it is.
Leslie:You have been, I think, divinely positioned to be just who do that and that's what it is. You have been, I think, divinely positioned to be just who you are. And whenever I've had the occasion to hear you, when I see you now, I can see it in you and your mom, your mom, would be so, not just proud, because that's normal, but when you live your joy, when you live your joy, it's so obvious in your walk, it's obvious in your speech. Yeah, you're doing what you were here to do, I believe. I believe.
Dr Damas:Yeah Right, and it took me some time to get. You know I had to give up. You know I'll give you another story with somebody. You know I had to give up. My radiology position for the hospital was like hey, there's no like cannabis. You're not going to do marijuana and yeah, we don't do that we don't have to give that up stuff yeah, you literally had to walk away from that.
Dr Damas:I had to walk away when I remember my program director, I had a whole thing with the hospital, like discussions with like the VP of the hospital and they were like bro, cut the crap with this marijuana thing. I'm serious. We had like meetings, my brother, patrick, the attorney, the one I called I was like I want to be a doctor, he was representing me, he was my attorney. The one I called I was like I want to be a doctor, he was representing me, he was my attorney with the hospital. And then eventually I walked into my program director's office the chief of radiology, and you know we were talking and he was like why don't you just like, why don't you just stop with this weed stuff?
Angella :Like that's all. They saw it as Black man with weed stuff. Yeah.
Dr Damas:And I was like, yeah, I can't do it Right, and before that you were a mess.
Leslie:You may not have even finished the program. You were a mess. You wouldn't have left whole, not as a whole person.
Dr Damas:You know what he said to me. You know what he said to me. And when he said to me, he said to me so, like, honestly, he goes to me. So what are you gonna do? What? At your age, you start all over. That's what he said to me another one another one.
Dr Damas:I looked, you know, I looked him right in the face. I remember that. And I looked him right in the face. I I remember that. And I looked him right in the face. I said to him if I'm going to bet on anybody, I'm going to bet on myself. And I went home that day. I called Patrick. I said hey.
Leslie:Patrick, that's going to be the name of this episode. If I'm going to bet on anyone, I'm betting on myself.
Dr Damas:I told you to say and I called Patrick, I called Patrick, and and I called Patrick, I called Patrick and I was like, hey, patrick, I need to talk to you. And he was like, yeah, I've been thinking about it. So, like yo, patrick, man, I'm ready to turn in my resignation. He was like, yeah, I was going to tell you. So Patrick was like I was going to tell you that, like, do you want to use, like, if you're so into this cannabis and marijuana, why are you holding on to this radiology thing? He's like if that's what you really want to do, just go do that Live your joy.
Leslie:Live your joy.
Dr Damas:It took me some time to let go of, like you know, because I've worked so far, of course, dedicated so much time to it. Yeah, all this stuff. I mean it dedicated so much time to it. Yeah, there's all this stuff. I mean it's like this new kind of field and you're going out on your own. You're kind of like creating a path all by yourself that like no one's walking really walking for and like you know, and you're giving up a whole lot of financial security.
Dr Damas:That was another thing too, right so it's like I'm walking away from you, know you're not walking away from like regular, like you know family. You're walking away from you, know you're not walking away from like regular, like you know, family practice.
Leslie:You're walking away from radiology money. You're ready Radiology money Sure.
Angella :Listen, if you probably had loans and all of this. Yeah, this isn't the first time you've given up, that you've turned away from one thing to go towards. You know it's wow and you said you. You did that was it. You said yeah I'm betting on myself I'm betting on myself.
Dr Damas:I went in all, it went all in, you know, started my own business, learned a new skill set. You know, just spent all my money, did the whole thing, lost all my money, built it back up. There's one point I was like man. I remember one point where I lost all my money and I was like, oh my God.
Leslie:What have I done?
Dr Damas:What have I done?
Leslie:And.
Dr Damas:I was like, wait a minute. Oh boy, this is how it goes. There is supposed to be difficulty and it's the people that survive this part of it that can get up and go. Those are the ones that make it. So you may come. You got to learn, you got to figure out where you need help, what you got wrong, all the things. You pick it up, homeboy, and get it going again. And now you know, eight years in, things are great. You know things are great. Business is booming. I everything is thrive. You know everything is thriving. We're gonna do a big expansion this year. A whole lot of stuff and, um, you know, I'm like I guess it is was my path and so yeah, yeah, you know.
Dr Damas:And who knows what's who? Who knows what's? You know what's the best part of it? I tell you the best part of it. I tell you the best part of it is that my kids Wait, there's more.
Dr Damas:Yeah, so you know, miles works at the office. He does reception front desk for me. That's his job, Right. So, like you know, my kids have been like part of the journey. So they've seen this entire thing. They've seen they were there.
