Dress for the Slide not for the Ride with Lucy Blondel

Hey, welcome to the show. I’m Travis, and that is Carol… And we have a special guest today. Lucy has her doctor and veterinary medicine, owns a cat named Peanut, and fought a mystery disease for a number of years. We’re going to find out all that in more welcome, Lucy.

Oh, thank you very much, thank you for having me, and actually, I have two cats, but that’s OK.

You have two cats. The guys are just lining up for their chance now that you’ve got multiple cats.

I mean, it would be a good chance, wouldn’t it? There’s peanut and pickle, yeah.

Peter and Pickle. Why did you name them Peanut and Pickle?

Because food names are cool, you know.

Oh, OK

sure. That’s the reason. That’s the reason. Yeah, my son got a pair of ferrets in February, and he named them Rice and Beans.

Oh my God.

Yeah, they’re a little like slinky cats. It carries them all over, and they wrestle around, and they get distracted very easily, kind of like our guest Lucy today, very easily distracted.

That is true by sparkles. Lots of things. Lots of things. Motorcycles.

Uh, we’re just thankful that you’re not drinking today because the subtitles for your Scottish accent would be very large and very much needed. I got to know why it is that you went to veterinary school.

Why did I go to veterinary school? That’s a question, actually, because I have a picture. My dad has a picture of me. When I was a little girl, I must have been about two and had my arm through a fence of and there’s all these coast roads to me and I look at that now and I’m like… I always wanted to be with animals, and I always say so. My parents, I want to be a vet and they’re like, yeah, yeah. We’ll see, you know, we’ll see. We’ll see if that just kind of dissipates over time, you know, because I feel like in my lifetime people come up to me and like, oh, I always wanted to be a vet. I always wanted to be a vet, but I couldn’t put animals to sleep. And by the way, I feel like the nicest thing we can afford animals as veterinarians is to put them to sleep with dignity. Take them out of their pain. Honestly, it’s not a bad thing. But everybody sees it as a bad thing, but back to the question.

Distraction.

It just never went away for me. I never saw that as a hindrance and my sweet dad was always like, well, you know, I’ll support you and whatever you decide. And I just was. I was just obsessed with animals. I have this deep, deep love for them, and I don’t know, I guess it’s how maybe women feel about their human babies is how I feel about animals.

About their human babies.

Carol, we didn’t get our stretching in.

OK, with this, no calisthenics. Yeah, we should. Have you known as jumping jacks the whole 9 yards? Yeah, just prior.

Yep, Yep, Yep.

Yeah, your stretching keeps you young.

Well, I think we’re actually the same age.

1. How come you look so much older?

You are the first person.

I’m in so much trouble later. Oh my God. Look very young. I believe it because, you know, 41 is very young. That’s the thing, super young.

It is really it really is

Oh my God. They are very young guys. Enjoy it now. You hit your 50s. I’m telling you.

Worse still in you.

It sucks balls, that’s all I can.

Oh, like you look like you’re in your 50s. I’m always going to look forever. You’re like, I don’t know what you take, but.

I’ll tell you what I’m doing. Well, I actually said this to somebody yesterday. I was like, I’m kicking Father time in the nuts for as long as I can, but he’s starting to fight back?

You can only fight it for so long.

OH sorry, Travis.

There’s just going to be a show where Carol and Lucy are just giggling back and forth. That’s all it’s going to be giggles with Carol and Lucy.

Yeah, pretty much pretty much. Well, I know. Travis has this question that he loves to ask all of our guests and so Travis.

Yeah, I got to know. I got to know. What makes you a Titan?

What makes me a Titan? I mean a Titan, am I assuming like someone who’s strong and I mean, I guess that’s what I take from it? It’s hidden, right, I guess. Hmm, that is a question, isn’t it? It’s loaded because there are a lot of things. I guess I feel like I see life as you know, if you don’t like it, you’re the only one that can change it, and I’m all or nothing. 

So, when I really love something, I put my all into it like I just make it work no matter what. I have gotten through a lot in my life, and I see it now as I mean, like most people, life is just too short. I mean, now more than ever after COVID and after getting through a long illness. I mean, I might. I could not be here right now. So, I just feel like I’m a determined person. And yeah, I guess does that answer your question?

I don’t know. Do you feel like the answer to your question is all based?

Oh my God, don’t ask A question based on the question doesn’t do. That, my God.

It’s all based on your interpretation of the magical abilities that you have as your personal superpowers. The reason that you became a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine is because of who you are as a person, and that’s what makes you a Titan, right? Those are the things that, you know, if you’re, if you’re listening to this and you want to do an exercise, you want to find out. 

You’re like Travis. I don’t have any superpowers. Ask your friends. Ask your Inner circle-like. What? Like what’s my superpower? You will be shocked to find out all the little things that everyone knows about you. Don’t know about it. This is not something that we can just figure out, right? You buy an action figure, you’re in the package, and on the outside, it says all the amazing things you know you can do, right, karate chop action, or can stretch, or the head swivels. Whatever The thing is that we’re on the package, it’s really hard to see what the package says when we’re inside the box.

I guess that’s very true because I mean, I just see my life as my life’s like nothing special. But like I was having a conversation with someone not that long ago, and we’re just having a back and forth about all the things that we’ve done. Life and they were just. Like wow, like. Wow, you are really interested in life. And I was like, I do, I mean.

