Stacked Keys Podcast
The idea to talk to women who are out there living and making a difference is where the Stacked Keys Podcast was born. There are women who make a difference, but never make a wave while paddling through life. Immediately I can think of a dozen or more who impacted me, but I want more. I want to talk to those I don't know and I want to share with an audience that might need the inspiration to find their own beat. This podcast is to feature women who are impressive in the work world-- or in raising a family -- or who have hobbies that can make us all be encouraged. Want to hear what makes these women passionate and get up in the morning or what they wish they had known earlier in life? Grab your keys and STOMP to your own drum.
Stacked Keys Podcast
Episode 211 -- Amy Lucas -- Healing Beyond Medicine: The Regenerative Journey
In this enlightening episode, we dive into the life of Amy Lucas, a transformative figure in nursing whose journey spans diverse fields from family practice to regenerative medicine. Amy shares her unique experiences working within prison healthcare and her revelation that empathy and respect can lead to healing even for those society often overlooks. Through her personal journey with injuries and discovering regenerative medicine, listeners gain insights into alternative healing methods that challenge conventional wisdom.
Amy also highlights the unexpected role that jujitsu plays in her life—empowering her physically and mentally while fostering a supportive community. This episode invites listeners to reconsider how they view health and healing, encouraging a shift in mindset that acknowledges the body's innate abilities. With a focus on perseverance, courage, and holistic practices, Amy's story acts as a beacon of hope for anyone contemplating their own health narrative. Join us as we explore practical advice, compassionately navigate through complex health topics, and emphasize the significance of a resilient mindset. This episode is not just for healthcare enthusiasts but for anyone eager to embrace change and transformation. You'll love this inspiring journey into the heart of healing!
Music "STOMP" used by permission of artist Donica Knight Holdman and Jim Huff
Well, I am super excited. Cannot wait to jump into topics with our guest today, Amy Lucas. Let me try that again. Amy Lucas is joining us and so, Amy, welcome. So excited to have you here.
Amy Lucas:Thank you, I'm excited to be here.
amy stackhouse:Oh, right out of the gate, let's go with Amy. How do people know you, both personally and professionally?
Amy Lucas:So, personally, a lot of people I've met is through my nursing career, so started out just family practice and then went into prison nursing mental health and then now I do regenerative medicine. So that's how I meet a lot of people. We meet a lot of athletes now because we work with a lot of martial artists, so we're excited to help a lot of them people and I get to meet a lot of great people and behind the scenes people and just most of my stuff. I do a lot of stuff on the phone. Sometimes they let me out of the office and I get to go to some of the things and the events and talk to people, so it's really great to get out and just and see the people that I talk to on the phone.
amy stackhouse:Wow. So you know, a lot of times nursing we have just in our heads this is what a nurse is and does, but you've really kind of branched out and doing some creative and very forward thinking nursing. So what's that like? Do you find it different than the day to day? Or I mean it's become your day toto-day, but is it unique for you?
Amy Lucas:It definitely is unique. When I first started it was family practice, so it was a little bit of everything. I really enjoyed it. But then the provider I worked for went to administrative duty and then they just kind of threw me around and then I wanted more time with my kids so I went to prison medicine, thinking it was a specific schedule which I really, really enjoyed. It's so amazing because a lot of people don't realize they're just normal people that sometimes something simple happened over and over and sometimes it's you know, major things, but they it's. It's such a different environment and they really like if you treat them with respect, they treat with you with respect. So I really enjoyed that time. But there are a lot of nurses that cannot do it. So when it came time to, this was my specific schedule. If people didn't show up you couldn't leave until someone replaced you, because they live there 24-7. So that was a little bit different. And then my kids were all in high school at that point so I had to make that move to mental health, which was outpatient, but it was Monday through Friday, a very specific schedule, no weekends, no holidays. So that worked out better with the kids and then once they started going out of the house.
Amy Lucas:One joined the military and then the next one joined the military and then COVID hit. So that was very different because everything went to Zoom sessions. And then, even after COVID, a lot of people didn't want to come into the office. They still wanted to do Zoom sessions, so they didn't have to get out. And so my brother-in-law reached out to me and he's like oh my gosh, I hear you talk on the phone whenever I come visit. And he's like you really know your patients. And he said you work really well with your providers. And he's like I would like to offer you an opportunity to work with regenerative medicine. So I talked to him a little bit and I was like you know, I don't know if that's something for me, I really don't know much about it. So it kind of took a turn Whenever I had a motor vehicle accident, I ended up having to have a shoulder surgery and my rotator cuff had to be reattached.
Amy Lucas:So my orthopedic surgeon I had known him for years, done co-ed sports with him, and he said well, your bicep is also torn 70 percent and your triceps are 50 percent. It was my dominant arm and he's like I can do surgery on all three. He said, but I only need to do surgery on one part. And he said you could do stem cell therapy for the other two and have that heal naturally and never have to do surgery. And I was like, well, wait a minute, my brother-in-law mentioned something to me.
Amy Lucas:I said I just I said, being in nursing, you never really hear about the natural part of it. So I was like, well, let me do some research. And he's like my family's done it. He said I would. If you were my wife or my sister, I wouldn't do surgery. And I was like, okay, so reached back out and ended up doing therapy and not only did that heal the bicep and tricep, but I had so many other things happen to me that I thought, oh my gosh, I thought I was a healthy person and it was such a dramatic change. I was like you know what I think? I do want to try regenerative medicine. You know the nursing part of it. So that's where I how I got to that today.
amy stackhouse:Wow. So that personal experience probably helps you in in working with patients, because you're not just talking about something you read about. You actually have applied that Right. So is it a lot of unlearning that you had to do, or?
Amy Lucas:is it?
Amy Lucas:Yeah because you know, whenever you go through nursing school, it's all pharmacology and surgery, so those are the only two things that can help someone. And so when you go to regenerative medicine and it's it was such a crazy experience for me because I remember my husband was on a deployment whenever I did therapy and he called about a month into it and he's like you know how's your arm doing? And I was like you know, I don't know if this is working. I said all I'm doing is sleeping better. And I said you know, I said my, my gut system. I said that's completely changed around. And he's like, well, if you're sleeping better than that, biceps not aching all night, well, that's a plus. I was like, oh yeah, you're, you know, that's something I didn't even think about. So just uh, um, before I would, you know, I would take melatonin or something you know, natural, because I worked in mental health and I'm like I am not going to get addicted to those medicines and I know the side effects.
Amy Lucas:So the unlearning process of you don't have to have medication to help your body heal. So that was I had to unlearn that part of okay, we don't always have to go towards that. And then there's still sometimes where you know someone will say, oh, I'm, I've done therapy, but I do like we've worked with a lot of martial artists. Sometimes they still, you know, if they have a significant tear that is completely torn in half, they still have to have surgery. So there's still times where you know I have to use that nursing judgment of OK, maybe you still need to see a chiropractor, maybe you still need surgery. So, just talking through that, but a lot of unlearning of, yes, you have to be stuck on either this medication or you have to have this surgery.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, wow. So is there controversy to the regenerative medicine?
