Episode 101
· 22:11
Well, welcome back to another episode of the Real Health Podcast. In this series, we are interviewing clients of The Real Health Co, and we are just having discussions, conversations about healthy living, about their lifestyle, what they've grown grown through in terms of, you know, coming from where we most most of us come from, which is a model of sick care to a model of health care. And and when did the transformation happen and what are the stories? Stories are so impactful. Stories are so powerful.
Dr. Barrett:Stories provide us with hope and faith and and and allow us to kind of push through when when we when there's seemingly, you know, obstacles in the way. So, Eliza, thank you so much for joining us.
Eliza Dickenson:Thanks for having me.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. You're you're family I love your family. Near and dear to my heart. I I'll tell you this. I've I've told you this maybe once or twice before, but I'll never forget it, is when I sat down with you in your first consult, I cried.
Dr. Barrett:I had tears in my eyes.
Eliza Dickenson:I was gonna say that. Yeah. I think we were in, like, that room.
Dr. Barrett:Two rooms over. Mhmm. And, I just had a heart for your family, had a heart for your sweet little girl, and, I just believed in that moment. I really believed that, hey, she can be healed. She can be fully fully healed and fully restored.
Dr. Barrett:And so, in this in in today's episode, I guess my heart is just to hear your story. You know, you're you you have a background as as a as a nurse, educated as a nurse, worked as a nurse, and then, you know, now coming from medical system, you're in this new model of healthcare. You're thinking about things differently. You're thinking about things differently for your family, for yourself, for your husband. So, let's just kinda start with when did you start to take a shift in in, I guess, taking ownership of the health of your family?
Eliza Dickenson:Well, I've always been interested in nutrition and exercise and wellness, and I actually have, a degree in nutrition too. So I've always loved, like, the idea of food as fuel. And then in college, I decided instead of doing, like, an internship for nutrition, I wanted to go to nursing school. So I went to nursing school while Brent, my husband, was in dental school, and I worked as a nurse while he finished school at St. Jude, on the leukemia lymphoma hematology floor.
Eliza Dickenson:So, I've always kind of loved, like, functional medicine, but I worked in a, obviously, a hospital setting where, you can't think like that all the time just because of the the the diseases that I was of the kids that I was caring for. So we moved back to Knoxville. Our son Webb was born in Memphis. We moved back to Knoxville. And then Grace, our daughter, is the reason why we are even here.
Eliza Dickenson:We noticed she was sick this was 2 years ago. She was 6 years old. She had had some skin issues for about, like, 8 or 9 months that would ebb and flow. And, she was just, like, itching all the time, waking up every night just low key miserable. She would have, stomachaches at school, but she would randomly throw up.
Eliza Dickenson:And we would treat it like a stomach bug, but none of us would ever get sick. And I took her to the doctor a couple times, and they just kinda diagnosed her with little skin rashes and gave us some red body shampoo, to put on her skin, but basically said there's nothing really we can do. We just have to wait for it to go away. And so after a while, my husband Brent and I were just kinda like, you know, this just isn't something's off. Like, this isn't this answer isn't good enough.
Eliza Dickenson:Like, there's gotta be something else we can do. And so I was talking to a friend on the phone about it, and, she has been a patient here for a long time, Cali Drummy.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:And she was like, hey. I'm going to see Barrett today. Would you because I sent her pictures of Grace's skin.
Dr. Barrett:I remember her
Eliza Dickenson:showing me this message. Eliza, this is so heartbreaking. And, you know, when you're in the thick of it, you're just, like, trying to do whatever you like, okay. Well, it looks a little better today, but then someone who's never seen it before, it's shocking. And so she she was like, but I what I think you should do is call the office and ask for a new patient appointment.
Eliza Dickenson:So that was a Thursday, and then we this was in August of 2022. We were sitting here 5 days later on Tuesday, and it was just me and Grace, and I just felt like you for the first time, you she was truly you truly saw her, and I remember you saying, this is a lot to take in. Like, there's a lot going on here, and I'm going to need to process some things. Like, give me some time, but then let's meet back up, you know, just you and Brent.
