'The Hub' with Michael Allen sponsored by Manpower Richmond

Ep. 11 | Amy and Tony Farley's Quest for Holistic Healthcare Excellence | Thrive Wellness

• Kevin Shook

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When paths intertwine in the most serendipitous of ways, the result can be extraordinary. Amy and Tony Farley, the dynamic duo behind Thrive Wellness Clinic, are living proof of this, transforming the health and wellness landscape with their unique blend of science, compassion, and innovation. As they recount their individual journeys, from Amy's leap from the lab to the pharmacy counter and Tony's pivot from educational ministry to nursing, you'll be inspired by their unwavering commitment to the well-being of their community and the passion that drives them to offer more holistic healthcare solutions.

Buckle up for a deep exploration of Thrive Wellness Clinic's groundbreaking services that are changing the game in patient care. With a foot firmly planted in both modern and alternative medicine, the Farleys offer everything from chronic disease management to pioneering IV therapy treatments—services that I've personally benefitted from, let me tell you. Their dedication to a health philosophy that places patient wellness above all else is evident in every aspect of their clinic, from the convenience of in-car visits to the revolutionary approach of nutrition counseling that challenges conventional dietary wisdom.

Working outside the insurance maze, Amy and Tony Farley have not only reimagined patient care but have also navigated the complexities of operating a healthcare facility with a direct pay model—a testament to their trailblazing spirit. Shedding light on the symbiosis of their professional collaboration and personal partnership, they reveal the intricacies of operating a clinic with your spouse while balancing family life. To top it all off, the anticipation of introducing high-dose vitamin C IV therapy at the clinic is sure to pique the interest of anyone keen on the cutting edge of wellness treatments. Join us for an episode that's as educational as it is heartening, brimming with insights that might just transform your perspective on health and wellness.

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Speaker 1:

Michael Allen from Manpower. We are a national brand, yet locally owned franchise. We are familiar with the challenges businesses face. It's tough recruiting and retaining qualified employees. That's why working with Manpower is a smart, cost-effective solution. Our entire focus is talent acquisition. We'll manage your hiring and training and provide ongoing, customized support. Since 1966, we have been your community-invested partner, uniquely positioned to help eliminate the hassles and save you time and money. Let us help contact Manpower today. Hello and welcome to the Hub powered by Manpower Richmond. I am your host, michael Allen, and here on the Hub we interview local businesses, community partners and various special guests. Our mission is to share a spotlight, unique and untold stories of companies, organizations and people who are making a difference in our community. Today's guest on the Hub is Amy and Tony Farley of the Thrive Wellness Clinic, located at 1821 West Main Street here in Richmond. Amy and Tony, welcome to the Hub. Welcome. Thanks, mr Evans.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for having us, I said just thank you so much for joining us today. We've known each other for several years now and through our connection at church. After learning about your business together and its center around wellness, I was really excited about the chance to interview you and find out about how the clinic evolved and eventually leading to both of you opening it. Before we go into that, I'd like for you to just tell our followers a little bit about yourself, kind of where you grew up, your family, where you went to college, and Amy will have you go first.

Speaker 3:

Well, I'm from Cinterville. I grew up here and I went to Huntington. It was college back then Now it's a university and that's actually where we met. He kind of chased me and I fell for it. Then, after Huntington, I went to Purdue and studied pharmacy. I became a pharmacist.

Speaker 1:

What was your initial draw? To go to Huntington Because you didn't know. Tony, yet.

Speaker 3:

I did. I followed my sister. My sister was already there.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

So I followed her there. I did study chemistry and biology.

Speaker 1:

Was that your intent early on? That was your interest even at that point.

Speaker 3:

Science yes.

Speaker 1:

Were you going to go into pharmacy at that time?

Speaker 3:

No, pharmacy never even crossed my mind at the time. But when I graduated and had this chemistry degree and biology degree, I was like what am I going to do with this Mm-hmm. And I had spent so many years in a lab that I was like I need people Instead of just being in the lab. So my mom actually encouraged me. She had worked at Midtown with. Tom Cox until she started having us kids. So she encouraged me to go into pharmacy, right.

