Stroke Survivor Bootcamp With Dr. Phil

Stroke Survivor Bootcamp with Dr. Phil: "Stroke Survivors Jeffery, Chellie, and Gilbert at a Bootcamp"

• Dr. Philip Lamoreaux, OTD, OTR/L, CPT

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In this episode of "Stroke Survivor Bootcamp", Dr. Philip Lamoreaux, OTD, OTR/L, CPT, chats with stroke survivors Jeffery, Chellie, and Gilbert as they share what it's like to do one of Dr. Phil's Stroke Survivor Bootcamps and what a difference it's made in their stroke recovery.

NOTE: Be sure to check out some of the helpful worksheets that can be accessed by clicking here, or by going to www.StrokeSurvivorBootcamp.com.

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Hosted by Dr. Philip Lamoreaux, OTD, OTR/L, CPT, Stroke Survivor Bootcamp is a practical, hope-forward podcast for stroke survivors and caregivers, built to help you understand what’s happening, ask the right questions, and take back control one step at a time. Each episode blends real-world hospital and rehab guidance with clear, compassionate coaching so you can turn fear into a plan and progress into momentum.

For more information on signing up for a one-on-one Stroke Survivor Bootcamp session with Dr. Phil, just go to www.StrokeSurvivorBootcamp.com


Created & Produced by Christopher Ewing
Hang On to the Dream Foundation

Written by Dr. Philip Lamoreaux, OTD, OTR/L, CPT

Listen each week to the Stroke Survivor Bootcamp podcast with Dr. Phil, the OT Professor, where he will share with you practical tools, real stories, and the mindset to keep moving forward on your road to recovery! 

If you are a stroke survivor, sign up for one of Dr. Phil's Stroke Survivor Bootcamp sessions.  These sessions are proven to help stroke survivors regain more mobility following a stroke.  Just go to www.strokesurvivorbootcamp.com for more information.

If you are a stroke survivor, sign up for one of Dr. Phil's Stroke Survivor Bootcamp sessions.  These sessions are proven to help stroke survivors regain more mobility following a stroke.  Just go to www.strokesurvivorbootcamp.com for more information.

SPEAKER_03

The comments expressed in this program are the personal opinions of the participants and not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition that you may have. Please consult your doctor or healthcare professional before making any changes to your current medical routine.

SPEAKER_04

I was just stuck. I mean, I think the most overlooked thing of stroke recovery is your mental health, especially for men. Because, you know, you're supposed to be the Smacho guy and you know lift heavy things and stuff like that, and I totally lost my identity when I had my stroke.

SPEAKER_00

The past year, well, uh going back to my boot camp, I went into it with um why not? Um, and I was using a cane before the boot camp and I wanted to be better. Um, I didn't know what that looked like, but I wanted to be better. And uh over five days I experienced more in five days than I had been uh earlier uh the two years before. And um and now I uh I haven't used a cane in uh uh over a year.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I was just in a constant state of saying to myself, oh, there's another thing I can't do, there's another thing I can't do. And uh I knew that I needed to get out of that depression, and I didn't know the avenue I was gonna take to get out of that depression, but I have to tell you that um looking for an avenue of just healing myself physically, I found the avenue to healing myself emotionally. And that was through the boot.

SPEAKER_03

And I am really excited because I'm surrounded by three individuals that I have grown to love and just look up to and uh just respect as human beings and are individuals that uh I'm lucky that I get to interact with. And um so I am here in St. George uh doing a boot camp with Shelly, Gilbert, and Jeffrey. Um, and all three of them are going through this process at the same time, and it's actually their second boot camp that they're going through, and it's it's actually been really fun. This is uh the we're halfway through in our process and are about to go and have some fun up a up a big hill. And uh, you know, this morning we went up uh 333 stairs and had some really cool things that that happened there, and but I just wanted to give you know each one of them an opportunity to introduce themselves and tell us a little bit about them and and uh and we'll go from there. So how about Shelly? You go ahead and get started.

SPEAKER_00

I am Shelly Mitchell, and I had a hemorrhagic stroke uh in August of 23, and I am on this boot camp, and it was it is amazing. Um I have been here before and uh I know what to expect, but yeah, uh this uh it is amazing because um I was able to meet Gilbert and um uh Jeffrey, and we are all doing it uh at the same time. So um, yeah, it is amazing.

SPEAKER_03

And if you're wondering, yes, it is Shelly from a previous episode on the on the stroke cruise. Um, and so we're just excited to have her here. Gilbert, go for it.

SPEAKER_04

Gilbert. Hey y'all, my name's Gilbert. I'm 38 years old year old. Um, I had an ischemic stroke in October 2024.

SPEAKER_03

And uh we're glad that that you're here with us.

SPEAKER_04

Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, this is this is uh awesome. I've I've worked with Gilbert uh because the we uh you know I go and I teach in Vegas, and so after the boot camp, Gilbert just you know wanted to come and be close to family, right? And uh family just luckily is in Vegas where I go and I teach.

SPEAKER_04

So blessed uh for you for to see you all the time there.