Dr. Barrett:Mhmm.
Eliza Dickenson:But, like, tears and you know, just you were very teary, and it was like, okay. I remember leaving and being like, I know because I am a glass half full person. Like, I truly believe in like, we will get through this. Like, this is there is always something to hope in. And, and so I just felt like we belonged here and, like, there was a place for us and that she wasn't going to be suffering forever.
Eliza Dickenson:So a thing with this whole I which so we obviously came in on the functional medicine side first, my family. So a couple weeks later, we meet with you, Brent, and I, and you had thought I'd come up with a plan. And we did 2 tests, and you were like I I remember you sitting there, and you're like, but it's gonna take a while for these results to get in. I'll tell you if you wanna do some things in the meantime. Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:I would eliminate these five things, the most inflammatory, I believe. It's gluten, dairy, processed sugar inflammatory inflammatory seed oil, and one other one that I can't remember. But we were like, let's just pick gluten. Like, that seems pretty easy enough. And so we just started, like, right then, and we met with you in October, and her skin had already started improving.
Eliza Dickenson:And so, Brent, I remember before we even came to our appointment, he was like, I think it's I just think it's gluten. I think it's gluten. And then we met with you, and you also were pretty teary then, and it was like you're like, I feel like this is a real straightforward situation. Mhmm. And I truly felt like we were not deserving of that, like, God's goodness in that situation because all we did was ask, like, just pursue another path.
Dr. Barrett:That's right.
Eliza Dickenson:And, root cause, like, truly
Dr. Barrett:Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:We had to eliminate, like, 12 foods, but you were like, I know we can get those back, but we have to heal her first. Her brain and her nervous system is on fire. Her immune system is so like, and so, truly, when we left that day, I just I had this peace. I was like, okay. We're all in, and it's not easy.
Eliza Dickenson:And I will say, like, for people who think you're gonna come and get this quick fix, that is that is not what you get, but we did it I think we did elimination for 90 days, and then we also basically broke down the bad stuff, and we rebuilt her immune system
Dr. Barrett:That's right.
Eliza Dickenson:Essentially. That's exactly right. And, then we but it's hard. Like, one of the things she couldn't have was garlic, and you can't really eat out anywhere because everything is seasoned with garlic. And so
Dr. Barrett:And tomato.
Eliza Dickenson:And tomatoes and eggs and gluten and, like, random pine random stuff. But those were the big things. And so, but, you know, the my husband and I had just never felt cared for like that before, so we were all in. And we did it, and we slowly then, you know, you do the trial and error, like, we're gonna test her. We're gonna wait 3 days when we were reintroducing the foods.
Eliza Dickenson:And so now today, she has everything back but gluten.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:And Wow. I and I mean, I I looked at our path, and I'm like, I wouldn't do it any other way because, like, the trajectory of her life both, like, physically, emotionally, everything has been changed because she doesn't we got to that root cause, and, I just am so grateful.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. You know, I'm a glass half full person, but when I meet with clients, I'm I'm careful Mhmm. Because I don't wanna I don't provide false hope. Right? But, I remember when I was like, hey, I think this is as straightforward as it comes.
Dr. Barrett:It was so great to see the fruit of making a couple changes and the immediate results. It's what's beautiful about so I have a heart for kids. It's because kids have this innate ability. There's so much grace in their bodies to heal so quickly. And so you just start to take a couple shifts and and and, yes, they are hard.
Dr. Barrett:But how much harder would it
Eliza Dickenson:be Amen. It's worth it.
Dr. Barrett:Right? How much harder would it be to sit there and you know, how many times a night would you put something on
Eliza Dickenson:her skin? Like, she would come in at least 3 or 4 times a night.
Dr. Barrett:I mean, that's hard. Mhmm. You know?
Eliza Dickenson:And get calls from school all the time. She's itching. Her belly's hurting.
Dr. Barrett:And That's hard. Yeah. And and then not You
Eliza Dickenson:have to choose your heart.
Dr. Barrett:You have to choose your heart. And when you when you boil it down and you make a shift within within usually, you know, 30 days, but sometimes up to, like, 60 days, once you're in it, then you're, like, well, this isn't even that hard anymore.