Speaker 1:

Awesome, Tony. So we know you went to Huntington, but back up to where you grew up and all that yeah.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm from Southeast Kentucky, Harlan, kentucky, and in the mountains coal mine country. I wouldn't know that, just to talk to you. I know Exactly. But I grew up there and found my way to Huntington. It was a, huntington was a part of the church denomination that we went to in Kentucky. So I found my way to Huntington and met Amy there and then I got my bachelor's in educational ministries, towards youth ministry, okay. But then I had also kind of wanted to do nursing, okay, and me and Amy had been married about a year when I enrolled in the nursing program at Purdue All right, and got my bachelor's in nursing at Purdue and then went on a little bit later and got my nurse practitioner through Purdue, calumet, purdue basically, and that's kind of where that's at.

Speaker 1:

So what? What drew you into the nursing profession?

Speaker 2:

I felt like it was. I could be the hands and feet of Christ. I could be help other people.

Speaker 1:

And then they become a certified nurse practitioner. That that just kind of an extension of that.

Speaker 2:

It is yeah A little more advanced.

Speaker 1:

So one tradition that we have here on the, because of my relationship with manpower, is we like to ask everybody what their very first job was. So, tony, we'll have you go first this time. So what was you remember, the very first job that you ever had?

Speaker 2:

Oh okay, my very first real job was working at the local grocery store back in Harlan. Okay, I was a bag boy.

Speaker 1:

Did you get the stock shelves?

Speaker 2:

too, I did. I was a cashier.

Speaker 1:

Do you remember how much you were making?

Speaker 2:

When I started out, I think I was making four 15 an hour. That's awesome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's good.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, gosh, I believe my first job was, I want to say, through manpower. Okay, I'll have to go in the archives and look at that.

Speaker 1:

That's how you did it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, because that's been a few years Was programming cell phones when we switched to the 765 area code.

Speaker 1:

Okay, was that with GTE or?

Speaker 3:

I'm trying to remember what cell phone company it was, even with Wow.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, I remember we used to. I mean, we're going way back, you know. I mean I'm older than you, obviously, but we used to work with when it was GTE back then and had people working there, so maybe that might have been there.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I can't remember what company it was, but yeah, it was when that area code switched and we had to reprogram all the cell phones to that area. It's funny.

Speaker 1:

I've asked this question of everyone and lots of times. Several times people have said manpower and I didn't even know it. You know, I didn't know ahead of time. So you add to the list of the alumni. So that's good to hear. So let's talk of your vocation and employment journeys before Thrive. So you know, because you just didn't go into opening the clinic. So, amy, what were you doing leading up to before you guys went? You know, decided to open up the clinic.

Speaker 3:

Well, I actually took three years off work. I used to be part owner of the Medi Center pharmacies.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

And I helped when they purchased Midtown so I ran Midtown Medi Center when it switched from Midtown Prescription Center. So I did that. I worked for Medi Center for several years.

Speaker 1:

So Medi Center, what did, were they? That wasn't just a pharmacy, it's just a pharmacy. Oh it's just called Medi Center. Okay, I guess I'm just. I remember Midtown Pharmacy, but I don't remember the Medi Center part of it.

Speaker 3:

Yes, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Okay. So that's where you practiced as a pharmacist, right Okay? And Tony, how about you? I know it, but people don't know, oh yeah, so I worked through.

Speaker 2:

oh gosh, I worked at Reed for a while. I worked cardiology and ear, nose and throat and urgent care through Reed for several years. And then I went and worked. I ran the employee health clinic at Dot Foods out here in Cambridge City for almost seven years. All right, doing primary care and doing truck driver physicals and such, and that's what. That's what I was doing when we decided to do Thrive Wellness.

Speaker 1:

So has. Was the clinic kind of a long term goal or dream, or was it something that kind of once you got into your work and and just developed or whatever did, it did something that just kind of came up between the two of you. I mean, what? When did it kind of the idea start?

Speaker 3:

Well, I think I want to say it's been maybe two years or so that he has been kind of throwing around the idea of doing his own thing.

Speaker 3:

You know, in Kentucky the laws are very different. Nurse practitioners can be on their own after five years. So he has family members who own their own practices down there. So you know that wasn't such a foreign idea to him. So I think it just frustration with the current healthcare system Finally drove him to pursue it. I mean, we discussed it probably this time last year. We were really seriously starting to discuss it. So once we got the idea that we were really going to do it, it went pretty fast.

Speaker 1:

So just I mean. Just I mean what might be some of the frustrations in general. I mean, we're not, I don't want to talk about, maybe, specific. You know institutions, but you know the topic itself. What do you find to be some things that you know kind of give you some angst or some issue with?

