Picture an egg. If you put a pebble on top, it will withstand the pressure. However, the more pebbles you put on top of it, eventually, the pressure will start to crack the egg and the yolk will bleed out, causing a mess. Maybe in our lives, we feel like we’re the egg in a constant balancing act, attempting to hold up the heavy weight without the pressure of ever cracking.

We aren’t built to hold up, hold in, or hold onto all of life’s stresses alone. Society often has an underlying stigma that asking for help is a weakness. When in reality, it is one of the most courageous things we can do to move forward and grow. Listen to this week's hopeful podcast episode with our host Patrick McCalla and therapist, Dr. Melody Rodarte, discussing the signs to look out for in ourselves or a loved one who may need to seek help, and how to ultimately protect those who are protecting us”.

For more information on Melody's nonprofit, visit their website at compassion-alliance.org

The NO GREY AREAS platform is about the power, importance, and complexity of choices. We host motivating and informative interviews with captivating guests from all walks of life about learning and growing through our good and bad choices.

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Speaker 1

How do we deal with the trauma in our lives, but especially the trauma in the lives of those we care about? Today we have special guest Melody Rodarte, and she's going to unpack some of these important topics with us. Watch. Right now. No gray areas.

Speaker 1

Melanie Rodarte, thank you so much for being on the No Gray Areas podcast. Your husband was. Oh, he did an amazing job. We had him on months ago, one of our most listen to podcasts for a while. So we actually as couples, my wife and I and you and Tony, we we become friends, had dinner a couple of times.

Speaker 1

So we're just we're so thankful to have you on here. We're going to talk a little bit today about what it's like to be a spouse of a first responder when your husband was on, he talked a little bit about protecting our protectors, I mean, first responders and protecting us. We need to protect them. So we'll talk about that.

Speaker 1

But I want to I want to back up, first of all, and just because our audience is going to love your story, you have a fascinating story because you're a first generation from.

Speaker 2

Lebanon.

Speaker 1

Lebanon, which I can't go to anymore because I went to Israel, have has have that in my passport. And I found out I can't visit Lebanon till I get a new passport, correct?

Speaker 2

Right. Right.

Speaker 1

Because I want to go to Lebanon someday. With you. With with you and Tony.

Speaker 2

Love to bring.

Speaker 1

You. Yeah. Yeah. So you were first generation, your mom and dad, Lebanese grew up there. They moved over. How When did they move over here?

Speaker 2

Speaker 1

Wow. So did they get married there? And they were together? He did. And where did they go? I was thinking New York City, probably.

Speaker 2

They actually came here. They migrate to Phenix. Yeah. My dad had family that moved here from Lebanon, and so he came to where there was family already. And so it. Phenix, Arizona. More desert than Lebanon.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Because Lebanon for our audience and a lot of them may have no idea what Lebanon is like. There's a lot of beauty in Lebanon. It is. Even if they've read the Bible, they know, they talk about the Cedars of Lebanon.

Speaker 2

In the mountains. And yeah, it's a gorgeous place. It's a gorgeous. So I'm excited to take you because I have been able to take Toni twice now and my kids and that was beautiful for them to experience where I'm from, where their mom is from.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Your twins.

Speaker 2

Are twins. Yeah, they just turned 20.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Yeah. So they got to go see where you're from. Did you actually go to your your hometown or where your parents were from?

Speaker 2

Yeah, we were able to. They were able to. My mom's parents were still alive at the time, and so they got to meet my grandparents, a lot of my cousins, my aunts and uncles and majority of my family still there. So they were able to experience that.

Speaker 1

Wow. How many times have you been back to Lebanon?

Speaker 2

Oh, geez. I think over 15 times. I mean, my parents were incredible at taking us, my brother and I starting probably around the age of five. We went probably every other year, every third year, and to continue just to see our family. My dad goes yearly. He has a house there. And my mom, it's a lot of work, so she doesn't enjoy going there for as long.

