"Stroke Survivor Bootcamp with Dr. Phil": Interview with Rachelle, a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant

In this episode of "Stroke Survivor Bootcamp", Dr. Philip Lamoreaux, OTD, OTR/L, CPT, chats with Rachelle, a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant, who talks about what it was like to participate in a Stroke Survivor Bootcamp training session as a therapist.

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.

============

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.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 1:25

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. Welcome to Stroke Survivor Boot Camp. I'm Dr. Phil, a licensed occupational therapist and certified personal trainer. I have had over 10 years of experience working with the neurologic population, stroke survivors, spinal cord, traumatic brain injury in both the inpatient and in the home setting. And I have spent the last two years developing what I call stroke boot camps. And these are intensive three to five day sessions where a survivor gets to come into this experience, into this boot camp, and gets to see what they're actually capable of doing, where we push their limits in both physical, emotional, and mental. And this podcast is designed to help stroke survivors and other individuals who are, you know, who have neurological injuries that can benefit from uh the evidence to be able to know how to actually uh do that and to help make your lives better. And so typically in the past, what we've done as a uh podcast is that I either go through and talk about a topic or I have I bring somebody in who's another survivor or a care partner. And one of the things that I have yet to do is bring in another clinician. You know, maybe it's because I'm a little bit, you know, arrogant and I, you know, think I'm the only one that needs to do this, but no, that's not really it. Um, it's it really comes down to finding the right people who I think can bring you value. And one of the things that you will likely uh come up with and experience in your journey if you haven't already, uh it's you potentially will, is that you may end up having a certified occupational therapy assistant as your therapist. And today's uh episode is gonna be solely focused on what the heck is a certified occupational therapy assistant? Uh are they better than an occupational therapist, or would it be better to have an occupational therapist? You know, what type of schooling do they have? Are they good at what they do? Are they going to be able to help you get back to where you want to be? And so I'm really excited to have Rochelle who is who is gonna be on this on this podcast. And so stay tuned uh as we go through and you get to meet Rochelle, and you will also get to understand uh first and foremost, what is a certified occupational therapy assistant, how valuable are they, and uh what you can do to uh to use your occupational therapy assistant um to get you where you actually want to go? So just knowing what you can ask, what you can't ask, and then even more, uh, if you are a therapist that is listening to this, what value did a stroke survivor boot camp and in-person training uh do for Rochelle in in her journey as a clinician? And uh so we are going to go into that right now. All right, so I have Rochelle here. Um, Rochelle, go ahead and uh you know say hi.

SPEAKER_08 6:03

Hello, I'm Rochelle.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Yeah, and Rochelle, now you are from Utah.

SPEAKER_08 6:08

Yes. Okay, I am.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Have you lived in Utah your whole life?

SPEAKER_05 6:11

I have.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

Okay, lucky you, you and me both pretty, pretty much. Um, you are on the northern side of Utah. Yes, not the southern side, I'm in the southern side. Um, and uh Rochelle is somebody that I actually met um at a conference. Um, I was asked to come and present at this conference and talk about what I do, high-intensity training as an OT. And Rochelle, you know, showed up and you were actually were you on the front row? You were you were you in the back? I was in the back. Oh no, I thought you were more in the front. Uh you know, I was trying to set you up right there, but yeah, sorry. That's messed that one up. Um, but you were you were there at at uh the conference, but you came up after. Yes. And you talked to me and you were like, okay, how can I do more? How can I learn more? And um and then over the course of let's see, that was back in November and it's July now, and you know, the boot camp was in April or May. May so it was in May. So over the course of that time, um, Rochelle went through my 11 uh module course and then an in-person three-day uh three-day boot camp. And uh really uh I've I've gotten to know Rochelle over that that time, and I'm just excited to have you here.

SPEAKER_08 7:33

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Yeah. So first and foremost, who is Rochelle? Let's let everybody who's listening know who you are, uh, maybe something unique about yourself so that they can kind of get a picture of you.

SPEAKER_08 7:44

Okay. Well, I've been a coda for eight years. I first started um at a skilled nursing facility, a PRN. So just as they needed my help and then transitioned to full-time. But outside of that, I love like hiking and sports and all the fun stuff that you like to do in your life.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Love it. Well, uh, what kind of sports do you like?

SPEAKER_08 8:06

Oh, I like them all. Baseball's not my favorite, but anything else is pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Okay. Do you like playing them or do you like watching them or both? Both. Okay. I'm right there with you. Have you been watching any of the World Cup? All of it. Oh, yeah, that's right. Well, actually, you know, at the time of this recording, it's about 14 minutes from the third place game, you know, with France and England. So I don't know. We'll see how long we we go because maybe we'll, you know, we'll want to make sure we get to watch the second half of that game. But it's been a really cool, cool uh um, I've actually really enjoyed watching uh what I've been able to watch. So it'll be interesting. Spain and Argentina. We we don't need to go into that. That's not what today, no, that's not what today is, but um okay, so you've you've been a coda.

SPEAKER_08 8:51

Now coda stands for Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Okay. So we're gonna go into that in a little bit more detail during this this this episode. Um but uh you your your experience has been in a skilled nursing facility. And then you're still full-time in in that same skill nursing facility or a different one?

SPEAKER_08 9:13

Yeah. So I started out in three different ones, PRN, but now I'm full-time in one of them.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Okay. And PRN just means as they needed help.

SPEAKER_08 9:23

So if someone called out or had vacation, they would call me in.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Okay. So it's kind of like you're you're you're floating between these different facilities. And if something happens, they call you and and you know, beg you to come in and and and work, right? Pretty much. Okay. I've I've done PRN myself. Um, but uh, but yeah, it's it's it's an interesting, it's an interesting way to do it because you don't know if you're gonna work, and then sometimes you're working like crazy because all of a sudden everybody needs you at this time.

SPEAKER_06 9:58

Every time, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Is it's kind of crazy. So uh so that's cool. Um, and you've been working at the uh skilled nursing facility for how long? Like just full time?

SPEAKER_08 10:09

Full time, it's been three and a half years.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

So you're a PRN for quite a while. Okay, that's kind of fun. It does allow you to to control your schedule, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_06 10:19

It does.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Yeah, that's that's like one of the the the real big benefits of that. So you heard about occupational therapy?