Dr Damas:Okay, we had a whole bunch of money and they were there one christmas when I was like, hey, bro, we don't have them. A dad lost all the money. Okay, so we're gonna have a little more intimate and you know what? That was one of their favorite christmases really. So, like, hey, remember that time when we all just had a whole bunch of little stuff, it wasn't like this big, extravagant thing. And so they've traveled with me to speaking engagements. They go to all the nfls, like everybody knows them. You know like they'll come, yes. So they've had an opportunity. They've met a whole bunch of people. They've had an opportunity to listen to me talk. As a matter of fact, they've they've done a lot of charity events with me and like they'll talk to you, they, they will talk to you about this as, like, subject matter experts oh my god isn't that something.
Dr Damas:Oh yeah, you know they'll talk to you about the criminalization, they'll do all that stuff, and so I'm happy like they're not kind of like shackled by prohibition or the concept that you can't make your own path. That you can't do your own thing Right.
Leslie:So you know they're free thinkers now because they've had to, you know, and I'm like go do whatever you want, that's what you want.
Dr Damas:They're free thinkers. I will tell you that those two guys are free thinkers. And like they will. You're not going to stop them.
Leslie:And how old is Apollo.
Angella :So, Apollo is going to be 10, August 21st Shout out to Apollo hey Apollo, hey Apollo. So, dr Damas before.
Leslie:I don't want to miss first of all. Could you tell people how to reach you? Don't want to miss first of all, could you tell people how to reach you? And then I just want um you to tell us a little bit more about um dr damas, wellness and what you just a just an overview yeah, so you can find us online.
Dr Damas:um, it's simple website drdamascom. You can just type in dr, like dr, dr damascom, or you can spell it outR-D-A-M-A-S dot com. Or you can spell it out D-O-C-T-O-R-D-O-M-A-S dot com. It also reaches by phone 833-362-3262, 833-362-3262. Whichever way, we like hearing from people because it lets us know what people are looking for, what solutions they're looking for so it'll give me inspiration for things to discuss on the radio, things to research and write about, or even product formulations.
Dr Damas:You know we're making suppositories now and we're doing that because we've had patients who've had prostate cancer and women with endometriosis. And hemorrhoids and a whole bunch of stuff. So like if you come to us and tell us we've had a patient who had a nephrectomy because of lupus nephritis, so we actually wrote about CBD, post-nephrectomy and how that involves, how that affects so that's like an article on our website Not only the lupus but renal function and cannabinoid.
Leslie:Well, so I'm definitely going to contact your office. I've been suffering from arthritis in my knees and I am not having knee replacements I ain't going down like that but I've been doing physical therapy and all and I find that it's not really working and stuff. I don't take the NSAIDs because I've donated my kidney, so I don't take NSAIDs and Advil and all of that. So that might really CBD or some other formulation from you can might be helpful for me.
Dr Damas:So you know we also do like I mentioned before. It was really important. I'm not a magic bullet kind of person, right?
Dr Damas:so we're, you're realistic, yeah, right, and so there is more than just like the little thing that's by all, my knee hurts and that's that. And so we have a nutritionist that works with our patients. They aren't. So if you come in and you know the nutrition is very important, you know, unfortunately may you used to sound like uh, crazy talk, but I think we've all kind of accepted the fact that the food is poisoning us in many ways.
Leslie:Yeah, I think we all know that now yeah, yeah, yeah, right, and so you know.
Dr Damas:So we have a nutritionist that that works with us, and then we have other holistic practitioners. We have a massage therapist. We do some sound healing, which is something that I got exposed to which I was like what are you guys talking about? But you know, when I read about it a little bit more and I was like man, I used to get ultrasound treatments all the time when I played sports.
Dr Damas:They used to just take the ultrasound and rub it against my muscles, and that was like, well accepted, like hey, we're using sound waves to heal you. And now you have the bowls and the singing and the singing bowls and all the big walks.
Dr Damas:So we do that, we do meditations, we do yoga, and so we kind of try to find ways for people do meditations, we do yoga, and so we kind of try to find ways for people practice, yeah, find of give you options and ways for you to a heal yourself in a way that you're comfortable, that allowing aligns with your kind of philosophy and your whole being, whether it's intellectual, spiritual, emotional. We know through research that people have better outcomes if they believe in the treatment modality right. So if you tell somebody to take medications and they don't want to take it, it ain't going to work out well for them. They're either not going to take it as prescribed, you're going to lose them to follow up. They ain't going to come back right, they're going to suffer other things. They might, you know, have mental health triggers because you're doing, they're doing something they don't believe in and they feel like they're being forced and so you know, having opportunities for people to have a little bit more self-determination, a little bit more control and realistic, realistic things.
