Gentry's Journey

Autism, Anxiety, and Everyday Care

• Various • Season 6 • Episode 1

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The first clue is rarely a label—it’s a pattern. We sit down with psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner Mel “Gibbs” to trace that pattern from a parent’s early hunch about autism to the concrete supports that actually help: teacher observations, school evaluations, paraprofessionals, resource rooms, and sensory-aware routines that turn overwhelm into progress. Mel brings a rare dual lens—family practice and psychiatry—so the guidance stays holistic, practical, and grounded in evidence.

Across the hour, we make space for nuance. Autism isn’t one look; it’s a spectrum that can include a nonverbal toddler and a straight‑A teen who struggles to connect. Adult ADHD isn’t a punchline either; it’s often missed until anxiety, perfectionism, and performance friction force the issue. Mel explains why late diagnoses happen, when non‑stimulant treatments make sense, and how to build an interdisciplinary team—therapists, social workers, pharmacists, and collaborating physicians—that keeps care consistent without sacrificing confidentiality. We also talk about caregiver burnout and safety, and how to map respite, roles, and resources before a crisis hits.

The conversation is anchored by a simple philosophy: better outcomes come from early eyes, clear steps, and a strong village. Mel shares how she stays current with research and policy shifts, translates that knowledge into everyday decisions (from school accommodations to vaccine access), and uses telehealth to widen the front door to care. If you’re navigating early autism signs, questioning ADHD as an adult, or carrying the weight of caregiving, you’ll leave with language, options, and encouragement to move forward.

Want more conversations like this? Follow, share with someone who needs it, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. And if you’re seeking support, reach out to Mel at renewedfocuswellness.com or email info@renewedfocuswellness.com.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello everyone, welcome to Gentry's Journey. I am Carolyn Coleman, your host, and we have uh a special guest, um Jamel Gibbs, and she's gonna give you her titles, and she's going to discuss some of the things she's passionate about, be it be it depression, autism, a little bit of this, that, and the other. So she's gonna tell us about her practice, why she decided to start it, and what keeps her going. So thank you, Jamel, for being on Gentry's journey.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you so much. I really appreciate the invitation. I really appreciate you for even inviting me um to this wonderful podcast. I love what you're doing within our community. So thank you. Thank you. So, yes, I am Jamel. I like to go by Mel Gibbs. I am duly certified both as a family practice and a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I just a few months ago um took a leap of faith and I started my own private practice, which is a telehealth practice. It is renewed focus, health, and wellness. So I have had the pleasure of meeting so many new people. A huge part of what we like to do with renewed focus, health, and wellness is we like to get out in the community. We do like to do health fairs and seminars and conferences, um, panels. I've done podcasts, I've done lots of different things just to try to educate the community. Um, so that's being the city of Birmingham, that's being the state of Alabama, that's being women. I've done topics that are specific to women. Um, I've done topics that are specific to minorities. So um, yeah, and so in addition to that, I also see clients, I see patients via video conference. And so I treat patients with a variety of lots of different um mental health issues, um, depression, anxiety, insomnia, uh, attention deficits, um, autism. I've done several presentations on autism spectrum disorder. And I am very much, because I do have that background in general health, I'm very much an advocate of holistic health. So oftentimes I like to look at several things. I like to look at the client's diet, exercise, um, how much sleep they're getting. So we look at a lot of different factors because those are all important when we're trying to evaluate and figure out what's going on with us as a person and what can be contributing to that. Because if you are not sleeping well, that's gonna manifest and you're gonna see signs of that, not only mentally, but physically as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so let's start with autism. Help parents or kids family members know exactly which direction to go in if they suspect um that diagnosis.

SPEAKER_01:

The way that I like to encourage parents to start is to talk to the teachers, talk to the caregivers, um, talk to sometimes it could be even be uh church teachers. So definitely you want to kind of get an evaluation. Um, most schools they do have um a special education program and they do have a process in place where you can go and you can give the reasons why, you know, you definitely speak with the teacher first. And if the teacher agrees, the school and the school system will usually allow you to have an evaluation. And for the school systems that does have that program in place, it's at no cost to the parents. So it's covered, you know, by the school, by the school system. That's always a great place to start. And then, based on the evaluation that you see from the school, usually they will offer additional recommendations. So they'll tell you if they feel like you need to take it to the next level. They will recommend, they will send that with their evaluation and they will recommend further testing through like a neuropsychologist. So the teacher is the best place to start.

