E8 S1| The Story of Cecil, Abby's Grapefruit-Sized Dermoid Cyst

In this episode of the Sick and Seeking Podcast, Abby shares her incredible journey with Cecil, a grapefruit-sized dermoid cyst attached to her right ovary. She recounts the harrowing realization of having such a large mass growing inside her body and the challenges she faced along the way.

Join us as we navigate Abby's story and discuss important aspects of understanding ovarian health.

Conversation Highlights:

• The Painful Awakening: Abby describes the sudden, stabbing pain that prompted her to seek immediate medical attention.
• Understanding Dermoid Cysts: We define what dermoid cysts are and delve into their peculiar characteristics.
• Ovarian Torsion Risks: We discuss the potential complications of ovarian torsion and the impact it can have on reproductive organs.
• Surgical Concerns: Abby shares her fears about losing part or all of her reproductive organs during the surgery to remove the cyst.
• Finding Humor in Hardship: Discover how humor helped Abby navigate tough moments in her health journey.
• Navigating Healthcare: We explore the intricacies of managing a long list of doctors and medications, and how to maximize medical insurance benefits.
• Alternative Therapies: Abby discusses the potential for complementary therapies alongside traditional treatments.
• Mental Health Matters: We address the challenges of dealing with anxiety and depression while managing physical health issues.
• Setting Small Goals: Abby emphasizes the importance of setting achievable goals post-surgery to maintain motivation.

Update on Leslie’s IUD: Leslie shares her recent experience with spotting and mini-periods, likely due to a shifted IUD. More details will be shared on the Sick and Seeking YouTube page soon.

Connect with Abby:
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Transcript

abby_whipker (00:00.119)
Yeah.

leslie_field (00:00.188)
I've already had people do that. That's fine. So, all right. Hello, Abby. It's so great to have you here today on the podcast.

abby_whipker (00:09.486)
Hi Leslie, I'm very excited to be here and join you and talk about some very fun and exciting things.

leslie_field (00:17.224)
Yeah, we're gonna have some giggles here today. I love that we're on a podcast, but I was just teasing Abbie before this and before we started recording that we are taking a video. I don't release the full videos. However, I just want to let everyone know that there will be a moment during this podcast episode where I will see for sure a cat's butthole at some point. So I just want to all let you know that's going to happen at some point.

abby_whipker (00:44.386)
Yeah, I have two cats, George and Gus, and so I might have to yell at them or shove them away. And you might just hear little jingle jangles from them.

leslie_field (00:54.248)
love them. So, Abby and I know each other well because we worked together. We worked together for almost four years at Girl Scouts and because of that I know her cats very well. We always see them come into the picture and so I just had to tease her a little bit. So we started at Girl Scouts. You're my soul sister. You were hired right around the same time as me.

So the origin story of us is that I went over, like I almost could see myself like skipping over to Abby's desk, like full on like do, do, do, do, do. And I was like, I was like, hi, I'm Leslie. And then Abby, I'm going to tell the story right now. Abby was like, hi. She was like, hi, I'm Abby. Like not, not like a deep, not like a deep voice.

abby_whipker (01:24.494)
I don't know.

abby_whipker (01:29.614)
You

abby_whipker (01:37.507)
Okay.

abby_whipker (01:43.854)
because I sound just like that.

leslie_field (01:47.922)
but like very much like monotone. And then we figured it out that it was just because she was brand new and we were both brand new and she probably thought that she was like potentially under some sort of like dangerous situation.

abby_whipker (02:01.346)
Danger put up my defenses because I'm like a scorpio. So I was like must watch out must be on on high alert

leslie_field (02:11.376)
Yeah. So I remember like, God, I don't know about this person. And I like walked away from her desk and I was like, I don't think I'm going to be friends with her.

abby_whipker (02:22.382)
And I was just like, so anxious. was like, I don't care. That's a person. Remember. Do job, must do job, must do job.