Amy Lucas:So not with what we do. What we do is umbilical cord stem cells. So here in the US, other countries have done it for 60 years, so the U? S took a little bit of time, so now it became legal in the U? S in 2015. And so there's not. The crazy thing is they've done all the research and there's no rejection and no side effects, so we know that it can only help the body, so anyone can accept it. Where they get into the whole, if there's any controversy or anything, it's when they go to other countries and they may be using embryos or different things unethically. So we make sure that our company absolutely does not do that. And you know we're FDA regulated and monitored. So it's a great thing. That's why I'm glad we do have the FDA, because then we're able to see mom's health history. We know baby's born healthy. So there are a lot of good things that come out of it.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, wow, all right. So help me, because I'm ignorant and I know that a lot of listeners don't don't know what we're talking about. Um, so it's. It's the harvesting of the stem cells from an umbilical cord, and so, all right, my, my first one's umbilical cord is like glued into the baby book, so you know that isn't the way it works anymore. So how knowledgeable do you have to be on the receiver side, and how involved so it's so, super simple.
Amy Lucas:So at three months of gestation here in the US they'll ask mom well, certain hospitals not every hospital offers it. So certain hospitals here in the US they'll ask mom if they want to dispose of the umbilical cord, if they want to cryo-freeze it for that child or if they want to donate it. So if they want to donate it, that's when we're able to see mom's health history, baby's health history, so we know that baby's born healthy. And then we also.
Amy Lucas:There's so much controversy with the COVID vaccine and we really don't know, you know a lot of the stuff with it. There's been so many people that have had diagnoses pop up and then they've related it back to the vaccine. So we actually don't accept any umbilical cords that are donated from moms who have had the COVID vaccine. So we actually don't accept any umbilical cords that are donated from moms who have had the COVID vaccine. So if she's had the vaccine, we automatically disqualify her. There's no genetics or DNA that can be passed.
Amy Lucas:So once baby is born, we'll take the umbilical cord back to the lab and then they'll drain the stem cells out of it naturally, so we're able to test those again, even though we can see mom's health history. We still go through testing to make sure that she is free and clear of diseases or illnesses. We actually do extra testing to make sure there was no bacteria strains picked up and then, after they're checked for viability, they're directly cryofrozen in the same process as in vitro fertilization. So that's what keeps the stem cells alive, and so, since they come from the umbilical cord, they're blank cells. So our body is made. That's what our body's natural repair system is is our stem cells. So, adding those blank stem cells to your body, your body takes them in as their own and then they prioritize where they need to go and what they need to help heal. So that's the crazy thing. It could be something as simple as building your immunity or boosting your immune system.
Amy Lucas:Like if someone say, someone had breast cancer and they went through chemotherapy. Well, chemotherapy kills all of your good cells and your bad cells. So if someone is, you know, done with chemotherapy and thank God they're in remission, then they're like, oh my gosh, I want to boost up my natural immunity again. Then they may come in and get stem cell therapy just to help boost up their natural repair system.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, wow, amy. Were you a researcher coming along? Have you always been one who would dig in and kind of understand whatever it was you were faced with?
Amy Lucas:You know, I really wasn't until I became a mother. Once I became a mother, I was like I don't want anyone watching my kids, I don't trust anyone. You know, I was like I want to be there when they have they crawl, when they have their first steps, they have their first words. So I stayed at home for 10 years and just learning how to be a mom. And that's when I kind of dove into the research of okay, what can I help my child with? You know, we see so many kids go to daycares and develop different allergies. Or I know I had family members that their kids were constantly having ear infections and I'm like, why are they having ear infections? So that's what got me into the research part of it. And that's when I decided okay, I think I want to go to nursing school once my youngest went to school. So I kind of did it backwards, waited until she went to kindergarten and then I went to school. So I kind of did it backwards, waited until she went to kindergarten and then I went to school.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, yeah. But wow, I mean at that point kind of know what you want to do and have that direction. So were you a curious kid coming along?
Amy Lucas:I would say, yes, I was the oldest, so it was always, you know, eavesdropping and wanting to hear everything and wanting to be in everything. Whereas I noticed my brother and sister. They're five and seven years younger, so they always just they were out doing things and I was always just wanting to know you know what's going on.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, well, as your kids have grown and you've gone through this process, do you think it helped you kind of guide them in what they wanted to be when they quote grew up?
Amy Lucas:Yes and no. So my kids, like I'm a very independent person and I, you know, if something breaks I'm like, okay, I'm going to try and fix it. I'm not going to call a repairman first. So my kids are, they're all like that, but that made them independent as well. So my oldest one, super smart, did really good on his ASVAB but he was determined he wanted to be an infantryman in the army and I'm like, but you could have so much more. So it was okay. I'm glad I taught them to be independent. But then like they they do take direction, but don't kind of don't take direction.
amy stackhouse:Yeah. So did they come by that honest, yeah, yeah. So you know you've been around the competition world now. I mean you've really switched environments from prison to the athletics, but yet I'm sure there are a lot of similarities. I mean you're dealing with people and you're dealing with needs, but have you learned some lessons maybe over the last year in that competition world that both apply to you professionally and personally?
Amy Lucas:Yes, yes, absolutely. So we've been doing these, going to these competitions, for four years and you know I watch them, I see everything that's going on. I've never done martial arts in my life, and so my husband was just recently on a rotation in the army, so he was in Honduras for six months and he started doing jujitsu. So he comes back home in April of last year and he's like, hey, we're going to join a gym. And I'm like, well, we have a gym right here on base, why would we join a gym? And he's like, no, we're going to do jujitsu.
Amy Lucas:And I looked at him and I said I am 48 years old. There's no way I can start a new sport, let alone a martial art that I've never done in my life. And he's like just give it a week. And so I was like, okay, I'm going to trust this process, I'm going to give it a week. So I gave it a week and I was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I enjoy this. And then it gave me a new respect for these martial artists too, on how much they do work their bodies. And it was so crazy because we had gone to the gym. We ate good. We drank, you know, tons of water and just regular workouts. Being 48. I'm like I started going through menopause and instantly gained 25 pounds. And I'm like I am eating healthy, I'm going to the gym, I'm using the sauna. Why am I not losing weight? So come to find out it was my hormones. But then, starting jujitsu, in the first three months I lost 15 pounds and it wasn't anything unhealthy it was.
Amy Lucas:Oh my gosh, this is why they're in such good shape, because they're. This is why they're in such good shape because they're, you know, they're constantly using their bodies. But then also, it helped me understand when martial artists would call in and they would do a consultation for stem cell therapy on. This is what they were doing and this is how they hurt themselves. And it's like, okay, I completely understand. Now I know where your foot was at or where your arm was at and how it totally changed your body. So it helped me understand the sport and then understand how they're hurting themselves too.
amy stackhouse:Wow, that's really cool, because you probably weren't told to go learn that and here it is, you're, you're ingesting it and so, even from the sidelines, when, from the sidelines, when you're watching these competitions, do you go? Don't, don't, don't, don't do that, because you can also know the other side of what's going to happen to their limb or.
Amy Lucas:Yes, it's like, oh my gosh, you you need to tap and let let them know. You need to tap because this is going to end. And the crazy thing we were at the PGF and this guy had an ankle lock and I'm like, oh my gosh, he just keeps, you know, twerking on that ankle. And then everyone heard a pop and it was like, oh no. And it was so crazy because the kid was so determined that he, you know, he wasn't going to give up. And then the next day he shows up with his ankles taped, like ready to roll, and I'm like, oh my gosh. So the nurse in me is wanting to tell him, no, you need to relax, that you need to get therapy to help your body heal. But oh, no, he wanted to get right out there and I'm like, oh my goodness, but it was.
amy stackhouse:You know he's younger, I mean he was in his 20s and you know they have that I'm going to go until I can't go. So yeah, that kids were growing up and we went to youth camp. We had a chaperone who who came with us one time and he was, he was our orthopedist and I mean he stood there and watched stuff going on. He's like this is why I have a career. I'll always have a job when this stuff is going on, and I think that's that's somewhat true in the, the martial arts world, because it doesn't take but one second and one move to completely change it.
amy stackhouse:But wow, what that do for your self-esteem to come in to a sport. There are so many we were, my husband and I were talking about it last night of the terms. There's so many terms they call out, they are looking for that. There's just a lot of not just knowing what they call it but knowing the position of every part of you and every part of the competitor or your opponent. How does that feel to at least maybe not master, but at least be able to play?