SPEAKER_03

So it's been it's been kind of fun. Been able to do a session uh almost every week for for a bit. And so that's been that's been really cool. And then our friend Jeffrey.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, how are you guys? Thanks for tuning in. Uh I'm Jeffrey. My stroke was in 2023, January of 2023, and uh hemodratic. I can never say the word, but anyway, it happened in my brain. And my left side is done, uh uh a little bit paralyzed, and my um I was right-handed, which was a blessing. I didn't have any voice issues or any eyesight issues. Um, so I feel lucky, and then I spent about three years just trying to think myself better, and uh finally I ran into uh Dr. Phil's work, and um I tried to get in as soon as possible. I was in um a couple months ago, and I just got a lot of benefit from it. So when the invitation was sent out to join this boot camp, um I jumped on it, of course, and came straight to Utah, and uh glad I did. I met some fellow stroke survivors um that are now warriors, and they have become very good friends of mine, and I am just really happy to be here and have the experience that is as positive as you could possibly be. Because unfortunately, the world when you're recovering from stroke can be a negative place at times. And so when you have an opportunity to get around people that know what you're going through and have ideas to help you and want to help you, and want to see you do better, and people like Dr. Phil that work at seeing you get better and have the knowledge it takes to make you better, it just lifts your mind up a lot. And it really opens you up to I can be better, I will be better, and I want to be better. So this is just my second boot camp, and I plan on having many more, actually. Every opportunity I get, that's what I'm gonna do because that's all I got to do right now is get better and and work at that. That's my new job. Eight hours a day, five days a week. Get better. Yep.

SPEAKER_03

All right, yeah, I I love that. Thanks for thanks for introducing yourselves. And um, you know, this has been a really unique and monumental uh experience because you know, a boot camp has typically been you know one-on-one, right? You know, me with one individual, and we go and we we we focus on just you. And this one has been different because uh it's actually the the format is is to give an opportunity for uh for these other therapists who are with us. Um, shout out to Perry and Rochelle, who have just been awesome. Um, and they they are coming to learn how to do high-intensity gate training as OTs. And so this is had a little bit, you know, when I chatted with you guys before, you know, this is a little bit as an opportunity for them to actually work with somebody who's had a stroke and try doing something that in a lot of ways is is new and and different and and scary. And so it's been it's been kind of a cool, cool experience to to watch them and and uh watch them start to gain more confidence in pushing and doing this, but then also for uh to see that even even in this setting, as we're doing high intensity, I mean, there's been some really cool things that have happened. I mean, we almost died by a gopher snake. And uh we we've done um some really cool, crazy things on a treadmill that you know we we haven't done on that small of a treadmill before. And so that's been really cool. And uh just still continuing to have more things that we're going to going to accomplish uh as we have a day and a half left uh left to go. We're gonna do kind of a night night session tonight because it's a little bit hot here in in St. George.

SPEAKER_00

And I thought because you were training, I wouldn't get quite the boot camp I got last time. And wow, you uh kick my tail. So, anyways, uh training or not, you kick my tail.

SPEAKER_03

And that's been kind of that was one of my worries, right? One of my worries is like, okay, is if I if I add more people, does that decrease the experience that you get at a boot camp? Now there is going to be a little bit of it, a little bit that you know it's not just you, but because there's trainers that are here and they're pushing and they've learned the principles and they're they're being uh directed on what to do, there's still that that growth that that's been happening. And so I'm uh I've been really pleased so far uh from what we've what we've been able to what we've been able to do. Um now I have a one question that I have for you. So for two of you, it's been over a year since you did a boot camp. So I would like so for Shelly and Gilbert first, and then we'll go to Jeffrey. So you do the boot camp, have these these cool experiences, see that you can do more, and then tell us just about like the experience over this past year. What is what has that been like?

SPEAKER_04

Okay, so the first boot camp um had a walker and um cane and quad cane, and um I I was just stuck. I mean, I think the most overlooking of stroke recovery is is um your mental health, especially for men, because you know you're supposed to be the Smacho guy and you know lift heavy things and stuff like that, and I totally lost my identity when I had my stroke. So when I first met Dr. Phil, he came to my house and he's like, What do you want to gain out of this boot camp? Or what what are your ex expectations? I was like, I want my life back prior to the stroke. And he's like, Well, what's stopping you? He's like, What do you what did you do before your stroke? What what were your hobbies? I said, I like to fish. And then after we did the high-intensity uh gate training, we he's like, let's just let's just go fish. And then yeah, it's gonna look it's gonna look a little different with um adaptations. He he actually went to uh what was it? Walmart Walmart or Bass Pro Shops and bought a gun holster to put to put my fish around and then it was true, it was awesome. This guy's mcarbur. I mean but hey, I I was out there fishing, it was just you know, we are not defined by our stroke, we're we're redefining ourselves. Yeah, he shows you um that we're much more capable than what we really keep in our minds. So, yes.

SPEAKER_03

That was uh this it was funny because we it was me and there were there were two other therapists that were there learning, and between the three of us, we were you should have seen us going down each aisle and figuring out okay, how can we make this so that it's it's more stable, so that we can still get the left arm involved, but so that if a fish actually gets on, you know, it's not gonna just rip out of his hands, you know, and and um and it was we we went down that aisle and found a gun hole, so we're like, oh, that's it. That is it. And then it was just funny because we we were like, wait, but there's a left and a right, and we had to try to figure that out, and it was it was fun. It was fun though, because then what do we do? We went into your backyard. Do you remember? We we came to we came to to your house, we went to your backyard, we we kind of built it right there, and and then we did sea pipes and um duct tape. Yeah. And and then we had you like throw, we actually had it um uh attached to a shoe. A shoe on it to to simulate a fish.

SPEAKER_04

Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And so then had you actually practice reeling in with the shoe, and then we actually do remember the the uh um the dump truck?

SPEAKER_04

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And we took the dump truck, tied it to the dump truck, and had because that was heavier, right? And so trying to see if it was a heavier, if it was a heavier fish, would it come out of the gun holster? Would you lose it? And you know, and and it was actually real, you know, had you practice like tossing it out there. And I thought that was that was really cool. And then we actually went to um a a little what would you call it? Pond. Yeah, like a pond that does have fish. Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting, so that was that was a bummer.