Speaker 2

But my dad, literally, probably 3 to 6 months out of the year, still goes there.

Speaker 1

So you grew up with a lot of the culture of Lebanon, right, eating the foods in there. And then, in fact, before we turned our mics on, I found out something interesting about you. That's your first language, actually. Arabic, right?

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

Yeah. So you grew up by the time you're three, four or five years old, you're bilingual. Then?

Speaker 2

I was my mom learned how to speak English with me because she her school was French and Arabic. So she came to the States without speaking English. So she learned with me and my father. School was French, English and Arabic, so he already knew how to speak English when he came.

Speaker 1

Wow. So your French didn't help your mom getting around to Phenix? There's not a lot of French.

Speaker 2

There weren't enough French.

Speaker 1

There really isn't. Wow, how fascinating. So I've been to Israel several times, and when you're in Old Town Jerusalem and you walk around, you hear Hebrew and Arabic just left and right, Jews hearing it constantly. And those are two of the most beautiful languages. So can you gift us with saying something in Arabic? Because some of our listeners maybe haven't heard anything, maybe a TV or a movie they have, but it's a beautiful language.

Speaker 2

It is. I you know, I it on the spot. It's a right. I love just saying hello. Marhaba. I think it's just such a pretty way of saying hello. Marhaba And, and then Habibi, there's so many ways of saying Habibi, which is my sweetness, my love. You know, it's Habib you can use for your spouse, your Tony.

Speaker 1

You hear that a lot.

Speaker 2

And he's heard it. Yeah. Okay. Okay.

Speaker 1

Let's make sure. Habib.

Speaker 2

Habib.

Speaker 1

I'm going to drop that on my wife. I'm like Habib. I would say that if I said that, I would be like me saying sweetie or okay, all right, I like it. I'm going to drop a little Arabic on my wife today.

Speaker 2

That's. That's good. Thank you. Walk in the door. Say Marhaba. Habib.

Speaker 1

Marhaba. Habib. I like it. I want to try that. So you. You grow up here in Phenix, first generation. You're speaking Arabic, learning English with your mom. They came where they were religious, home. Did you grow up in a religious home?

Speaker 2

I did. They were Catholic. They were practicing. They practiced Catholicism. So we would actually go to mass in Arabic, Nancy, here in Phenix.

Speaker 1

Wow. Wow. So. So you, though, where do you really start learning English? Were you going to an English school or did like at home? I'm assuming your parents are speaking Arabic.

Speaker 2

So they were in like the music and was Arabic like we had eight tracks back then. And I mean, it was classic Arabic music like Fairuz. And and so we were blessed to have neighbors that told my parents about a private Christian school that was small. And so that's what they put me in starting like pre-K for in kindergarten.

Speaker 1

You're like, immersed, learning English. So you're speaking English during the day at school and going home and getting Arabic. What a gift.

Speaker 2

I really was.

Speaker 1

Well, that would be the that would be the fun thing about traveling to Lebanon with you or even Israel with you is you get around really well there then, because you speak the language. And even in Israel, if you're if you speak Arabic, you can talk to almost anybody, because most people in Israel are probably somewhat bilingual with Arabic.

Speaker 2

And now most of I would say most of Middle East. It's been great because I've been able to use my Arabic as well as my English. Majority of them speak English at some point, or at least it will help you get around with that. But it's definitely better if I know some Arabic to try and and figure things out too.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Well, let's get a trip on the calendar for sure. So one of the things that we want to do here today is when we had Tony on, as I said in the introduction, and we had Tony on a few months ago, Tony was a homicide detective. Right. And so he he and he saw some stuff we can all our audience can only imagine some of the stuff that he saw and any first responder.

Speaker 1

I mean, that's just the nature of their job. They're going to have some calls. You're going to see some things that humans should not have to see. They're going to deal with things that humans shouldn't have to deal with. So in that journey, then he he's he's struggling with what I think any first responder or probably anybody who's been in combat in the military, in some ways, any human being, because all of us, we come on a car wreck or we've been in maybe a violent family or we've seen something, but they're seeing it regularly.