Amy Lucas:It feels really, really good. So it was, we had done, we had went to classes for probably about three months and then we knew we were going to Master Worlds in Vegas to work and my husband's like, well, if we're going to work, you might as well compete. And I'm like I don't even know what you're called. And so he got to looking in and he's like there's only a few people in your age division and your weight division. He said what's the worst you're going to do is lose. And I was like you know what? You're right. I said at least if I do it, I could say I put myself out there and I did it. So the funny thing was is they kind of moved, moved people around on the brackets a little bit and then ended up just being me and one other, one other female, and so got out there. And I was just thinking you know what, I'm not even going to get in that mindset of you know I have to win or I have to do this specific thing. I'm like I'm just going to go out there and have a good time and, worst case scenario, I lose. And so I was so nervous because we had never really like, started the standup game, so it always starts standing up. But we never practiced it because we're brand new at this.
Amy Lucas:So we were watching the video after the match and I'm like, oh, I look like I was just dancing around like a kid who had to go to the bathroom really bad. And so I we get in you know to do in our competition. And I actually got her in a choke and she tapped and I was like, oh my gosh. And so I was so excited. I'm like I literally just won that. And I can't I don't even know the name of the choke that I just did. It was just muscle memory from practicing in glass.
Amy Lucas:And my husband's like you did it. He's like do you know what you did? And I was like, no, I don't have a clue, I just know I did it. It was pretty exciting because then you know the after hype of people come and they see your medal and they're they're like, oh my gosh, you've got gold. And I'm like I did, but I only had one competition. But they're like, no, you need to be excited for yourself because it wasn't just a competition, it was your very first one. You're in the old age group and a lot of women don't even start classes, let alone compete. So they're like you're like that 1%. And so I was like, okay, no, I need to feel good about myself, even though it was one competition it was still great.
amy stackhouse:That's great, that's amazing. Wow, Muscle memory that is both in this competition that's muscle memory and what you've done in all your nursing and all that. I mean that is such a true um, I don't, I'm kind of at a loss for words here, but muscle memory is real. I really got to see that.
Amy Lucas:I did. And it was crazy, cause in classes I'm like, you know, of course, everyone's better than me, cause they've been doing it for years. And so I'm like, oh, I'm never going to be able to get this. You know, I'm like I'm not even going to get this role or I'm not going to get this move, and then to have it just happen and I was like, oh my gosh, my body just remembered how to do that. It was such a good feeling. And then, when we got back from competition and went back to class, it was such a great feeling because the people that I practice with I'm like, oh my gosh, you're right, because they kept telling me it's going to hit, it'll hit, you'll eventually remember. And I'm like you're right, I eventually remembered. So it was a good feeling.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, yeah. Well, that's cool. What do your kids think?
Amy Lucas:Oh, they were excited. They kids think, oh, they were excited. They're like I can't believe you went out and did that and I'm like I can't believe it either. But they were super proud and super excited and and glad that I'm able to do this stuff, cause a lot of people, you know, I talked to a lot of people my age and they're you know they're on a laundry list of medications and they're they're like you know, I go to work and I come home and I set and I'm like, oh my gosh, you know, I just went and did three classes this week and, you know, using muscles that I haven't used in 30 years, and I'm like, ok, I'm feeling really good about myself that I'm able to do this, and so I tease with my kids and I'm like, you know, you're all in your 20s. If you guys want to have grandbabies, I'm ready.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, want to have grandbabies, I'm ready. Yeah, yeah, well, it is. I mean, you wind up moving and, um, and being able to go from a sitting to a standing, um, doing the three point, you know, stand, and, and all of that that. Uh, you know when, when you had the little ones, that some of that just came naturally. You had to, you had your hands full, but it goes away.
amy stackhouse:Well, you know, I got to do the same same, not the same cause I did not compete, but when Isaac had a gym here for a little while and I would go, but what I was able to do was really learn and learn what they were doing, and so watching the competitions became more interesting. And you know, I wasn't just saying go at the right time, I was saying, oh, you should not have done that, and you know, or this is what they need to do next, and then Brandon would say, well, next they need to. I'm like, yes, I could commentate. So it does something for you mentally, you know, and you've been in the mental health world. So do you find that you want to run back to some of the people that you've seen over the years and say, hey, I've got the fix?
Amy Lucas:Yes, yes, it does. Oh my gosh. Yes, it's so crazy how the way life has led me. Um, I remember just working back in mental health when I had the shoulder injury and I couldn't use my dominant arm. It was winter, we were in Kansas, so I was like they wouldn't let me drive because I just had a surgery and I had this mechanical arm thing that did my workouts for me.
Amy Lucas:But I remember my people in mental health. A lot of them would call and they're like, oh, I'm just so depressed, I can't leave the house. And I'm like, man, if they would just get out of the house and go do stuff, they wouldn't be depressed. And it kind of set in for me because I had never had depression. It kind of set in because my husband was at work, my kids were in school and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm stuck in this house. I can't even do crafts, I can't type, because my arm's just stuck here, and I'm like, oh my gosh, these people really are depressed. This is what it's like.
Amy Lucas:So it gave me a new feeling, like a heart set for them, of, oh my gosh, this is, this is a true thing. Depression is real. Because I, since I had never experienced it. I'm like, oh, if they would just get out of their house they would do better.
Amy Lucas:Yeah, so just, and then talking to a lot of martial artists that have been in competitions over and over and over and then they have an injury and then they're like I just feel like I'm not worth anything, I feel like I can't do anything, and so to be able to talk them through that is so much better, because I've kind of been there to where I couldn't move, I couldn't do stuff, and then knowing that if you're so active and you can't do that, then you're in this mindset, so just kind of talking through them and helping them, it makes me feel better because I'm not just taking a medical intake, I'm actually talking to them about you know past experiences and I know where they're at. So it does help, helps my job a lot, because then it's easier to talk to the patients that we have.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, you seem very passionate about this. You've always been passionate about each step in your career.
Amy Lucas:I have, I have, I absolutely have. Yes, it is one of those things where you know if life has put you in a spot and you know that it's a great fit.
amy stackhouse:It's just so easy to talk about too just so easy to talk about too, yeah, yeah. Well, one of the things about martial arts and and you probably realize this of when you walk into practice, it really doesn't matter what you were doing an hour ago. You have to pay attention, you have to be focused, and you almost can't think about anything else.
Amy Lucas:Have you found that. Yes, and that helps me also because you know my husband, my sons, they're all veterans and we talk to a lot of veterans and a lot of athletes. But a lot of the veterans, you know, they're used to go, go, go and then if they've been medically discharged or they're just you know they're at the end of their term and they're out of the service and they're like well, now I have no direction, I have no one telling me what to do. A lot of them have that PTSD or a lot of them get into a depression because they're not part of something. So it's so great that I've done this, because now I can talk to them and encourage them. Whether it's jujitsu or any martial art, once you step on that mat, no matter what happened throughout the day, it just nothing else matters. And the community, the martial art community, is so great because everyone is like a second family.