SPEAKER_04

But we do need to go fishing and I was actually supposed to be fishing on Saturday, but I I'm doing this boot camp, so yeah. It's whenever I get a chance to go fishing, uh I'm going now. You know, I can stand up steady on a boat and he's like, just why not go for it? What you know, why not? What's holding you back? The stroke is not holding you back. You can it's just it's all in your head that you're you're you're holding yourself back to doing these things to live a life, a fulfilled life that you used to prior to the stroke.

SPEAKER_03

So I think I like that. Because it it highlights really like think about what a bootcamp is designed to do, right? Of course a bootcamp is designed to help you get movement back, right? I mean it's designed to help you perform better. But man, one of the things that continually is uh is is a consistent thing that I keep hearing from from you guys at the end is the mental change, the the perception of what you are capable of changes.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Which in turn opens up more doors. Because instead of putting this this uh boundary around what you're capable of, you go, you know what, and I love you brought the why not, because that's kind of one of the phrases that you know I have a couple of phrases. One is why not, and then the other is commit and let go, right? And you know, really the question is, you know, if you used to be able to go upstairs, why not now? If you used to if you used to, you know, go shopping, oh, why not now? The way that you get to where you want to be is by doing it more and more and more. That's the evidence.

SPEAKER_04

It's gonna look a little different, you know, but we had something very traumatic happen to our brains, so but we that doesn't stop us from doing the things that we love to do.

SPEAKER_03

Correct.

SPEAKER_04

You know, we just gotta keep on pushing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So Shelly, it's been a year.

SPEAKER_04

Yep.

SPEAKER_03

So t tell us about you know what's happened in this past year.

SPEAKER_00

Well, um, the past year, well, uh going back to my bootcamp, I went into it with um why not? Um, and I was using a cane before the bootcamp and I wanted to be better. Um, I didn't know what that looked like, but I wanted to be better. And uh over five days I experienced more in five days than I had been uh earlier uh the two years before. And um and now I uh I haven't used a cane in uh over a year. So I walk everywhere without a cane and I push myself to do the shrew mill like you taught us. I uh strap weights on and I go for it, and my gate has improved, and um everything has him proved because the bootcamp taught me that uh there is no limits. Um unlike uh other people, I feel the uh oh what I have before is uh gone. So I need to uh start a new life and uh I I don't know what that looks like, but I am up for anything. So I won't be jumping out of an airplane. But but um yeah, I don't know what it looks like, but I am eager to find out.

SPEAKER_03

I I love that too, because you know one of the things that whenever you have a traumatic experience, whenever you have something that happens and it takes it takes something away, there's this piece that you have to you have to come to a realization of, and it's that like in order to even get something back, I have to be willing to go through the suckiness of what it's going to take to experience doing it in the way that I am currently, and as you do it in the way that you are currently, you will end up developing a new and a a different, oftentimes a different way, but it becomes still be can become a part of you.

SPEAKER_04

Yes, which is the most important part to all strokes of art, is because we're we're grieving our past life, right?

SPEAKER_03

You said that's really that's really important because you're grieving your your past life, right? Yeah, prior to the stroke. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Well, but if you grieve it and get past it, um you can uh experience more things than you thought you could be. Um yeah, it is uh crucial for uh uh getting ahead and growing and because my life back then is dead, but uh it's okay because I have new life to discover.

SPEAKER_03

I was I always love you know, Shelly, right from the beginning, that's always been your approach. I mean, it wasn't right after, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Uh for about three months, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Took about three months, and then you decided, okay, you know what? It uh it's going to be whatever I make it.

SPEAKER_00

Yep. Fake it till you make it.

SPEAKER_03

Now I do want to go to Jeffrey. So, Jeffrey, it's been it's been a few, it's been a few weeks. Man, I I I love this man. Um, it's been a few weeks since since we were in uh we were in San Diego and and pushing. And um as you you know, you and I have talked almost every day since then, and you know, we have a lot of cool things that are that are developing. Um since since the boot camp, um what oh my gosh, I love this. Since the boot camp, what is it that you know what have you experienced?

SPEAKER_01

Okay, yeah. I mean, because my boot camp was a short bit ago. So I actually um my experience was with the boot camp. My experience was that um, you know, because I went through Shelly went through three months of uh, you know, depression and um not feeling it and regretting her life. And I went through that for three solid years. I mean, every time I seen a commercial that was somebody doing something even somewhat interesting just threw me into a depression of uh, you know, it's just like if I can't live life to the fullest, why live life at all? So I um, you know, I was just in a constant state of saying to myself, oh, there's another thing I can't do, there's another thing I can't do. And uh I knew that I needed to get out of that depression, and I didn't know the avenue I was going to take to get out of that depression, but I have to tell you that um looking for an avenue of just healing myself physically, I found the avenue to healing myself emotionally. And that was through the boot camp.