Eliza Dickenson:It's all about perspective.
Dr. Barrett:So much is true in that. So as you started shifting perspective for your daughter, how did that start to shift perspective for the rest of your family? Did
Eliza Dickenson:it start
Dr. Barrett:to spill over?
Eliza Dickenson:Well, so I, I was in it with her. I was like, listen. If you can't have, like, it I'll I didn't want to be like, oh, here we all are. We're gonna go eat gluten all in your face.
Dr. Barrett:We're gonna let's go
Eliza Dickenson:have pizza. Yeah. So we kinda did make I mean, we we were all in with the cooking and the meal prepping. Like, really, you can do all of the things and avoid gluten. You just have to know what you're going into ahead of time so you can grab something that benefit your life or you can make it ahead of time.
Eliza Dickenson:And so I just have learned to ask those questions. But, I mean, for our family, I feel like transitioning more over to, like, chiropractic care, if I remember that was one of the things you were like, now these are the things we need to do for her, but another thing that would be really beneficial to bring into the tool belt would be chiropractic care. And, I had always thought about it, but I didn't really know I mean, I didn't know much about it. Sure. And so but when you build the rapport that we had at that point, and I truly, like, never seen anyone love or care about my baby my child, the way that you did.
Eliza Dickenson:And this, I think, is true for Brett, especially because, you know, part of me was like, oh, I'm usually, like, a little bit farther ahead with, like, the functional holistic stuff, and then he's like, oh, okay. Whatever. But I'll never forget we were on a run, and I was like I was like, I made us, you, me, and Webb, all new patient, like, assessments because Grace had already done it. And I was, like, waiting to hear what he he's like, well, yeah, we're doing that. You know?
Eliza Dickenson:And it was just like but when you build rapport with people and you truly care, they see the value in what you're doing, and it's like and in my head, I was like, well, Brent, I mean, it makes sense for you to go, especially he's a dentist. And, I mean, how many times in 2 years
Dr. Barrett:Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:Has he come to you with his back locked up or his neck locked up after a big case? Yep. And so, I mean, our family can just speak to the benefit of coming to see you guys for for so many different reasons, but, that is number one for him, I think. But, also, just like I think it was an easy yes for our for our entire because I think maybe sometimes people might have just said, oh, well, Grace is the only one that needs that. Yep.
Eliza Dickenson:But for him, it for us, it was an easy, like, well, I can see the benefit and the value in that for every person in our family.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. It's so good.
Eliza Dickenson:And I love that like, you guys are just part of our weekly rhythm. Like, we go to Armor, me and the kids, and Brent comes here. And I love I love the routine, and there's just always something that you can help me with.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. I think I think, you know, when you think about chiropractic, immediately, you just think, you know, maybe pain or aches or injuries or whatever.
Eliza Dickenson:It's not. Yeah.
Dr. Barrett:And so when you start to apply it in in in different settings, you see you see the fruit of it. And, and some of some sometimes the biggest challenge is everyone has a challenge. Mhmm. And when you lay out these pillars of, hey, what's your sleep look like? What's your nutrition?
Dr. Barrett:What's your movement? What does caring for your nervous system recovery look like through chiropractic care? And you lay out these pillars. There's usually one that's like, oh, I don't know about that. And, but as you start to kinda dive into it, you realize, oh, wow.
Dr. Barrett:I feel so much better when I sleep 8 hours a day. Oh, wow. I feel so much better being off these inflammatory foods. Oh, wow. My body is just responding so much better now that I've been under chiropractic care.
Eliza Dickenson:It's all connected.
Dr. Barrett:It is. And, and it goes it it speaks the truth that healing is is is, something that should be supported from so many different areas of our life because we are physical, emotional, soul, spiritual bodies, and we need we need, you know, support in all those areas. When, now speak to you for a sec. You're an incredible runner. You're an incredible runner.
Dr. Barrett:You almost broke sub 3 marathon. Right?
Eliza Dickenson:I mean, it depends on what you define as almost. But Is 3? 304. 304. That's 36.