Amy Lucas:They just welcome you in and like it doesn't matter where you're from, like what job you have, what you're doing. They're just like let's you know, let's go, let's have a good time. So it is. It's such a great experience.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, and, and it's kind of universal. It's not one of those, well, that's just your area. No, it kind of crosses, crosses the borders Right. Is the borders Right? Well, do you have an idea, when you're thinking about your life, the difference between wants and needs, of what you need to have happen in a day, or what you need to have physically? Do you have a differentiation between wants and needs?
Amy Lucas:So I would say five years ago it was all I think I needed everything. So I was always an overthinker. If I laid down at night, I would lay there for two hours thinking, okay, did I chart this? What do I have going on this week? What's our caseload? Where are my kids at? What's our caseload? Where are my kids at? What's my husband like everything. I would think the 10 worst things that could go wrong and how.
Amy Lucas:I can fix them before it would happen. And so that was one of the other things was I did therapy almost five years ago and so just being able to lay down at night and fall asleep that's what I told my husband. I'm like I can't believe I can just my mind's at ease. Now. It's such a different. Now I know the difference between need and want. It's so crazy that I've spent I spent 45 years of you know just my mind constantly going and now it's like, okay, well, you know, just simple things. Well, I don't need that, I want it, but I don't need it. And then, just in life in general my husband retired this year and just the fact that we're comfortable where we are and we don't need to go out and seek another high-level job that requires all of this effort and all this time away from family, it's like, oh my gosh, this is so great to just to be comfortable and not feel that that need anymore, like now, it's just, I just want time with family.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, wow, that's great, so it was more gradual. Yes, definitely. Well, what are you most proud of?
Amy Lucas:I think I'm most proud of just being able to help people, whether it is, you know, my kids, my family, but also people that you know are thousands of miles away from me on the phone, people that you know are thousands of miles away from me on the phone. Like there's sometimes somebody's having a bad day and they're you know, they're a client, and they reach out and they're like, oh my gosh, I just I, you know, I needed to talk to you and I'm like, oh my gosh. You know that it kind of takes me back because I'm like I didn't realize I was helping people through things.
amy stackhouse:So just just to know that even a simple phone call can help someone, yeah, and just your, your wheelhouse of knowledge and experiences just kind of culminate, it sounds like so that's, that's pretty, pretty cool. Well, you've seen a lot of things as you've gone through your, your career life and life as an adult, and you've probably heard the word unfair a good bit and even probably looked at some of the situations that you've seen as unfair. But when you hear the word unfair, what do you think of? What crosses your mind?
Amy Lucas:unfair. What do you think of? What crosses your mind A lot of times when I hear unfair? Now it's, it's almost kind of selfish. It's like, well, if you think it's unfair, then change To me. It's, you can always change what you're doing. Or or change your situation, like my daughter, or change your situation, like my daughter she was just talking about.
Amy Lucas:Well, it's unfair that this person has more time on the schedule than I do at work. And I'm like, okay, well, what are you, you know, putting forth your effort? She's like, well, yeah, but some days I have bad days. Well, okay, you know. So it's like, well, is it really unfair? Or is that person working harder? Um, but you know some people, they get hurt and they're like it's just unfair that it happened to me. Well, it's unfortunate that it happened to you, but I don't know if unfair is, um, I don't know. That's just one of those things where I just feel like things can always change, like you just have to have it in that mindset of you know, like I used to always be an over over stressor and overthinker. And you know I'm like, oh, my gosh, you know, it's right there, give it to God, let it go. So it's like just. And so I told my daughter, I said sometimes you have to not ask for things, but just think things through.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, yeah, well, and when you were nursing in the prison situation, I would think I know you have to have a certain amount of distancing in your mind when you're dealing with people that are in circumstances that you can't change their circumstances and to look at things and going, wow, that really wasn't fair, but you still have to treat them as the same, as you do this one and that one and the next one. Right, is that hard? Is that hard to do in a work situation? It?
Amy Lucas:is sometimes, especially in the prison situation. I remember there was this 19-year-old kiddo and he would come into my office and change the trash and he was always very, very respectful. And then one day he's like, can I show you a picture? And I was like, okay, and it was a brand new set of twins. And I was like, okay, and it was a, you know, brand new set of twins. And I was like, oh, my gosh, that's so sweet. You know, you know, and I usually never asked them what they did to get there, why, why are they in prison?
amy stackhouse:Cause I didn't want to.
Amy Lucas:You know, it was like everyone's different. I don't want to treat someone differently. If someone says oh, you know, I'm a, I'm a murderer or someone you know stole something, I'm like I don't want to treat them differently because they're still a person, so you know. And then, kind of like, weeks went on and he's like can I talk to you? And I was like sure, you know, we're not busy. And so he poured his heart out and come to find out he was 18, a senior in high school and and got his 15-year-old girlfriend pregnant and her parents didn't like him. And so he was literally like and this was his story, but he was in prison because she was underage. And I'm like, oh my gosh. And so it took me back because I'm like, oh my gosh, that's my kid right there.
Amy Lucas:So it was so hard knowing that this poor kid, and I felt so sorry for him and I'm like he should not be here. So, like you know, when you talk about unfair, I'm like that is totally unfair. And then you know, there's other people I saw people that I went to school with and I'm like oh my, of course. I ask oh my gosh, what are you doing here? And he's like I have a drinking problem and I'm like I think to myself you know, people go out and my husband and I've done it before we go to dinner and we have a drink and we drive home Well, that's considered drinking and driving. And I'm like, you know, he just unfortunately got, you know, caught over and over and I guess he did have a severe drinking problem, but is it unfair that he's in prison and I'm not? So you know, that's just a lot of times you think about that and that's, you know, it's, it's hard.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that's really humbling too when you when you hear that, and but it probably makes you a little bit better human being to be, that to have that empathy and be able to see that oh, that could be in my world too. So are you a head feeler or a heart feeler? Do you think and act with your head, or are you motivated with your heart?
Amy Lucas:I think it's with my heart mostly, sometimes it's with my head. Sometimes I'm like, okay, you know I have to analyze the situation, but most of the time it's with my heart.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that's a tough one because you have been in a caring giving, because you have been in a caring giving career and that's a calling in and of itself. And then to go through it during COVID I think that changed a lot of the medical world and nursing and people in the offices. Did you kind of weather that?
Amy Lucas:okay, yes, it was more. I like to talk to people, so even going from the office to regenerative medicine, you know, 90% of my work is on the phone and I don't see people.
Amy Lucas:So that was a hard, hard for me to do. At first it was like I don't know if I can do this because I, you know, working in mental health, you get to know your patients and so many of them that you know are mentally retarded or have Down syndrome or you know different syndromes that they are comfortable with you, and to know that, man, I have to leave them in the care of someone else. That was hard.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, oh, yeah. Well, what? What makes you know that you can trust somebody Do?
Amy Lucas:you have kind of a trust meter. I do a little bit. There's sometimes people give me that eerie feeling or that just kind of sick pit in your stomach and it's like man, I just I have this gut feeling. And then, you know, sometimes I'm over trusting and over caring and I, you know, it's like man, I should have listened to myself. But I gave, you know, I want to give people the benefit of the doubt too. So, you know, sometimes it's like, oh my gosh, I poured my heart and soul and you still did the exact opposite.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, yeah. It's kind of hard as a parent sometimes to to to trust everything that your kids are doing and as they're going and then so. So how do you, how did you teach your kids to?
