EPISODE SUMMARY
HOST: Ruth Elder
After one year of publishing sixty-one podcast interviews, Ruth goes over the top ten as well as her favorite episodes. In this episode she chats with her daughter Miriam and shares some more background information and stories about each one.
Here are the links to the episodes mentioned.
Top Ten most listened to:
1. Are You Suffering Needlessly?
2. Drs. Derek and Andrea Barret
3. Cereset
5. Kyle Forster: Trigeminal Neuralgia
6. Dawn McCready, Traveling for Trigeminal Neuralgia,
Ruth’s favorite:
Dr. Perry Rush Pt. 1
Dr. Perry Rush Pt. 2
Most time-consuming:
Jamie Browning, DC, FCCJP
Jeff Scholten,DC, FCCJP
What can a diplomate do for you?
Dr. Blair’s daughters:
People who started with Dr. Blair,
To contact Ruth, go to https://www.blairclinic.com
https://www.facebook.com/rutelin
Transcript
Welcome, welcome, welcome to What Pain in the Neck. I am Ruth Elder, your host. And today I'm recording a very special episode. And I know I say that every time. But today is an event. Do you know what today is? Today is one year since I launched this podcast, the very first episode. And so I thought it would be great on this occasion to review the show and talk about some highlights, maybe some low points, some things I've learned, the top 10 list and some things like that.
But if you listen to my show, you know that it's all about conversations and I've attempted to have this show be kind of like, you get to eavesdrop on two people having coffee together or something like that. And so I didn't want to just jabber on. So I've invited a special person. Well, actually she offered. I didn't invite you. You offered to say, “well, I can ask you, I can come in and interview you.” And that part, she's nodding her head, but there's no video. So you have to use your voice. And that person is my oldest daughter, Miriam Joy Elder. Miriam, welcome!
Thanks, mom.
And thanks for, thanks for being here and helping.
You're welcome.
In an upcoming episode, actually, we will do an episode that's all about you, right?
Right.
But this is not that. But if you like and wonder about Miriam, she is my oldest daughter. And stay tuned for a future episode. All about her. Cause she's got some super cool, interesting things to say.
Okay. Take it away Miriam as the guest host.
All right. So, let's talk about the top 10. What are the top 10 episodes of your podcast so far?
Okay, so let's first define what the top 10 is. So when I publish an episode, the program that I use keeps track of it for me. How many people have listened, across which platforms and so on. And so I have a list of the most listened to. So the top 10 most listened to. The number one is actually my introductory episode. Are You Suffering Needlessly? It's five minutes. It's just introducing the show. And on almost all podcasts, that is the number one episode. So I don't really count that one because it's, and it's not really even a conversation. Is that fair you think Miriam?
Yeah, that's fair.
Okay. So, the number 1 interview. It's been consistently in the number one spot since it was published. The title of it is Treatment for Meniere's Disease, The Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself. How To Be The Best And Relying On The Right Guidance With Drs. Derek and Andrea Barrett. It was the first time I ever interviewed a couple. So I had more than one guest and they've become friends of mine and they're really incredible husband and wife team.
Now why it's consistently been number one. I feel like all my guests are super cool. So you listen to their episode. And they have some great things to say. I think that's why it's been number 1 for months and months and months. When it first came out it was the top one, and every single month they're number 1, they're number 2, they're number 3.
So for months and months and months. It has been, including this month, 10 months later or so, it's still in the number, it's still in the top 3. Isn't that incredible?
Yeah, that's incredible.
So what do you want to hear about next? Do you want me to just go down the list or do you want to, I've noticed some patterns here so I can go through some of them, maybe two at a time.
Let's do two at a time.
I'm going to skip to number 3. And go to number 5 and 6, because I've noticed that a lot of the themes here and the episodes that have ranked most of them, there's two that I can talk about in the same breath because they're similar. And the reason I want to talk about the ones that rank number 5 and 6 is in many senses is almost number one in my heart. They're both people that share their story of recovering from a condition called trigeminal neuralgia. Do you know what trigeminal neuralgia is?
I do.
You do? Okay. Now, you give it a shot to explain what that is.
Okay. Well, trigeminal neuralgia, if I remember correctly, it's when you get shooting pains up your trigeminal nerve in your face.
Yeah. So it's excruciating electrical shocks through your face, and it's so painful that it's oftentimes dubbed the suicide disease. And the reason I really like these stories is because people who have been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia don't have a lot of good options and these people that have come here have seen incredible results.
Another reason why I really like their stories is because these two people share their stories on my show. They were early days - they were some of my first episodes that I published. And also, back then I actually really kind of struggled with audio editing. So despite the audio quality not being as good as these present episodes, now that I have help with editing, the stories speak for themselves. So check it out. Go on my website or go down the list and find the episodes from January 13th and January 19th, true stories of two people that suffered immensely. Another thing I thought was great about them sharing their story is especially one of them shared about how even just the journey of getting that diagnosis, nobody knew what it was.