Speaker 1

And if I remember the story right, it was around his retirement. So he's been dealing with it for a long time. That is. Am I right where you said, Tony, I think you need to get some help.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it was probably a little about three years, but 3 to 4 years before retirement, I just I could see that there were some there were some behavior changes and where I knew that he had probably seen too much.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So you said Habib, right?

Speaker 2

You're right. You did?

Speaker 1

Yeah. Good. I'm just practicing my Arabic here. So you said I think you should get some help because you're noticing What were some things that you were noticing with him, if you don't mind me asking? Well.

Speaker 2

Yeah, he's a really positive he is. And I noticed that things were a little more negative. He wasn't wanting to do as many social events, and he's pretty social. And he talks about the world being people he and and things are becoming more people, see.

Speaker 1

And what does that mean?

Speaker 2

Just things would bother him. Like there was no buffering of what would kind of upset him or what he would want to deal with it. It was just like he he would withdraw then from doing things because he didn't want to deal with the general public, even our friends at times.

Speaker 1

So you're notice and that wasn't the typical Tony. That was Tony that you knew. And so you're seeing that. Were there any other indications were there?

Speaker 2

Yeah, he wasn't sleeping as well. He wasn't doing all the self-care that he was used to doing. So I there was definitely changes. They were small in the beginning, but I really noticed that his sleep wasn't as restful as as before. Yeah. Yeah. I think his he had a even more heightened sense of just negativity around him, kind of what was going on in his world that irritability.

Speaker 1

Mm. Yeah. Well and I want our audience because our audience may right now be going, Wow, maybe I want to stop this because I'm not a first responder and this doesn't apply to me. But it really does. And again, that's why I've already mentioned a couple of times. But that quote that Tony used, you know, we need to protect those who are protecting us.

Speaker 1

And you probably use the same quote. I think that's so important. The listeners may not be a first responder, but you probably know one. You may be married to one. You may have a relative that is one or a friend that is one. Or even if you don't again, that every day we get up and we drive wherever, whatever community we live in, it's those first responders that are helping to protect us, to help us keep safe.

Speaker 1

Things go bad if we end up having a heart. They're the ones who are going to show up. So it's a very important conversation. And I think what Tony went through is probably somewhat normal, right?

Speaker 2

I agree. It definitely is normal for I think the statistic is 18% of first responders will go to a major life event within their first year and then.

Speaker 1

A.

Speaker 2

Traumatic event.

Speaker 1

In their first year.

Speaker 2

And then just think of every year. Then further on on patrol or working its. And so it can it can it can add up and with you know with my husband it was he was in specialty units his last 15 years. So there was it was daily.

Speaker 1

So he's. D Yeah. Because I remember he was dealing with the homicide as we said but also I think he still volunteers and stuff with missing and exploited children. Yeah, he's working with that area. So you're reading here and seeing some of the most horrendous things that things that I just don't think we as you well, we certainly know.

Speaker 1

But both of us being from a faith based perspective, we would both say we were never meant to see that this world wasn't created for that. Right. So sin and brokenness entered and now we're just seeing horrible things. So because of that, though, we have this group of first responders out there, or I would I would include military in there that are carrying a lot of weight and a lot of burden.

Speaker 1

And then there's been a stigma for a long time. Tony said that he thinks that's changing, but it's still there in a lot of ways that if you go get help, it means you're broken in some ways, right? That's right. That's what that's the stigma that was there.

Speaker 2

Now. That was his stigma. That's why he wouldn't get help. And until he was retired.

Speaker 1

Yeah, because and part of that is you're worried about if I go to, you know, apply or transfer and then all of a sudden I've got this on my record, it's like, oh, I went to get help, I went to get therapy. You must be broken. Right? That's part of the struggle, right? Yeah. Do you do you think that's changing?