But it’s hard to see it as interesting because it’s you, right? You’re the one that goes through. But what’s really think is fun is when you hear from other people, especially when you’re talking to them about what they think. So special about you. Because you don’t necessarily see it, but it apparently is very clear, loud, and clear to them. But not to you.

It is so very good, yeah.

It’s a cool perspective to see yourself through other people’s eyes.

I mean, the good and the bad, right, as hard as the bad is to take.

There is no bad. What are you talking about?

But one of the reasons it’s so hard to know what is special about us is that that thing for us, whatever the thing is, comes easy and comes naturally. So, when they say that, that is what makes you special, you’re like, what? Really, that’s what makes you special because it doesn’t require any effort. 

So, it doesn’t equate to us as being the thing that’s magical, your zone of genius, or your superpower, or what makes you a Titan because it’s easy for you. It doesn’t make sense. 

There are a lot of people there. When we do these shows and I send a little message that we’re, you know, getting ready to wrap up, they’re like. How long have we been? We’ve already been talking for 80 minutes, my friend. Like they have no idea that time and space disappeared. They have no idea that when you get talking to me as a person, time just melts, everything just melts away. Nothing else exists and people don’t get it. They come out of it like it’s been like an experience like it was a drug-induced coma or some kind of weird thing that happened. They’re like, there’s no way. There’s no checking their watching, like. Oh, good Lord, how have they been talking to you for three hours now? I’m like, yeah, that happens.

Right.

Like, that’s one of my things.

Yeah, that’s good. That’s your superpower. I love it.

Yeah, that’s one of them, I was writing to your bio here and I wanted to talk about this mystery disease because this happened the exact same thing to someone I know.

1. You know what? I hear that a lot now, like when I found out that I had Lyme. It was like a pest. What the hell Lyme? Like who has Lyme like, doesn’t exist, you know? And I basically had talked to a friend from school, and she had it and I thought. But when I put two and two together and listened to her symptoms and equated them to mine. I thought, oh my God, this could be a thing. And when I looked into It more, I’m like geez. It is brutal. It really is brutal. I would never wish it on my worst enemy. Honestly, it’s the most horrific disease, and the way you get treated a lot of the time is even worse.

You know, so what are the symptoms? Like, what were you experiencing and how do you think you contracted it?

Everything is a symptom; that’s the thing you could think of as any symptom. You want and you could have it with me being numb on one side of my body. I was weak under surgery because I couldn’t grip. I would get stroke-like symptoms like my heart rate. I would eat dinner and my heart rate goes up to like. And just like. Beating and skipping beats was dreadful pain as I’ve never felt pain in my entire life like that. And it was unrelenting and would never go away, and nothing would touch it like nothing I had. I would be blind in one eye. I had these lights that would flash in my eye lane. I would faint randomly.

Oh my God.

I mean, I had no memory. I couldn’t remember my friend’s names or go through red lights and or green head tingling my fingers and toes would just jerk and move independently of me doing that.

Completely involuntary, huh?

Oh, it’s awful. I just vomited randomly. Uh, shocks and spidery feelings in my legs like I felt like I had spiders on my skin. I could bite my cheek. My face was numb. Just right down the Middle like it was. Completely no longer on my side and I could bite through my cheek. I had a heart murmur for a while.

You couldn’t feel it when you bit.

Nope, I could bite through it and not feel that, yeah.

That is freaky. Yeah. Oh, my God.

I’m probably just getting half of the symptoms. That’s probably only half of them. There are so many things.

How long did you suffer from that before You found out what it was?

Probably about a year. And it just got worse and worse. And like you, you did this as you’ve never felt before, like where you just wanted to sleep all the time and just, you know, you have a cold and you kind of feel. Like you’re floating. It was that all the time and I was trying to work with that like I was trying to be a vet and have all of that going on, I just remember sitting down at work once and I just said. To someone, I honestly feel like I’m dying. I just feel like I’m dying. Something’s going to happen. I’m not going to wake up in the morning. I just feel, you know, just… And that was at that point, I didn’t know what it was.

Right, it’s so hard to diagnose because it has so many different symptoms. It’s not like you’ve got these three things. Yeah, that’s Lyme. My cousin’s wife. A girl we went to school with. Like she got diagnosed with Lyme. But she went through like you, I think she was doing it for a couple of years before they found out what it was. Like she was on death’s door. She had lost a disgusting weight. I think she was under 100 pounds.

I was starting to like myself. Yeah, I remember my landlords. And are you OK? Like you’ve lost a lot of weight. And I was looking at it, had I?

Yeah, they actually organized fundraising events for her to keep her alive, to try to figure out what it was like. There’s an annual poker run right now that was like dedicated to her, and all the bikers would come out and raise money and when they actually found out what it was and she got it solved, like now they keep doing the poker run in a few other events, but they donate it to like Lyme disease research because it’s such a sneaky disease. Like it doesn’t like, want you to know that it’s there. It’s like the ninja of diseases. 

Right. Is, you know this party’s going to get knocked over, that plants are going to get knocked over and, oh, it’s Lyme disease, by the way. Yeah, you’re not going to know what it is.

It seemed like a crazy person’s disease, right? You know, you’re a blind disease. OK. There’s a made-up disease like you’re just crazy because it doesn’t get taken seriously. Well, at the time when. I just did not get it. Taken seriously by doctors. At all, they’re like. Like you don’t even know how to test that and then? The test is completely just it. Inaccurate so if you’re negative on the test they do. Uh, you know Lyme disease, but it’s so inaccurate. There are so many false negatives. 