SPEAKER_08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I expected to go into it and to have my fingers open up and to start my ballet classes again. But um, what I got was you know, hard work and exercise and an understanding that I am gonna get better, that there is a way to being uh having it turn around and going in a positive direction because I had been experiencing not that there's anything wrong with it, but I had been experiencing um a more traditional low-impact uh therapy, and that um wasn't working for me because I was used to jumping off cliffs into oceans, you know, and skydiving out of planes. And it was just like just opening my hand up uh or not opening my hand up after sitting in the chair all, you know, for half a day trying to open it up and you know, trying to take a step up a staircase, you know, just wasn't working for me. So I was really just going into the boot camp, saying to myself, okay, well, this guy's gonna come out, he's gonna exercise me to death, and I'm gonna pay him for it, and he's gonna leave, and I'm gonna be a little bitter, and we'll go from there. But I gotta try it because I need a boot camp, I need something to motivate me, and and so I signed up for it and I went through it, and um it was far much more um mentally and spiritually, it fed me that in those directions. Um, although the physical breakthrough is what made that happen for me. So while I'm in my boot camp, my body starts to respond like I would expect it to respond. When it found itself, you know, being pressed to do so, my leg would go where it needed to go, and my my torso would twist the way it needed to twist to keep me from falling down and to keep me moving. So, what that showed me was that there was still a link there, there was still a link going on between the brain and my muscle. Yeah, and that's what gave me the hope that okay, well, you know, I can do this, and it is showing improvement, so I'm excited. And so you might have seen the live. I just I decided right then and there I was gonna give it 120%, and um and I did, and um, it worked for me, and I started to notice my strength, you know, coming, my inner strength was strong, but then I started to know my my strength and my muscles that were like holding me up a little bit better, my knee was bending a little bit less. I had built some strength in the exercises, and it made me want to get out and go exercise on my own, which wasn't the case for like three years. I was just stuck in a almost a self-pity place and not really pushing myself like I should, and watching other people push themselves and getting better, and me staying the same and not knowing why really. And and so um once I had that spiritual awakening, you might say, Um, I was on. I was on it, and I just really went out and I started doing a little bit more, a little bit more. And uh Dr. Phil had me probably up to about half a mile of good pace walking. And after he left, I kept going and I got it up to a mile and then a mile and ten and a mile and a quarter, and keeping, you know, just uphill, downhill, sideways, anything I could do. And um, although it wasn't, you know, twice a day like this guy uh was pushing me, um, I wasn't that crazy, but it was once a day, and I was getting out and I was making sure I was doing it. And um, you know, now I walk around my house with a little bit of confidence. And I know I'm, you know, if I'm gonna fall, I know I'm gonna be okay when I fall, and if I and if I need to fall, I can fall safely, and and I just feel better about where I'm at. So coming back to this next boot camp, I really knew what to expect, and I was not let down in any way.

SPEAKER_03

So I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Since since the boot camp, have you fallen?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_03

What? Yeah, you've fallen? Yeah, many times. And you're still here?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I survived, yeah. So prior to the boot camp, could you get up from the ground?

SPEAKER_01

No. I mean, I could, but I had to drag bed blankets, pillows, cushions, whatever I had underneath to get underneath my knee, and I had to have like a chair or a bedside or something to get me up. Um, I couldn't just get up. So I was walking after Dr. Peel had left me. I was walking um up a hill, and uh a kid went by me. Damn those kids, went by me on an electric bicycle, threw me off. I mean, he didn't do anything, he just started, just threw me off. I'm like, okay, and then I went down. And I, as I was going down, I seen his father just playing around in his garage. And I'm like, okay, I'll be okay. There's a guy right there. And I went down and my glasses fell off me, and I crawled around on the cement sidewalk for a while. And I'm like, okay, I'll get my glasses. Oh, I got my glasses back, and I laid there and I thought, okay, yell out to this guy because his kid just threw me for a loop, and he'll come out of his garage and he'll help me. So I kind of gave it a half half-hearted like, elp, nothing. And then once I got over the whole shock of I'm laying on my back right now, I just flipped over and got up, just like Dr. Philip taught me. And it was great. And I just went on walking. And two weeks later, that same guy is like, hey, you're picking up speed. I'm like, well, if only you knew. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I, you know, it's it's all in a life, um, you know, it's just one experience after another. My experiences now are not the same as they were. But I find a lot of uh a lot of joy in success. And that's that's pretty much my experience. Oh, and I am starting my own podcast. It's called People That Walk Faster Than Me. And you're both in telling.

SPEAKER_03

Hey, this is Dr. Phil. If you're a stroke survivor and you want to regain motor function, improve mobility, and build real confidence in your recovery, then I want you to check out one of my Stroke Survivor Bootcamp training sessions. These are intensive, hands-on experiences designed to push performance, improve function, and help you get back to doing more of what matters in your life. Go to www.stroke survivorbootcamp.com and let's get you back on track one step at a time. One thing that's been so cool about this environment that has been created and and what what's happening is you know, with with three of you here, um, you know, I being being a therapist, I only get to see certain things, right? I mean, there's a certain amount that I I see, right? I work with you, and then I leave, and then you live, right? And one of the things that has been so cool about this is to see the interaction between you guys and how being together and having similar similar things, right? Similar similar um issues and you know, paralysis, and you know, we've we've just had so many stories that you guys have been sharing, and it just it it's a side that I I don't I I kind of I guess I imagined what it would be like, but being able to actually see and hear your guys' stories and talk, and you know, it's one of those pieces that I think gets forgotten in in any sort of therapy and recovery is that you come, you see me, and then go. And then I made you better, or maybe I didn't, but then you just it's all you, and this has been really cool to see.

SPEAKER_00

Uh, the group dynamic has been awesome because um we have all different strokes and we have different challenges. I um I have my speech, and um uh uh they have their own things and uh we work together well and we uh uh commiserate, I think. Um uh the group dynamic has been awesome.

SPEAKER_03

So here's the thing, right? You guys get together and you have this opportunity, you know. I mean, let's let's be real, right? I mean, when you can only use half of your body, you have you know mobility um mobility impairments that make it so that maybe you're not moving as fast or as efficiently as as you did before. You could get a group of you guys together, and it would be like this big pity party, right? Everybody's talking about how sucky it is, how oh yeah, horrible this is. Has that been your guys' experience?