SPEAKER_08 10:29

How I actually heard about it back in like 06 when my grandma had a stroke and was sent home from the hospital.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 10:39

So her home health therapist asked for a family member to come in that he could teach some stuff to that could go over every day and help her with it.

SPEAKER_05 10:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 10:49

So I, as the 12, 13-year-old that I was, said, I'll do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

That's so cool.

SPEAKER_08 10:55

So every day after school, I would walk to my grandma's house and do her therapy.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

That's awesome. And so he he he was an occupational therapist then?

SPEAKER_08 11:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Okay, and um so you you got to have that experience. What what things stood out to you? Why did you go, huh? Maybe I'd like to do this.

SPEAKER_08 11:14

I think mostly it was being in her home, helping her. Like we practiced transfers in the bathroom all the time. We worked on getting from her recliner into the dining room where she could fix her little meals that we had already kind of prepped for her, just helping her do the stuff that she did as she was at home alone, being able to live her life.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

That's cool. I mean it, you know, one of the things, um, you know, for those of you guys listening, when when you if you get an opportunity to ask your therapist, your occupational therapist, why they chose to be an OT, like what is it that stood out to them, you will hear something very similar to what Rochelle said. And I and I'm telling you this and I'm highlighting this because I want you guys to understand um the the driving um force, the the the driving, yeah, the the reason, the the lifeblood of of an OT. And it is almost 100% of the time has to do with this this the living life portion, right? All the time. And and you sit there and you go, okay, like it, it's I mean, I just got chills thinking about this because I mean that is the that is one of the biggest reasons why I chose this. And as you guys have watched me at boot camps and you you've watched me, you know, go into people's homes, the whole goal isn't that you get, you know, say your your ability to walk better. It's actually that you are willing, you will use what you improve as a way to increase life and to be able to thrive more in your life. Because because if you can't thrive, then then what? Right? Yeah, life life becomes so much harder, and there's there's less meaning. And if there's less meaning, that's a pretty dark place to be. And I know that some of you guys who are listening to this, I know that you have experienced or are currently experiencing that dark place. So I highlight that right now because what I want to make sure that you understand, and this was not this this wasn't prepped beforehand, that that answer from Rochelle. I just want you to understand that if you feel like there's no meaning or there's less meaning, then advocate to get an OT. Because an OT, if they're doing their job, we'll we'll I'll put that caveat in there because there are just like in any profession, there are uh there are clinicians that don't they're they're they're kind of just they forget the reason why they're doing what they're doing and they're just going through the motions, but you you can um you want to find an OT and use an OT to help you regain and find that meaning because then life becomes way more enjoyable, and that's what makes this so much fun being an OT, right? Yes, it'd be nice if we got paid a lot more, but you know, this is this is a piece of it. So um, okay, so that's cool. You had that experience with with your grandma, and you went over there. Was that every day? Was that multiple times a week? And then how long did you did you go back and forth doing that?

SPEAKER_08 14:34

So I walked over every day after school, so Monday through Friday. Um, we spent maybe 45 minutes together, and then I would walk back home and finish my homework, and we would do it again the next day.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Love that.

SPEAKER_08 14:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

So that's that so you know, I mean, uh, you know, you you care partners that are out there l listening. I mean, you you know the the toll that that is or the you know the value that that could be by having a family member come in and and learn how to how to help. And so I think that's really cool. And so the thing that you really loved was that you could live life, right? Yeah, you're you're 12, 13, right? So how long did you how did you do it for just a couple of weeks? Did you do it for years, like what?

SPEAKER_08 15:22

I was probably over there every day for a couple months and then it kind of spaced out. But even like going to school, I would still go over on weekends and do what I could with her until she's until she passed away. But so I did it pretty much the whole time since the stroke.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Okay. So that's that's cool. So you you're getting this opportunity, you saw what occupational therapy was. Uh, did you ask him any questions be like, okay, so how do you become an OT or kind of, but not to the extent that I maybe could have if I would have been a little bit older. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 15:59

Being only 12 or 13, it wasn't. I was still in junior high. I didn't really didn't really think that through.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

So at what point did you like sit there and go, okay, like seriously, I want to get into OT? Like I you started researching it, you started looking at it, looking at different routes that you could go. Like, at what point did that happen?

SPEAKER_08 16:21

It was probably two, maybe three years after her stroke that I was like, that's something that like I've enjoyed doing over the last two to three years and want to continue to help other people.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Cool. And so you then like typed it into Google and was like, Pretty much. Okay. So then what came up?

SPEAKER_08 16:42

Just kind of what it was, like explaining the activities of daily living and all that stuff. And then I think AOTA probably popped up with like a bunch of schools that were an option. So I just went that route and just started researching it and see what I could find.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Okay. So no, I'm I I I'm saying all that because I wanted to set up this this question, which for those of you that are listening, if you are a student and you're listening or you're you know, this you're somebody who you know doesn't quite know what you want to do, and somehow you came across this this uh this episode. You how did you s uh come to find occupational therapy assistant? Because they're different. Occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant. So how did you come how did you come across that?

SPEAKER_08 17:31

I think I was just googling like therapy, and then something about an assistant popped up, and I was like, oh, that looks a little bit easier than going to all the schooling for to be a therapist. And so I looked into it that way and seemed more fitting for my life at the time. Yeah. More affordable as well.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

Yeah. So how like what is the what is the schooling like for occupational therapy assistant? Like how long? What you know, what what was the focus of school?