So, I mean, I ended up sending my blood work to the States to an independent lab, and it was strongly positive. Nobody believed me up here. No one, believe me, in Canada, I showed my primatologist, and she was like all these laughs. They just want your money. Like they’ll just tell you what you want. To hear why would. They do that, they already have my money. 

So, I mean you could not get treated here and if you wanted to go to the US, it was thousands and thousands of dollars. I know people who’ve had to mortgage their house or give up their house. Spend their life savings; it’s so sad what people have to go through to get treatment. Saw it all right.

I thought Canada was like, you know, at the top of the heap with socialized medicine, is that not the case? Isn’t it fantastic healthcare up there, or no?

Health care is amazing, but not when it comes to Lyme disease. That’s a whole different ball game.

It’s like a specialty. Yeah, you need a specialist for that. How do you think you contracted it, Luce?

My parents were here visiting. It was where we went to. The island of Victoria. They all went to some exhibition that I’ve already seen, so I was like, oh, you know, I’ll just slide on the grass here in front of the Parliament building and I’ll just relax while you guys are away. So, I lay down on the grass and I’ll wait. I for half an hour and never felt it. But I remember somebody saying you have a rash on the back of your neck, and I think I was just scratching it. Scratched a scab or something? Whatever it was.

Well, it was a bullseye rush and I never saw it. Somebody just mentioned it in passing. Never thought anything of it, never thought about it again and then my first symptom was just the tip of my finger going numb and tingly. I just ignore stuff, right? I constantly ignore stuff and like you know, I’m from a medical background. My parents are both medical. You know, you… Were fine unless you were physically on the floor dying, so take Tylenol. I’ll take Advil. You’ll be fine. Right.

Brush it off. Yep.

And the point where my brother fell ill, my brother fell ill once, and his appendix burst because my mom sent him to school. She still feels bad about that. It was pretty funny, but not really at the time. Yeah, it’s that kind of thing, right? That’s the Scottish way. It’s a Scottish way, so you’re fine.

I’m just thinking about my daughter when she was growing up, I don’t know how old she was. She was definitely under 5 and some kid fell right in front of her. She just starts laughing. It’s like that’s like, listen, you have to just to see if they’re OK and she’s like, OK, like, are you OK? The kids are like “yea” Yeah, she’s like, you feel like. There was no, I don’t know, no empathy or whatever. She just thought it was. There is no. You got to see if. They’re OK, OK. Oh my God.

I mean, I can’t. Say I didn’t grow up with stuff like that.

Yeah, yeah, well and my Wife grew up on the farm like there are no sick days on the farm. The animals had to be attended to no matter what. Oh, you got pneumonia. Go feed the chickens. Oh, you’ve got this great go feed the cows. Like there is no, there’s no one else to do it for you and farming, unless you’re on some big, commercialized farm. You know, I can understand how that goes. 

You’ve got to be the one to do it. Let’s get it done. And you know at one time that mentality was very useful all over the world. But now it’s like you’ve got if you don’t take care of the thing, the things are going to come back worse than it was, it’s going to come back and bite you and hurt you in all these other different ways. 

I was talking to a friend about this concept last week. We were having dinner and we got into a conversation about things like men’s mental health. I’m like, you know, women, children, animals are loved unconditionally. Men… they’re like, what are you bringing to the table? Like, they’re not loved unconditionally. It’s based on what they provide. And few people actually check on it. And check on their men to make sure everything is going well. It’s all right like no one checks on men, they are just. Expect you to.

It’s hard, man. It’s hard though because they just kind of, oh, yeah. I like to get them… To pull that out of them is like a year-long event, you know.

Yeah, it really is. It really is. It’s like I just retired from the military last year and did 22 years, and no one went to the doctor. Or if you did, you went just because someone made you, and then you never took the medication. You continue doing all the things that you’re doing because that was somehow considered a strength.

Your body is dying. Your immune system is fighting itself like Oh yeah, I’m fine dude. You’re literally like on the ground coughing up blood. No, we’re good. I don’t understand how that is considered toughness that doesn’t make sense to me. It never, never equated for me, yeah.

Not a big mentality, though. That’s still how many, many people think. You know, we just got to tough it out I think I do because that’s how I was brought up, you know, be fine, just tough it out. Like, don’t be he’ll be a Sissy, you know.

That’s the way I grew up. Nobody felt sorry for you. You had to take care of business no matter what. And you know, suck it up, buttercup.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

You know, I don’t need people to. Feel sad for me on my behalf, but as you know, I had bad days. I’ve got good days. I had bad days. I’ve got every kind of day in between. I got days of walking around being just an ******* and I just ate food. Food’s not the thing I know ladies like if they’re being mean, you just throw them some calories and usually come right down. But we all have… What’s your favorite when you’re grumpy and someone points it out, looks like. Your go-to. That’s what I want to know.

Go to snack. Usually something sweet like cake cookies.

That’s why you bought her cake earlier. If I had known!

That’s my downfall. Oh, my God, I love gummy sweets. What do you call them? Do you call them candies? I don’t know.

Gummy sweets are like that. What is it… The Harrow Boo bear.

Like gummy bears?

Gummy bears, yeah.

Just stuff like that. I love those. That’s for sure.

So, getting back to Lyme disease, it says you saw 55 specialists. I don’t know how you got 55 appointments in a year. That’s like its own shocking thing. That’s more than two a month.