Speaker 2:

Uh, maybe not just with him, just um, lack of freedom of choice. It's getting kind of going that way. I feel like you know insurance companies and and governmental restrictions on doing what you want to do and having your own opinion and not, you know, having to push certain things off on people. You know trying to really push agendas and it's like we're. We want to be an agenda less other than to help people be well, we want to have and don't have an agenda.

Speaker 3:

And it really is a sick care model, not a health care.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

And you know it's all about getting people through the doors quickly as possible, slapping a bandaid on things and not fixing the problem.

Speaker 2:

Not getting to the root cause.

Speaker 1:

Right and you address that on your website a little bit about your visits and time that you'll spend with people and in connecting. I made some notes to go over that, so we'll go into a little bit more detail about your services in general, because your philosophy, if I'm understanding it right, is lifestyle medicine.

Speaker 3:

Right, is that right?

Speaker 1:

And listen. I guess just talk about that a little bit. I mean, what that means.

Speaker 2:

Well, lifestyle medicine is basically exactly what it sounds like it's. Instead of throwing appeal, instead of throwing a procedure is something if possible. I mean, there's cases where you there's, there's no other way. But let's do preventative medicine instead of reactive medicine, you know, let's. Let's take the 30 something year old person and get things tuned up in a way get them eaten, eaten healthy, doing exercise, changing their lifestyle lifestyle medicine, changing their lifestyle early on to not not even end up getting high blood pressure or diabetes, to help prevent those types of things. I class draw me.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, something I can identify with. So because you have, you have a great handout at your office, I think it's, I think it's on your site to this there's a link to the six pillars. So you hit, we have. There's whole food, plant based nutrition is one of them. Physical activity, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, restore of restorative sleep I'll get it out and then social connection. So I don't know if you want to elaborate on any of those.

Speaker 3:

if you want, or they can go to the link, but maybe talk about some of those that might be passionate to you or yeah, Well, I know it's not for everyone, but we do advocate for a whole food, plant predominant diets and we have seen just changing the diets for so many people has gotten rid of their problems, you know, from cholesterol to diabetes. We have counseled people, we have given nutrition advice and seeing people completely changed. They no longer their blood work comes back and they're no longer diabetic. So I mean that's.

Speaker 1:

So what? What would be some of the examples of, I guess, meals or or stuffs, how you use plant based nutrition to maybe replace certain things that are diet now that we think, oh, I can't do without that. Or you know, some just ideas or alternatives to certain things?

Speaker 3:

Well, you mentioned, yeah, cholesterol. So, first of all, most people's issue with cholesterol is that they're just consuming foods they have too much cholesterol in it, Right? So cutting back on those foods. And then, as well as cutting back, you can also add foods to your diet that are high in omega threes. That will help bind cholesterol. So like fiber.

Speaker 3:

So we really advocate for, like the oatmeal breakfast right with walnuts and chia seeds, and then fruit berries of some sort, and we've seen that diet just changing that for breakfast as significantly lowered cholesterol in our patients.

Speaker 1:

A friend of mine that I think that maybe he has spoke to you, tony. He told me about, you know, doing the oatmeal and he's much more disciplined than I have it because I've been. After he told me about it, I started doing adding the chia seeds and walnuts to my oatmeal. I don't eat it every day but I do eat it regularly. Right, and this mutual friend of ours. He said that you know they had prescribed to him a statin. His doctor did and he quit taking it. And he did, you know, the oatmeal every day religiously. And then he went back and doctor said oh yeah, your statin must be working. Your cholesterol is way down. And he didn't tell his doctor about. He went taking the statin but but anyway it was so at least in his case it was extremely effective just adding that to his diet. I found that really interesting.

Speaker 2:

And the whole idea is use letting your food be your medicine. The whole the, the hypocritees quote, you know let food be that medicine, medicine be that food. That's the whole idea of if you nourish your body, a lot of these, a lot of these illnesses, a lot of these diseases can be prevented. Now, it's not always the case Everybody, every individual, is different but a lot of times it can be prevented.

Speaker 1:

Any other Things about meals or something that people would find interesting?

Speaker 3:

Well, this is kind of controversial and we had talked before about how our healthcare system is very far behind the times, but it was over 30 years ago that the research was done that showed that people who have diabetes, if you give them a high fat diet versus a high carb diet, their diabetes is worse with a high fat diet and most people associate diabetes with high carbs. And so if you actually cut the fat from their diet so that their cells don't have as much fat, then there's better communication for insulin to basically communicate to get the glucose into the cells so that the blood sugar isn't as high. So that would be a diet where we would basically cut the fat versus carbohydrates, actually increase carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates for somebody with diabetes, and we have done that and we have seen diabetes reverse.