Speaker 2

I think it's changing. And I hope we're at the forefront of that changing as well with our our mission. And I think in the last 5 to 10 years, maybe just five military has definitely taken a step forward with understanding PTSD and trauma and and being at the forefront of not labeling their military, you know, those who have needed help.

Speaker 2

I think firefighters are it's more becoming more aware of it, I think. And ahead, as far as police officers, the stigma is still too high.

Speaker 1

We've got a ways to go with that one. We do. Yeah. Well, and you as a your doctor. Yeah, right. So what kind of doctor?

Speaker 2

I'm an internist or an internal medicine physician.

Speaker 1

Okay, so what does that mean?

Speaker 2

I adults.

Speaker 1

I know what that means. Know you. But what is so.

Speaker 2

So internal medicine is you don't do any pediatrics, so you learn in residency to take care of adults and everyone who goes on to do specialties, they do internal medicine first. So if you're seeing a kidney doctor, a heart doctor, a gut doctor, but internal medicine is is the base. And you can be a primary care physician as an internist or you can go on and specialize.

Speaker 1

You actually have your own practice, right?

Speaker 2

I do.

Speaker 1

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I bring that up because you recognize then as a doctor how this affects I mean, again, I think in our Western thinking, our Western mindset, we compartmentalize everything. And so we have our physical box and our spiritual box and our emotional box and our social box. But I think we're recognizing you can't you can't compartmentalize that they're all tied together.

Speaker 1

So as a doctor, probably even more so than than most of us, you recognize how this trauma and the things that first responders are seeing, how that's going to affect the whole person. Yes. Physically. And you even brought that up like you were seeing some of that with Tony, right? He's not sleeping very well. But is it from a doctor's perspective, help us understand a little bit what we're understanding with with with Post Story.

Speaker 1

And I know I brought up PTSD with Tony and he goes, oh, time out. And I've gotten because he said this, I've gotten better at it. Post-Traumatic stress disorder. I almost think we need to drop that. D It's just post-traumatic stress. Yeah, it's not a disorder. It's it's just something we if you deal with trauma, you're going to deal with the stress of it.

Speaker 2

And that's that's definitely correct. And, you know, it's not really a diagnosis. It's definitely a time of stress. And and there are physical things that we can measure, like it's lack of sleep. Their heart rates can go up, their blood pressure can go up, they can have insomnia. There are so many things that go along with it that, yes, as a physician, I feel blessed that many have felt safe with seeing me because they know they knew Tony's wife was a doc and so they felt safe coming to see me.

Speaker 2

And in especially when other first responders understood that I had a first responder, you know, my husband was a first responder, they are more comfortable seeing me. But so I have I saw that I saw the changes in Tony early and did I encouraged him to to seek out help and and in and it was wonderful when he finally did because then he figured out there there shouldn't be stigma over it.

Speaker 2

And it just took one or two sessions to you know, to help him feel better, you know, really.

Speaker 1

So you start seeing a difference. You start seeing a difference that quickly, that quickly.

Speaker 2

Just he just literally on his second session, he was back to back to my. Tony.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Wow. Really? Yeah.

Speaker 1

But I do I can see what you're saying where some of his friends, buddies, coworkers probably did feel better about coming to you because then you're dealing as a doctor, then you're dealing with some of the physical things that they're seeing because of the post-traumatic stress. Right?

Speaker 2

Correct. Right. They come in with physical complaints. Yeah. And it was more it was secondary to stress and emotions. Yeah. Their body was was reacting to that melody.

Speaker 1

I'm just I'm so excited that these conversations are being had now. But even with even with us understand, I mean, the Eastern medicine or the Eastern world, they most of the world I might say, is much better not compartmentalizing these things and understanding that we're created as holistic beings, that you can't separate those. But when you're dealing with the physical, you also recognize, well, that's tied directly to what's happening up here spiritually, right?