Yeah, yeah, I mean. There was nobody… It’s like everybody knows their specialty well, but then when they get the history, they don’t put 2 and 2 together. 

So, it’s like I see a gastroenterologist. I saw a neurologist, I mean a neurologist was like, oh, well, could be cancer. Could be Ms. It’s probably. You know, like I’m. Bracing myself at what, 30? What was I 31/30? This could be life changing.

And then nobody could ever get a diagnosis. Rheumatologist, gastroenterologist, everything you could imagine. I saw everyone I had Ultrasound had four CT scans that caused my neck pain. Right, like I had a frozen shoulder. Tight situation and the way that my arm was numb, they could not pinpoint it to a specific nerve. 

So then I mean, I was childbearing age and I had four CT scans and six months. I mean, that’s a lot of radiation, each one. It’s like I. Think they say about 90 X-rays. Actually, some radiation.

It’s a lot.

birth control.

Yeah, I guess so, I guess so. I mean, but then I went to Scotland, and I had blood tests after blood tests after blood tests and ultrasounds, and yeah, nothing like they said I had parvo had antibodies for parvo and all sorts. I mean, yeah, I deal with parvo all the time at work, so probably do have some voice to that. Yeah, I mean they just said OH it’s probably chronic fatigue. You probably have to live with it and I like, but chronic fatigue is such an umbrella term for so many things. And guess what’s under that Umbrella Lyme disease? 

So, I mean, as a doctor in my head, I. Love figuring out hard cases at work that’s my jam. I love it. I’m determined for myself. I’m like, no. No, no, this is not my life. This is not going to be my life. I’m not going to die like this and I’m not going to be in a wheelchair. I’m bigger than this and that’s what I did. I did it for myself.

It’s crazy. So, my wife has had 42 surgeries since we’ve been together, which is just an insane amount. And she experienced a lot of the stuff that you’re talking about. You have these symptoms. The doctor can’t figure out what it was. You know, we’re from a fairly small town in northern Minnesota, and then you get into the military. And most of the military doctors are like, it’s their first gig after they’ve been crowned at Docker, so they don’t have any experience, right? 

And so, she went to see all these medical specialists. She has a lot of the same symptoms that you had, you know, going to the Mayo Clinic, which is one of the top clinics in the world like Mayo and Johns Hopkins, is some of the best in the world, they couldn’t figure it out and she ended up having all these things that if you have a specialist that knows the thing, they know exactly what it is, but a lot of doctors, if it’s not their specialty, they just give you some nonsense like chronic fatigue and say instead of saying, you know what, I don’t know, we need to talk to this other doctor over here.

They’re so unwilling to say that they don’t know. Like you don’t know, just shut the hell up. Say you don’t know and say, who are we going to talk to? Don’t just give up on people, right they go. They go, they see you for, like, what, 6K? They don’t ask you about your sleep or your diet or any of that stuff. They’re not diagnosing you; they’re just prescribing you something, right?

Yeah, I prescribe something. I’ll go away, you know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, we were on base. And there was a nurse that was visiting from out in town doing a couple of rounds to volunteer or whatever. And we’re in there like having a discussion with this nurse who calls my wife a drug seeker. Yeah, like, oh, you just want pain meds. She’s like, look at the chart. Look at the thing is right in this gal just happened to be walking by and caught a little bit of it. And she’s like this. Happens to you every month. 

She’s like, yeah, I was like, she’s. Like with yours. Yeah, it’s like I know exactly what this is. She was having ovarian cysts that were During her week and what it was Endometriosis had the endometrial cells, and her uterus had started spiraling up and crawling up into her abdomen. And this nurse that happened to walk by knew exactly what had connected her to her clinic, where the doctor does those surgeries every week. Scheduled my wife for surgery on Friday. Hadn’t talked to her yet. I had a prelim with her on Thursday. Knew exactly what it was, and on Friday it was fixed.

Wow. And the Mayo Clinic didn’t figure that out like I’m so astounded.

Yeah, but this has happened to her. This has happened to her, at least three times, right? So, for that, she ended up having to do, like, 12 surgeries, chemically induced menopause, all these different things to try to kill endometriosis. Like just an insane amount of stuff. 

And then she had celiac, and they couldn’t figure that out. And then she had brain surgery last year. Like what it took, all these different specialists, they had to have a clue about what this thing was, because none of the general practitioners that you get in the military, like, have any kind of clue about this stuff. But instead of saying they don’t know or referring you to a specialist.

They’re just too green.

Need your wife on this show you need your wife on this show she’s amazing.

Well, she doesn’t think she has anything. Worth talking about.

That’s the thing. That’s How I feel on my own.

You know, but it’s a big deal because like people don’t listen to women when they have problems. People even ask men at all, but they don’t listen to men when they say something’s hurting, and then they go through the regular. Ohh, everyone kind of has this stuff and they don’t. Doesn’t solve it and like Chronic fatigue or you’re making it up or some other nonsense.

It’s all in your Head Oh yeah.

It’s all in your head.

Yeah, a documentary about that exact same thing about women in healthcare and how they’re not taken seriously.

Yeah, that happens.

And we’ve got three women who have gone through this, this exact thing. Right, that they just were not taken seriously and it’s a big thing and it needs to be talked about for sure.

Oh yeah, especially when you see, like, an OBGYN, right? And for the longest time, I had male OBGYNs growing up. Right.  Because I just automatically assume that’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s my first one, right? 