Eliza Dickenson:Yeah.
Dr. Barrett:To me, that's that's that's almost sub 3 marathon, which is what what's that minute per mile pace?
Eliza Dickenson:703.
Dr. Barrett:That's incredible. That's incredible. So you've been running for years.
Eliza Dickenson:Well, so I played soccer my whole life. That was my first love, till I was 18 and then kinda ran loose lane college and then did my first half marathon my senior year in 08, and I've been running ever since. So
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. So, what what have you seen in your body Yeah. Through through chiropractic or change your nutrition or starting to look at your health differently?
Eliza Dickenson:Oh, well, I mean, I love it when when I'm in the meat of a training cycle. If there's been a hard workout and something's talking to me, I'll come in. I'll be like, hey. This is feel this is like, my hip's talking to me. And then you'll be like, oh my you're so, like, out of alignment.
Eliza Dickenson:Like and and so I feel like the that weekly rhythm of coming, especially when I'm in those, like, those high volume, high intensity weeks
Dr. Barrett:Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:Kind of can intercept little things, little flare ups, and keep them from being big things. I love I'm I'm so passionate about nutrition and fueling well, but I feel like adding in the chiropractic care has just kept me. I haven't I mean, I I don't there's no knock on wood. Like but I'm so confident in what I do each week and how I train. Yep.
Eliza Dickenson:And, one marries, both of our coach love her. But, I just feel like the way that all of those things work together, keeps me running because that's what I wanna be doing. That's something that is uniquely mine, and it bring it has brought me a community of people that I love dearly. So good. And I feel I love challenging myself.
Eliza Dickenson:I love goals. And so adding coming to see you every week and sometimes more often if necessary, but it has kept me running. And that's I feel like it makes me a better wife, a better mom, a better person, and I just I mean, it's a passion of mine, and so I feel confident in in knowing that if anything comes up, I'm just like, hey.
Dr. Barrett:So one of my favorite things is is walking with patients weekly. Yes. Because now I know I know their lifestyle. I know what they're doing. I know what they're not doing.
Dr. Barrett:Mhmm. And so every week, I'm just getting this this new baseline of here here's where they're at this week. Yep. Here's where they're I know that they were sick 3 weeks ago. Hey.
Dr. Barrett:How are you feeling? How are you recovering? Versus trying to get all of that information in a meeting because we haven't met for for 2 months.
Eliza Dickenson:And that's what I would say.
Dr. Barrett:And that's the hardest part. Yes. Okay. Now you're telling me these symptoms came back, but I don't know what's happened the last Yes. 3 months of your life and you say nothing's changed but I you've been, you know, sick twice or you've been stressed because or, you know, whatever the variables are.
Dr. Barrett:But when people say, oh, nothing's changed, that's that's not true. Something has changed. So it's a lot easier. Personally, it's selfish, but it's so much easier to get that weekly check-in.
Eliza Dickenson:It's easier for me too because we can go and, like, we're checking in every week. And it's not I'm not, like, in there for you're not in your appointment for very long, but it's enough to catch up. And, like and when you see people every week, you are walking with them through life. And, like, if it's a hard season, you you do you sit with us. And you're I remember one time, I was like, I don't wanna take up too much of your time.
Eliza Dickenson:Like, I know you have, like, 50 other people, and you're like, here's the deal. I if if you need me, I'm gonna sit with you, and I'm gonna ask for grace later. Like, because the reality of it is Yeah. Somebody else is gonna need me, and then I'm gonna ask for grace from you at some point. And so what it's just that's just how we do things here.
Eliza Dickenson:And I was like, you know what? I I love that because you see people and you're with people. And when you can form that kind of, like, patient relate like, it just is it's so valuable. And, I mean, there have been so many things even with my kids when they're like, oh, if they feel sick or something, we need to call Barrett. We need to go we need to go see Barrett.
Eliza Dickenson:And I love that that is our baseline. Like, I think that both, like, the functional medicine and just modern medicine, I think it's both you can they can coexist. There's a time and a place for both. And the thing that I love is, like, our the functional medicine is our foundation. That's what we do on an everyday basis, but we are gonna get sick.