Speaker 1

Those are all connected. I always tell people, if you don't think they are, don't eat for four or five days and tell me if that affects you emotionally.

Speaker 2

Right. We get hangry. Yeah. Ask anybody if they've ever been hangry. Yeah, and I love that you brought that up. I'm a DEO, so I'm a doctor of osteopathic medicine. And that was a route I, I chose because I do believe that we should learn in systems and not just one organ at a time. And incorporate Eastern and Western medicine together.

Speaker 2

I think that's really important. And I saw that as I was following around other doctors. I saw that it was it made a difference is understanding what their home life was or their work life was like. That could really encourage how you got them to take care of themselves. So that their physical complaints might be secondary to the stressors of their life and how how it's intertwined.

Speaker 1

So, Oh, man, I love that you guys. So give us that was a long word. You use your doctor of what?

Speaker 2

Of osteopathic and then what?

Speaker 1

So break that. I mean, I think you just did in some ways, but what does that mean?

Speaker 2

So especially here in in the world, you can get an M.D. or audio. So in that it's a physician. So Doctor of Allopathic Medicine is an MD and doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a D.O..

Speaker 1

I can guarantee a lot of our audience is learning right now.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I love it. I love yeah, yeah. But so you may or may not know when you're seeing an M.D. or DEO when you go to the doctor. A lot of people don't know until they might see your signature and be like, Oh, I thought I was seeing a doctor. And a lot of time they'll say, You are there are there are more M.D. schools than D.O. schools.

Speaker 2

But your D.O. can be a surgeon, can be your heart doctor can be I mean, we can do everything that an M.D. can do. And we actually have about more hours a week on the musculoskeletal system, learning what it's called oma, osteopathic medicine, manipulation and almost like what a chiropractor does. Yeah, And so we've integrated that into when we learn understanding, to use our hand to diagnose our hands, to diagnose and to tree and incorporating kind of mind body and being more holistic.

Speaker 2

So I chose that path because I, I did believe that who we are in the life we live makes a difference on how our our body ages and how we can treat we can treat disease and prevent disease.

Speaker 1

So when I tell you that all through my twenties and thirties, I didn't hardly sleep at night, you would say there was.

Speaker 2

Reason that wasn't healthy.

Speaker 1

Not a.

Speaker 2

Good thing. Not a good thing.

Speaker 1

And probably had to deal with more than just I just don't sleep well. Yeah, it was connected to how I was doing life for. Yeah, well, the amazing thing about that is how, how cool is it that God brought you and Tony together, that you went down the fields that you did and all of it kind of because you really recognize the importance of getting help and how it's connected.

Speaker 1

Physical, spiritual motion, like we're saying to the whole person, which is why you guys started your you're nonprofit, right?

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

It's just tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 2

Yeah. So our nonprofit is called the Compassion Alliance. And it did it came out of a seeing what Tony went through and then wanting to serve other first responders and have a safe place for them to seek help out where they didn't have to use their agency. So we're a501c3 nonprofit organization and we treat first responders for PTSD and finish that for PTSD.

Speaker 2

Yes, Yes. But we want them to be able to not have to worry about using their agency or being labeled. And why?

Speaker 1

Why is that?

Speaker 2

Because of the stigma that we are fighting, that stigma. And most just like my husband, will not seek help until they're retired because he was worried about getting a desk job and being labeled, potentially losing his retirement when it was for something that no one should. He showed up at the worst time of someone's life every single day.

Speaker 2

And so there gets to be a point where you shouldn't have to have those images.

Speaker 1

Can I jump in? Yeah, because I don't want our audience to miss what you just said. I think that's so good that they're showing up at at the lowest moment or the most difficult moment of people's lives. That's what first responders generally do. Yeah.

Speaker 2

It's such a great point. Or and in his case, a homicide, a murder like every time he gets a call, someone has died or attempted to die, you know, And so and and that that adds up. I don't want to see that every day I, I would have some trouble with some of those, especially if it has to do with children or so there was and and our firefighters think about in our EMS they're showing up to car accidents and fires and and heart attacks and so you're showing up every time someone has a need.