So, I remember having really bad pain, and we talked. I would talk to him about him, like about my period. Around me, I am literally puking my brains out like it is. And I felt like I was losing an immense amount of weight. My mom thought I was pregnant. You know, like all these things were happening. It’s kind of hurt because you know you’re sitting there, you’re feeling your absolute worst; you’re turning into like a shadow of yourself, and meanwhile, your mom is sitting there going, “Ah, you’re promiscuous.” You must be pregnant.

So, you know. I ended up finding a female OBGYN. Will go back to a male because the guy basically said to me. Yeah, it’s all in your head.

I have had that so many times you don’t even know. We’re just hysterical. Women were hysterical. Women do react to things emotionally, but that doesn’t mean we’re hysterical and crazy all the time. Again, don’t talk to my husband about that well, well, well.

I didn’t think women got hysterical. They just get historical. Keep bringing all the old. That you did isn’t that?

Oh right, you got two women here.

Is it important things to talk about? It’s funny, both of you are smiling at me. Here is my, my, and my son’s fifth…

I’m not close enough to kill.

There’s a reason I’m on video saying this stuff, right?

You got keyboard warriors.

My son just turned 15, and we went to Minnesota last year for my wife, who had brain surgery, and she kept staying up there for a while for a funeral and taking care of the house or whatever. We’re driving back, and like, I am getting super tired, and I’m cold, and people started asking me questions. Give me something to get my brain moving so we can have a conversation and I can stay awake. 

And she’s like, he’s like, immediately starts saying something about his sister. Like, is she really that crazy and, oh, let me tell you, getting this stuff? And then he’s like, “Well, how did you and Mom meet?” I’m like, “Oh, see, this is a good one.” and you need to beat her up with this one. Right.  

So, I met my wife in the 7th grade. The first day on the bus a new town and there she was the sun was shining through her hair, and she was beating my sister’s ***. I was like, “Wow.” Someone who hates my sister as much as I do.

Marrying her 

Made me fall in love. At that moment, we didn’t. We didn’t date until after high school. But after we got married, we were driving from Minnesota to California, and I was talking to my buddy, or I was talking to Megan, and she told me about how she used to steal my car. And I was like, “What?” That was you and she told me the whole story. And I call my buddy John, and he’s like…

So, the story is: I went to a big, long, big, long high school, and I ended up at one end of the school for everything. My locker was at the other end, so I started sharing a locker with my buddy John, and every day I would come to school and, you know, throw the keys in there or whatever because I don’t need the keys to walk around. And then something started happening. I went out to the parking lot. For lunchtime, I couldn’t find my car, so I would walk all over. I started thinking I was crazy, that I was having some kind of thing happen to me, but I had no idea it went on for days. Is and then finally he, like, you know what? I guess I can’t remember where I parked my car. 

So, I park, like, way far away. I park at the same place every day to find out she, my wife, went to my Buddy and was like, “Hey, Travis, I could borrow his car for lunch.” It never happened, A) we weren’t friends at all. B) I had no idea she was doing it, and C) had, like, a free one, and we had two. We split her lunch period so she would take my car to lunch, park it, go, and put the keys in. and she didn’t have a After lunch, she would sit outside. And watch me leave the school and have to like search for my car. 

Just to get my attention or whatever, I have no idea why because we weren’t friends. We weren’t together like She was just picking out some random kid, so I told my son that she used to steal my car, so when she got back from Minnesota, my son was like, Uh-huh.  I heard the story about why you were stealing Dad’s car. He’s like, “Oh, that’s the version he told you.” I was like, “Watch that.” He’s going to Get historical on us.

Ohh what’s coming?

My goodness, that’s back then, I thought I was losing my mind. I was like I knew where I parked. Like where the hell is my car that was.

Pretty clever of her. Though you have to give her that.

Yeah, I like it. Yeah.

But we weren’t even friends. Like, if we started dating after high school, that’s.

Like a girl pulling, you know, pulling your pigtails with, like, a guy pulling a girl’s pigtails. You know what I mean?

It’s basically, yeah. It’s basically girls. Real boys drool. Scenario, right? Right. But

You would tell. The person so you would have that kind of interaction. No one told me. My buddy, who knew this was Ohm. Here’s the other thing. My buddy went to lunch with me every day. And he knew what had happened and he wouldn’t help me like he would stay back a little bit and watch like they were both in on it.

That’s perfect. I love that.

What the hell? What?

That’s actually really funny. clever and funny.

It is now. I was hurt at the time because after we got married, we were driving. We drove like 2 days after we left. She waited until we were all the way across North Dakota into Montana so I couldn’t turn around and drive her back and drop her off like she waited till that point of no return to tell me like. Oh, by the way, since you’re stuck with me forever, I used to seal your car. What the hell?

I feel like me, your wife would get along really well. One day I got to meet her.

A lot of people. Get along with her. Let’s be honest. Everyone just likes picking on Travis.

No, stop it. That’s not true. *** ****, I almost want to pull out my tiny little violin for you.

Is it this big playing the world’s saddest song?

I understand that when you talk, they’ll just talk about you. Back when you all loved.

And they poke fun at you when they love you too, you know.

Yes, yes, they absolutely do. One of my favorite things is to get selfies from my friends with them, like flipping me off. Like that’s how I know we’re close. That’s how I know we’re tight. Just like Dang in the middle of whatever my dinner with friends, and I’ll get a picture. My friend flipped me off. I’m like, yeah.