So, if you're listening to this and you're having really severe pain in your face, know that there's a solution. Listen to those two episodes and find out if there's a solution for you. And because of these two episodes, we've had more than a dozen in that time, maybe even more than that.
Fortunately, as severe as it is, I don't think it's super common, but the fact that we've had so many people come in with this condition because of these episodes have been so meaningful, the lives that are changed is so significant. And so I want to talk about actually a reason why it's so significant to share these stories. I want to share another story.
Okay.
That happened because of this information being out there. Upper Cervical Chiropractic, as far as I know, is really the only method that have substantive and consistent great results with relieving trigeminal neuralgia pain. When you hear pain in the face, it doesn't hit you. But I want to share a story of somebody who came in because of this episode.
It was actually her friend who had been driving her to her appointment, and her friend made the appointment for her, and she, this poor lady, it was a doctor who had recommended that she pull out all her teeth. All her teeth.
Wow.
And when she came in, she wouldn't say much, she was always looking at the floor. And then a few weeks in, her friend who was driving her was in the reception room waiting for her and we were talking while she was in getting checked. And she told me her story, but before she came in she had said, so this, this poor woman with the severe pain and no teeth is a mother of six children.
Wow.
And I think 18 grandchildren and that was, that was her life. But before she made the appointment, she said. “I have reached a point. I don't want them to visit. I can't handle the energy.”
Wow.
Can you imagine that with your with your heart? Then her friend said, “but she's feeling better because I noticed today she was putting on lipstick. And she hadn't done that.” So she started to come back to life. And then a few months in, we just, this is right after Christmas here, right before Christmas. She was telling me about the lady with no teeth who had been so sick. She didn't know if she could see her kids. She was telling me about Christmas, how much she was looking forward to her kids coming and her grandkids and the presents that she had bought them. And her whole face was like radiating. That's what we're talking about here. People who essentially had given up on the most important aspects of life. That's how much this condition affects people. Another lady who couldn't talk and she walked out of her appointment and she looked at my receptionist and she said, “I can talk.”
That's amazing.
Yes. So that's why I'm really encouraged that these two episodes are on the top 10 list. The trigeminal neuralgia, go back and listen to it. They're incredible stories. And then it's not very common, but if you know somebody with pain in the face. And you're listening to this right now, would you please share this information with them?
Okay, that was longer than I expected. It just was so much on my heart here. So okay, so there's another one that comes in a pair. And that is my story.
I've been emotional about this one because it took me a long time to be brave enough to start this. Podcast. So number one, we talked about that, the introductory episode, which is all my voice, but it's not about me per se. And then on the number 4 spot is actually an episode from February 2nd of ‘23. This is titled A True Love Story. And it's the story of myself and your dad.
And my dad.
And how we met how I was an invalid when we met. And the story of my healing and how that story led us together to go into the healing professions ourself so every time we share that story a lot of people like it.
Yeah. Well, it's a good love story.
Yeah. Okay yeah, you know it right?
I do know it.
Yeah, what's humbling to me is I feel embarrassed to talk about myself or almost like I want to tell everybody else's story. I want to help other people and yet people connect to my story. So I think it's encouraged me to kind of get over my imposter syndrome and and realize that I have a story that can encourage someone else. So that's been humbling for me.
And actually one of the things got me into podcasting, I have wanted to do this for 10 or more years before it.
I know. Well, I didn't know that it was that long. But I knew that it's been a long time.
How did you know that?
Because you've talked about it.
Okay. So I have a memory of approximately 10 years back where, because as you know, I have always loved listening to the radio. And I listened to this incredibly popular radio show. This was LA. So if you think of the LA market, there's a lot of people there. So a lot of listeners to this show and it was on NPR. The show was called Press Play with Madeleine Brand and she was doing a story. And before she shared the story, she asked the listeners to call in and talk about their experience with education and school for autistic children, and whether they thought private school or public school was best. And this was something that I had thought a lot about. And I shared my personal experience with that as a mother of a child on the autism spectrum. Not you.
I know it wasn't me.
Just for the record, I'm hoping to do an episode in the future, in the next year about autism. It's on my list that I'm hoping will be interesting, but at the end of this show, they conveyed a couple of answers. And they said, “of all the topics that we have done on this radio show, this one was the one we got the most responses for. But we only have time to pick out two.” And one of the ones they picked out was my response. And then, I listen to the show all the time and they had never said this before, and then the person in charge of the program said, “and I would like to add that I think you need to share your story more.”
Wow. That's crazy.