SPEAKER_00:

Because she's kind of hands-on, she sees uh how they move, so to speak, and how they react to certain things.

SPEAKER_01:

Is that the reason? Absolutely, and it's something that she's experienced with. You know, most teachers they're gonna study a bit about that during their studies when they're in college. Also, most teachers they've had students in the past, so they kind of know what to look for. They get continuing education, they take courses to kind of keep them abreast and up to date of what's going on. You know, back in the 80s, maybe even early 90s, autism spectrum disorder was not very common. It wasn't popular, but now it is super common for whatever reason. You know, we don't really know why, but it is definitely more common now. So, definitely teachers they got to be aware, they got to know what to look for. What are the signs and symptoms of someone who may be on the spectrum? Because autism could be someone who is nonverbal, it could be someone who doesn't speak at all, and then autism, you know, being on the spectrum could be this super intelligent, very talented person who's getting great grades, but socially they can't communicate, they communicate in a different way than other children their age. So absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, now when it comes to suspecting, and I hope I'm not asking the question again, suspecting autism or being on the spectrum. I hear a lot of people say, Oh, yeah, he's on the spectrum. And I'd be like, okay, tell me what to look for, or what I might see, or what that individual may see when they're saying he's on the spectrum.

SPEAKER_01:

So usually when children, or I'll say oftentimes when children are on the spectrum, there's signs that you notice very early on, depending on how severe their autism is. So some of the first signs can be um maybe you've got a two-year-old, you've got a toddler who does not respond to their name. Um, not responding to their name is often a common sign. Um, sometimes you may have a two or three-year-old who is nonverbal. They won't make eye contact, they don't like making eye contact, they don't like interacting with other children. They prefer to play along, what we call solitary play. Um, so we the we know that these children oftentimes, even at younger ages, they communicate differently. They don't play and they're not as social and they don't like to interact um as much as some other children their age might like to do. They don't want to be touched, some of them, they don't like hugs. Um, they don't like to play in in big groups with lots of other children. So those are usually some of the first things that we look at and that we target is how well the child is communicating. So oftentimes, even when you take your two or three or four-year-old to the doctor's office, to their pediatrician office, these are the things that the doctor is asking these questions, even if he's not coming out and saying, Hey, I'm checking to see if your child may be on the spectrum. He's asking you, hey, does little Bobby, does he react? Does he look at you when you call his name? Does he make eye contact? Does he respond? How well is he playing with other children in his daycare? So these are things that we are assessing as early as 18 months old.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, now how receptive are parents? And we'll just use the term parents to go globally. How accepting are they of the diagnosis?

SPEAKER_01:

So you've got some parents that are well, I'll say this, you got some parents that will know what to look for because the thing with being on the spectrum, we don't know why, but oftentimes there is a genetic component. So oftentimes parents will have another child who is on the spectrum, so they're a little bit more alert, and very early on, they may see the signs and they may come to the doctor and say, Hey, I think little Bobby is autistic. He's experiencing some of the same things that Julia experienced when she was this age. And I'm ready, let's start the evaluations, let's get them tested, let's see if we can get some accommodations and some things on board because I know the signs. You've got some parents that are just in denial, whether they don't see it, um, and maybe that could be just a very innocent, they just don't know, or they just are in denial, they don't want to see it. Um, you know, and sometimes it'll be other people that accommodate them and say, Hey, you know, I have you ever considered getting little Bobby checked for autism spectrum disorder? But of course, that's not always an easy thing to do, you know, depending on the type of relationship that you have with the parent. But sometimes other people like neighbors or friends or family members, you know, Auntie Becky, church members, they may see these signs whether or not they want to address this with the parents, but they may even notice these things before the parents do. And I've had a lot of times grandparents will say, Hey, you know, I think my grandchild is on the spectrum, but I don't know how to have this conversation, you know, with my daughter-in-law. So yeah, it happens.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I I've had um a couple of friends uh to say that, but what they told me was I just told them I think they need to have him tested. She just was very blunt, but that's just who she is. But when you are the caregiver, the babysitter, whatever, you see more than sometimes mom and dad sees, okay. And so um they were in denial, and and this is, I mean, I've had several. Uh they were in denial. No, mm-mm, yeah, he can count, he can he can do this, he does this, he does that. And she was like, Yeah, all that's great, but whether it is or not, wouldn't we want to um go with the area of caution and go ahead and do some testing? Now I had one friend, she said, I got my baby tested early. And I mean, she just went all the way in. And she said, Carolyn, I caught it in time, I got him tested, and he is doing so much better. So you can have, I can see that divide happening. I truly can, because everybody wants their, you know, their baby to be healthy. Perfect baby. Yeah, you everybody wants that, you know. And even when I look back when I was in elementary school, this one little boy, no, he did not interact with us. Um, he sat near the teacher's desk, he was nonverbal, and he just kind of rocked in his chair. And um so now that I'm looking back, okay, um, these years later, I'm like, oh, he was autistic. And you know, they weren't diagnosing people with autism. I don't guess, okay, back when I was in elementary school. You know, so your background does help. You got what I'm saying? Right. You know, a long time ago, they just put everybody in one box.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So we're just gonna put them in a special education class. But they didn't take the time to really classify and say, okay, this is our autism spectrum disorder, this is attention deficit disorder. So oftentimes I'll talk to clients and they'll say, you know, I've had this, I had this even as a child, but no one took the time to get me tested, no one took the time to have me evaluate it. And I've never been able to focus, I've never been able to pay attention. Or, hey, you know, I didn't I didn't start speaking until I was five or six years old. So absolutely, these are the things that, and I guess at that time we didn't know much about it. But with research and technology and how how even with pharmacology and how we've made advances in medicine and science, we've been able to figure a few more things out. And so we have been able to start accommodations and services and interventions for the kids much earlier and much sooner. And the earlier we start, more than likely, the more successful they're going to be in life. A lot of them go on to graduate from high school, some of them will even graduate from college and they'll thrive in whatever their stronger, their strength is, and that may be music, you know, that may be comedy, that may be um doing hair or cosmetology, but they have their strengths, is just trying to figure out the way that they process, it's just not how your quote unquote typical or average person will do things.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Now I have a background in utilization review. So my patients would call in, you know. I had one of my contracts, they would call in, and everything had to come through me. I think I need to get tested for ADHD. And I'm like, how old are you? And we're talking, they were adults that had graduated college, had been working, okay, for several years. And after a while, I started getting several of these calls. And I I asked, I said, what makes you think you have ADHD when you've done, you've completed this, that, and the other? He said, My boss, my boss told me I need to get J for ADHD. And I'm like, okay, and he said, so I'm willing. It's it's not a problem. I said, no, no, uh, you know, be open, it's it's for your betterment. And I don't remember what the test results were, but I had several adults to to desire to be tested, and I was like, You would have thought someone else would have noticed this along the line, but it they didn't. So when you said that with the ADHD, you know, they finished his, yeah, they finished school, they finished high school. I I've had several college graduates, and I was like, How?

SPEAKER_01:

How with ADHD, you know, they're high functioning ADHDers. Um, some of the common sinus that they may have is they overthink, they overworry about everything. They're perfectionists, and a lot of times they have anxiety. Like ADHD is 90% of the time there's comorbid with having some type of anxiety disorder, some type of anxiety process. Oftentimes it is diagnosed later. Um, you know, I tell everyone, long time ago, the only way we treated ADHD was Ritalin, which is a stimulant medication. So now, you know, Ritalin is a controlled substance. Adderall, it's a controlled substance, it's schedule two. Um, so unfortunately, in the state of Alabama, we have a history of having a substance abuse or misuse epidemic. So for the adults, I get several adults that come to me and they say, Hey, I think I have ADHD. Can I be tested? Can I be evaluated? With with children, when we test for ADHD, again, we get the teachers on board. A lot of times with adults, you know, we're not going to give an evaluation to your supervisor at work. It's very subjective. It's definitely like a screening tool where you're kind of reporting your symptoms. And I will treat adults with ADHD if they feel like it is impacting, you know, their relationships, their marriage, their family, how they interact with their children, their performance at work. But I do not, and everyone is different. But the way my policy is that I practice is I do not start adults if they are like 40 years old and they come to me and say, hey, I have ADHD. I don't start them on stimulant medications. So now, Adderall and Ritalin, that's not the only way that we can treat ADHD. We can treat it with non-stimulant medications, which is even better because, like I said, ADHD oftentimes it is comorbid with, you know, people will have ADHD and anxiety or ADHD and depression. So I will start them on non-stimulant medications to help tackle all of those symptoms that they're having.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Well, that's and I mean that that's great to know. Um, it just was odd to me that you have these 30-year-old people, 25 to 30-year-old, because some of them sounded older. And I'm just trying to figure out how did they get through college. You know, because college is challenging. You know, it's very challenging. And you have to be able to move with the tide, so to speak. You know, so that was mine. But hey, if if that's the way you're going, you're open to it, the assessment, let's let's go for it, you know, because it can't do anything but improve your life, right? And give you some more confidence in what you thought you may have lacked. Right. Now family involvement. Do they what do you want everyone to be on board? As many as to be on board as possible. Should they be using certain keywords when they are when they have the child? Well, that has um autism.

SPEAKER_01:

So with autism, definitely there are a lot of factors that are involved, and it's how severe the autism is. Um, I love that the schools are so accommodating. The schools are wonderful. They have paraprofessionals in place and and they do the evaluations, and depending on the symptoms that that child is having, they may have a paraprofessional escorting them and access to a paraprofessional all day. And that's just an assistance that is available for that child. They can go from class to class with the child a lot of times because they don't like the large social groups and social environments. The child that's on the spectrum will go with the paraprofessional. They'll go either to an isolated area for lunch or to a resource room or an area or room with just a few children, a few other students to have lunch because going into the cafeteria where there's, you know, 200 other children is overstimulating for them. And they are not, it makes them feel very, very uncomfortable and they're not going to be able to function in that environment. So paraprofessionals is something that most schools have access to now that they didn't have several years ago. So definitely depending on the level of autism for that child, it helps to kind of coordinate what types of interventions and what types of services and what types of accommodations and what types of support they're going to need, not just from the schools, but yes, from the families. Because the thing is, you know, after that child graduates a lot, you know, after that, it the support is strictly from the family. And depending on how severe the autism is, I've seen families that are like, hey, you know, mama is getting older, she can't continue to take care of Bobby because Bobby requires so much attention. Bobby is on the spin, has severe autism, and but mama is getting older. So now we've got to talk about what are going to be our options, who's going to help care for Bobby. So definitely, a lot of times I talk to families and they say, hey, what are we going to do when my child gets out of school where we've been used to having all of this assistance and now it falls strictly on the family? Yeah. So that's that's can be very tough and very stressful for the family. So when dealing with clients that are on the spectrum and has autism spectrum disorder, it's very important to be supportive of the caregivers, be supportive of the family and try to introduce them to resources. Sometimes there are resources that they will have to pay for, um, oftentimes out of pocket. So if they can bring family along to be supportive, brothers and sisters, that is awesome. Because for the ones that are really the primary caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorder, they definitely need breaks. Like they need time to be able to go get out of the house, do some things for themselves while someone else is able to come in and say, Hey, yeah, I'll sit with Bobby. I'll make sure Bobby takes his medication, I'll make sure that um Bobby doesn't do anything to endanger himself or harm himself, or because safety sometimes, depending on how severe the autism can be, safety can sometimes be a huge issue. So, yes, when you can get the family involved and supportive, hallelujah and amen. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Now, if you see a child you develop a treatment plan or a plan of care. You um I'm just assuming, so stop me. Do you give that to the parent and a copy to the instructor?