Speaker 1:

So what would be complex carbs?

Speaker 3:

So that would be eating beans, whole grains, and then fruits and vegetables, the whole fruit, the whole vegetable.

Speaker 1:

The. That's great. And then I also saw on these pillars that on your site you I found was really cool there's biblical references to all of them. So you know, bringing in the spiritual component to it is also part of just a whole lifestyle and a whole approach in your life. So you can go to their site and you can see that, see those also the references that they've attached, and we'll mention it again. But what is your website?

Speaker 3:

It's thrive wellnessclinic.

Speaker 1:

Okay, all right, thrive wellnessclinic. So I want to talk a little bit about your services. So, and I'm taking this from the information that you have, you offer services for chronic disease management, nutrition counseling, which we've talked a little bit about, this whole food plant based. You do DOT physicals for commercial driver's license, yes, so school and sports physicals, acute care visits in person or telehealth and in office laboratory services. And then your services are offered, which I think this is really great. You can just go to the office right, or there can be car visits. So what's a car visit?

Speaker 2:

So basically, we do a telephone screen to start with. If they want to call and say hey, I'd like to be seen, or if they're sick and they want to just stay in their car, I can talk to them on the phone, go over their symptoms and then I can go out. And, if need be, I can go out and see them in their car, which I have done. Okay, I'll go out to their car.

Speaker 3:

Swab them.

Speaker 2:

Swab their nose, check them for COVID flu, you know, strip, whatever. But then I can go out there and go over their medications with them so that they can stay in the comfort of the car because they're feeling really bad. And then yeah. I can see them in the car and then you can do telehealth with them.

Speaker 1:

Yes, probably, use something like Zoom or whatever to connect with them and then concierge medicine.

Speaker 2:

That is a concept that we're still kind of playing with, but that is the whole idea behind concierge medicine is, let's say, for instance, you're at your job and you're sick, but you're not sick enough to act. No fever, you can't miss work, you can call us and then we could come to your place of business or even your home. You know, give a certain under circumstances. But I could come to you, do a quick exam, go over your symptoms and then prescribe something there so that you don't have to miss a beat out of your day, uh-huh.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I'm sure there are certain things that might be challenging about that, but I remember my mom always tells me a story about when I was I had a lot of ear infections as a toddler, as a child, and she always tells a story about this Dr Weidermeyer, he had come and made a house call because I was so bad and feeling so bad and she didn't know what to do. And so it's just the old concept of you know, make it a house call, and that's the whole idea behind it. So I want to come to the clinic. What do I need to know and how do I go about making an appointment or stopping by? What's that process?

Speaker 3:

Okay, I'll talk. Well, probably the easiest thing to do is just give us a call and just tell us what the problem is and we can set up an appointment. Whether it's so we have, we also do IV therapy, which is something kind of new to this area, and we have had questions from people about if I want an IV, can I just get an IV or do I need you know to make an appointment and be seen? We can just do IV. So you just call us and let us know. You know what's going on, what the situation is. So if it's chronic disease management, then we set up an hour appointment for the first time because there's a lot to go over. There's usually quite a history.

Speaker 2:

And we want people to feel like they've been listened to.

Speaker 1:

Right, and that's a big part of what your your care philosophy is, yes, hearing people what they have to say, not rushing through the appointment. Right. Because I think anybody can relate to going to it maybe not always, but going having that instance where you've gone to the doctor and there's the waiting room room full of people and the pressure of just getting people processed Right.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Heard this. If you make an appointment anywhere in town, it seems like anymore it's kind of hard to get in places too. It is Be seen the IV hydration, vitamin therapy, injection, all that stuff. I mean, when I came to visit you the first time just to kind of see what was going on, you know, I was really kind of interested in the IVs I've already had two of them already because I've kind of I kind of like I like the. You know the concept. So I did the. You know, maybe it doesn't look like it, but I do work out pretty regularly and I was getting ready to go to this big golf tournament last week. So I came and did the performance and recovery. It felt pretty good after that. And then I got back from my trip and on the airplane with all these people hacking and coughing and I felt like you know, it's maybe coming down with something you know. So I came in and got the, which one is that?