Did you know this?
I didn't know that.
Yeah. And it took me a good 10 years before I was brave enough to use my voice. And so now I've noticed that whenever I share my story. They rank high on the list. Then my friend Stacey Schenkel, she was one of the first people I met and she trusted me and she had a debilitating neck injury and she's a very fun, cheerful, bubbly person. She's in the number seven spot. She's super fun to listen to back on March 21st. Stacy Schenkel, Healing From Neck Injury and Bulging Disc.
In the eighth spot, there's a different kind of pain in the neck. And this one's really fun because it's different. And that is our business coach. Mr. Kevin Weir talks about what it takes to have a healthy business and the impact, especially a health related healthy business, what that does to improve the health of the whole community. He's got a super wealth of knowledge. He's very energetic. He's got lots of business facts. So if you own a business, or you've been thinking about starting a business, that is an incredible episode. And that's from February 23rd of last year.
And then the last two top tens on number 9 and 10. They were published on March 7th and April 18th of last year and they're both Blair doctors. Dr. Michael Lenarz is in number 10. The episode is called How To Help More With Less.
And then Dr. Margaret Shreve talks about her birth trauma and lifelong pain and health issues that came from birth injuries led her to be a doctor and how she's now helping others.
And the interesting thing about that is I met them on the same weekend and we had a conversation as a group and I hit them up individually for interviews and they both ranked very high. That's my top 10 list.
So the top 10 episodes are number 1: Are You Suffering Needlessly? Then we have Drs. Derek and Andrea Barrett as number 2. Number 3 I actually skipped over. This one has consistently ranked high and I've had a lot of people verbally tell me how interesting they found this episode. And it's called Getting the Brain Unstuck from PTSD, Stress, Depression and Anxiety and Long COVID. This one's with Linda Jones from Ceraset.
The reason I saved this for last is, sadly, their Lubbock location, which Linda Jones had opened, is no longer open. But if you listen to the Ceraset episode, there are lots of Ceraset centers in other places around the country. So that would be an interesting one.
Number 4 is my love story, and then 5 and 6 are the trigeminal neuralgia stories. Number 7 is my friend Stacy Schenkel. And then 8 is the action coach, Kevin Weir. And then 9 and 10 we have Dr. Michael Lenarz and Dr. Margaret Shreve, both Blair doctors. So that was a long time to talk about the top 10.
Yeah, so now we've talked about the listener's favorites, what is your favorite episode?
Ah, it's actually kind of difficult to pick out favorites because whoever I'm talking to is my favorite at that moment, and that is absolutely 100 percent true. But there is one person that stands out to me. I felt like I had to pinch myself talking to this person, and it's Dr. Perry Rush. And there's three episodes with Dr. Perry Rush. Actually, two of them are with him and then one with his wife. And the reason that this is so significant is Blair chiropractic is kind of a special thing. It was very rare. And for a few years, it was very precarious whether all this life changing research would be lost or not and Dr. Perry Rush is one of maybe just two or three or five people who was able to teach and keep it alive and he devoted his whole life to make sure that the Blair Technique was taught, was pure, survived. He did more for the Blair Technique early days than almost anybody I know. The other reason I felt like I had to pinch myself is I'd heard so much about him and I've heard so much great stuff about him and then now I'm talking to him and I was able to get that. So I would encourage you to go back and listen to Perry Rysh. And he's a super interesting person to talk to, and it's very fun stuff to listen to. The sad thing is, I almost lost the audio on that one. I need a tech guy, but I am the tech guy. And something went wrong in the recording, but I sent it to an audio engineer to fix it for me because that's how important I thought that information is. It's information that I felt needed to not be lost.
What is the most challenging part of having a podcast?
Well, I've kind of already touched on it. Miriam, how am I with technology?
Mom's pretty bad at technology. Maybe not the worst ever, but. She's pretty close to that.
So that has been really challenging and you know, my budget does not include a producer and a sound guy and things like that. Actually, right now, I do have my son, Andreas, your brother, editing the audio, the final audio for me. And that's helpful. But I've learned every single aspect, technical aspect of doing this. Audio? It is difficult, oh my goodness. So that's been hard.
The other thing is, I have made the choice of recording audio only and in person. And I've played back and forth with the idea of doing Zoom. It would, in many ways, really simplify it. And I might do that, I have some people on my want to talk to list that I think that's the only way that's going to happen. But I feel like there's a certain kind of magic when we sit in the same room, and we're eyeball to eyeball, and there's not a camera on. What do you think about that?
That's true. It's much more comfortable to talk to someone when there's not a camera and when there's not a screen in between.
Yeah. So I don't know if you're still listening to this rambling episode and you've listened to a lot of my episodes. I would actually be really curious to find out if you've noticed that there's an intimacy in our conversations because of that.