SPEAKER_01:

So the instructor being mean meaning the teacher? Yes, yes. So no, because there is definitely a confidentiality there. So whatever plan I do, it strictly goes to the parent, and the parent decides how they want that to be deceived.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Okay, that that's fine. I just was thinking about the continuity that that would go with it because I know continuity help. Everyone has to be on the same page while similar things.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, and then though the parents, they meet with the the teachers and the educators frequently, usually at least once per semester, to try to update each other on both ends, where mom can say, hey, this is it, what's going on at home, and the teacher can say, Hey, this is what's going on at school. So they communicate during video conferences like what we're doing right now, phone calls, emails, they are keeping the communication open. But whether or not how specific they choose to be, the parents choose to be as far as treatment, that's strictly up to the parent.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. And that's fair. That's definitely fair. Um now have let's talk about a time when you really had a challenging experience with getting different ones on board, and how did you work around that where it came out the way it should have, or close to the way you wanted it to come? Okay, give me repeat that. Would you repeat that question? How did you how would you handle a situation that is more challenging than just doing a diagnosis and getting others to be on board with that? How do you navigate the individuals that are participants? And the diagnosis has to be kind of real close to being on point. How do you challenge? How do you work around that?

SPEAKER_01:

So I am definitely one who believes in teams, interdisciplinary teams. So I definitely like to coordinate and I like to work closely with social workers, I like to work closely with um psychotherapists, therapists, counselors, um, to get them on board. And because I only do telehealth, sometimes I may have clients and I say, you know, hey, this person can really benefit from in-person visits or in-person appointments. Um, and I do have my, I have not really had to use this option yet, but if I ever feel extremely overwhelmed where I feel like I can't handle things, I do have my physician um collaborators. I have a collaborating physician, I have a covering physician that whenever I'm really um at a loss and I'm really feeling like I need that extra support, I have access to physicians as well. So yeah, I reach out to sometimes I'll collaborate with the pharmacist, I'll collaborate with the social worker. So I definitely believe in referrals and reaching out and then yeah, interdisciplinary teams are yes, it is important, not just in the inpatient environment, but also in the outpatient environment as well.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Now, why did you choose this line as your career path? Or did you fall into it? How did that work out?

SPEAKER_01:

So, being a family nurse practitioner, I noticed that more and more of my patients were having a lot of mental health issues and a lot of mental health challenges. And of course, when you're family and you're working in family practice, you're gonna deal with a lot of the major depressive disorders, you're gonna deal with a lot of the generalized anxiety disorders. But I was also starting to see, you know, hey, I want to study this a little bit more as to, you know, which medications, how they're gonna react with other medications and which medication is gonna be best for this person who maybe has more than just one mental health condition, especially after the COVID pandemic, you know, mental health, anxiety, ADHD, like everything was just if if it was like this before, it had just exploded with the pandemic. So definitely during that time, I thought, you know, I think it would be a great idea to go back and to get more clinical experience and put in some clinical hours and um go back to school to be certified as a mental health nurse practitioner. And I think that it was a really, really good avenue for me. Um, I've really enjoyed what I've learned about, you know, neurotransmitters and serotonin and noreethinephrine and how they work in our brain, how the different medications um use that to kind of stimulate us or helps calm us, and so different things like that. So I really enjoyed. I've been so thankful for the opportunity, thankful for my family who's been so supportive because um my husband has been super supportive because since I've been with him, you know, I've literally got my master's degree, then I went and became a nurse practitioner, then I went to get my doctor of nursing practice, then I went back to get my psychiatric and peace. So in his mind, I guess he's like, is how long is she gonna go to school? He's been super supportive. And so that's right, that is family, is everything is so much, and so now that I have finished, I have a little bit more flexibility, and I am just enjoying being wife, I'm enjoying being mom, I'm enjoying having the time and the flexibility to go to those ball games that maybe I didn't have when I was in school. So yeah, that's been and it is rewarding too to be able to be such a great resource, as I said, in the community, being able to do the seminars and being able to educate our community and then also getting a chance to treat the patients. And I'm saying, hey, you know, when I came to you, I was hopeless, I was sad, my mood was fluctuating, I had so much instability, but now I can focus, now I can concentrate, now I am enjoying the things that I had stopped. Doing. I can't go back to church. You know, believe it or not, I see a lot of clients who have anxiety from about church, church settings, large crowds, or just having experienced trauma related to church. So I get a chance to experience and hear so many different interesting things. There's never a dull moment. So it is this has really been a great fit for me. And I'm so thankful that God, again, just allowed everything to work out the way that it has because it's really been a blessing.