SPEAKER_01

Well, no, I'll just put put this forward. So I did go to a support group early on in my stroke, and not only I was crying, but everybody in the room was crying, and and I just didn't really feel the connection, you know. And I gotta say that um going through the boot camp alone has its benefits, huge benefits. And going through the boot camp with a group of like-minded souls and people that have been through the same thing is also incredibly beneficial.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I think community is a huge part of the recovery. Yeah, I mean, we we feel we're not alone, you know. You guys are we're all experiencing the same things, you know? Yeah, it's like today in the car. Have you ever had yourself all right? Let's let's bring it out, right? Let's get up.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah, I have. So we lost my mind, and I don't know that it's actually a good story to tell, but um, you know, the thing about it is we're all going to have those experiences that are somewhat embarrassing to us, but if we can share them with people that aren't uh, you know, too far out of that realm of it happening to, then it brings a little bit of laughter and comfort and and all the above to uh bear. You know, it's like um, I mean, like so many things happen to stroke people that uh stroke survivors that are is like embarrassing. It's a taboo. Yeah, I mean, and it's just something that we that when it happens to us, we're like, oh, cannot believe this is my life. I didn't even make it to the toilet, you know, and you're just downing it, downing it, downing it. But sitting in a group atmosphere and just kind of talking about the experiences makes it more livable and I would say more human, right? Yeah, you're not alone in it, and you realize other people are going through it, and you realize that you can support them and their drama, and um and the beautiful thing about that is Dr. Phil, you're a little humble, and I'm gonna ask you not to be so humble because what you're doing is you're taking this system of yours and you're expanding it, and it's getting better. And and not to not to say that one-on-one with Dr. Phil is not a blessing because I truly got my money's worth, and I really came out of it better, and I didn't have to share them with anybody, and it was him and me going to the store, it was him and I, uh, you know, fixing my AFO, and it was him and I doing this and that and the other thing. But what he's doing is he's trying to make it more available to all the survivors out there, you know, and make it so that everybody can have this experience because you really need to. You really need to understand what's going on here, and you really need to try and be a part of it. And by expanding it into a group setting, what he's doing is making it now so that instead of him being his time being taken up, you know, for a week on one person, he can spend that week with 10 people. Yep. And also the primary thing that's amazing about this is that he's sharing a system with other therapists, with other OTs and other PTs and other trainers, and they're gonna be able to take on more clients. So when you have a stroke happening every six seconds, we can't expect him to take care of all of us. So, what he's doing is making it so that the future stroke survivors and um families of stroke survivors have the opportunity that I had, that Shelly had, that Gilbert had. All of us had that opportunity to get it one-on-one with him, but where he's taking it has really is really going to increase the availability to all of you guys out there that are that have loved ones and have experienced strokes yourself. So I just don't want you to be so humble about it, buddy. What you're doing is amazing. Yeah, and it's going to grow into a monster of of good and healthy and uh promise for a lot of people. And I and I can tell you right now that a lot of people are going to be lifted out of their depression and helped in a way that they have never been helped before. So I just wanted to say that outfront. And I think my my fellow survivors here would agree with me on that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

Uh well uh you are changing the norms. Um be um when I was in therapy, I uh I was told that uh a year out, uh whatever I had gotten back, I would um I wouldn't get better. And that is not true. Uh you are challenging norms and uh I understand now that if I put in the work, I get better. Uh uh plain and simple.

SPEAKER_03

So you guys are gonna make me cry. I uh you know you said you said something that was that was interesting to me that um I think is a huge thing that matters the most to me because it's what has you know, as as I've had, you know, I I haven't had a stroke. Uh I've actually never had a family member that's had a stroke. Um and so I don't you know I I I don't know other than what my experiences have been experiences have been as a therapist, you know, the impact, you know, that it has on on you. But there's been one thing that with the things that I've gone through that uh have made made the the weight of something big seem smaller. And it's the the being around people that made it so that what I was feeling felt like helped me feel m uh more humanity, helped me feel more human. Because I think when we have something happen to us and then all of a sudden the norm isn't what we live in, we feel abnormal. And when we feel abnormal, it it's easy to feel more distant and separated from the people that we see around us. And you know, you you you know, Jeffrey, you mentioned you know, you would see something on TV, and you know, you'd be like, Oh, there's another thing I can't do, oh, there's another thing that I can't do. And um pretty soon it's easy to experience this world of you can't do anything.

SPEAKER_01

And yeah, felt very much that way, yeah. All the time. Like a constant, like I won't be rock climbing. I mean, when you live a really cool life and then the stroke you know tears that life apart, it is everything. It is everything. I can't do anything. I can't even open a jar of pickles to put a pickle on my damn sandwich.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

So when you say you can't do anything, you're pretty much telling the truth. But I just think that your program has enabled me to not necessarily think, oh, I can do everything now. But it has enabled me to think that okay, someday I'm gonna do something cool.

SPEAKER_02

Oh for sure.

SPEAKER_01

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, that's that's the biggest part of struggle to really like I mentioned is your mentality. I mean every day prior to the boot camp, I had a huge cloud hanging over my head. You know, sometimes I was just thinking like I didn't wake up and know what's happening.

SPEAKER_01

I know exactly how that feels like exactly how that feels. You're like, oh, I get another day of this. Yeah, for a three fantastic, another day of this.

SPEAKER_04

Because I'm I'm left-handed, so and then I stroke hit the right side of my brain, so I still can't write yet.