Eliza Dickenson:Things are gonna come up, and there is gonna be a need for that other avenue. And it's not like, there have been times where both of my kids have had to be on antibiotics for various things for for different things over the course of 2 years, and it wasn't ever like, oh, no. Don't do that. Oh, gosh. It was like, okay.
Eliza Dickenson:Yes. I agree, and this is how we're gonna support their bodies through this. And I love that because I don't feel like it needs to be this great disconnect.
Dr. Barrett:That's right.
Eliza Dickenson:And, I feel like we can do a better job of saying, like, the way that we approach our family's life is, like, we want to live in such a way where our bodies can handle being exposed to sickness, and it doesn't take us out for a very long time. And we wanna value these pillars that you talk about and, like, and impress those on our kids and, like, model that for our kids, because that's our greatest calling right now in this season is to love I mean, my kids are 11 and almost 9, and I want them to, like, grow up and do wonderful things. But, also, like, we get one body. Yeah. You know?
Eliza Dickenson:Like, let's That's good. Let's treat it well, and let's let's do good things. Like and so but all that can be connected through, all the things that are talked about in appointments with you every day or every week when we come.
Dr. Barrett:And It's so encouraging. Yeah. It's so it's so it blesses my soul. It really does. It bless me to just sit here and hear you talk because when when you're when you're, hear this right, but when you're on to the next patient, you care for the next patient.
Dr. Barrett:Right? You care for the next patient. And you sometimes forget about the miracles and the and the blessings in in in other people's lives, and it's so good. It's so refreshing. So, so thank you.
Eliza Dickenson:Well, I mean, I, like, can't we can't imagine our life without you.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. Oh, so good.
Eliza Dickenson:I mean, truly.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah.
Eliza Dickenson:Because if when I look back to 2 years ago, we were just kinda, like, picking, like, oh, well, hopefully, this will go away soon.
Dr. Barrett:And
Eliza Dickenson:but what if we hadn't have listened to that little nudge?
Dr. Barrett:Come on.
Eliza Dickenson:And so where would she be now? Yeah. And, like, the and so I just would encourage people, if you have that little nudge, just call. Come on over to the functional medicine side.
Dr. Barrett:You know what's funny? He's just gonna ask you, like, you know, how would you encourage moms out there? I asked a question, with moms and I said, hey. When when the doctor says it's just anxiety or it's just this, what does your heart say? Because a mom's intuition
Eliza Dickenson:Listen to it.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. And and it it there's value there.
Eliza Dickenson:Mhmm. God gave it to us for a reason.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. So
Eliza Dickenson:But, I mean, I would just say definitely, like, if something feels off, keep asking, keep challenging, keep questioning until you find, even if it's, like, not a conventional path, which is not what we did, and I'm so thankful.
Dr. Barrett:That's so good.
Eliza Dickenson:Because I have a picture of you and Grace at armor in front of that,
Dr. Barrett:Heeled one.
Eliza Dickenson:Healed. And it was on her birthday, and it was like she had gotten all the foods back but gluten. Yeah. And, I mean, it's such a gift. I think that we're just grateful all the time for so many different reasons for you.
Eliza Dickenson:And I we try to tell you a lot, so I hope you know.
Dr. Barrett:I do. I do. Sometimes it's hard for me to hear. So but today, I definitely heard your heart.
Eliza Dickenson:Good.
Dr. Barrett:And so, yeah, it's been an honor, Kia, for your family. Just your story is cap it's it's captivating. It's capturing people in their hearts and what moms struggle with. So thanks for adding value to our, to our listeners. We appreciate you so much.
Eliza Dickenson:Thanks for adding value to us.
Dr. Barrett:You got it. And so, hey, this kinda wraps up this wraps up our our patient interview series. So, way to go out with an with an amazing, amazing story. So thanks, Eliza, for being here.
Eliza Dickenson:Thank you for having me.
Dr. Barrett:Yeah. And, thanks for listening to another episode of the Real Health Podcast.
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