SPEAKER_00:

That's great. Um, yeah, I was getting ready to ask you about your career path. And I'm having support so that you can accomplish the things that you desire to accomplish, it's priceless. That is absolutely priceless. And and I have run into some people who have put their dreams or their goals on hold because they don't have that support team. And it is truly necessary, and that support team has to be kind of consistent because you don't need this worry when you're taking classes or when you're at your clinical setting, you know, doing whatever that curriculum calls for. So it is wonderful to hear that, you know. So um, no man is an hour, that is for sure.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. I've had the help of parents and in-laws and my husband. You know, I've got the kids, I'll take care of dinner tonight. Because without that, there's no way. Without my support system, there's no way I would have been able to accomplish anything that God has allowed me to do. So I'm so thankful that He blessed me with my with my community, you know, with my group, with my village, because I I don't know where I would be without them. It's it's really been a blessing. So you like you said, that's correct. Like so many people, they have things that they want to do, but because they don't have the support system to kind of help them through that, they're not able to do it. And you have some people who are resilient and they're able to overcome those factors and achieve things despite that. But I literally could not imagine, and and there's no way I don't think I would have been able to do anything without my village.

SPEAKER_00:

I agree, I agree 100%. When I went back to get my bachelor's or to finish it up, I was like, I didn't have that worry, you know. You have that guilt, but I didn't have that worry. Um, and it's you know, I would adjust my schedule so that I could take my daughter to dance or you know, to her dance lessons and some because sometimes you just want to do that, and sometimes I would purposely have her late for school so that we could have breakfast together. So and we would go to McDonald's and eat. And um, you know how this crew is in McDonald's, it's a crew of men that read the paper and they they talk, they are their own support team, right? And coffee, yeah. So they're gonna get their coffee, you know, and and the employees know them, they know what they like, they have it ready for them. And so um, she and I were just talking. I was trying to play catch up, and she was saying, um, you know, we were just just talking, and so I said, Well, all right, then now it's it's time to go to school, I'll check you in. And so this gentleman came over, he said, Hey, how you doing? That's something good. He said, We just noticed that you and your daughter come in here from time to time, and he was like, Um, what time do she have to be at school? I thought she's gonna be there today. He said, What do y'all do? I said, I'm in school, I kind of miss a couple of things, so I just want to have give her some of me. And he was like, I love it, I absolutely love it. I and we thought that's what you were doing, you know. Had they done already, hey, they've already assessed us, okay? So and they said, We thought that's what you were doing. So we I just had to ask for the fellow now. Oh, he asked them for the fellow, uh, but I said, You never know who's watching, you know, and um, and it was just good for her, it was good for me. And so one of my co-workers when I got to work, she said, Is everything okay? I went, oh yeah. And so later on, I whispered in her ear, I just needed to have breakfast with my daughter. She was like, Oh wow, oh, that is wonderful, you know. And I said, I said, I don't know if it helps her or if it helps me, helps the both of us, but I walk away feeling fulfilled. So um, yeah, that family support is is everything. It it is everything. And I'm I'm grateful to have had it. Um, so like I tell people, oh yeah, I don't mind, I don't mind being the aunt that um that somebody um bring I have to babysit every wee once in a while, you know, but but when you have support on every side, you just gravitate to where you feel like it's best, you know, and then you know sometimes you might have to be the fallback guy, and that's okay, you know. But hey, yeah, I I'm I'm here to be the fallback guy, but I just don't want to do it 24-7.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, I just and then there's that there's that give and take because there's gonna be the time that you need the support, and then there's gonna come a time when you've got to be the one to give the support, absolutely, absolutely, especially in marriage. Definitely. Um, I learned that someone said, you know, when you go into marriage, you're thinking it's gonna be 50-50, it's never 50-50. Yeah, yeah. At times it's gonna be 90-10. That's it. That's it, and that's fine. That's because at times you're gonna be the person to give the 90, and there's gonna be times that you're the person giving the 10.