Dr Damas:We ain't you know, we're completely curing anything. We're not doing surgery right yeah, we're giving you a manager manage your life that's what it is management and optimization yes, yeah, yes yeah and so, and then we involve cannabis in that and the nutrition and the exercise yeah and the meditation and all those good things, so that you know if you're not sleeping well, maybe it's not because you know, maybe it's because you're just stressed out and you don't need.
Dr Damas:And you don't need it. And I forgot to tell you. They gave me ambient too for sleep and I was like this is the worst. Don't ever, ever give me this keep that crap away from me yeah. So, like you know, maybe the person doesn't need an ambient right, maybe they just need to learn how to manage their thoughts, maybe they need an emotional release, right. Maybe they just need a place to just feel safe. You know, they'll feel safe, right? Or maybe they feel alone, and that's the thing.
Angella :Maybe they just need a vibrator.
Dr Damas:I mean yes exactly, we made a CBD intimate oil and a THC.
Angella :Oh my goodness, that's interesting.
Dr Damas:Yeah, so that's something that my patients talk to me about.
Dr Damas:Like, hey, listen, I'm having some issues. We've had, you know, I've had patients who've had vaginismus. You know, it just spasms. I've had people who've been the victims of sexual trauma veterans, both male and female who are now like, hey, you know, as a result of this ptsd yeah, and you know, not just the pts but the sexual assaults and things like that that, hey, I'm not as intimate as I would like to be, it hurts, it doesn't feel good. Right, this and that ass. He was like man, don't you make something for people, don't you help people? I swear to God.
Angella :Your kids will come for you. They will come for you. He was scratching.
Dr Damas:He was scratching and he was like, hey, don't you make stuff, man, you need something for me. Look at me.
Angella :You say you're a doctor.
Leslie:Why don't you raise me Ain't?
Dr Damas:you a doctor, I can cut my elbow, dad, it's true, I made a CBD body rub.
Leslie:That's hilarious. I get it, I get it. So let me tell you what we're going to do. Ang is in North Carolina, I'm in New Jersey. We're coming to Miami.
Angella :We're coming to Miami.
Leslie:We're coming to Miami, you're stuck with us Tech nights.
Angella :that's right.
Dr Damas:Listen, I was in Mozambique and I met somebody that went to tech.
Leslie:I'm telling you we are everywhere. You see tech t-shirts everywhere.
Angella :Everywhere right, listen, at the coffee shop. There's a coffee shop that I walk to, I go to really often, and the owner's husband saw me in a tech t-shirt and he said you went to tech. And I said this is a younger guy, maybe, I don't know, maybe in his early 40s, and he says, like my uncle used to teach at brooklyn tech.
Dr Damas:Mr anger, you know it's amazing, it's a beautiful experience for a lot of us, because one thing about that place is that it doesn't put uh boundaries around you. Very true value, very true.
Leslie:Exactly that's your mind dream, very true. And the exposure to foundry shop technical drawing chemistry. I was an organic chemistry major.
Dr Damas:You know, industry all of these
Leslie:things, Mr Aeronautics, what does the sister start to? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. What?
Dr Damas:You know the great thing about that place too. It was, like you know, in the midst of the chaos of New York City at that time right A respite? Yeah, in the classroom. You're in there, it was safe. You could just be a student.
Angella :That's right Right.
Dr Damas:It wasn't like all that stuff, you could like be a student there, and you know, a lot of people were trying to do their thing too. So there was like other people around you that were like, hey, man, I'm trying to, I'm trying to make it too. You know, we're all trying to like make it right. So it wasn't like, uh, you know, of course you had your slackers and this and that but a lot of people.
Angella :But that wasn't the culture of the place. The culture of the place was you go hard.
Dr Damas:You know what I mean.
Angella :You do it. You didn't feel like an outsider when you were a real geek. You know what I mean. It was just. It was the culture of the place. Your classmates expected you to excel.
Leslie:And we still had fun.
Dr Damas:And it was still fun. Yeah, yeah we had a lot of fun and that's like you know. I think that's why people are so proud of the school. I'd say it's like you know. Sure you know I wear more tech stuff than I do hofstra stuff I know me too.
Leslie:I'm not connected to my college I've never.
Angella :I've never been back to a penn reunion. I've gone to the school, but I've never been back to a Penn reunion. I've gone to the school, but I've never been back to a Penn reunion.
Dr Damas:However, that's where my boy Sean went to.
Angella :Oh, he went to UPenn. Oh, really, there we go there we go.
Leslie:I went to City College and Brandeis University.
Angella :Diehard, diehard.
Leslie:Tech In.
Angella :Massachusetts.
Dr Damas:Yeah, really, I give more money to Tech, Like they call me up like that.