Amy Lucas:judge situations and evaluate the direction they were heading. Well, that's where I tried to go, with, like statistics and, you know, just with like the 19 year old boy in prison, you know, I would come home and I came straight home and that's the first thing I did was, you know, not of course, I didn't tell my kids who it was, or like I didn't. You know, I knew him, but I didn't know where he was from. But I told him the situation and how he got in that situation and I'm like both of my kids are dating younger girls and so just talking about real life stuff that happens and reiterating that with them, to educate them, just so they know that this could happen them, to educate them, just so they know that this could happen.
Amy Lucas:And you, you know, you don't want to be an 18 year old kid and be, you know, stereotyped as a child molester, because that's what it shows on a court record and it's like, no, you know, you guys grew up together, you went to school together. Things like this can happen and there's like there's. We can't control it. So I think, just just talking it over with them and being open, I never really hid anything from them. And then when it came to you know the sex education stories, of course I would tell them horror stories of stuff that I physically saw on patients and they're like you have to go into detail and I'm like but you don't want this to happen.
amy stackhouse:Oh, wow, well, I mean, I guess that's you know, it's the dinner table, talk of different careers. You just lay stuff out there and their, their friends, probably have never heard some of it. Well, but wow, that open communication. I mean that that is something. Did you guys make a conscious decision that you were going to lay things out in the open for your kids as you were going to be parents, or or did it just happen, or did you grow up that way?
Amy Lucas:I did not grow up that way, and so that's why I wanted it to be that way. I was always, you know, in the dark. That's why I was always trying to search for, okay, what's going on, what are they talking about? Because it was always secrecy, and so it was. You know, even we're in a small town and it's oh, you can't even ride your bike on that side of the tracks because they're bad people. Well, it was well. Why are they bad people? What's wrong with you?
amy stackhouse:know what's wrong with them.
Amy Lucas:I live over there. So it was you know my mom was. She worked at the school, she drove the school bus, so it was a small town and so I was always into sports. Well, she was always there. So there was nothing that I could get away with, or even like my own personal life, but it was never well, it's because I said so or never was explained to me. So I was always frustrated from that. So that's why I was like, nope, I want to talk to my kids, I want to be open and I want them to feel like they can talk to me. Um, cause, I felt like I can talk to my mom, but if it was a difficult subject she would just disregard it. So I was like, even if it's tough, I want my kids to know they can tell me about it.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that's interesting. I was kind of like that too. I mean, I was the youngest of six and so I didn't get any information or answers from my parents. I was getting it from siblings, and when my siblings would come home and they would find out that I didn't know something, they would be horrified of, like, why haven't you told her this? And it's like, well, you know, you just didn't. I guess it was also that era you know of. There wasn't an openness. But then we really really talked in in my own family, talked in in my own family and um, and maybe I, maybe there's a fine line of overshare, and and not isaac tells me I am his anxiety, um, and so I'm like, well, hey, that is a character in a movie and I think it's real, so I'll take it. But well, what do you fear most? What do you fear most? What do you fear most in your own life? I mean you, you seem to be really in control career. You've had multiple stages of life, you've recreated yourself a couple of times. So what scares Amy?
Amy Lucas:It's not really a scare. I don't like to let people down. So I feel like you know, even if I talk to someone about like regenerative medicine and I tell them a story about you know someone I remember, like the first month I was doing a call, this one guy he had been on 15 oxygen tanks that he was going through every month and by his ninth month he was down to one rescue tank and he was in tears and talking about how he could go to Costco with his wife and he hadn't been in 10 years and he got his life back. And so sometimes when I share his story with someone else who has COPD or has breathing issues, and then they don't have the same results, which everyone's different, you know, everybody's body is different I feel almost like man. I feel like I let them down a little bit, but then I'm like no, because I know that this is helping their body. We just can't see where it's going to help. It can help your entire body or you know, if you're having major issues, it might just go there. So it's the letting people down.
Amy Lucas:And like recently, my daughter and her boyfriend. They want to move back to Kansas. So my husband just retired, so we moved from the south back to Kansas, where our family is, and she, you know, she's like we want to move back. And you know I'm like, okay, well, I want to help her out. So we looked into buying a little house that they could rent from us, and so she was so excited, deciding where she was going to put everything in this house.
Amy Lucas:And then we got the call that the house was under contract with someone else, and so it was like, oh my God, I feel like I'm letting her down. And my husband's like but she's 23 years old and sometimes, you know, you have to rent. And I'm like, yeah, that's true, but I feel like I'm letting her down, even though I'm not. I mean, we were going to try this, you know, for them, so that they could have this really great place and we could, you know, charge them low rent that they wouldn't have to pay towards something else. And he's like but you're not letting them down? He said they still have a place to come to, they're still, you know, coming home, and I'm like okay, so I think it's the letting people down.
amy stackhouse:That scares me the most. Yeah, yeah, and, and there are so many things like you just talked about that are not in your control, Right, and you've got your elements together and everything, but then there's like this other well, where do you go when you have to solve a problem? I mean, it sounds like you're when your relationship, you definitely do that, but but do you have something that grounds you and that you you seek when you've got a problem?
Amy Lucas:Well, usually when I have a problem, my husband, like he literally, is my soulmate and we can talk about anything, whether it's girlfriend stuff, kid stuff, you know life. So we really talk about anything. But you know, a lot of it is. You know, we go throughout our day-to-day basis. We work, you know, we do extra stuff, jujitsu and stuff but then just laying down at night and just laying there and having that peace and just praying about it. So that is that's usually my, that is usually my piece is, if I can't talk through it or work through it during the day, it's, you know we, I know that at night it's just okay, I'm, I'm going to let it go. So that's probably where I go to for my peace.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, have you always been able to do that or had to struggle on that? Yeah, you were talking earlier about the things that kept you.
Amy Lucas:Yes, yes. So when my mindset was switched and I'm like, okay, I can let things go and I can you know, you hear people say, you know, just pray about it, it'll be all right. And I'm like, oh, it's not. You know, before I was like, oh, it's not that easy, it just doesn't just work until you get in that mindset. And then it's like, oh, my gosh, it does work, you can just let it go. It may not change it, that situation might not change, but you do feel better about it. So that, but yes, I'm so my mind and my body feels so much better now that I'm not that overthinker and feeding those, those bad thoughts into my mind all the time.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, well, I was just thinking. I mean, even though the regenerative medicine has, you know, elements to it that are that are tangible, a lot of the whole nursing and taking care of someone involves some of these things that you can't see, that you can only feel, and that that involve your health, and that mindset can can be surely a part of that.
Amy Lucas:Oh, definitely, Definitely Like if you don't have that mindset of wanting to help people or wanting to help yourself, it's not really there. And just even in, you know, in the prison setting, I had a nurse come in one day and we sat down to start training and a prisoner walks in and sits down he was our first client of the day and she completely freaks out because he's not handcuffed. And I'm like they live here, they're not handcuffed 24-7. They live here, they're not cupped up. And like she immediately like freaks out, I can't be here, I gotta get out of here. And it was like, oh my gosh, so people on the outside they don't. You know, a lot of people don't know. So it is, it is. It's totally different and you do have to have that mindset just to be calm and and be at ease and yeah, you gotta trust your process.
amy stackhouse:I mean, that's um, you know what you're doing. You're there as a professional right, wanting to get your professional opinion, not your little freak outs, and you know right, because I mean, I'm sure that they have that too on a daily. So I can't, I can't even imagine I've talked with somebody before that does the education inside a prison system and she, the one thing that she said is it is not for everyone and it, you know, when you talk about nursing and nursing is a calling anyway and uh, so that that would definitely be an addendum to the calling.