What has been your most time consuming episode?
Okay, there's one episode that I spent more time on than any other. Except for the episodes where the sound was crazy and that was the episode about growing greens with Ogallala Farms. And, the reason that it took a lot was first I went out and I visited his greenhouse. It was way out in the country and then we talked and then I also had some issues with editing it. So I spent hours and hours and multiple days on producing one episode.
What's the most rewarding episode you've recorded so far?
I don't know that there's an episode per se, but what has been the most rewarding experience is all the people that I've gotten the chance to connect with. I've interviewed some really cool people, some world class top experts in their field, notably Dr. Jamie Browning and Jeff Scholten, both part of starting the DCCJP program, which is the Diplomate Postgraduate Degree for Upper Cervical Doctors. You'll find some episodes about that, science-y and nerdy things, but so important for people who have really complicated conditions. And so if you are a doctor or a healthcare professional listening to this, you probably would like to go back and listen to those episodes.
Also, we were here at the Blair Clinic and the Blair Clinic opened 75 years ago. And we've been here for six years. And I talked about how it's taken me a while to get started on the podcast. And as part of planning, I've written down people I want to talk to, but some of my top people that I wanted to talk to passed away before I got to share their story.
So the fact that I have a lot of incredible stories such as Dr. Rush, such as Dr. Blair's daughters, and some of the patients that actually started with Dr. Blair. That has been really rewarding to connect the stories. And then I really enjoy talking to experts, but also just regular people who've suffered and persevered and found a solution and just sharing that further and then knowing that because of our conversations, other people can have hope and know where to turn or they'll have a place to go or ask questions.
And that is my true passion. It's making sure that I get people plugged in and the right solution for them. I'm not about selling the Blair Clinic. Although if you turn to us for help and you're a good candidate, we won't turn you away. We want to help, but this is more about finding the right solution for each person. And so I think that's been the most rewarding. And so if you are suffering, give me a call, because I've learned a lot and I would love to see if we can find the right kind of doctor for your particular situation.
You said give you a call. What's the number or the email address they can contact you at?
Yes, I can say it on air. I do show notes and it's always in the notes, but my number here at the Blair Clinic is (806) 747-2735. And my email is ruth@blairclinic.com.
Thank you. All right. What are the top lessons you've learned while recording these podcast episodes?
Absolute top one is similar to what I just talked about when I encouraged you to give me a call if you're suffering. And that is the theme - it's recurring in almost all 60 episodes is if you're suffering. Don't give up. There is hope and there's always a solution and keep on looking. So that's the number one.
Tied to that is if you're a person that is looking for a purpose in life, or you want to help people, don't give up on that. Keep pursuing that dream and follow your gut and find your niche. So, a theme in a lot of the doctors that I've interviewed is that people have had a desire to help people, but they didn't know how. So I've interviewed maybe people who were thinking they wanted to be dentists or physical therapists or something like that. And then they became chiropractors or I've interviewed a dentist and she knew she wanted to help people, but didn't know how until she met an incredible dentist. And so if you have a dream to help people go for it and keep pursuing it, and one day the heart will say zing, this is it for me.
And then finally, the third one is there are different levels of doctors and different types of treatments. And so just because you've tried something, don't give up on it. Call the next guy and the next guy. And also maybe the next level up, the next specialty, call and ask questions and help often times comes from a place that we didn't expect, that was certainly true for me. And so don't give up seek the help that you need.
That is what this is all about and in every episode I say, you know get the help you need It's all about you get being well and finding the solution, but I'm going to ask you to do something for me and by doing this for me, then together we can actually help even more people.
And that is, if you're listening on Apple podcast right now, would you take a minute and go all the way down first, subscribe to the show, because when you've subscribed to the show, you get more options and then scroll all the way back down to the bottom of the show. There's an option to rate and review. So the rates are the stars, and if you like it, I'd appreciate if you click on all five stars. And then there's a little write something section. And if you write something nice about the show, or something that you've learned from the show, that really helps others to find it. And in order to encourage this, I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to have a giveaway. I will draw some great prizes valued at a hundred dollars, and a one of a kind blanket. What pain in the neck? Blanket. So there'll be two prizes, and I'm going to draw that on Valentine's Day. So between now and Valentine's Day, please go and rate and review.
And then also, because my goal here is to help more people, If you know somebody who suffers from whatever the episode is, and you want to give someone else hope, go ahead and share that episode with them.
And then come and find me on Facebook, because I want to be your friend. You know that's what I like, right?
Yes. I do.
Okay. Miriam, we have talked way longer than I expected about this. Is there something that we have forgotten?
I don't think so. I think you've done a pretty good review. Year in review.
Year in review. There you go. Thanks, Miriam.