SPEAKER_00:

And absolutely, I mean, it is you have to do what is needed, you can't put, like you say, that 50-50, you can't put a percent on it, uh, of that nature, because you might have to pick up the entire ball and run with it, you know, because they can't, you know, we we can't foresee the future. We don't know. Um, you you talked about covet. Um praise God, I've never had it. Okay, but that didn't my household. Hey, my household fell apart. Oh, my husband had uh he had something. Uh my son, I'm like, what is it? All of a sudden, everybody everybody's falling apart, and I just I want to know how did you not get it?

SPEAKER_01:

I never in 2025. I've never spoken with anyone who's never had COVID at some point.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I I believed in my mask, I believed in social distancing. I still um I did not isolate myself because I'm not one of those people who can be isolated. I noticed it in some people that the isolation was getting to them, and I would say, you need to get out. I don't care if you go walk the track, you need to get out. God did not design us to be loners, you know. We he designed us to commune, uh, but you have to be careful with that, you know. Um, my mom is still with us, praise God. So I tried to make very sure that I was basically covered, okay? Because I don't want to be going over there. She helped as a whore, I leave, then oh no. Oh, that would have broke my heart, okay? So so um, you know, it it's just by the grace of God, okay. But I I I am a I believed in the vaccines, I believed in the masking, I believed in the hand washing, I up my vitamins, you know, instead of taking them once a week, like we do, you know, I started taking them every day, you know, to keep my immune system up. And um, so uh, you know, it worked out, but when um I don't know, if my my son had something else, and my husband had like a claw, it just it just was things falling apart up in this camp. And I was like, are you guys kidding me? Are you you know though? But what did I had to hold it all together? I had to hold it all together. I shut it all down, I made the necessary contacts via email and just said, I am off the grid, and that was it. That that's basically what I told my employer. I am off the grid. I have I have got to see about my family because my husband got hospitalized. Like, what? This was going from sugar to whatever, you know, but you do what you have to do to maintain, and he was in when you could not go into the hospitals. You remember that one? You know, so it was just like I was like, this would happen, this would happen, but you know, it it worked out. Um, and his was not the first round, it was kind of like the second round because they had the um what was the medication redesivir? Yes, so he was able to get that. Okay, so that was basically like in my opinion, the second round. So you do have to have that, and everybody needs to know when to fall into place that is really you have to fall into place. You gotta hey, you gotta line it up. You have to line it up now now, Mel. What do you do to stay abreast of changes in your profession?

SPEAKER_01:

So I I do like to read um articles. I actually subscribe to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. There's a journal that they put out every quarter, um, with which has evidence-based, you know, the newest, most latest evidence-based practices. I read that, especially the things that are in my area. So, of course, I may want to read the things about maternal health, but or like OB, or but because those aren't my areas, like if I read it, I read it. If I don't, I don't. But definitely the areas that I work in, I like to stay up to date on that. And and even again, just some of the general practice, um, general family medicine type things, I like to stay up to date on that as well because oftentimes my clients will have questions. So, say for instance, I saw someone last week and she said, Hey, I'm coming to you and I want to ask, I'm having a really, really hard time. I want to get my COVID vaccine. I know that COVID is happening again and people are getting COVID, and I haven't been able to get a vaccine. And um, my doctor won't give me the vaccine. So I was able to educate her and said, you know, hey, things are different now with the CDC, with the current administration, isn't it? And she was like 25. So I was like, it's not going to be as uh easy for you to get a vaccine, a COVID vaccine right now, um, because they are gearing that toward focusing on the, you know, a certain population, certain populations. So if you are 25, generally healthy, no comorbidities, it may not be as easy for you to access the COVID vaccine right now as it was maybe a few years ago.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

So just staying up to date on those type things because I do get those questions and I like being able to answer them and address those.