Amy Lucas:Right, oh no, and that's what I told my daughter. She's like oh, I'm going to be a nurse. She said it looks easy and they make a lot of money. And I was like, oh, child, this was her senior year in high school and I'm like OK, there's a CNA program at your high school. Take it, be a CNA for a year and then if you want to go to nursing school, I'll a hundred percent back you. And so she did CNA and her first job was at a nursing home, and that is very hard.
amy stackhouse:Oh yeah.
Amy Lucas:She's like I don't want to be a nurse, and it wasn't a month into it I don't want to be a nurse. And I was like, all right, now, let's try different areas, because not every nurse fits in one certain area. Then she went to a Home Plus, which Home Plus is kind of like a nursing home, but this home had it was one big house and then each corner of the house had three bedrooms, so there was only a total of 12. And so the residents actually get to help you with meals if they want to, they have TV rooms, they have activities, and so she did really really well there and really loved it.
Amy Lucas:And she's like but I still don't want to be a nurse, she said you have to talk to them doctors and you have to pass all the medicines and it's just not for me. And she's like but you made it look simple and I'm like, I'm like, but not everyone can do that. And I told her. I said you know, I said you're great with older people Like you really are great with these, these older residents, and they love you. I said so maybe your calling is to open a home plus and just be like the manager there.
amy stackhouse:And she's like oh, I never thought of that and just be like the manager there, and she's like oh, I never thought of that. Yeah, yeah, it takes everybody, doesn't it? And you don't have to have all those skill sets. So tell me what you think your description of a good leader is.
Amy Lucas:So a good leader, I think the biggest thing, and that's what I talked to her about too whenever she said she just wants to be a nurse.
Amy Lucas:She said I'll just go to a four-year school. And I said you know? I said the thing is, I started out as a CNA. What all the workings of that is? I think those are not. Those are the ones that are that they struggle with the leadership because they don't know all the rules of what they do.
Amy Lucas:In that, in that situation and I know every, you know every profession is different, as, like that, nursing part of it if they haven't done that and they haven't been in that role, it's hard for them to be a leader because they come in not knowing what to expect out of that employee. So, if you've kind of started lower, I feel like the leaderships are a lot better because they know what their employees need to do on a daily basis. They know they need to follow up with certain areas where, if they come in and you're just told oh, you're a manager, well, what do you do? Do you sit in the office all day or do you go out and you talk to your employees to ask you know, what do they need to accomplish? What are their goals? What needs to happen this week? So I think leadership is being out there and being in talking to your, to your employees and being, you know, energetic about that and learning what their job is.
amy stackhouse:Well, in your particular role, you have to be pretty self-motivated, don't you? I do, yeah, so that could be. That can be a tough part of the job.
Amy Lucas:It can be. It can be because there there are times where we may have slow days and I'm like, oh my gosh, what do I do, you know? And so it's. It's funny because, uh, my husband and I the other day we were out and about and it was a slow day for me. We had only a couple people on the schedule and so we went out and just started talking to people, and so even our scheduling staff. There's days where I'm like, hey, you know, I know you just went through, you know, a pregnancy. Is there something I can help you with today so you can have more time with the baby? So she, you know, it's just little things that if I can help do something else or I can motivate myself somewhere else, that's going to help things.
Amy Lucas:And that was kind of a kind of hard coming into it a little bit, because it was like, okay, well, if I, if there's nothing on my schedule, what do I do? Like what? So just creating different workflows and helping, you know, with the office and transition into okay, this is something else. I think that can work better, or will this schedule work better? So for me it's trying to get that workflow moving and I think I learned that more just throughout my career path, working in different areas and then just working through the workflow of being able to try and be a leader in your own area. So that way, if this is not working and we can help more people this way, then why not let's change this around a little bit to help more people this way? So I think it helped personalize it a little bit better.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, wow, that's nice, do you and your husband work?
Amy Lucas:together. We do now. So we just yes, yes, because he's been in the army for 20 years. So, yeah, um, but even you know, just his last four or five years in the military, um, me being able to, uh, have my own schedule that if I say I need to block, like you know, an hour today to talk to you or do something else, then I can add another hour on somewhere else. So being able to, you know, he's been in kind of that leadership position to go in and do like a food day with, you know, the soldiers or talk about mental health.
Amy Lucas:So it's, we've been kind of working a little bit together the last four or five years just doing that to help soldier members, but then also getting in the jujitsu. He's went to these competitions with us because it is his brother that has the regenerative therapy, he's the one that owns the company. So just being with New Hope Regeneration, my husband's been able to go and talk to our clients and then also with us getting into jujitsu together. It's been great because we can both talk through that process, because there's so many martial artists that need us, but then, him being a veteran, there's so many veterans that need help too. So, whether it's just talking about finances or, you know, talking about regenerative medicine or anything else, so it's great that we're able to work together on different aspects.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that's really good, and so with that comes some dynamics though, because him being in the Army, I mean you had to be mom, dad, social director, you know family, everything at different times in that career, I'm sure. So how have you guys managed to kind of come back in sync?
Amy Lucas:So we've always had that open communication and just being able to have, you know, zoom and FaceTime calls.
Amy Lucas:We've always been able to just kind of work through things, whether it's something going on with his soldiers or something going on with home or with work. Like if I have, you know, a really nasty person that I'm on, like if I had a nasty person at work that just completely cussed me out and it wasn't even my fault, it was just something that they were going through. You know. I mean before I worked with a lot of schizophrenics and if they didn't get their medications, then whoever was going to talk to them, that's who was going to get the brunt of it. So it's nice to be able to have that partner that you can talk to about anything and just kind of let things go but then also work towards things. I remember him. You know there's a lot of things that changed now, you know, in the workforce and in the military, and you know he's like well, if I make this person stay late, then they can go and say that I'm picking on them or harassing them and I'm like oh my gosh.
Amy Lucas:So there would be nights where he would come home at 11 o'clock and have to be back to work at 530 the next morning. And I'm like you know we were able to talk through that. And I'm like you know what, if it's these soldiers that are doing this and you're correcting it because you don't want to get, you know, accused of harassing them, I said then make all of them stay with you and you all fix it together. So that really worked well for him too, because he was like I wouldn't have thought of that, he wouldn't have thought of that.
Amy Lucas:And there's so many things in military and regular work-wise where it's like, man, you're in this manager-type position and somebody can accuse you of being harass even though you're not harassing. You're just telling them to do their work. But you always have that and if I say one wrong thing, then I could be written up for this. And so him, having so many years in the military, that was so great that him and I were able to talk through things and then he didn't have to have all that stress on his shoulders and I didn't have the stress of why is my husband not talking to me? So just having that open communication is our biggest thing.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, so I mean, that kind of goes back to how you kind of raise your kids in the open talk and yes, so that's not a skill set you guys had to learn. You started out with that skill set. You guys had to learn. You started out with that. So what would you tell younger you that was coming and that's probably the key and most important aspect of relationships.