Yeah, the show didn’t start until Travis said something to me Oh, **** you, Travis.

Yeah, that’s usually… And I hit records like, right? And then next? So, when the camera starts, we’re all smiling and laughing, because that’s just how that’s that good energy. That’s real. Good energy. How was it? How did you two end up meeting? What was that? What happened there?

She came to one of my track days and actually, she signed up and there was a problem with registration. Do you remember that? And we were emailing each other back and forth about the registration. And so that was my first time actually, even, you know, like I even knew Lucy. I don’t even think she was riding before that. I’m not sure.

Oh, that was my first ride. 

It was your first track day.

Yeah. Yeah, it’s GTE.

Oh my God. OK, so, yeah, I know, but. I love this girl. You got to know so. That’s how we originally met. And then when we finally had the event, the day was the day we met face to face and just loved her from day one.

Ah, I keep track and textile gear like no Leathers, nothing. It was eight months later. I don’t even know if I’m going to like this. Like, don’t get excited. I’m just going to come and text out so it’s ready my husband and we look like…

But wait, wait, wait.

By the way, he wasn’t your husband then.

No, he wasn’t. No, he wasn’t.

Well, where was your husband?

OK, that 1A secret. I came in my brand new J6R… One-month-old and did this class with Jason Pridmore. No clue what I was doing actually. So, I spent the whole day just. Winging it and then. I remember saying, I’m feeling really tired. I think I’ll. Maybe skip the last one, I feel just really done. It was like, oh, don’t be a *****. Don’t be a *****. Just get out there. 

And so, when are we going? To do this again you. So, I went out, and sure enough, I did my J6R and totaled it. You know, you just watch something happen. Like I’m just literally low-sided.  So, Mike just did this. Went off track but hit a patch of grass and just barrel-rolled for like I don’t know 1800 turn pieces flying off and I was just devastated… my bike.

I remember and then because of that, she got hooked.

I did. Completely obsessed. I mean, it’s the biggest money drain you will ever get involved with, but it puts the biggest smile on your face. Oh my God.

There’s something about it, and I think it’s also the people that are involved in it too. It takes a certain personality to want to do what we do because it doesn’t make sense to most individuals, or they think you’re ******* nuts. 

The first time I ever picked up a motorcycle. My ex… Well, he was then my husband… who said you were going to kill yourself. You literally just said to me, “You’re going to kill yourself.” And I was like, “Well then, I guess that’s my choice to go kill myself.” Right, so I want to go kill myself, I guess. 

And he said that to my children at the time. Who were they? I don’t even think they are quite teenagers yet. They were just on the cusp, and my youngest was so terrified. He wouldn’t even talk to me. He thought I was literally trying to kill myself. But I think the proven results are, you know, I ended up loving it and learning a lot about it enough that I started a company out of my passion, and I think that was when you knew the tides had changed for them. 

It wasn’t one of those things that fly by night. This literally captured my heart and my soul, and it was like it needed to happen and had to be a part of my life.

I feel that way. Like I wish I could just be around motorcycles. Just all the time. Just all the things I just like.

Yeah, I love the smell of gas. Like I love the sounds of the bike, you know, it’s just such a visceral feeling. And Travis is looking at us like we’re freaking nuts.

I had a motorcycle for a decade. I rode everywhere.

Right. To the military base. Yes, I remember.

I had a bike for 10 years. I had a bike that wasn’t a sports bike. It was a cruiser I had a Blvd C50 that I took all over the place and you get that tingling feeling. When you get off your bike cause. All the blood’s like.

Rushing back to your extremities and Huge into Motorsports had been a hot rod for a number of years. I used to race all over town and then go into Vegas, where my buddy was having his bachelor party. He’s been to Vegas a ton. At times I was like What have you not done yet? ” And he’s like, “I haven’t been racing.” At Vegas Speedway, I went out to Dream Racing, and I bought a package that let us; We went around in a Maserati together, and then he drove an Aston. and an Audi R8. And this isn’t like the NASCAR track. This is the road course in the middle of the field. So, you had hairpin turns and S curves and all that stuff.

And then I wrote about the new Corvette C8, the mid-engine one. And then I drove a McLaren, and all the guys riding with you are Italian. Race car drivers are certified by Ferrari. And they ask, “You know, what kind of experience do you want to have?” and I’ve been doing a lot of straight-line racing, a lot of drag racing stuff, and then I was like, “I just want to rip it around the track.” He’s like, “OK, let’s go.” 

And so, with all the top gears, the paddle shifting, and slamming on the brakes, I passed six people. He’s like, “Are you working on, like, your track time?” Is this like my first time on the track for this? And he’s like, “No ****.” He walked inside to check on something. He came back. I would have been at the top. five track times on his circuit over the last year. I love being behind the wheel. Love it, love, love.  Love it?  

That’s just road-tripping across the country. We’re getting ready for road trip #3. I drove to Pensacola from Oklahoma City. I drove to Delaware from Oklahoma City. Now we’re driving to Minnesota and back here in the Next, at the end of this week, **** Thursday, 2 days.

Oh my God. Yeah, really in two days. It just now hits you. You’re leaving in two days, OK?

I was packed the same day I packed. I packed the same day to go to Bahrain for a year. I packed 22 backpacks and I left.

Such a man thing

They don’t have to worry About all the other things like we have to. Prim. Oh my God.