SPEAKER_01

I think it's the story to me, the amazing stories is one of the things is that Shelly, you were a person that made your living off your voice. Yeah, and yet your voice was taken from you. Yeah, and Gol Gilbert, he used to be really good looking before he and he could have been a model, but now, you know, and then I was doing hair, you know, my whole life, and my hands are so important in hair, and you know, my hand was taken away from me, and it was like um, and now I can't do hair, which is one thing that I loved so much. But yeah, but we'll get a good haircut on you.

SPEAKER_04

That's right, you were a dog groomer, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

That's right. Spooch is loved to me. Oh my.

SPEAKER_02

I just wish everybody could be here, like to just to oh man.

SPEAKER_00

I have a lap more this week than I have ever lapped uh in the past uh uh year and a half.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. I think after this boot camp, I'm gonna have a six-pack. My answer. This guy, Jeffrey,'s uh he's he's a character. I just never dull my moment with him.

SPEAKER_03

There's there's this there's this piece when you get people that are are are motivated in moving forward when you get people together like that, instead of like what you were experiencing, and what um I think everybody experiences this, whether you've had a stroke or not, what you surround yourself with or what you the story that continually gets told in your mind from what you see, which we all know social media. Is really good at doing this, that story that you see continually either spirals you upward or it does the opposite, spirals you down. And one thing that's been really cool about having you three here is this continuous spiral upward that's been happening. And I find so much value in just sitting back and watching that happen because it's it is something that I can't do. Like I I've I've been able to facilitate getting this group together, but then you know there's just there's things that you guys do that I can't. And that is a huge, huge one of those. Um, you know, and then the other piece I just wanted to I wanted to comment on, um depression and you know what uh you guys have have shared where you you know you you go to sleep thinking I don't want to wake up because I don't want to experience this life in the way that I am experiencing it right now. And um if you want to know the reason why I care so much and why I'm sacrificing what I sacrificed and why I and why I care about you guys and the stroke population, it's because I've been that deep myself. And I know what that feels like to not want to wake up and to have a plan. Knowing that, okay, I I'm okay if I don't. And I don't ever want to be back there again. And even then I don't want other people to have to be there.

SPEAKER_04

It's a dark place.

SPEAKER_03

It is. And and that is partially what has led to the way that I talk, the way that I set this up, is that I've experienced that. And I just if if if you are experiencing that, you're listening to this and you're experiencing that, reach out because if anything, building a community and learning and connecting and being with these individuals um is one of the most important pieces to just to be able to deal with that. Um because first and foremost, they know what you're experiencing. Yeah, they know how you feel, and likely are have experienced similar, yeah, similar things, like you know, the the poop story, right? You know, like it's it's just something that like if you were to share that with a group of other individuals, you may have a runner who is like an ultra runner, you know, say, you know, yeah, I know what that feels like, you know, but even then, you know, it's not very many people. But but this has been so cool to to be able to see that and and experience that with you guys.

SPEAKER_00

A new FNCQ, but I uh I look forward to the boot camp as much uh being with these guys because I uh they have experienced what I experienced.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, so offense taken. No, but it's true.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Right? It's something that I can't it's something I can't replicate.

SPEAKER_00

Um for three months after my stroke, I wanted to I always said that why didn't I die? Uh uh because the stroke, um I wanted to die and I didn't die, and I felt really bad. Um, but ever since I got over it that and uh but these guys know what I have felt.

SPEAKER_03

So it's been cool to see uh the the instant acceptance, right? The lack of judgment that's there. Because I mean, hey, I I fixed I I know what that feels like, yeah, right. So we still have we still have a couple sessions left, right? Um what are you what are you hoping to get out of the remainder of this boot camp?

SPEAKER_04

Um for me, I I really want to go see Snow Mountain and um just experiencing with with these two and your team is just amazing. I mean, I ha I haven't had this much fun in two years. Just being locked up in my bedroom, walking around the neighborhood by myself.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and you know, I think that that is key because what I got from my last boot camp and what I think I'm gonna get from this boot camp is I got my boot camp, I got my boost of let's get out and live life, let's get myself better. You know, but I still, like I said earlier, I gave maybe 30% of what I could. And then I got to where boom, it was three days, and I like, oh, it's three days and I haven't done anything really significant. So I just hope that this little boot camp refresh gives me that that reaccountability to myself for getting out there and doing what he I've been taught to do and but what I've been trained to do and what I've uh what he what Dr. Phil has actually inspired and and educated me on. You know, so I'm just that's what I want from this boot camp. And and you guys becoming close friends that I know I'm gonna talk to, you know, on a yearly basis. Um, you two that have become really good friends is really just a bonus to the whole thing. And it's like um it's amazing. And I and I love both of you for for um being here and going through this with me. And and um and I just want to get back to where I was um as far as taking care of myself and and moving forward and trying to get better and and watching part of it is now that I've gotten so close to you guys, is that I am going to be looking at your progress as well, right? It's gonna be bringing me joy when you guys are accomplishing things um that I'm gonna get to hear about, right? It's like I will love the fact that things are happening for you as much as I love the fact that things are happening for me, and it's gonna be a celebration for me every time something good happens for you.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it was just so fun, and like on the treadmills, and we're doing ballerino turns, 360, and we're all just turning each other on like come on, come on. Yeah, and then you're saying screaming, swing that leg over.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and you were, and you were doing what you needed to do, and I was proud of you, and you outperformed me on that.