SPEAKER_00:

That's great. Um, and it is because when people come to us, they have those puppy dog eyes, they want to know something. So we want to be able to at least talk them through a portion of it before handing them off to someone who is uh a little has a little bit more expertise than I can get. So we do have to stay abreast of what is going on. Um, someone called me the other day, and their child will be having a transplant. And um she was calling, trying to find various equipment for her trial. And um, she called the health care advocate, and the healthcare advocate called me and I said, direct her to her um transplant coordinator uh because you have access to certain things, but is it going to be age appropriate for this child? Does the child really need it? I said, when you go in and you have been uh accepted as a transplant recipient, they take over and they're not going to leave you in want. Okay, so and so don't get in this at all. Just tell her, um, I appreciate you calling me, but this is what you need to do, and you know, I can't help with that because that transplant is so specific, they don't play games when it comes to that.

SPEAKER_01:

That's what I was about to say. They're very territorial, they're territory, and you know what?

SPEAKER_00:

It um when I talk with my patients who've had it, and I I tell them who've had transplants, I said, I don't care if you feel like you're catching a cold or a cold sore, you need to call that transplant team. Um, don't don't mess around with anyone else, don't don't go to urgent care, you get in touch with your transplant team. And they were like, Really? I said, really? And I'm not kidding. Okay, all right, Miss Carolyn, I'll do it. I said, please do, you know, because they know you now from stem to stern. So you do not want to tamper with that. And if they and I think they've even probably told you this at some point in time, anything comes up, you're right. Give us a call. I said, they mean it, anything that comes up, please give us a call. So, you know, we you know, just reiterating that educational piece for them, you know. So, um, so I try to stay up on things as well. Um, you know, some days it's hard because you're tired of reading. Um I gotta learn how to work this AI, but uh yes, we both do, right? Copile it. I'm like, y'all hitting me with too much, you know, but it is just going to take time and everything else just to get acclimated to what's we specifically need these things for. So um yeah, education is key, asking questions is key. I I like for people to ask questions. I'd rather you ask than not ask, because if uh we don't if I don't have the answer, I'm gonna direct you to someone who does. Okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So with do you have any closing remarks you'd like to leave with the audience?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I would just like to say again, this has been wonderful. I love any opportunity that I'm able to get is just kind of share, you know, what I do and what I'm able to offer to the communities, to minorities, to women, to citizens of whether it's our city or if it's our states. Um, and again, I like to be able to offer resources, you know, a lot of what you do. And I like being able to team up with people like you. So if there are resources out here in the community that's available to that family in need, I like to either be able to point them in that direction or say, you know, hey, I don't know, but let me get you in contact with Carolyn Coleman because she knows about some resources, you know, or some social workers. So I've been able to, you know, get people set up with meals on wheels. Sometimes I deal with um, you know, caregivers, because I definitely have a heart for caregivers, whether it's dealing with children or loved ones who are on the spectrum, or even those with dementia, which is also very difficult, a very chronic um condition that is very debilitating, not just for the patient, but for the caregiver. Even to find resources for them, you know, the area on aging, there's different resources out there that that's been able to get funding that can be available for families. So I like to either introduce them to that and say, hey, call this number, go to this website, sign up for this. And if I don't have access, I love to team up with people like you and say, hey, what resources are you aware of for a caregiver who's caring with someone with Alzheimer's dementia? So this is really good because it gives us the opportunity to collaborate. I agree. And just kind of find out, okay, what is your nursing background in? What are you good at? Okay, so mental health is your thing. Utilization is my thing. Let's go ahead and try to put this together and see how we can best address this within our community. So again, thank you just for this opportunity to just be able to come on here and introduce myself and let people know, you know, what I have to offer if they're in need of any services that I can provide.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that's great. Thank you for coming, but I also want you to uh inform the audience on how they can get in touch with you, your website, uh things of that nature. Okay. Okay. Yeah, go ahead and go ahead and and speak it out. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So yes, I am Mel Gibbs. I am a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and my website is www.renewedfocuswellness.com. I'm also on Instagram, renewed focus wellness, and my email address is info at renewedfocuswellness.com. And I will also send that to you so that you can include that um information in the caption as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, absolutely. Thank you so much. You have a wonderful day. I have truly enjoyed uh our conversation. Uh, I'm sure we will have many more to come. And um, hey, that's what we need. That is exactly what we need. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you so much, Carolyn.

SPEAKER_00:

I really appreciate you. Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me, it really does.