Amy Lucas:So younger me, when I first started out, it was I would just internalize everything. And then I would realize, oh my gosh, why am I angry all the time? Why am I always emotional, or why do I feel like I'm always having to do everything? And then it was like okay, it's because I'm not communicating, I'm not being open. So that younger me I wanted to do everything myself, not ask for help, not, I just wanted to be that independent person. So I think the if I would have started out in the communication part of it, it would have been so much easier yeah, yeah.
amy stackhouse:Well, sometimes that that has to be the school of hard knocks you learn. You learn that way. So, as you're getting older not not that you're old, because you're like backing up with being involved in jujitsu so they say but I don't know if you've noticed some of these like 30-ish guys are really hobbling around and acting way older than they are. So I'm not sure that that's. But what, what do you think about getting older? What? What do you look forward to? What? What are you excited? That's going to come down the pike.
Amy Lucas:I think I'm excited about like the next chapter in our lives. Now my husband's not being told by the military where to go, what to do we can have vacation when we cannot have vacation, what to do when we can have vacation when we cannot have vacation. So I think it's just being able to relax and not have to have a schedule. Of course we work, so there's a schedule, but I think it's okay. When the time's right, we're going to have grandbabies, and whenever we want to just up and go away for a couple of days, we can do that because our work travels with us and just the fact that you know we can live, because you think back, I would say 20 years ago, if I would have said, oh, what are you going to do when you're almost 50? I'd be like, okay, well, I'm going to be going to work every day, coming home and just relaxing because I'm tired.
Amy Lucas:And now it's oh my gosh, I can't wait to get done with the work week and see what adventure we can do next. Where can we go? You know rock climbing or not that I've done it, but I want to do it. And so so great to know that you know my body's where it is, and I think jujitsu helped me even more than what I thought I would, because you know, if you're able to get up and down off the ground like that and roll around, you know, with people, and your body is still functioning great, it's like man. What have I not done? So I think it's. What adventure can we find next?
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that's an exciting outlook right there. Yeah, I've heard some of the people talk in the jujitsu world of they like going in the mornings because they've been fighting for an hour and a half to stay alive. What else could the day throw at them? Right? And you're like I guess that makes sense. Yeah, Describe to me your perfect day.
Amy Lucas:My perfect day. I, you know, I wake up and I don't. It's great to wake up and not have that alarm clock going off. So it's not. You know I'm not an early, early riser but I don't sleep in. So it's nice to just wake up and not have the stress of, okay, let's rush here, let's let's. I got to do this and then I got to rush home to do this, the. It's just nice to wake up knowing now that my husband's here, it's like okay, now he's safe, he's not on deployment anymore. So it's great to know that we can wake up.
Amy Lucas:And even if we don't have anything planned that day, sometimes he like yesterday he got on a call and they're like oh, come, do jujitsu and we'll talk about stem cells. So we drive 40 minutes and talk about stem cells and do jujitsu, and that wasn't even part of our plan. So I think it's it's like we're in this perfect world of man. We have access to all these jujitsu people that most white belts don't. So, uh, you know, we can just call and at the drop of a hat they're like oh yeah, come on out and train.
Amy Lucas:And it's like who? Who gets to do that? So you know, five years ago, whenever I thought I was getting into regenerative medicine, I would have never thought it would. Let me lead me here. So, just to be in this spot of man I'm you know I'm not giving someone a medication to where you know they may need another medication because of the side effects and we're just really doing a bandaid. I'm like I'm really actually helping people and I'm learning new things. So most people when they get my age, they don't want to learn something new and just to be excited to learn new things and learn stuff about people. It's it's pretty awesome, because most people don't get to do this.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that's true, and it's interesting. You're like, oh, let's come talk about stem cells. Did you ever think that would be an invitation that you'd be getting?
Amy Lucas:No, no not at all, and had I have not been in that motor vehicle accident, you know I probably would. I would. I definitely wouldn't be doing this today because, you know, whenever you go through nursing school, it's not the natural stuff it's, so I would have never believed in it or looked towards it. I mean, I mean I may have, but you know, I just thought I was bogus and I'm like, oh my gosh, there's real benefits to natural healing and I have. It's always been instilled in me. Well, there's real benefits to natural healing and I have it, it's always been instilled in me. Well, if there's something wrong, go take a pill.
Amy Lucas:So you know, headache wise, I was taking oh my gosh, I was taking Excedrin migraine four to five times a week Because I, you know it's constantly on the computers and then, like the blue light or the fluorescent lights in the clinic, I'm like I know that's why I might have headaches. And then you know, you read about things and it's like, okay, well, you can have a little bit of Celtic salt and water and your headache goes away. So like I'm pumping myself full of all these medicines that I don't need. And it's crazy because I have maybe five headaches a year now and I'm like, oh, my gosh, just changing one thing in your diet.
Amy Lucas:It's like this is so crazy.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, that is Well. You also kind of have shifted from having that worry and worry about somebody's safety is different than worry that they're going to miss lunch. You know it's like that's a whole nother level going to miss lunch, you know it's, it's like that's that's a whole nother level. And, as a military wife, a lot of times you may not have even known what you were worrying about, but you knew that there was a worry. How do you, how do you help somebody, because you know what they're going through? Is it, is it your own little journey, or is there a way that you you reach back to others now, or or how does that work?
Amy Lucas:I feel like my own journey does help. It does help contribute to that. Back in my worry days, you know, I was back in the mental health clinic and I saw my my watch ringing in and I was like, oh my gosh, that's an overseas number and so I'm immediately in a panic in my mind. But I'm in there with a patient so I have to talk, you know, go through what they're going through. And then I go grab my phone and I call the number back and my son answers and I knew he was in Afghanistan. But my son answers and he's like, mom, I'm okay, and it was like, oh my gosh. But it's so crazy because, you know, I that call coming in.
Amy Lucas:it was in my mind everything was going like, like what's going on? And ended up, you know, he had to have two surgeries and there was, you know, a bad explosion and it was like, oh my gosh. You know, like I at that I was like I just want to like lose it, like break down and lose it, because it's my kiddo, you know but I'm like OK, I have to remain in this professional state and I can't, you know, go crazy or break down or start screaming in front of all my patients.
Amy Lucas:Um, so that, uh, that was a big learning, like not a learning thing, but a big thing for me, because it was like, oh my gosh, I cannot be there for my kid, um, you know, I can't just hop on a plane and go to Afghanistan, to this military base, and be there during these two surgeries that he has.
Amy Lucas:So I think life experiences has, you know, kind of built me up to where I am, because there's so many things you cannot control or you can't just drop and do so just the discipline of man I know this is what I have to do, this is what I want to do but just that discipline of disciplining your mind, of figuring out what you know, what is best in that situation or what you should do, whereas, you know, I see a lot of people just always I used to always say man, they just want drama in their life. I think I've known you Think things through a little bit. So I think past experiences helps me talk to people too that way. Like I don't know every person's situation I haven't been in every situation, but you can kind of relate things to you know, this is something that did happen and maybe we can talk through things and get people through different situations.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, yeah, and I didn't mean to say that you're out of the worry with military life, because I forgot. There you have a son, still a child in it, which probably harder than a spouse.
Amy Lucas:No, both of my kids are out of the military now. Which one of them does? He's an electrician for a solar company, so I'm like there's still some worry there because you're working with electricity. And the other one, he, you know, he's went through a lot, you know, had a couple surgeries in Afghanistan, a couple here, and finally got a medical discharge. But he, you know, he went through a lot and sometimes he'll want to just sit and talk about stories, about when he was on deployment.