Speaker 3:

The immune booster. The immune booster, probably our most popular one.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you know I've so far I feel pretty good. You know, I mean I'm not instantaneously healed of everything, but my energy level this morning has been pretty good and I'm feeling good about so. Hopefully it's helping to. It's not a healing thing, but I'm sure it's supposed to kind of curve maybe the symptoms or recover faster or whatever. Tell us a little bit about that, since it is kind of popular. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Basically all of your, your vitamins. So it's a like. The immune boost is a higher dose of vitamin C and zinc, and then, excuse me, um, be complex, um, b12, magnesium and calcium, and it just you're getting it directly into the bloodstream versus going through the stomach, where you know most things are degraded in the stomach before it makes it to your bloodstream.

Speaker 1:

So you're getting. That's the thing about taking. You know, taking things orally like that is. I mean I wonder how much of this your digestive? System breaks down that you don't get the full effect. Is there any idea of what? What percent of?

Speaker 3:

quite a well. It's different depending on the drug and that's actually called in pharmacy the first pass effect. So what gets degraded before it ever even gets into your blood system.

Speaker 1:

So is. Is that kind of taking into account of when they prescribe certain milligrams or whatever of a drug or not?

Speaker 3:

It is yes.

Speaker 1:

Interesting, interesting. Um, let's see. Okay, so far with opening the clinic, what's encouraged you the most and then maybe what's been kind of the most challenging thing. So we'll go positive first. So what's been the most encouraging part of opening the clinic and what you've experienced?

Speaker 2:

So far, a lot of the people that we've seen, they've told us they said they feel encouraged, they feel empowered because we're teaching them the knowledge to take care of themselves, to help heal their bodies and hopefully prevent illness, to where they don't have to take a medication. They can do things at home without having to take appeal to get and be well.

Speaker 3:

Most people coming to us are wanting to avoid the medications, so they want to do something to change their life or their circumstances so that they don't have to take medicine, and we just help guide them so that they know what to do.

Speaker 1:

I mean, you invested a lot of years in learning your trade, and so I don't think you're a guest using certain medications at all, I mean because you'll still prescribe medications to people.

Speaker 3:

And we do, and we actually have a dispensary there on site. So we do dispense to people. We have dispensed some blood pressure medication for people with very high blood pressure and we've dispensed antibiotics and nausea medications. So we're not against it. It's just, you know, in my career in pharmacy the most I got to I had somebody who was taking 32 medications and at that point you're just treating, you're getting another medication to treat it as a side effect of a medication you're already on. So so we're not against them, but it's just, it's overdone.

Speaker 1:

Right Like my. I think my mom takes like a handful of meds every day. And I think I wonder like what if she just stopped taking them all? I mean, would she even feel different? I mean, would it be she feel better, would she be worse? I don't know. I mean, I'm not giving her that advice, but right, and maybe she should come see you. But it does concern me that we just prescribe all these meds and people are just taking in hand, you know, five, six, seven pills a day, or even more.

Speaker 3:

And it's because it's easier to write the prescription than to spend the time.

Speaker 1:

And that's a big part of what you're wanting to do at Thrive is spend time, educate people. Educate the people. Go over the alternatives and just see what's best for them, Right, Either it be a lifestyle change, or or continue on a certain med, I'm sure or just try to look at a broader scope of options. That are good for them. Is that fair? Yeah, that's, that's fair. So what's been the most challenging thing so far?

Speaker 3:

Definitely, I would say, the insurance issue. So we don't directly bill insurance because we want the option to do the things that you know that we want to do without being under basically the grip of what the insurance company is telling us that we have to do to treat. So, for example, if someone came in and they did blood work and they had high cholesterol, if we didn't put them on a statin, the insurance company would come after us for that. So you know we want the option to do what we want to do to treat people and give people other options besides the medication. So you know we give the receipts and the information people need to build their you know, to send it to their insurance. But a lot of people just don't understand that.

Speaker 1:

So they can file a claim.

Speaker 3:

Right.

Speaker 1:

The insurance company and I know this is kind of early on in the bit in your business. I mean, has there been much success in people filing and getting coverage? Have you heard much feedback from people yet on that?

Speaker 3:

We haven't heard much feedback at this point in time. Other practitioners that we know that do the same thing have told me that those who file tend to get about 60% back. Okay, so that's not too bad Well that's a nice percentage more than half.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah, so that's awesome. Anything else, I mean, I'm sure, when you open up well, I know just from being in business myself. I mean, we just opened up an office in Newcastle and just getting the word out there is tough yes.

