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Lyme Ninja Radio - Interview with Mackay Rippey

8/30/2016

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I was one of those people who were way behind on the game with discovering podcasts. I knew that they existed, but I didn't really dive into my little "Podcast" App on my iPhone until a few months ago. Once I realized how incredible it was to lie in bed and be able to learn and be entertained by the wealth of shows within the app, I was hooked. This is also when I found Lyme Ninja Radio, and it was an instant love affair. I binge-listened (is that a thing?) to podcast after podcast, and found myself laughing, learning, and really enjoying the natural ability of Mackay to host the show so perfectly.

Lyme Ninja Radio was created by Mackay and his daughter, after being affected personally by Lyme Disease. They have the most incredible guests on and talk about every topic imaginable, all over the spectrum of a chronic illness; Diet, meditation, treatments, Physician interviews, etc. It is also very easy to access, either via iTunes, SoundCloud, or LymeNinja.com. It is so worth clicking "Subscribe" & getting your weekly dose of learning and entertainment. But don't just take my word for it! I recently got to turn the tables a bit and interview Mackay, and we chatted about what makes Lyme Ninja Radio special.

1. Lyme Ninja Radio is special for a lot of reasons, but one of which is that it's a father/daughter duo working together. What inspired you to create this project together?
Mackay: Desperation - I started Lyme Ninja Radio on my own and was quickly overwhelmed. Luckily for me, Aurora was home at the time and was willing to jump in and learn the ins and outs of podcasting.

2. What has been the best thing about working with your daughter?
Mackay: It’s great to be able to interact with her as a partner and as an adult and not in the normal father/daughter or parent/child roles which always seem to boil down to, “Have you cleaned your room yet?!"

3. When did you start the Podcast? And how many episodes have you created together thus far?
Mackay: I started Lyme Ninja Radio as a way to learn about Lyme disease for my acupuncture practice in Clinton, NY. I figured it would be a great way to learn and share that learning in the process. We started in the Summer of 2014 and are up to about 101 episodes! (See Ep 101: here)

4. Has Lyme Ninja expanded from Podcasts to any other projects? 
Mackay: We are working on a number of ideas, from a line of supplements to online training. Last year we held our first Ninja Training, The topic was the Healing Power of Emotions. My partner in that project, in addition to Aurora, was Erin Murphy, who has an amazing Lyme story and who’s healing was jump-started with an emotional breakthrough.

5. What are both of you stories regarding Lyme Disease? Have you both been affected by it? Is it something which affects other friends/family members close to you? 
Mackay: I was bit by a tick in the Hudson Valley in Ghent, New York. A few days later I felt like hell and a day after that developed a bullseye rash. THANK GOD! Even though I only had 2 weeks of doxy, I followed it up with some herbals and acupuncture and am more or less OK. My wife noticed I lost about an inch off my hairline and I think my energy is not quite what it should be. That was 12 years ago. So I’m basically OK. Again, Thank God.

6. What do you feel is the biggest lesson you've learned through the journey of creating this podcast?
Mackay: One afternoon I was all upset because I produced an episode and NOBODY listened to it. She said, “Calm down. Don’t even worry about any of that until you have been doing this for two years. Than you can make an assessment and be happy or upset.”

What she taught me is “Just Keep Going.” It’s really the same message that the Lymies teach. “Just Keep Going. Don’t Stop."

7. Who were some of your most interesting guests? Or what are some of your favorite episodes?
Mackay:  This may sound like a total suck up to my guests. But I love them all. In fact, I choose guests that are interesting to me. My mind can get interested in some quirky things and sometimes I worry that I lose my audience because of that. But I figure the worst thing in the world is to have an interviewer who is bored by his guest. 

I have to say my favorite episode was a Halloween special we did early on with Author M. M. Drymon. She wrote a book called Disguised as the Devil and makes a very compelling case that the Salem witches were actually suffering from Lyme Disease. It’s fascinating stuff. One of the signs of being a witch was the “devil’s kiss” which wait for it….is a bullseye rash!

I also love Eva Sapi, the researcher from University of New Haven. She is doing groundbreaking original research with Lyme. I love her.

And of course talking with people who are battling their way through Lyme is always humbling and inspiring.

8. I love this podcast because it is incredibly informative and a wealth of information for patients and caretakers, which is so needed in the Lyme community. What is the one message you would like to share as a takeaway to those who are reading this now? 
Mackay: We live in connected world. What and who you need to heal from Lyme may not be in your circle at the present moment. But through resources like Lyme Ninja Radio, Facebook, Skype, you can find the people and the information and the hope you need to get through this. It is possible to heal, and sometime you have to let go of expectations, disappointments, anger, grief etc, to move forward.  At that heart of most Lyme healing stories is a moment of surrender and inner peace that allows the path forward to show itself.

9. Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers/future listeners? 
Mackay: You can find Lyme Ninja Radio on iTunes, Sound Cloud, Facebook, and our website www.LymeNinja.com

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I want to thank Mackay for taking the time to chat with me! I linked the episodes he spoke about in the interview above if you want to click and listen yourself. The Halloween special really is incredible, and fall time is just around the corner, so I recommend that listen for a crisp fall day treat :)

xoxo,
Christina



2 Comments

The Best Is Yet To Come

8/15/2016

2 Comments

 
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When I was around the ripe old age of 15 I went through a phase. Like most young girls growing up in the 90's & early 2000's I transitioned out of The Spice Girls, then into N'sync & right into a band called Simple Plan. They were an alternative rock band & I attended many of their shows, waiting in line for hours to be front row (and to avoid getting swept into in mosh pit). At one of these concerts there was an opening band who sang a song aptly titled, "The Future Freaks Me Out." When I was 15 the song was catchy & the words meant nothing. Now, at 28, the title feels eerily poignant.

When I was 15 the future felt endless and almost boundless. I had big dreams from a very young age. If you asked me what I wanted to do I easily and quickly replied, "fix the injustices of the world & help people!" From the moment I could comprehend what the word "unfair" meant, I knew I was put on this earth to fix all those problems. How? I had no idea.

At 15 I didn't need to know what tomorrow brought or how I would get there. I just knew I wanted to get somewhere & had a blissful naivety as to how I would accomplish it. In my mind nothing felt too big to conquer, and nothing was out of reach. You want the earth the moon & the stars? Let's go get them.

When did that change? Did adulthood and the realities of life sour my perception of the word "future?" Was getting ill and realizing my once strong body could malfunction out of my control create a sobering shockwave of truth? I'm really not sure. At some point the future went from feeling boundless to feeling almost paralyzing.

At 28 I have two versions of the future swirling in my mind, each competing for real estate in my thoughts. There's the picturesque future where I'm healthy & strong, conquering all the diseases riddling my body & riding off into the sunset with my dog. Then there's the future which feels lackluster; riddled with adult sized worries, and a body that is somewhat better but not 100%. Being chained to a laundry list of supplements to get through each day & eating an "everything-free" restrictive diet sounds like my version of a nightmare. I don't want to live a life where a plate of lasagna sends me into a 3 day stomach migraine, or if I forget my mid day supplements I'm up all night sick. I want to eat all the delicious foods to my hearts content without painful repercussions, and go through my days enjoying moments without having pill alarms barking at me 10 times a day. To me, that's not living; that's negotiating with life to just get by. I keep telling myself that CAN'T be the best I achieve. It just can't. That's the future I fear. That's the future which "freaks me out." I only see one way out of this mess, and it's the joyful perfect route that's riding on sunshine. But is that asking for too much? Some days it feels like my ideals have set the bar too high & other days it feels perfectly achievable. These two futures battle one another & no one but God knows who the victor shall be.

Right now my future is in a box, and I view it through the paradox of Shroedinger's cat. This paradox was first introduced to me on one of my favorite TV sitcoms, The Big Bang Theory. It wasn't until much later that I realized how much I would identify with this theory in my every day life.
Simplified, the paradox places a cat inside a box that contains a poisonous vial which is set to break open at a random time. Since no one knows when or if the poison has been released, until the box has been opened the cat can be thought of to be both alive & dead. Therefore while the box is still shut (and the outcome is not observed) the cat is in both states. There is a 50/50 chance that both outcomes are possible.

There are many life decisions & worries which I keep tucked away in such a box. It's my safe space, where I can choose to pick my destiny & see an outcome the way I want it. I'm simply choosing to view the box as holding the key to health & I'm choosing to view my ideal destiny existing on the inside. The future will always be a scary place to someone like me who thrives on knowledge & preparedness. That won't change. But by imagining the outcome I want and picturing my life full of health, I can set goals which I refuse to stray from. Maybe I am asking for "too much" by expecting a certain quality of life back, and that's okay. I would rather dream big & believe that the best IS yet to come, no matter how scary and big it feels.

So until the future becomes the present, I pray. I pray that God gives me the patience and strength to keep taking steps and making progress. I pray that He gives me wisdom and guidance for the hard choices I will make along this journey. I pray that He gives me peace and comfort over whatever future comes my way; and most of all I pray he gives me stillness to quiet the battling voices in my mind & the ability to listen to hear His message.

-xoxo,
​Christina


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