SPEAKER_08 18:04

So it was a two-year program. I think you had a year of like prerequisites, shadowing and stuff to make sure it's what you wanted to do. Um, but they they focused on treatment interventions and and how to help people that way. I mean, we learned diagnoses and all that stuff, but it was mostly focused on the treatments that were to provide.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Okay, and that's interesting because and and and I want you guys to, you know, they're listening to uh the the there's there's a reason why I'm going into this because as an occupational therapist, I spend and and as a professor, you know, teaching you know future occupational therapists, we go into so much um of the theory evaluation and uh the the planning portion of everything, going into you know writing and you know um the you know writing papers and synthesizing all this information and we go into so much of that that when it comes down to the focus of you know between the two occupational therapy assistant school and occupational therapist, the focus is mainly on the actual things that you as a therapy assistant can do to make change in somebody's life to help them perform better. Whereas as an occupational therapist, a we still have that, but there's so much more about the intricacies and little details of OT. Um, and you know, as a way to make it so that you know we maybe understand on a on a much uh theoretical and philosophical level of what we do and why we do what we do. But you know what? When it's occupational therapy assistant, it's like this is what I do, and I'm going to learn how to get good at what I do. And um I set that up because you know, if you're somebody who sits there and goes, okay, well, I want the therapist, I just want you to understand what you're getting between the two. Because an occupational therapy assistant has spent their time pretty much solely focusing on the interventions. And they're the same interventions that I as a therapist have learned how to do. It's just that I am thinking about so many other things that maybe I haven't spent as much time. You know, and an occupational therapy assistant, they're focusing on the specific interventions. Did I get that right?

SPEAKER_08 20:51

Yep. We did learn the theories and everything behind it, but our main focus was on the interventions.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Yeah. I mean, we learn in in occupational therapy school, like we learn the theories, but we learn the theories. Like we write about the theories, we we you know apply the theories. Everything is about making sure that the theories is in you know integrated into everything, which there's value to that. There's also a piece to it that's like, you know what, like we come out of school sometimes and we're like, man, I wish we'd have spent more time on the interventions themselves. Whereas I think as an occupational therapy assistant, the interven, you know, you spend more time and you come out a little bit more prepared in that category. Do you agree?

SPEAKER_08 21:36

Yes, for the interventions specifically. We are we're pretty well prepared for that part.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

See, I love that. Now there's the other piece too that's interesting, is um the cost to be to be a um you know, to go to school. Yes. So the cost to become an occupational therapy assistant is typically less than 15,000. Yeah. Like that's crazy. It's like two years. So it's two years. Uh is it an associate's?

SPEAKER_08 22:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

It's turning into a bachelor's, if I understand correctly.

SPEAKER_08 22:11

You can get your bachelor's. I actually have my bachelor's to be an OTA or an occupational therapy assistant.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Did you get your bachelor's before and then went to OTA? No.

SPEAKER_08 22:22

So I got my associates and then moved on and got the post.

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_08 22:28

Cool. Bachelor's, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

Love that. Um guess how much it costs to be an OT?

SPEAKER_08 22:35

A lot more than that.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Way more. Like way more. So generally, to be an OT, it's anywhere between like uh 60,000 for three years. 60,000 uh to I've seen it all the way up to uh 180,000.

SPEAKER_03 22:54

Oof.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

And so um just because you pay more doesn't necessarily mean that you are better at something or not. And so um just a little plug in there that you know, really if you're somebody who's listening and you don't, you know, you're you're trying to figure out which one you want to do. I mean, I always say this if you're somebody who wants to be in charge, you want to be the one that owns everything, and you don't want to be told a direction because you Want to create the direction, then you likely don't want to be an occupational therapy assistant.

SPEAKER_08 23:31

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Right? Correct. Because what do you do? You get you get assigned somebody, but there's already been an evaluation done and a plan set.

SPEAKER_09 23:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

And basically it's that I, as the therapist, have set this plan saying, this person, let's take a stroke survivor. This stroke survivor, um, uh a goal that I want is that they can, you know, they can uh get their pants on independently within the next two weeks. And then what I do is I say, okay, here you go, Rochelle, you make that happen.

SPEAKER_05 24:06

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Okay. So you guys, you guys who are listening, do you see that? Do you see how that how that works? And so, you know, Rochelle, if she has some questions about the plan of care, then I'm assuming you would come to you. Yeah, you'd call me up or you'd you'd message or something. We'd we'd we'd connect, and then I would, I would maybe give, you know, I'd give some direction. But also if you said, hey, look, I really think this is where we're where we should go, but you you kind of have to pass it off by the by the therapist, correct?

SPEAKER_09 24:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Okay. So I say that because it's it's really important for you guys who are listening to understand what you know how the relationship is between an OT and an OTA. Um, but just recognize the power that an OTA has in their ability to help you reach your goals and where you want to go. OTAs are really, really incredible. And um let me just ask you this. Um, I asked you a little bit about like what you like, but what is one thing about occupational therapy that you absolutely love?

SPEAKER_08 25:19

Seeing the progress that anyone makes, honestly, and then like how it changes their lives. So they'll come in and they're all not depressed, but down on themselves, maybe, and then we come in and we get them up, we get them dressing and walking and toileting, and all of a sudden they believe that they can take care of themselves again, and that change that happens is that belief is just great.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

That's yeah, that I I can I can relate to that. And and and I think probably another term that could what could go into that is hope. Yes, right, the hope that they that now is shining in their eyes, right? And you get to see that, and the fact that you got to just experience somebody do something enough that then they see that there's a possibility of of living a life that they want to live, it's so cool.

SPEAKER_07 26:19

The gratitude that they have is that's it's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

Yeah, it's it's so true. So you you learn these interventions, you learn how to help somebody get their pants on, you know, you learn uh specific modifications, you know, adaptive equipment that you can use, different tools that you can use to help somebody be more successful. Um every two years, you have to make sure that you've done enough uh continuing education. Correct. Okay. Now that's to make sure that, you know, theoretically, that's to make sure that as a as a clinician, you don't just you know stagnate, you keep up to up to date on the evidence. I wish that happened all the time, but you know, at least the the opportunities are there. So you decided to go to the Utah uh occupational therapy uh association conference.

SPEAKER_09 27:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

Okay. So you show up. Now, did you look beforehand before showing up what was gonna happen or what what things were gonna be presenting?

SPEAKER_08 27:24

Not at all.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

What people were going to present on? So no. Okay, so you get there and you're now looking at all the things and you see you see my presentation. Correct. Okay. So why did you choose to come to mind versus something on like you know, different technology or whatever else was happening, whatever what other presentations were happening?