Speaker 3:

It's hard not to get discouraged at the beginning. We had several weeks when we first opened where there wasn't a single patient on the schedule, and then you doubt yourself why did we do this?

Speaker 1:

This was you know, oh yeah, when we opened up in Newcastle it was like a ghost town and I think the staff person thought I was punishing her for being over there. But you know, little by little, word gets out and you just got to just things like maybe today or just getting out on. How are you promoting your services? Are you on social media? I didn't check that part out yet. We're on.

Speaker 2:

Facebook, okay, and we have an Instagram account. But I'm a little older so I'm a little technologically challenged, so I'm still working, but we're on Facebook, we have our website and we've.

Speaker 3:

We advertise in the Great Deals magazine that gets sent to everyone's houses.

Speaker 1:

I think I saw that. I think I saw that.

Speaker 3:

And then we also advertise in the Amish newspaper, which has probably been our greatest response.

Speaker 1:

Wow, what's attractive. Why would the Amish be attractive to thrive?

Speaker 3:

They like the idea of um health through vitamins, minerals, supplements. They really like the IV therapy and they they like alternative means of healthcare and not the standard American healthcare.

Speaker 2:

And they have told me numerous times they lack the idea of not being under the insurance, not being not having to, not having stuff to shove down their throats. That's interesting.

Speaker 1:

Well, I on the Instagram part. I think I know a guy that could help you with that On the other end of the microphone. Yeah, we'll connect after this. Yeah yeah, kevin can help you with that if you need some help. Here's an easy question what's it like working with your spouse?

Speaker 3:

That is not an easy question.

Speaker 1:

Now I say that because I, because, thanks Kevin, because you know I work with my wife. Now she's part time and she makes her own hours because the type of work that she does, but you know we work together and it does well. It doesn't hurt that we're on totally opposite sides of the building, but no, that my wife, that she's awesome in her company, what she does, I mean it's probably been an adjustment, working together, seeing each other.

Speaker 3:

It has been difficult, it's been a challenge, especially when we spend the majority of the time in the same office space together.

Speaker 2:

Right Five feet away.

Speaker 3:

Five feet away from each other, and he comes at things through the nursing perspective. Yes. And I look at things through the pharmacy perspectives that we often clash on that, and he's more conservative with ideas and I'm always like, hey, let's try this new thing.

Speaker 1:

So but it seems like it's working out so far.

Speaker 3:

It is, it is.

Speaker 2:

And I. I couldn't do it without her. There's no way.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think the good answer. Yeah, I think, having the pharmacy perspective and the medic, not just even the medications but also supplements, and I'm the researcher the person researching everything. Yeah, I think it works.

Speaker 2:

It balances out pretty well.

Speaker 1:

I always tell people that my wife is the smartest person that works for the company.

Speaker 2:

And I mean it, there's no thing, but else at Ampower.

Speaker 1:

But you know she's, she's, she's a CPA, but she's a great researcher and she just comes at things in a different way that I just don't. So she, she helps me a lot in that. So that's awesome. And then your dog your you've homeschooled all your kids and your daughter comes to work with you and she you have a little school room in the back.

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Speaker 1:

Where she's doing her studies and you've got great kids. So I think you did a good job in that department. Thank you Thanks, see, if there's. Is there anything else that I haven't asked you about? We have some questions that you're doing there that you would like to share.

Speaker 3:

Well, I guess good time to mention our up and coming is we are getting ready to start high dose vitamin C IV therapy, used for treatment of a lot of different things, from arthritis, you know, to immune boosting, but it's can be used for cancer treatment.

Speaker 1:

Is that type of treatment or therapy being done in town, now that you're aware of?

Speaker 3:

Not that I'm aware of. When I researched it, I found one place in Indianapolis doing it.

Speaker 1:

So what's the concept behind it? Just high dosage of vitamin C?

Speaker 3:

Yes. So high doses of vitamin C usually. So you're trying to maintain a certain blood level of vitamin C. High doses of and again this goes back to this was researched, done all the way back in 1976 was when it was first started, so over 50 years or well, I guess close to 50 years that the very first trial was done. But high dose vitamin C kills tumor cells in the body. So as long as you keep the levels up high enough, you know, and when that first study was done, afterwards they tried to do another study and say it wasn't effective. But they tried to use oral doses and that just doesn't work.

Speaker 3:

The blood levels have to remain yeah blood levels have to be up high enough. So we are getting ready to start that.