SPEAKER_04

It pushed me to to correct that and do work harder, and especially those steps today. That's that was pretty tough. I was proud of both of y'all.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, very proud of both of you, and and you really surprised me at how strong you are. I mean, Shelly, you're just a beast and just kept going and was loving the fact that you were going so hard. Oh, yeah. Loving it. Yeah, I was loving it. So being able to celebrate that with you guys at this boot camp, I'm really um I'm really looking forward to more groups and more boot camps, and I'm really looking forward to building that network of people that just have this positive energy, you know.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I really am. I felt like I was on Cloud9 today at that last at the top of the staircase. There's there's a bunch of people over there just watching us. Total strangers tearing us on. Work hard harnesses on.

SPEAKER_01

And that's one thing I felt little rock cutting, but I've got to say this about Utah. I have been met with nothing but kindness here. And they were tearing us on too. Good job, good job, good up there. They're amazing, and I just have I have ran into zero negativity in this state, and I'm so impressed by that.

SPEAKER_00

Uh, I experienced that the last time, and uh this time uh this name, uh, more encouraging and more people saying you can do it and you uh keep with it, and yeah, it was amazing.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so anybody out there that's looking for a great place to go and be a tourist and come. Come here, right? Man, I'll tell you, it doesn't get better than Utah. This place is absolutely gorgeous.

SPEAKER_03

I agree, that's why I moved here. No, and and haven't haven't moved, even though you know, maybe it'd make more sense to be in a bigger city or something like that. But this place is just it's magical. There's so much, so much to do outside and and to live, right?

SPEAKER_08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Now there's a concept I want to introduce that I've I've mentioned, you know, maybe to a few of you, um, but I want to end this podcast kind of having a uh a discussion around this. I think you know, the the the traditional or typical way that therapy tries to get you to do more outside of their own therapy time is they give you what's called a home exercise program. Right? And it's like, hey, I want you to do 10 reps of this, 20 reps of this, do this for this much time, right? It's this list, and we we give you a sheet or we give you something, you know, there's apps, there's things like that that are that are out there that it's your home exercise program. And the thing that I want to start trying to change is the the way that we start viewing the extra things that we do that are outside of the I'm resting, right? There's the there's the man, like this is a lot of work, and now I'm gonna, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna get on TikTok, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna watch TV or I'm gonna watch a movie, or you know, those types of things that that we do, right? Everybody does it to some degree, right? Whether you've had a stroke or not. But the thing that I want to have us start to change away from, you know, thinking of it as like it's a home exercise program is I want it to change to what am I going to do to live more today? So, what is it I'm gonna do to actually live more? Now that can be something like simple, like, you know, well, what I'm gonna do to live more today is I'm gonna go and choose to do the dishes today, right? It's something that really isn't very much fun, but when all of a sudden you lose some of the mobility that you, you know, that you've had, and it it's even harder. When you do something like that, it can it can have a different impact than what it had before. Um, it could be as simple as dusting, it could be as simple as, you know, I'm just gonna go walk around the neighborhood, and I'm just gonna, you know, it's it's at the end of the day, I'm gonna go, you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna go outside and well now we know you can mow a lawn, right?

SPEAKER_01

You know. Well, I was gonna take all the tension bands that the uh OTs and PTs gave me and make a damn lamp out of it. I had no other use for them. It was just like, this isn't helping me. I got a drawer full of them, right? You want to make a lamp? I want to know what that looks like. That's what I want to know. A lamp. I mean, how do we make lamps out of them? I don't know. I just know that I was sent home with like 30 dozen stretch bands that were like nothing I can do with this. It's just it's too little too late, you know? And so I was just like, man, this this just doesn't work for me. And and really, honestly, I I'm sure it does work for a lot of people out there, but I was just trying to figure out a way to recycle them.

SPEAKER_02

Send me a lamp out of it.

SPEAKER_03

I I I still can't get over that. Do you know the evidence actually shows like there is multiple studies that that people do not you do not follow or do their home exercise program. They maybe do it for two days. But the reality is that they don't you don't you don't use it. But if you can change your your the if we can change the way that we discuss and talk about it by stating you know something to the effect of how am I going to live more? And just think of what's the thing that I'm gonna add today that I'm going to live more doing. It might be that I'm gonna make a hamburger and it's gonna be super messy, and I'm just I'm just gonna try to figure it out, but it's gonna fall fall apart in my hands, right? And now I'm gonna have to, you know, do my laundry because now I got it all over me or whatever it is, right? Yeah. It's it's this it's this thing of like, you know what? If you there's a thing I've been trying to practice lately, and it's this if I have a thought, instead of letting that thought sit there, I just do. So if I have the thought, and it doesn't matter how it doesn't matter how maybe stupid it is, or how uncomfortable it feels, or like it or how embarrassing it could be for me, like whether it's a post on on TikTok or Instagram or something. In fact, there was this there was this idea that I had that I wanted to I I wanted to just explain how what OT is on a on a social media post, and I was just I was so embarrassed to make that. It's now had over 107,000 views. And it's people are saying like, hey, I'm gonna show this to all my clients so that they know what OT is. And it's just that that moment, that thing that you have a thought, and if I hold back, then I may I would have missed out on a huge growth moment for me, but even more a huge growth moment of just living and and changing and becoming something different that I could not have made happen if I just thought about it. And so I'm interested in your thoughts in in that line of thought. Just live more.

SPEAKER_04

I I love it because I'm a huge procrastinator and I and I wait till the moment is right all the time, and it doesn't happen that way all the time. So and it won't it won't happen. And um I keep thinking about the Nike logo, just do it. And Michael Jordan said um you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. So you never know, you know, you just gotta so just do it.

SPEAKER_03

So when we have the thought of skydiving, nope. Just we just do it. Shelly you're coming with us, right?

SPEAKER_00

Nope. I will wave from you uh on the ground, but nope.