SPEAKER_08 27:51

Mostly because I believe the title of yours had something to do with like breaking hit into occupations, and I was like, oh, that's gonna apply more to my clients that I have right now versus the technology or the pediatric ones, because I'm not in PEADs, so I don't need to go to those. So I was like, that one sounds like it's gonna be more impactful to my clients right now.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Okay. So you show up, sit down, I start talking. I mean, you guys who are listening, you know when I get going. I mean, obviously, I've I've been going for like you know, almost 30 minutes now. But like I just I I I I love it. I love I love talking. So you you sit down. What was your first impression?

SPEAKER_08 28:39

Uh my first impression was that he knows what he's talking about. He's had some experience and he's done the research. Like you, I think the first thing you did was present an article. And so that was like a lot of them don't always present that research right off the bat, and you did, and I was like, oh, that's nice.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

That's what he's doing. Well, and and I and I love that that was like the first impression because like the the for me, right, and this is the thing for you survivors, care partners, clinicians that are out there, if you're trying to understand if something that you you know somebody is telling you is good, you always want to ask for, well, what's the research behind it? And can you give me an actual article that tells you or shows us that what you're doing is valuable? Because if not, then it's really just a guess. And if it's a guess, there could be some value to it. It's like a little bit like roulette, right? You're just kind of spinning the wheel, hoping that something sticks. But if you use something that has evidence, then it becomes it, it becomes something that you can start to kind of bank on a little bit more, that it will likely work for you in your situation because it's worked for so many other people and it's done in a scientific way that you know is structured, and you know that that was the that at least you have a better, you have more confidence. We'll say that, you have more confidence that if I do this, then this will happen. Right? Or or should happen. Or should happen, right? That that would be the that would be the hope, right? Everything that we do. Um, okay, so I start going through and then like what was your I'm I'm just interested. This is more, I guess, selfishly, you know, but like what was your uh what was your journey through my presentation?

SPEAKER_08 30:34

I really just loved the whole thing. As you would talk about your survivors that you had done stuff with, I would think back to my survivors that I had worked with, which wasn't many, but I was like, I could have done so much more with them when I had them had I had this information back then. So then I was like, well, now I want to go forward and learn more about this HIT training to see what I can do for my future stroke survivors and see what I can get out of them.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

I love that. I love that I love that we you just said see what I could get out of them because that's I mean, obviously, you know, for me, it's like there's always more than what somebody thinks they can do. And our job is to show them what they're capable of, and you know, which is always more than what they envisioned. Um, so I just I remember you and somebody else came up after, and you know, you asked about it. And so we we basically, you know, I give you my information, we we connect, and I finally have uh a boot camp in in Utah, in St. George. So you've now decided to do it, right?

SPEAKER_06 31:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 31:49

And okay, let's talk about leading up to it. So what what things were required before you got here?

SPEAKER_08 31:57

Uh we had your online training. Um, it was 11 modules, I believe, that we just had to do. You had some research articles we had to read, um, just like little quizzes to make sure we kind of understood the basic information, and then it was boot camp time.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

And then you showed up.

SPEAKER_08 32:15

Yeah, and then I showed up.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

All right, first and foremost, I mean, online trainings are boring. Let's just get that out of the way. They're always boring because you know, I mean, it's you're watching somebody talk or you know, something like that. Um you know, on a scale of one to ten, how boring were mine?

SPEAKER_08 32:34

I would say seven and a half, eight.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

I'll take that. Yeah, I'll take that. I'm good with that. Um, so do did the did the modules like so the modules actually gave you like information that you needed. It wasn't like this, you know, all this fluff or anything. It's like, no, this is just the information that you that you need. Um is that is that correct?

SPEAKER_08 32:58

Yeah. There were research articles, and then you would have like a little short little five, six minute video just kind of explaining it and how we're gonna implement that into sessions.

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Okay. Yeah, and that's that's just so you know, for those of you uh clinicians that are listening, that's one of the things that I designed the the modules to be like is so that you I think the longest module I have is I think it might be 11 minutes. It might be, but majority are between six to six to eight because I I at least each video, right? Because I think so. I don't want it to be super long because I get lost if it's longer than that and want to fast, you know, skip ahead and and whatnot. But um, so that so there's there's that 11 module, you know, uh 11 modules, and then you show up to a boot camp. Yep. Okay, so leading up to the boot camp, I remember asking you what you were thinking, how you're feeling, and your answer was I'm nervous. Yes. So what were you most nervous about?

SPEAKER_08 34:05

Mostly not feeling like I knew what I was doing, even though I had the research, I really did know what I was doing, but it was a change of what I had been doing. Change sometimes is scary and nerve-wracking.

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_08 34:21

So I know the survivor's feelings.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Yeah, you know, it's funny because when we talk about feelings, like I actually just shared this with my uh students this this last week. I said, look, every single one of us comes from a different background, different context, uh, different uh history, different perceptions. There is only one thing that every single one of us can understand about each other, and that is emotion. Nothing else, nothing else in this life can we actually really understand about somebody else. Emotion we can. So if I felt sad, and you felt sad, I do know what sadness feels like. Now, do I know the depth? Maybe not.

SPEAKER_08 35:10

Maybe not.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

Do I know the sadness from the perspective of what made you sad? No, because I'm not in your situation. But I do know what sadness feels like, and man, it sucks. But I also know what joy feels like, I know what anxious feels like, you know, I know what um anger feels like. I've had things in my life I felt anger for. Now, is it the same situation? No. But I can at least relate to the emotion. So I wanted to put that plug in there with what when with what you said because I think that's really important to highlight that us as therapists, we do not know. We do not know uh the exact reason or why you feel the way you feel. We do know what the feelings are like, we know what the feelings feel like, and we can see, we can see why you feel that.

SPEAKER_05 36:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

And I think that's so important that survivors, care partners, um, you know, clinicians, that we all understand that piece because it's part of what can help make us connect even better. And so um, so anyways, off on a little tangent, I do that. Um, but you you showed up anyways.

SPEAKER_05 36:37

I did.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

Right? And you had Perry. Shout out to Perry. We love Perry. Um, and Perry is actually uh there's gonna be a boot camp in Jacksonville, Florida that's happening uh middle of October. So be on the lookout for that. Um and Perry is uh leading that with me. So she's helping helping me set all that up.