None of it, I just like it.

Yeah, don’t be mad, cause guys are naturally pretty. Ohh, that’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever said on this show.

God, you said to my face. Maybe something beautiful?

Oh, it’s constant.

We just went to Spain for some track days. I did all the hotels, all the track days, rented the bikes, looked into restaurants, everything and looked into all to make sure everything was paid and then he just shows up and packs. So, what time we’re going to, I don’t know where we’re going and what airport. We’re going to like we’re flying with what time it is, I have to tell everyone. I mean, come on.

Do you know what’s worse than that? My wife and I went on a cruise with another couple a couple of years ago, and my wife was, as you might imagine, recovering from one of her 42 surgeries.  And we’re there in the room, and she’s got the laptop, and she’s choosing all the stuff. We’re talking about excursions. all these different things, and then like 10 days later, she gets really mad at me. She’s like stomping around the house and slamming cupboards and stuff, and I’m like, she doesn’t usually get mad. It’s not like that, right? like I don’t. I’m not sure what’s happening. And she’s like, “You just think you can plan a cruise without me.” and I laughed at her. I was like, “Wait, what are you talking about? How you did all this stuff, and she’s like I don’t know what the **** you think you’re doing. I looked at that credit card bill and saw that she was on pain meds and didn’t remember. She was the one who booked all the stuff.

She was mad at me… as if I snatched the card from her. You know, behind her. And I went. So, she’s like, I don’t even want to do this. Stuff I was like, you picked it!

What are you talking about?

Oh my God, it’s like Some of this stuff is just sort of hilarious, but She did all the planning to come and see me when I was overseas. We did New Year’s in Dubai, ringing in 2020 on the beach. It was absolutely incredible. She is definitely the planner in that stuff, and guys, it’s not that we’re not planners; it’s that we’re just prepared for whatever happens. So, we don’t have to plan and make it an itinerary in order to have fun or feel comfortable.

What’s with this whole packing like a toddler thing though? OH, one pair of pants. One pair of underwear, one pair of T-shirt flip flops. So good, right? Let’s get the pack.

Oh, I guess your toddler is different from my toddler because I always pack at least three extra pairs of underwear. If I’m gone for one day, I get 4 pairs of underwear.

Because you turned to him and said no.

Yeah, well, yeah, he just turns them inside out front.

No, no, no, no.

Ohh good Lord no.

Well, you know, you know how laundry happens, right? Like, like, the wife and kids have seven shirts, 7 pairs of socks, 7 pairs, and wear 7 pairs of pants. Guys have like 7 pairs of shirts. 7 pairs of underwear, 7 pairs of socks, and one pair of pants. Like for the whole week’s worth.

No, thank you. No, thank you. We took a turn there from the motorcycle stuff, but yeah. Come on right back.

Why do you say GFX sorry you don’t just say Jack Sir.

Yeah, you can, I met It doesn’t matter either way. Yeah, either way, but. And so yeah, that’s how we met. She was in tears after her bike went. Oh my God, it was. It was awful.

Really bad about my bike and was knocked unconscious. I wake up and I’m just like, how is the bike? How bad is it? How bad is it? Do you think it’ll cost? Can we get it back in a week?

We’re so bad.

On the highway I basically threw over a car. I was thrown over a car, hit the front, rolled 100 feet across three lanes of traffic and nothing hit me. Full gear, of course. Always dressed to the very not the slide, not the ride, and woke up and somebody, some random guy holding my hand and a paramedic asking me my name.

I ignored that completely and just said, well, it’s my bike. He’s like, it’s a little scratch. Well, the thing was in pieces, it was totally… he just told me.

I remember getting the picture from you from the hospital and I was like, what the hell, girl?

Well, I held up traffic for a few hours… I was that person. Yeah, I was. I’m really sorry to everyone that ended up in that, but. Yeah, I didn’t want to.

The inconvenience of making sure that you’re safe. 

I’m just shocked nobody hit her on the highway like that.

That’s absolutely nuts. I love what you said, dress for the slide, not the ride because I know bikers on their cruisers like they’re not prepared for any kind of wreck, but just about everyone. I know that. Ride a sport. The bike has, like the full gear full pads, and armor installed. Boots that go over your ankle. All that stuff, yeah. Bikers, regular guys, they’re like we’ll just ride around in whatever tennis shoes and, like, get. Tank top. Yeah. Yep.

Yeah, but they have that tiny little helmet too. It’s not a full-face helmet, you know?

Let me tell you like I don’t know the exact percentage, but it’s something like 60% or something. When you have an accident on a bike, this is where you hit. You’re not going to go off the bike like this and hit the top of your head like, that’s not going to happen.

So, for people that aren’t watching this, she’s talking about the jaw line is where you’re going to land. You’re not going to flip over and land on the top of your head. Yeah, you’re taking it in the face almost guaranteed.

So, protect this. And people don’t think about it. I did what we call a double. Do you know where you slide? It catches the curb and then it flips you, so you end up, you know, high siding, so high siding, flicking you off like a booger and…

Great visuals here today with Carol’s podcast.

Like a booger like, OK.

Like a booger, but he’s picked it up from the booger, yeah.

And so, I went from the left side of the track, and I super manned it on the asphalt, and the whole front of my helmet was shaved. And to this day, I keep that helmet because it reminds me why we gear right because without it, I…

Yeah, I mean.

I walked away, literally walked away.