Speaker 1

And especially when they deal with children, the first responders that I know when I talk to them, it's especially the cases with children. It's just so hard to take and deal with. But so you're nonprofit. Tell us the name of it again.

Speaker 2

The Compassion Alliance.

Speaker 1

Okay. The compassion Alliance was set up to help protect those that are protecting us and allow them to get help. And so what you do is if someone came, if a first responder, if someone our audience is listening and, you know, first responder or first responder, what they would do is reach out to you and what what would happen.

Speaker 2

We depending on where they're at, we love that even though we're Arizona based, we will help anyone throughout the United States and we pair them up with trauma counselors and I and pay for their services, for their treatments. And so it is it's it's a complete gift. We feel honored and blessed to be able to provide this service because our goal and you'll hear Tony talk about this is getting somebody to live again, getting them back to their family and being a functional part of society and bettering themselves.

Speaker 2

And that that's that's our goal. I had I saw that change in Tony so quickly, and I want that to happen for other first responders, too, where those images go away and they don't create the stress that was happening to his body so that he could be a part of our family again, want to go out with our friends again.

Speaker 2

And that's what we want for first responders, a safe place that they can be referred to and feel that they can get the help they need so that they feel whole again.

Speaker 1

So I would care deeply about this no matter what I really would, because I've always held a special place in my heart. In fact, I thought seriously about becoming a first responder. But I have my son is in the military and he's a first responder in the military. And what I hear you saying, and this is where this becomes personal to me, is what you what what Compassion Alliance is set up to do is to help my son work through the trauma that he's going to deal with as a first responder so that he can be a better husband, he can be a better father to his his his four kids that he has.

Speaker 1

So he's going to be a better son and a better friend and a better and just live life. I love that you said that. That's really what it was set up for. Yes, correct. Yes. Oh, my goodness. That's so amazing. And when you guys pay when when your organization pays for someone to go through this, what it's helping is it's not on their record and they don't have to worry about the stigma then of And even though that's starting to change, they they don't have to worry about it because it's not their right.

Speaker 2

We allow them to not tell their agency that they're there. They're getting therapy, and that's so huge for many of them. And to know that they're there, there's no record. Yes, there's a record, but not that their agency can get a hold of so that they can feel safe by doing that.

Speaker 1

So let's let me ask you to say, I want I want to get our audience to know where exactly. So if you're listening right now, pull your car over because you're going to want to write this down. We'll put it we'll put it in the notes as well. We're on all the social media platforms that we post. This will put it in their notes as well.

Speaker 1

But I want them to know how they contact you, because maybe a first responder is listening and they go, I need to get some help. Or maybe it's a loved one or a friend of a first responder and they want to write this down and know how to get some help. So how would they reach out to you?

Speaker 2

Compassion, hyphen alliance dot org that.

Speaker 1

Passion hyphen alliance dot org. Okay, so write that down everybody listening right that and compassion hyphen alliance dot org. We'll put it in our notes as well or on the social media platforms that where we post this podcast. But I also want to do something. It's always uncomfortable if you run a nonprofit for you. I believe so much in what you're doing.

Speaker 1

I want to I want to highly, highly, highly recommend our listeners to support compassion and alliance, because I know you and Tony, you are people of integrity. I know this is incredible organization that is absolutely having an impact and it will have a generational impact. You and Tony and my wife and I talked about this last time we had dinner together where if you're helping someone get healthy, you're going to be helping their children and their children's children.

Speaker 1

This this is a generational impact. So what I found out was that when I had Tony on last spring, you guys had a pretty good chunk of money in the bank because you had people that had given and you still didn't have people hearing about first responders. There weren't a lot of first responders reaching out. Right now you have the other problem, thank God that a lot of first responders have reached out, said we need to get help.