SPEAKER_08 36:58

It's gonna be exciting.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

I know. I'm so excited about this. We have right now we should we have four uh, I believe one stroke survivor and three traumatic brain injury uh survivors that are gonna be participating in this. And so it's and they're all, I believe, under the age of 25. That's exciting. How cool is that? That's gonna be that's gonna be so fun. So we're gonna take a minute and we're going to um we're gonna go on a break. And uh when we come back, we're going to explore what the heck does a boot camp feel like from a clinician standpoint. Because you guys have heard what a boot camp feels like from a uh survivor standpoint, but now we're gonna hear what it's like from a clinician standpoint. So I will talk to you guys in just a minute.

SPEAKER_01 37:47

Stroke Survive a boot camp! My name is Serena, and I had a stroke on December 31st, 2022. I was um getting ready to host a New Year's Eve party and then needed some last-minute things, so I decided to go to Walmart, and that's when the stroke happened. I was walking, and all of a sudden I felt my leg was super heavy, and I was like, I think this isn't right. So I thought maybe I'm like, you know what? Maybe I'm hungry, maybe like nothing but a stroke. So we went back to the car and we went to get some food, and that was fine. And as we were on our way home, that's when the actual stroke happened. I was talking to my husband, I said something, and it was mumbled, and I was holding the food in my left hand, and the food went all over the car. So we turned around and went, went right to the hospital. I had left side paralysis on my upper and my lower extremities. Um, my face got the drooping. The first thing I was really frustrated because whenever I went to the physios and OTs, they they really put limitations on me. But my mentality was always like, this is not my life. This is I do not accept this as my life to be just going through this. And I feel because stroke is not something that you hear a lot of younger people getting, that their mentality is still with somebody who's 80 years old who's having a stroke. But I was 44 when I had my stroke. So at 44, I'm like, I'm not even close to being done living. So, anyways, I went online and then I found Dr. Phil on TikTok and I was like, oh my gosh, he's getting results, he's talking about stuff. It made sense. So then I said, This is gonna work, this is perfect. So, anyway, so I messaged him and we made a plan, and I flew to Utah from Canada to see him. Boot camp really changed me. Like, um, I became stronger, I became faster, I became more capable. I remember like doing all of these things and crying and going, Oh my god, this is this is what I was looking for. Like, this is the missing puzzle piece that I needed to get back to me. Like, when I went to boot camp, I had a cane. When I left boot camp, I had no cane, and I have not used a cane since. It just opened a whole new world inside. So that the person who is looking to maybe book something with Dr. Phil or is having even just internal questions or doubt, uh just just do it. Don't don't think about it, just do it. Invest in yourself, um, know that you're worth it, and that everything you'll just work out so you can get back to a bit of normalcy before the stroke.

SPEAKER_00 40:52

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. All right, welcome back to Stroke Survivor Bootcamp. I'm Dr. Phil and Rochelle and I are just we're we're discussing and talking about, you know, first and foremost, what is an occupational therapy assistant, um, the the journey that occupational therapy assistants go on, and then Rochelle's journey in particular uh leading up to the boot camp. And so we've gotten to the boot camp, she's nervous, she shows up, and now here we are, and I start going into just a little bit more detail of the 11 module, you know, uh 11 module course.

SPEAKER_09 42:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

But in particular, what we call subcomponents of gate, not to nerd out on here too much, but subcomponents of gate, but the pieces of gate that we are going to try to work on improving, right? And so we start going through, we start going through and talking about that. And that's happening before you even see the survivors. Correct. Okay. So during that time, uh, you know, I give you, I give you guys some ideas. I like what did I do?

SPEAKER_08 42:34

Like you gave us some ideas. You even hooked us up to the harnesses and on the treadmills with weights on our ankles and had us experience it, which is it's fun because now I know what they're gonna feel and what to expect, and and then all the fun stuff.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

So it's a little bit different than just watching it, right?

SPEAKER_08 42:54

It's very much different than just watching it.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

Did that did that change the way that you uh when when I asked you to put something on somebody, that kind of changed the way that you interacted with them in some way? Because you're like, I know how this feels.

SPEAKER_08 43:09

Maybe to an extent, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:11

So I mean, that's kind of the hope that I have, right? The hope that I have is that if I get you to experience it, then there's a piece of it that you can go, okay, like I know what I'm actually asking them to do.

SPEAKER_08 43:23

Right.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

Right. I don't know exactly what it feels like from their perspective, but I I know what it feels like, at least effort-wise.

SPEAKER_05 43:31

It's gonna be hard.

SPEAKER_00 43:32

And it's not gonna be easy.

SPEAKER_05 43:33

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 43:33

It's gonna be hard. So I know I'm asking them to do something difficult. And you know, we talk about um, we talk about the uh it's it's the rise method, uh, it's you know, um reveal the road ahead. Uh, we illuminate, you know, what this is gonna feel like, we uh stick to the data and we empower, right? That's a that's a one of the things that we learn in the in the curriculum. And the only way you really truly can reveal what's gonna happen and illuminate how it's going to feel is if you yourself have experienced it in some way.

SPEAKER_09 44:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 44:09

Right? Yep. So now you've experienced that, and then I actually I give you an assignment, if I remember correctly, I gave you an assignment and I then left to go pick up three survivors. Right?

SPEAKER_08 44:21

Uh that might have been later, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:22

So one of the, because I know I went and got them and I bring them back and we do a treadmill session.

SPEAKER_05 44:30

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

Right? Okay. So that first session. Oh, actually, no, that was a session was an evaluation. Man, I'm getting these things mixed up. Forgive me. But the second session, yes, I'm just gonna jump to the second session. First session, you did get to see evaluations.

SPEAKER_05 44:43

We did, yes.

SPEAKER_00 44:44

Right? We measured where somebody was at, what their but how fast they were walking, what their balance skill was, and we gained a score. Yeah, right. So we knew where they were starting. Okay. Was that like what did you think about that part?