Speaker 1:

Great, and so if someone's interested in that, who would be a candidate? I, obviously, someone who has currently been treated for cancer.

Speaker 3:

Yes, and it can be done with current cancer treatment or for people who don't want to do traditional chemotherapy or radiation.

Speaker 1:

Some people choose not to do that.

Speaker 3:

Some people choose not to do anything People don't want to do it Right so they can do the vitamin C. And it can also be done for people who are in remission and want to remain in remission, in remission. So I've seen people do it, you know, like on a monthly basis. Just do the high dose vitamin C, just to keep you know, because people who have cancer when their blood work is done they are low in vitamin C compared to the average person. It depletes the vitamin.

Speaker 2:

C, it depletes it, so it can be done for people who just want to you know.

Speaker 3:

Make sure they remain in remission.

Speaker 1:

It's interesting. I mean this is no way scientific and I'm sure there's all kinds of factors. But I think back to my grandparents, my dad's parents. They, it's ironic, they both end up getting stomach cancer around the same time and they both had surgery for it. And my grandmother had extensive chemotherapy for her stomach cancer and it just obliterated her body and it wasn't that long after her treatment that she had other complications and they're passing away. My grandfather had a little bit of treatment but then they wanted to do more. He said I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it. And he lasted way longer than she did and eventually they were able to do it. And eventually you know is ironic he broke his hip and I think that led to his demise. But it was just interesting just between those two and I'm not saying that would be the case, I don't want anybody to ever say take my advice, but it was just interesting to see how their treatments were different and how they both reacted. And but again, they were both different, whatever. But I just don't think back to that. You know this was quite a few years ago now, but you know it's just interesting how that all played out for them.

Speaker 1:

So I got a couple other questions on your bios. It's a pretty interesting thing that I wanted to talk to you, tony, about. So you like spending time with your family. That's great. Contino, you did an exercise. Does that include the exercise, the wood chopping?

Speaker 3:

Wood chopping, because you do that a lot.

Speaker 1:

I know you guys burn a lot. You know you use wood to heat your home. And then he said anything related to Star Wars, transformers and GI Joe. So tell us when this all kind of started.

Speaker 2:

Oh, you know, from when I was like four.

Speaker 1:

Okay, not 24, 34.

Speaker 2:

No no, and it's something that me and something our sons and I can do together.

Speaker 1:

Uh-huh, yeah, we collect collectibles, so you have, you're into collecting them and you have an extensive collection, or just More than I would like, more than. Yeah, it's like we're going to put all this stuff. Are you the kind of person that keeps them in the original boxes, or do you get them out and play with them? We open them.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I just watched a recent episode of Seinfeld where Jerry was dating this guy that had a toy collection and he was feeding her stuff like wine and turkey to get her to fall asleep, and then he would play with her toy collection when she was passed out.

Speaker 2:

I have not seen that one. Yeah, you have to watch it now and then.

Speaker 1:

Amy, one of your things that you mentioned was cooking. Yes and so you know, I, like you know you got me interested in this plant-based diet because I'd like you know, like a lot of people I mean, I'm sure this is interesting You're gonna probably have a lot of people that want to talk about diet or losing weight as you continue to see people.

Speaker 1:

So One of my things I love is pizza. So what are you going to make for me? That's gonna get me my pizza fix, or try to get me away from that. I know, and it doesn't have to. I don't have to give a pizza for us my life. I understand that, but what's what's kind of it? Do you have a cooking alternative?

Speaker 3:

for pizza. We eat pizza Probably once a week.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so just go ahead.

Speaker 3:

We are, no, we make it.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so how do you make your pizza?

Speaker 3:

So I make the homemade dough.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

I have a bread maker, so I make it easy. All right and then we probably our favorite version of it is barbecue, okay, and we make kind of like a barbecue chicken version of it. All right, we use barbecue sauce and then we Shred tempeh. All right Is that a product you've heard of before.

Speaker 1:

Maybe you've heard about. You know, I know what you're talking about.

Speaker 3:

So it's a fermented soybean product.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

And it's good for you because it's a fermented product. So we we shred it on the pizza and it would look like it was just kind of shredded chicken and then Onions and all kinds of veggies mushrooms and mushrooms that my daughter picks off and and and then I make almond parmesan, so it's kind of like parmesan cheese. But it's a parmesan cheese substitute, yeah they use almonds, so it's almonds, garlic powder, salt and Nutritional yeast probably something else.