Speaker 1

You guys are moving into Texas now. And I'm like, oh, yeah, but what's happening now is you're running out of money. And what you want to do is when a first responder says, I need help, you want to you want to be able to get them in the air. So you guys need money.

Speaker 2

We need money. We do. And that's so true. We are so thankful for the first time that you had Tony on, because the outreach of just that being it passed on, it was just amazing that we finished the year out with 47 being able to treat 47 first responders in five states. It's just amazing. And we do I'm I'm getting more bold, as is Tony.

Speaker 2

We're asking for for money, because when there's no money, we can't offer therapies. And we that's our fear. We never want to turn anyone away. Yeah.

Speaker 1

47 lives this last year. And again, that's going to be generational because I can guarantee you they're going to be better spouses, better sons and daughters, better brothers and sisters, better friends, better parents.

Speaker 2

Better at word, better work.

Speaker 1

Great point, great point. But that's 47 lives. And and then that's that's going to have a massive impact. So. Oh, man, I can't stress it enough. If you're listening and you want to know where to give or how to help or how to make a difference, go to compassion. What is it again?

Speaker 2

Hyphen. Hyphen. I was going to say it before. I know.

Speaker 1

Compassion hyphen, alliance dot org and this is a great organization to give to five one c3 three. So to get a tax write off, yes, you are people of integrity. The money is going to be used well. It's going to go directly to helping them. Good. Anything else that I'm missing? Anything else you'd like to say?

Speaker 2

Know that I just thank you so much for letting us spread this word, because we do. Our mission is to help as many as possible. And I love that. You know, there have been some corporate sponsors that have stepped up to the plate. That's our biggest prayer is is having those with big hearts that want to see change.

Speaker 2

And we are a small organization where your donation does go straight to the first responders.

Speaker 1

Not a lot overhead.

Speaker 2

There's not a lot of overhead. We're doing everything possible to check.

Speaker 1

When someone writes a check.

Speaker 2

Literally to paying for someone's therapy, that's huge.

Speaker 1

That's that's not often that happens. Well, let's finish with this. This is a fun part. We always do this. And it's ironic because there's no gray areas. I'm going to ask you to lie to me. So our listeners have been listening to to you for 30 to 40 minutes. Two truths and a lie. See if you can stop me and our listeners.

Speaker 2

I know and I because you learned about me speaking Arabic, I couldn't use that one. That was one of the true one of my truths. It was my first language. So I have let's see here, I have visited six and seven continents. I was the fastest typist in junior high, and I decided to go skydiving when I was in college to break here.

Speaker 2

Those are good. Those are good.

Speaker 1

Okay, I'm going to say the fastest typewriter in junior high is correct. And I'm only saying that because you're a doctor and you're probably pretty driven. So the fact that, you know, you're the fastest typist in junior high.

Speaker 2

Right? Right.

Speaker 1

Okay. Okay.

Speaker 2

When I was supposed to be this is the funny part. My teacher wanted me to be an executive secretary because I was, in fact. Oh, you were.

Speaker 1

So good at it that.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Yeah. He's like, you can't be a doctor. You got to be an executive secretary.

Speaker 1

Speaker 2

Oh, oh.

Speaker 1

I am. I am like, oh, four, seven. In the last side.

Speaker 2

Years, five of seven continents. That was still pretty good.

Speaker 1

That was a good one because you do you you take a lot of traveling. Okay, so five of the seven. Okay. Yeah. Okay, Good one. Good one. Well, Mellody, thanks so much for have thanks so much for being on our podcast today and for what you and Tony are doing. Just appreciate it so much. You are definitely making a difference in this world.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 1

I think you would agree with me that Melody Renata was amazing. The information she shared was amazing and crucial for us to understand. My challenge for you and me today is to do something not tomorrow, but today. Do something for a first responder that you may know whether that's a relative, a friend, someone that you care or love, do something.

Speaker 1

It may be as simple as a text message, but do something for them, like follow and subscribe to no gray areas.