SPEAKER_08 45:01

I found it very interesting. As uh OTA, we are allowed to do assessments. I haven't done a lot of them, so it was fun to kind of do those assessments with you and see how they're performed and have that knowledge for when I go back.

SPEAKER_00 45:16

Yeah, and being able to to to if somebody's not getting those for you, you have the capability to get to get them. You can't interpret them, right? Because that's Right. That's the schooling piece. That's what I went to, you know, paid a lot more money to be able to interpret. Yes. Right. But the actual administration of it, like that's that's where you can totally go through and do that. Right.

SPEAKER_05 45:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Um okay. So then the afternoon, that's when I went and got brought him back. Yes. We start a session, and I give you, I basically give you somebody, right? And now was I just completely gone and just said, okay, now go for it.

SPEAKER_08 45:52

No, you were right there. You even were guiding and giving suggestions in that moment.

SPEAKER_00 45:57

And was that was that beneficial?

SPEAKER_08 46:00

I thought it was. Yeah. I mean, you had worked with them beforehand, so you knew what they could do. So it's like, oh, I now I know I can push them further than what I have been because Phil's already done this. And if he's suggesting it, then maybe I should start pushing a little bit harder.

SPEAKER_00 46:18

Did it surprise you to some degree the um the amount that I would have somebody go or the push, how much I would push them?

SPEAKER_08 46:26

I would say so, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:27

So this is an interesting piece to to point out, right? Because as a clinician, we are always worried if you know we think we're pushing somebody hard, but how do we know? We don't really know because most of the time we're going off of what the person is feeling. Well, here's the thing you have the heart rate monitor. I have the heart rate monitor. Yes. So I no longer have to worry just about what somebody's feeling because guess what? What somebody's feeling is gonna be a lie to them because their brain is going to try to defend and protect and it's gonna scream at you saying, I need to stop because it's so hard. But then, you know, the reality is they they can their body can take more and they can do more.

SPEAKER_05 47:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

But the only way you can really know that is if you're watching the heart rate.

SPEAKER_08 47:13

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 47:14

Um, so it's so that's that's that's a piece, right? And and you know, when you go through a a session or what you went through with a session during the boot camp, you know, it's it's a I I do try to give you some of that space to experiment and to try, right? I'm not like hovering over you.

SPEAKER_08 47:32

Oh no, not at all.

SPEAKER_00 47:34

But it is a if I see that you're you're not actually pushing them to what they're capable of, I will step in and I'll show you.

SPEAKER_08 47:43

And you educate why, right?

SPEAKER_00 47:46

So that you can see it. So then you keep pushing more and actually starting to really apply the information that you had read to now what it's like when it's an actual human being, right? Yeah, which is pretty different than what majority of continuing education does, right?

SPEAKER_08 48:05

It's definitely different.

SPEAKER_00 48:08

So that's I mean, it's designed like that, right? Yes. So we did a whole bunch of fun things, right, during this boot camp, those three days, and some of the things that were uh well, I'm let me ask you first, what were some of the things that you thought were really cool? It was a cool experience to to have as a learning experience, but even more just to bring somebody who maybe wouldn't go out there on their own, but bring them to experience something. What are some things that that's stand out to you?

SPEAKER_08 48:41

Doing it in different areas, like we went up a hill, we did it on some gravel on a pretty no, it was a pretty big hill. I don't know what the elevation gain of this hill was, but it was a pretty big hill.

SPEAKER_00 48:54

I think we went up a hundred and hundred and forty-five feet.

SPEAKER_08 48:56

Okay. A small hill by any no, no, and then we did the hill with the gravel, and that was that was pretty steep as well.

SPEAKER_00 49:04

Is that scary?

SPEAKER_08 49:05

Not for me. I actually felt very confident on the gravel and the hill.

SPEAKER_00 49:10

Gilbert was going, uh Gilbert did a great job with that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 49:13

He crushed it.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

Well, all three of them crushed it. That's that's for sure. But yeah, that's yeah, the gravel can be really scary when you like when I showed you the gravel, uh, I know some people's responses are like, are you no? Are you are you sure? Right? Some some clients, you know, some survivors' responses are that, but even the therapists are like, uh no, no, like that's it's it's unsafe. Well, did you have any moment that was like that?

SPEAKER_08 49:42

No, I don't recall that. I remember when you showed us, I was like, okay, let's do it. Let's see what we can do. See, like that's what I remember.

SPEAKER_00 49:50

See, this is what I love about a boot camp. If you're a clinician, is that and and also if you're a survivor, there's these moments where it's like, okay, anybody else, when they look at it from the outside, they go, that's dangerous. Why would you do that? Like, that's scary. You're putting somebody at risk, putting yourself at risk. But do you guys hear the the the way that Rochelle said that? It was like, okay, let's do it, right? Because what a boot camp is designed to do, the way I set it up, is so that when it comes to the point where it's time for you to perform, it's time for you to do something, instead of it being like, Are you sure? It should the the feeling you should get, the experience that you should have is okay. Like I can, I like I'm willing to try that. One of my favorite phrases is, why not?

SPEAKER_08 50:41

I've uh I've learned I use that a lot now.

SPEAKER_00 50:44

Isn't that funny? Yeah. So like, why not? You know, that comes from uh I'm gonna shout out Noel, uh, who's one of my my survivors I've worked with multiple times. You know, every single time I I bring something up to him, challenge him, his response, you know, he sits there and you know, and he he he starts asking why, and then he just sits there and it's kind of like he rolls his rolls his eyes and it's just like, why not? You know, like why not? And the reality is is because really, why not try it? You don't know until you try it. Yeah. And once you try it, you find out information about you, which then it can help guide what you need to improve. Or that you find out you actually can do it, and that opens up a whole new world. Yep. It's no different from the survivors than to the clinicians, correct? Right? Yep. So what other what other moments?