SPEAKER_03

What are your thoughts of that? That uh uh not that the we we now know really what you think about skydiving, but no, but just the the idea of just like what am I gonna do to live more today?

SPEAKER_00

Well, it goes back to uh when I have my stroke. I chose to be positive or negative. It is a mental thing, and I chose to be positive. And uh ever since then, I have been um I I get occasionally down and uh feel bad for myself, but I get out of it quickly. So um my life matters uh whether I have my stroke or not. And um I I haven't found the thing that I am supposed to do, but I will I will. And um uh physically and mentally I am in a good stop because um I keep getting better all the time. I keep um uh learning uh what um I keep I keep learning what I can do and my mobility is um um not uh oh what am I trying to say? Um my mobility isn't affected at all. Um it um uh as you are saying, uh we miss a hundred percent of the stars we don't take. So uh whatever uh is put in front of me, I will do because I have a lot of living to do.

SPEAKER_03

I like that. I have a lot of living to do.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Anything you want to add, Jeffrey?

SPEAKER_01

What's oh yeah, coming to you in 2028, people that walk faster than me, hosted by Jeff. It's gonna take me a bit to get it going. So look for it in 2028.

SPEAKER_03

I will tune into that. I'll turn into that myself. Oh, okay. People that walk faster than me.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_01

That pretty much opens the whole podcast up to the world.

SPEAKER_03

So if you're interested, reach out to Dr. Phil and he'll connect you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

No, I just um, you know, it's like after my boot camp, I was just like, I I want to do things that I miss. So I just start investigating, you know, like, do I get an electric trike, you know, a bicycle that's electric that has three wheels that I can get around on? And and I just look at that type of thing. And when, you know, I can afford such a thing, I'll I'll go get it. And and that's just something I'll do. And and it's gonna what it's gonna do, it's not gonna give me back my you know, lifetime of riding motorcycles or anything like that. But what it's gonna do is is just give me a little bit of life. So I feel just a little bit of life, just a little bit. I talked to a a friend of mine, and his father had a stroke and passed away from a stroke, and he was telling me that his father went out and bought a new Harley after his stroke, and he didn't understand why his dad would go buy a new Harley after his stroke. And I told him, and we're both pretty upset about it. I said, It's because your dad wanted just a tiny bit of his life. Yeah, yeah, just wanted to experience just a little bit of that life, and even if that Harley was gonna sit in the garage until he got on it, it made him feel like he still had it, right? He still had life and he still had a little bit of life left to to explore and to do, and and that's kind of where I'm focused at now is I'm going to live life, but one of the ways I enjoy doing it is through other people's eyes. It's like watching Christmas morning through the children's eyes, right? It's like if I can watch Shelly um, you know, jump off a cliff and swing into uh the canyons of Utah, I'm gonna have a great time doing that. You know, her screaming is gonna be flawless and um it's gonna be unbroken, and I'm gonna be growing growth. Look at the growth we're having. So um, you know, it's just looking at at other people's lives improving, and and by being involved with this program and being involved with other stroke uh survivors, I think that I'm in, I think that helping others is going to help me. Yeah. And um I think that's where I'm headed right now. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Well, this has been this has been so good. This is what I was hoping, you know, uh people would be able to get just a little snapshot of what it's been like, you know, even just over the last day and a half, really. Because this has been this has been so valuable to me and awesome to watch and to be able to engage with you guys just even more and to get to know you guys even more and to see the power that you guys have. Because I think that's the other thing that is lost oftentimes is that stroke survivors are looked at as weak, looked at as uh you need to be bubble wrapped. That you you can't, you can't, you can't. And I just I I just can't stand to think that way anymore. You know, even you know, because at the beginning that's how I learned. And the more I the more I get these opportunities to work with you guys, the more I I the word that I just keep going towards is power. And it is there, and it is just wanting to just explode out of you guys. And um and so I just I appreciate these opportunities that I'm getting to to to see that. So for you stroke survivors that are listening, just remember you are power, it's there. And sometimes all you need is just someone to show you that it's that it exists. And I think partially that is what a boot camp does. Is it helps you actually see that you have power. And then, truly, so much of it is up to you. How much of that power are you wanting to actually use, and are you going to live in that power? And so there's more things that that we have that we're we're developing and that we're we're we're putting together and um and trying to create, and we are excited about what we have that's that's going on. And so, you know, keep staying tuned, keep sharing um about Stroke Survivor Bootcamp, the podcast. Um, and just if you either you or you know somebody who could benefit from a boot camp, there are gonna be more of these group boot camps that are gonna be available um coming throughout this year, 2026 and and and beyond. So be uh be on the lookout, go to www.stroke survivorboot camp.com and uh they will be uh on there as they are they become available. And uh just thank you so much for going on this journey with me. And uh thank you guys. Thanks for being here so that people can see you know, really the awesomeness that I get to see, you know, with you guys all the time.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you. Until next time, y'all. Thank you for listening. Stroke Survivor Boot. You are not you are not alone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Agreed. I'm Dr. Phil, and this is Stroke Survivor Bootcamp. Breathe in.

SPEAKER_07

Count it out. Every scar is around. Floor is cold, heart is loud, hands are shaking, but you stand your ground. Every stomach still a step you own. Sweat on your face means you should say I'm tired, we say that's you all you say.

SPEAKER_05

We say Dr. Phil called you, start the right side, we're in requiring in real time. We stay Tuesday, we stay on this big days.

SPEAKER_07

You couldn't lift your head for the silent screens.

SPEAKER_05

Now shout it for the ones still lying in that bed. I'm here, I'm here, I'm not done.