Same. Yeah. Yeah, it’s invaluable.

I feel pretty fortunate to never have put the bike on the ground. I don’t know how I ever did that. Everyone on that road that I knew when I bought mine there, like, yeah, you’re going to put it down at least once, if not twice. Never put it down. Pretty happy.

You’ll have an advantage wherever you are. That’s something I don’t have in the summer for us; it’s like 110 degrees down here in Oklahoma, and I like wearing all those leathers all day, whether it’s cow or kangaroo. Or, you know, for the extra

Hey by the way. We have that.

We have mine. It goes up in Canada, there’s no it goes up here, yeah.

For how long? We had it. We beat Death Valley’s record of consecutive days over 100 degrees. It was.

Oh my God.

Like 70 days in a row or some nonsense where it was over.

So, we don’t. Get that many Days in a row.

That’s rare. That happened in 2010 or 2011, but it still happened. Still hot as I’ll get out.

Yeah, I know it gets to be 100 in Alaska. I know it snows in Mexico City, but that’s not the standard either.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But no, it gets hot.

The best diet in the world is right. A motorcycle in the 90s at 100 degrees. And honestly, you will be. Oh my God. Instantly lose inches. You’re just sweating your balls off.

Oh, totally, totally.

Yeah, in your case, they came clean off. So, this has been a lot of fun we’re getting. We’re getting close to on time here and you know, a couple of questions for you, Lucy, if someone wants to get a hold of you, where would they find you? What’s the one place you want them to go?

Probably my Instagram and that’s probably… unless it’s, I mean, you’re talking motorcycle related, right? Not vet related.

No, I have.

That’s talk to you. As a person.

Yeah, just you.

Yeah, probably Instagram. My Instagram is a ride4YRlife right for your life.

Ride for your life. That’s a lot of fun. What kind of advice would you have today if someone out there was struggling? Do you know who they are? Not sure what they’re going to do in life. Like, who would you tell somebody?

I mean, I think the only person that can help us is us, right? So, if it’s mental health or struggling generally with that, I mean, I’ve had it as a vet, like there’s a lot of pressure associated with that, and you can definitely go to dark places. It’s just how much help you want to get yourself, and I think I really believe in counseling. Find someone that works with you because it 100% helps do what you need.

To do, to feel better. I mean, I found a motorcycle, and that has helped me a ton with my mental health. Just the pressure from work and everything else. It’s just such a relief. So also finding a hobby like that or something that you absolutely love that is your passion and you and your obsession, that’s it really helps sidetrack those feelings, right?

I love that. Thank you so much. Tell us one last thing. I want to know something about you that, like most people, just don’t know. What are we going to know about Lucy that most people just? I’ve never heard of it.

Dish, dish. Dish. Dish girl.

I don’t know.

You got web toes or something, I don’t know. Whatever The thing is.

Do I have no web toes? I mean, most people don’t. Know that I have. That’s a big one, I mean, I think. I don’t know what I mean, everybody thinks that you know. Ohh, she’s a vet, blah, blah blah. She’s got motorcycles. She’s got everything she could want, but like, I think everything I’ve got, I’ve worked really, really hard for. And I’m a very stubborn person, very stubborn. Like only I mean only.

You’re freaking stubborn. Anyways, that’s not a surprise.

For summer and extremely competitive and I’ll go to war, I’ll go to war with that competitiveness. I’m like, come on.

What was the last time your competitive nature blew up in your face?

I mean, we were in Spain, uh doing track days and I’m like… I will be beating my husband no matter what. I mean, it didn’t technically blow up in my face, but we could have ended our marriage, let’s just say beating my friend. You’re getting tired.

We got to rule in our house if we’re.

It’s like we’re not friends on the track.

We have got to rule in our house, if we’re playing games like No one’s married, you’re not like my kids.

All bets are off.

Like in sports, I go out to whatever. You can beat me. Congrats on beating me. I’m having a great time, but I like board games like you better. ******* Hold on because I’m on. Remember the thing? Whatever The thing is, people. Like, why do you? Guys like to do that and stay married like that’s the only place we do it. It is playing four games—car, games, whatever. The thing is, “I’m going to whoop your doctor, Mario.” like on TV. like I’m going to kick your ***. Whatever the thing is,

I love it.

It’s been a lot of fun. Lucy, this is, you know, diving into the life of a Scottish immigrant into Canada who had Lyme disease, but no one believed it. to getting your cat what Peanut and Pickle 

So glad to have you on the snow. I’m glad that you found motorcycle riding one of your passions, it’s a blast to be on the bike. I loved it. Every minute I had it right until I went to aviation Safety Officer school and just saw how many people were injured to kill on Motorcycles. I was. Like maybe I shouldn’t.

Yeah, it’s very easy, yeah.

You let that overtake your time. I think I think, I think we could. All agree we’re probably all three of us are a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I think that’s what drives it, right? You don’t realize until you’re in it. In all these things that you’re. Like, wait a minute? 

I might be addicted.

Yeah, my God, I just do all these crazy things when I go horse riding, I want that the stupidest horse that wants to buck everyone off. That’s always what I. Go for and I don’t want the plot 1. I want the one that just wants to go.

You love adventure.

I do love that. Yeah, got that bug.

Yeah, for the bug.

Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

Hmm, it was a lot of fun, even though he didn’t let me talk for like the 1st 30 minutes before we hit record. Other than that, this has been fantastic.