SPEAKER_08 51:43

All of it, really. Like it was all just great and being together with the survivors, even when we weren't like in the sessions and we would go grab lunch. Sure. Just the connection that you have is humans and people in our experiences together and separate.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

I think that's a hard one. I think uh I think unintentionally. I don't think it's I don't think it's meant. I don't think it's intentional, but unintentionally, I think survivors and care partners and and uh other individuals, when you have something happen, uh it can almost feel like people see you or you are you feel seen as not human anymore. And that was a really cool experience to have multiple times where we're just going to lunch. Yep, and that's all we're doing. And we're just sitting around a table, just laughing, laughing, joking, talking, you know, and and just you know, man, I mean, it helps me have Jeffrey, you're right, you know, but like just having so much fun together, right? And being able to to again see what is this all about? Why do we do what we do? I mean, is that what you experience?

SPEAKER_08 53:00

Yeah, to bring that meaning back, yeah, even in the little moments like lunch.

SPEAKER_00 53:04

Yeah. That's so fun because your typical thing that you get to experience as a therapist is you work with somebody and then what?

SPEAKER_08 53:11

Send them back to their room.

SPEAKER_00 53:13

Right. And then then you don't see them again until the next day or when you're doing something, right? So you never actually get those opportunities to just see who this person really is.

SPEAKER_05 53:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 53:26

That is one of my absolute favorite pieces from the clinician side of a boot camp, is that piece. So I love that you brought that up. Uh, we went up a you know, up a canyon where we walked on sand dunes.

SPEAKER_05 53:42

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_00 53:42

Right. We we went into a little slot canyon too, just like you know, small, small teeny one, not anything huge. Um anything stand out to you, you know, what being able to take somebody into a place that I'm assuming as you know, at the the skilled nursing facility, you don't you don't get to take people to places like this?

SPEAKER_08 54:04

Not not to that extent, no. Yeah, but it was it was a good experience to have them in that unknown environment to see their abilities, my own abilities, like my my safety awareness, my positioning, and how it impacts them as they're doing it.

SPEAKER_00 54:24

As we're walking up the sand hill and the sand is sliding out underneath that. Yeah, I'm asking, I'm having you guys spin with them as they're going up down. Like some some really fun things, you know, and everything is everything that I ask a survivor to do or a clinician to do is going to be within the skill set that they have. I'm not gonna ask you to do something that is outside to the point that you're putting you or yourself or somebody else at danger or in danger. I'm not gonna do that, but I am going to ask that you do something to push, right? So that learning can happen. But it it's a it's a really unique experience to to do that because I I'll say this because we did these stairs, 333 stairs.

SPEAKER_06 55:11

Yes, we did.

SPEAKER_00 55:12

It's huge. You did you go back and do them again this morning?

SPEAKER_06 55:15

No, that was rough.

SPEAKER_00 55:17

She she loved it so much. Rochelle loved the stairs so much. When she came back down here to St. George, she uh she went and did the stairs again. Did and uh they're they're kind of crazy. But um, you know, so we so we we do the you we did those stairs, but on the way back, I saw this little trail going up the side of the uh plateau. And I was just like, oh that looks interesting. And all three of the survivors were like, oh no. Because whenever I say that, when I when I say that looks interesting, usually, you know, you guys who have watched my my my uh um TikToks, you know, like that usually means I may be taking you to do that. But like to have that kind of a of uh a mentality as a therapist, I at least for me, it's opened up a world where I don't feel like I'm in a box. I don't feel like I'm I I feel like I'm I'm able to be creative and to, you know, I don't feel like there's limitations. Because if I see something and I go, huh, that's interesting, then I feel like, okay, well, let's do it because I know I have the tools to be able to do that. So did you leave the boot camp feeling like you had tools?

SPEAKER_05 56:40

I did, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:41

Okay. And not just theoretically tools, right?

SPEAKER_08 56:44

Not theoretical tools, practical tools.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

Tools that I could use that you'd already tried. Right?

SPEAKER_05 56:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 56:51

Um now I'm gonna I'm gonna fast forward just a little bit because it was about three, maybe three, four weeks after, you know, sent me a message and saying, okay, I need to, I I I want to chat with you about somebody that I'm working with.

SPEAKER_07 57:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:04

And you're like, because this isn't working this way. This technique that I learned, it's not working this way. I said, try it, try, try this technique.

SPEAKER_08 57:15

Right.

SPEAKER_00 57:15

Right. And I gave description of where you should put your hands. And then that's really what I said, right? Pretty much. And then you had the confidence to then try it. Now you may have had the confidence beforehand to try something before the boot camp. But I I, you know, I my bet is that there is a lot more like, oh, okay, I'll try this, and it's not it, like it won't be as big of a deal. For sure.

SPEAKER_08 57:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:50

So af coming after a boot camp, what was the impact of you as a clinician going through the 11 modules and the in-person training? What what was let's name some some things that were that have impacted you?

SPEAKER_08 58:09

It's definitely increased my confidence just in the sessions that I have with my clients, the skills that I'm willing to try with them. Um, that one patient that you were mentioning, it I was able to push her limits. Um, that she was very scared to try. But then once we did it, she was confident in herself. And we actually did make improvement, which was fantastic. But had I not come to the boot camp, I don't know if I would have had the confidence to try that prior to it. Or I might have had the confidence, but I probably wouldn't have tried it.

SPEAKER_00 58:46

Uh you wouldn't have asked me, right?

SPEAKER_08 58:47

I mean, I wouldn't have asked you.

SPEAKER_00 58:49

Because the reason why you you asked me is because I don't know what to do. Right. So even after the boot camp, there's still learning that happens. Yes. Okay. Um anything else that you can think of that you're like, okay, like from the boot camp, this this is why this this change changed me as a clinician.

SPEAKER_08 59:14

Yeah, it actually reminded me of the reason that I went into OT. Like back to my grandma's story of like helping in that meaningful the little ways that you don't usually do in, at least in my setting, all that often. But it was like, oh yes, that's what I went to the boot camp for. That's why I went to school. It brought that back. It brought back a missing piece that I didn't know I was missing.