Amy Lucas:And part of me is like man, I want to hear how these different people live. Or, you know, he talks about how it was kind of graphic, because he's like, well, the houses are made of, you know, feces and dirt. And he said, you know, one shot through the house and it explodes. And I'm like, oh my gosh. So part of me wants to hear a little history. But then part of me is like this is my son and I didn't want to hear you in that situation. Yeah, yeah, I mean they're, they're both, all three you know they're out of the military now.
Amy Lucas:But you know we have so many people that we know that are in the military and even just on day-to-day life I talk to clients and they've lost a spouse or someone from just a random shooting and it's like, oh my gosh, there's threats all over the world. You know there's threats all over the world and just trying to calm your mind and not have that worry is a big thing, because you do. If you have those worries, it's just stressing your body and that's why a lot of people have so many ailments because of all the stress that they let themselves go through.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, so you've got to find a place to release it and let go, like you were talking about earlier, because it can eat you and worry. I think I have been deemed a pre procrastinator, so I'm looking for all of the things that might possibly happen and so I'll try and take care of all of that before, and so it's just, and it it winds up, the older your kids get, the less you can do that.
amy stackhouse:I mean it's more of a. You know, they're involved in things and I've got one in law enforcement and, um, you know, you just she's in North Carolina. So when they went through all of the storm trouble and I mean, even still now roads are out and bridges still fall, and you just kind of go, I just got to know, as you're putting your head down, that you're in the right place at the end of the day, right it's. It can be tough. Well, I mean, you've experienced so many things in your life and and there's just there's a lot that you've learned and and and you've evolved into, and, but there don't seem to be any boulders that you just keep smacking up against all the time. So, how, how, how do you handle life in such a way that there's just not something that that you just, or is there something that you just keep coming up against?
Amy Lucas:No, I don't. I don't feel like there is, and I think, honestly, I think it is just the open communication. You know, even at work, if there's something that bothers me or something that's not working, you know I'm like I'll try and troubleshoot it, and then it's like no, I need to talk to you know, I need to talk to the team and see what can we change, what can we do. So, as far as those boulders, it's just, you know there's. I learned in life there's a lot of things you just cannot change. So if that's not working, then let's just seek something else.
Amy Lucas:So, yeah, it's, it's my biggest boulder right now is trying to convince these kids that I need grandbabies. But I'm like, ok. One of them says, mom, I'm going to school, school, I need to get a job and and get on the right path. And I'm like, okay, but then I taught them the right way is you need to get schooled first. So, um, I'm like, okay, even though I want that, I'm like I'm missing that, those babies at home, and now I want grandbabies. I'm like, okay, it's just not the right timing.
amy stackhouse:So yeah, you taught them. Well, you taught them and they're giving it back to you and you're like but but I didn't really mean it. So if there was something that you could shout out really loud about that just you know your platform what, what would it be?
Amy Lucas:What do you mean Like?
amy stackhouse:my platform like just something that affects you, impacts you, something that you want the world to hear you say. Whether it's the jujitsu world, the health world, what would you really want to be shouting about?
Amy Lucas:no-transcript. 10 years ago it was not here, Like I didn't have the energy to do, even to go to the gym and do a 30 minute treadmill, and so I guess my big thing is get out there, look at regenerative medicine, do your research, because there's companies out there that are not doing the right things. So you don't want to just pick any of them, kind of like Lasix. You don't want to just pick the cheapest one, you want to research, you know who's doing the right things. But you know, jujitsu is for everyone. Get out there and do it, whether it's once, you know, once or twice a month, you're still doing it.
Amy Lucas:So, and just for women in general, just to know that there's things that I'm like, oh my gosh, what if somebody did attack me? You know, at least I know I can defend myself. So just to help women to to know that this is not just a man's sport. Yes, there's tons and tons of men in the sport, but women learn a lot quicker and men will tell you that too. In jiu-jitsu they're like man guys use their muscles, they use their strength, but women use their minds. So that would be the biggest thing is you are not your diagnosis and you are not your age. Get out there and do it. That's the big thing.
amy stackhouse:Well, that's a pretty good thing to be shouting about, and it doesn't matter your age. It's funny. You know, you, these little kids that are coming in, they're, they're going to be in it for a lot of years, but you're talking about expanding your years and and being able to move, so, so that's good, that's good advice. We've talked about a lot of things, gone across a lot of territory. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you want to make sure that we do cover?
Amy Lucas:No, no, I think we've done a great job, just kind of going through everything. But yeah, that's the biggest thing especially all the women listening to us is, man, don't feel like you're stuck in a position. If it's not the right position for you, life still goes on. Move on to something else that's a great fit for you. And even if you think it's a risk, it might be the biggest reward ever, because I doing regenerative medicine, I thought it was going to be. I didn't know how it was going to be and you know, god told me, you know this is where you need to go. So I'm like, okay, I'm just going to go move forward with that. And now we're taking these brand new baby stem cells that God created and we're helping people. So take that risk, take that leap and just jump onto the next thing and try and leave the worry in the past.
amy stackhouse:Excellent, Amy. How do people get in touch with you or follow you?
Amy Lucas:So you can go to newhoperegenerationcom. We have a website, or you could give us a call. And the funny thing is I'm looking around like where is my? Uh, you can give us a call and we can go over that as well. Um, that's, that's funny. I'm like where's our phone number? I tell people all the time, and now I'm talking to you and I completely forget our phone number. All right, I found it. So, yes, it's eight zero zero.
amy stackhouse:Two, four zero, seven, nine, three zero okay, and are you guys on social media as well?
Amy Lucas:yes, we're on instagram and facebook, um, so we and we have a lot of fighters we work with. So we do some filming with some fighters that a lot of people may know or may follow, and so if somebody has like, oh, just like a shoulder, we have videos for that. So it's real fighters that talk about what they've been through, or some of them that's been off the mats for 10 years and now they're back to fighting again and competitions, so we can always send them videos. We have so many fighters that are passionate about this because they know that it helps. So all of our fighters a lot of them are like oh, get me on the phone with someone, I'll tell them about my personal experience.
Amy Lucas:So it's great that it's not just a medical thing. So it's great that it's not just a medical thing, that it's a personal thing, and we do have people that will reach out with the exact same thing and whether it's a hard story, like, you know, the big C, or just something as simple, as man, I tore my ACL and I don't think I can, you know, roll again, because you know they're constantly twerking on my knees. So we have people, you know, in all avenues, that have been through that real life experience and they want to talk about how they've recovered from it. So we always have someone there to talk to people.
amy stackhouse:Oh, that's great. That really humanizes it and people can relate there. So that's really good, okay, and people can relate there.
Amy Lucas:So that's really good. Okay, not just a quick consult on the phone or just a, you know, a quick. Okay, you look at this and you would say yes or no. It's you know, if you really want to talk to someone else, we will get them on the phone with you.
amy stackhouse:Yeah, well, that's great. All right, amy. I got one more question. If you had a superpower and you had it for 24 hours, you can use this professionally or personally. What superpower would you choose? How would you use it? And I always like to know why would you choose it.
Amy Lucas:I guess my superpower would be to take the worry out of people's minds, because the mind is such a strong place and so many people limit themselves on what they're worried about. So if you, if I could take that away and people could just be happy and and just be worry-free and go on about their lives, so many people would be so much happier.
amy stackhouse:I like that, amy. Thank you, it has been a joy to talk to you, so I really appreciate your time.
Amy Lucas:Yes, thank you, I appreciate it. I'm so glad that Becca asked me to be on this podcast and just to talk to other women and let them hear our stories is such a great thing.
amy stackhouse:Absolutely.