Leslie:I give more money to tech.
Angella :Exactly. Well, I told you, I saw you on the list.
Leslie:You ain't lying.
Dr Damas:It's not even a hard sell. I saw Dr Irving DeMoss.
Leslie:and then I said Ange, wait a minute, that's the dude we were laughing with last night.
Angella :That was so good, and here you are.
Dr Damas:I want to know like so you hear me on the show all the time right All? The time, but after Friday night it didn't connect. It was like seeing the game.
Leslie:It never, it never. Let me tell you why it never connected. First of all, this is a tech reunion. He ain't connected to tech First of all. We're in New York City. He ain't connected to tech First of all. We're in New York City. He ain't in New York City. He's on the radio. First of all. I mean, you're this personable guy in the center of people and everybody's around you talking and we're at the bar and the brother and the coach is saying this guy bought, everybody weed, so you ain't the guy from.
Leslie:He's the guy Sirius XM. He's the guy. He's the NFL player, that that coach just told me about yes, and then I'm like it all clicked and it was like oh my goodness.
Angella :You saw the light bulb above her head.
Leslie:It was like. You. We were having light bulb above her head. It was like you, yeah.
Dr Damas:Yeah, you guys some drinks. That's the important. Did you have some drinks?
Leslie:We certainly did. We certainly did. Yeah, we had a ball and remember you were talking to a young lady who was also great and fun, and I'm like, are you guys together and he and he and she and fun? And I'm like, are you guys together? And she's like, no, this is my friend from school. Like I'm not Like this guy.
Dr Damas:No, I've known this girl for 30 years. We've known each other for 35 years.
Leslie:This is my buddy right here, oh hell, no, that was. We had a great time. Do you get back to?
Dr Damas:the city often no it's not Exactly. I do, but we still got a house in Queens. So my pop, still lives there. We go back, I go. I used to go all the time. He just got out of nursing home, out of Glen Cove. So after a year and a half stroke and amputation I go regularly To the point where I'm like I got some really frequent flyer miles.
Leslie:I don't even know what to do with them. Well, good Fly would be wild.
Dr Damas:But yeah, I go to New York regularly. Okay, All right.
Leslie:We'll see each other again soon.
Angella :I'm sure We'll see you guys in Miami.
Dr Damas:Right, Listen, you're not doing your job on me. If you come to Miami, make sure you got some bail money.
Leslie:Oh, it's going to be that kind of party, Dr Thomas.
Dr Damas:Listen.
Leslie:I'm still working.
Dr Damas:I got to be in the OR at 7. Am you remember those?
Leslie:days.
Dr Damas:She's an anesthesiologist. She got anesthesiology money, don't worry about it.
Angella :That's right.
Dr Damas:It doesn't bring me a checkbook. She got anesthesiology money. We know all right.
Leslie:Oh my God, this is a pleasure there's a saying in med school.
Dr Damas:There's a saying in med school, right, it's like the road to happiness is spelled r-o-a-d. Okay stands for radiology, radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology and dermatology. That's an anesthesia, hey. I ain't no fool I had plenty of medical school bills.
Angella :I ain't no fool.
Leslie:It's so funny because I initially thought about internal medicine and with my debt, I said I couldn't afford to be an internist. You know, it's a shame that it has to be like that because there's a shortage of primary care docs. But I said I had to be a specialist. I'm glad, I love it, but you know, I just had too much debt, you know, yeah, Wow. Listen, we can talk all night long. I appreciate your time. You are the bombcom and see tech nights forever. Listen, I got my gear.
Leslie:We appreciate you so much we do, and we'll leave a link to all of your information and your wellness center and all of that, and then at some point in fact I'm going to I'll send you the videos that we have of that, of that night.
Dr Damas:All right, but I'm going to get sexy to send you guys a little goodie package from us. Oh, thank you so much, we're ready, yeah, yeah.
Angella :We're trying to do things right, right, we're, we're, we're, we're just really committing to taking care of our bodies, mental, physical selves better. And so this is just in time. And when Leslie says we're going to see you in Miami, we're going to see you in Miami.
Dr Damas:Oh yeah, oh yeah. I told you bring some of that anesthesiology bail money, the bail money. Listen, I'm going to back away from you guys.
Leslie:Clowns, I'll provide the weed like the coach said, that guy got the weed though a at another point I'm to tell you a story about how. Ange and I were flying home one time oh my. Lord.
Dr Damas:What you did to me. That's for another time what you did to me.
Angella :The next time when we see you in Miami Exactly.
Leslie:We'll tell you that story. Anyway, thank you guys for listening. This has been another episode of Black Boomer Besties from Brooklyn, brooklyn, brooklyn, bye.