Speaker 3:

Okay might not have heard. And you just blend it and it looks like Parmesan cheese and you sprinkle it and I put that on top and bake it. Okay, so that's our healthy.

Speaker 1:

And you like it. Yeah, no, it's quite good.

Speaker 1:

We do, and our children even eat it so One thing I do like that I thought was healthy for me that I eat on a regular basis, is salmon. So that's not plant-based. So what I mean what? What some of you and I like I don't eat it a lot but I do like like a steak. I probably might use steak, I don't know six times a year or or this. I don't like making it myself, so it's not typically. I go out somewhere where they prepare it, so Replacing things like fish and beef. I mean, what do you do for that? And I know you're not telling it's for everybody.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm saying totally abstain, but I'm just curious well, and you know, everybody thinks that fish is healthy and On occasion, yeah, tony. I will eat fish will eat fish on occasion once or twice a year.

Speaker 3:

But even salmon, which everyone thinks is probably the healthiest fish is, actually has a good amount of saturated fat to it. Okay, and one of the issues with fish is the accumulation of toxins in it, so like Metals, mercury and lead, and everything that's in our water will accumulate in the fat of those, so that's why we're not big fans of the fish, and you can actually get more omega-3s through Walnuts and chia seeds and you can from the salmon, so I do like walnuts.

Speaker 1:

I'm Gonna be banking on that a little bit heavier.

Speaker 3:

So there are, which. I've never been a big steak person so I've never tried to substitute for that but there are. People make cauliflower steaks and Mushroom steaks. So we Eat, for example, chili. You know we don't put ground beef in it, but what I will do is I'll put quinoa in it and when it's cooked it looks like. I have fooled so many people with my chili with quinoa in it. They think there's meat and it's aunt's uncles, my moms and dads.

Speaker 2:

They're like oh, what kind of meat is this? Is this deer meat?

Speaker 1:

No, oh yeah I mean you know to to fold the people from Kentucky. You know, exactly so, kevin, you're trying to do a lot of things and wellness and, and I know, and so do you have any questions for him. You have anything you want to ask about it.

Speaker 4:

I'm not sure. Really, I'm very intrigued in the different IV bags we have out there. So we talked about you know, we know friends that drink a lot Alcohol and then they have a hard time rehydrating. So tell me about like thiamine and and what that could do and an IV bag for somebody.

Speaker 2:

Basically it just because. So, when, when people, when people drink alcohol, it does dehydrate them, you know the spot. And drinking lots of liquid, it, alcohol, will dehydrate the body very quickly, you know you pee it out, you will. Some people drink a little too much and they'll end up, you know, with some vomiting and stuff and they will get even more dehydrated. Well, iv fluid bags can and they do rehydrate, they replenish your fluid levels and when you're dehydrated it also it depletes your vitamin levels, your vitamins and minerals. So the IV bags with the added vitamins and minerals, you know, your vitamin B 6 and electrolytes, b12, all those things.

Speaker 2:

It replenishes that and helps you to feel better.

Speaker 1:

So we're not advocating over indulging in alcohol, but if you Do, someone has Gone that, down that path and they're just feeling awful. They do have the hangover cure for they can come over to Thrive and get an IV and kind of get you back on your feet again. So and maybe could have a discussion about maybe why we shouldn't be drinking behavior yes, yes so all right.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think that covers everything that I thought we might talk about today. I appreciate both of you Visiting with me today and Hopefully we've enjoyed it. Amy, I know you had a little sleepless night, maybe. Yes, it wasn't that bad, was it?

Speaker 3:

Oh, in fact, I'm just now finally starting to relax. Oh, I told you I told you.

Speaker 1:

so, hey, thank you so much. And thank you, we've got thrive clinic, I mean thrive wellness dot clinic, correct?

Speaker 1:

and your phone number is 765 0008 008, and then we'll try to get this on the on the screen, but for those you just listening, you'll have to get your pen out and write that down. But so, hey, thanks for following us on the hub and we're just asking you to help us get the word out and Like and share and subscribe and until next time, have a great day. Michael Allen from manpower. We are a national brand, yet locally owned franchise. We are familiar with the challenges businesses face. It's tough recruiting and retaining qualified employees. That's why working with manpower is a smart, cost-effective solution. Our entire focus is talent acquisition. We'll manage your hiring and training and provide ongoing, customized support. Since 1966, we have been your community-invested partner, uniquely physician. To help eliminate the hassles and save you time and money, let us help. Contact manpower today you.