SPEAKER_00 59:43

I cannot tell you how many times I hear that. In fact, the very first person that ever came and did a boot camp with me that was a clinician, she she was like, I basically saying, like, I'm gonna quit. And she was a student. Because she was at a place where they weren't doing, like, they weren't doing what OT is capable of doing. And she still to this day, in fact, I had a conversation with her earlier this morning, and still to this day, like we have a good relationship, and also it's that she talks about how coming to a boot camp helped remind her of what we were capable of and the power that we have as OTs. And um, so I love that you said that because that's that's that's what it's designed to do, right? Yep. Um now at least from from my well, I'll I'll do this. Um for those individuals um who are you know who are codas just going into school, um having gone through this training, right? And having had eight years of experience prior to this training, I think that's actually really important to highlight. So you have been in a coda for eight years before taking this this course.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:12

Let's think about the student who is on day one of school. Now, what is the what is something that you wish you could you could tell them right now that uh as they're starting out on this journey about being an OT or about you know what you wish you would have focused on more or you know what you want them to know?

SPEAKER_08 1:01:36

School's gonna be hard. It's gonna challenge you in ways that you're not expecting it to. But once you graduate and you're treating patients, it's still gonna be just as challenging at times. But you can always find answers if you do the research and look for what you like search for what you're looking for almost.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:59

I like that.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:00

Reach out to other professionals, see if they have any ideas or can lead you in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:06

I like that. And I'll just put a little caveat in there. This is my uh soapbox that I get on that everybody's sick of hearing me talk about, but I don't care because this is my podcast and I can do that. Um no, I I just I I plead with everybody, clinician, therapist, or clinician, um, survivor, care partner. Before you jump into anything or believe what anybody says, do your homework. Make sure that person can provide you with research. If they can't, then it is more of a roulette, and you are more at risk of losing your money. And we all know like money, just for all of us, right, is is valuable and important. So just make sure that you ask them what evidence they have. Um let me ask you this somebody who is considering doing a boot camp, whether they're a survivor or a clinician, what first and foremost, what do you want them, what do you want them to know about the boot camp?

SPEAKER_08 1:03:24

It's gonna be nerve-wracking to begin with, but you will eventually learn your own limits, whether you are the survivor or the therapist, and then you'll learn to be willing to push past those.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:38

I like that.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:39

Like you always say, you'll be willing to jump when you get to that ledge.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:43

Because there's always a ledge.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:44

There's always a ledge.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:45

No matter what, there's always a ledge. We all have it, and it just is are we going to jump? Right? Um, I love that. That's that's great. Um, as we, I mean, we've been coming up on an hour. Um I this this maybe maybe this episode has been more selfish for me, but like I think that the biggest piece, if you're a survivor and you're you've been listening to this, to this podcast, um, there's a couple of different things that I hope that you've gained. First, I hope that what you've gained is that as a survivor going through therapy, whether you have a coda or whether you have a therapist, an occupational therapist, because you have a coda does not mean you're getting less therapy or less value. In fact, it could be argued that you are getting more value because of what codas spend their time doing and that they really hone in on their intervention abilities. So if you get a coda, I think you're lucky because kodas have some incredible power. So that's number one. Number two is that you understand or see that being an OT or the reason we're OTs is not just because we want to make life miserable. We actually do it because we see the joy that comes from and the hope that comes from living life as it sucks, so that it doesn't suck to live life. That is, if I had to like really simply frame what oh, you know, what drives OT and what what our purpose or point is, is we want you to live life as it sucks so that it no longer sucks to live life. I love that. That's like I know I love that, right? Um, and then the third thing, as if you're if you're a um survivor and you've been watching this or listening to this, that you are taking away from this conversation is that a boot camp has a similar impact on both the survivor and the clinician.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:10

So the clinicians that come that get to be a part of this, if you are a little bit leery of having a clinician come, um just remember that there's value that comes from that of allowing a clinician to come be a part of your boot camp. And so um it's it's a it's a piece that I have run into in the past where people have said they just want me. Um, but I think that this is a really good opportunity to showcase the value of what a boot camp does, not just for the survivor, but also for the clinician. So now the clinician can go back and change people's lives in ways that they couldn't do it before. And it's the same thing you as the as the survivor, you going through this and you are now able to live your life in ways that you weren't able to live your life before the boot camp. And you end up having way more confidence in your abilities. And so it's a similar, similar thing, whether you're the survivor or the clinician. And if you're a clinician, the thing that I hope that you get from this is that you find motivation to want. And that you guys uh keep the name Rochelle, you know, in in your mind. Um Rochelle is is awesome. Um and you know, we will likely be seeing more of Rochelle as we move forward. Um and uh you know, definitely at other boot camps, right?

SPEAKER_05 1:08:05

I hope so.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:06

Yeah, that's the plan. Um and uh to be able to, you know, just uh learn what somebody goes through when they are going on this journey of getting to high intensity training. So I thought that was that was a good uh this is this is a good representation of that. Um anything that you would like to say or leave our listeners with?

SPEAKER_08 1:08:30

Uh as a clinician, I am grateful for the opportunity to come to the boot camp and learn the strategies and principles and techniques that I did learn to take back to my full-time position and help those clients with what they need.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:46

I love it. Well in closing, everybody you guys know you guys know how this goes. The thing is, I think there's always so many things that people talk to you about that you can do, and that you you know, there's so many different avenues that you can go and you don't know which ones to do. I think the most important one for you to remember is that the most important step is just whatever your next step is. And just remember it really only takes focusing on one step at a time in order to get to where you want to go. So if you're feeling hopeless, you're feeling like you don't know what to do, you're feeling overwhelmed, just remember that all it really takes is pick the next step, and then just focus on that one step. And then always remember that the value is and the the important piece is that all you gotta do is focus on one step at a time. This is Stroke Survivor Bootcamp with Dr. Phil, and I am grateful that you were here, and uh I will be back next week with another episode. Uh, I guess I should apologize that we didn't have an episode last week, but making up for it was an awesome one this week. And uh, you guys have a good rest of your day. I'm Dr. Phil, and this is Stroke Survivor Bootcamp.

SPEAKER_12 1:10:05

Breathe in, 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.

SPEAKER_11 1:10:28

Sweat on your face means you show you I'm tired, we say that's your you say we say Dr. Phil called you start the right side we are in real time. Still you can fall downstairs Wednesday, Tuesday, Wednesday You couldn't lift your head for the silent screams in the steel Now shall it for the woods still lying in that bed I'm here, I'm here I'm not here.