leslie_field (02:26.63)
Yeah. You were like, I don't care. Danger. were like, danger, danger. Must jump. Totally. So, and it just so happens that Abby also has a colorful health history. So I think we also bonded over that, you know, eventually we... Totally. Actually, and that's the perfect story that's going to segue into your story, that we bonded

abby_whipker (02:45.578)
eventually. Like a month later is when it happened, I think.

leslie_field (02:56.666)
at our first, I think, Girl Scout event. So we did a lot of events with girls and Abby still does events with girls, but not for long. Things are changing, but that's a different story. We had an event and wow, we learned really quickly that we forgot to pack the feminine products that young ladies might need, right? That was fun. We learned very quickly.

abby_whipker (03:06.284)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (03:19.51)
Yep, no pads, no tampons. That was an early mistake.

leslie_field (03:25.552)
Yeah, so that was pretty funny. And I mean, speaking of pads and periods and all things to do with the female... the women parts.

abby_whipker (03:31.63)
Women parts, just parts that, you know, people have that cause, you know, making babies and having periods and stuff. I had a situation with my reproductive organs. I guess, my God, it was like two years ago at this point, right? Yeah, two and a half years ago, because it was the beginning of 2020, an excellent year.

leslie_field (03:58.478)
Just an excellent year all around. Totally. Tell us about Cecil, Abby. Tell us about Cecil.

abby_whipker (04:01.163)
Yeah

Yeah, okay. Cecil. Cecil was the name I bestowed upon my giant cyst. Cecil the cyst. And Cecil the cyst. What a story. I don't even know where to begin. Cecil was not a normal cyst. Cecil was a dermoid cyst. Should I just start with this? I guess, yeah. So if you're not familiar, a dermoid cyst is also called a teratoma.

And it's like Greek or Latin or something for a monster tumor. So I had a monster tumor inside of me attached to my ovary on the right side. And it was the size of a grapefruit.

leslie_field (04:48.464)
I mean, let's pause right now. I just like, I just still can't wrap my head around that it's the size of a grapefruit. Like you're not a large human being. You're like a petite woman and I still don't. Anyway, continue.

abby_whipker (05:00.28)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (05:05.858)
Yeah. Well, so right. How did I find out that I had a grapefruit sized ovarian cyst? And there are other kinds of ovarian cysts. I meant to look up the other kinds before this podcast. forgot. Cause I'd had the other kinds before once too, that ruptured that are the more kind of like, I don't want to say standard typical kinds, but that are more common, I should say, than this, which is uncommon. So

How did I find out that I had this very large or very insistent side of me? Okay, well, let me tell you the story. It was January 3rd, literally the beginning of an excellent year, like I said. And like earlier in the day, was like, looking back, I was like a little twingy. I kind of had like similar feelings to like cramps or like, know, ovulation cramps, which I get as well. But I didn't really like think anything of it. And then...

Later that night, it was a Friday, it had been like a long day at work, you know, still working in person and it's like, I'm gonna take it easy, stay home, like smoke a bowl, eat a pint of ice cream and dinner, full pint, and I'm lactose intolerant, so like sometimes that's not the best decision. And so by the end of the night, I was like, okay, yeah, you know, had the whole pint of ice cream, not feeling too great. And my stomach started to feel a little bit upset and then a little bit like crampy on the right side. I was like, this isn't...

too good. Like that ice cream is just not hitting me right today. And then it started, the cramps started to get worse. It started to feel like a little bit like stabby on the right side, like, like knives stabbing me repeatedly on my right side, like where kind of appendix type area is and you know, lower right quadrant. And so was like, okay, this is not good. I live alone. I started to think, okay, this is maybe like a hospital ER.

situation. It was like at this point, like 1030 or 11 o'clock at night, I was in my jammies, you know, no bra and I'm like, okay, I gotta get myself dressed, trying to get myself dressed, like in pain where I'm like basically bent over in pain at this point, like the stabbing is so bad. Get my clothes on, I felt like I was also gonna like puke everywhere at this point. So I grab like a grocery bag so that I can like take that I order a car. You know, I live in New York. So like

leslie_field (07:01.928)
You

abby_whipker (07:24.45)
I don't have a car. like, the, the, ER is only like five minutes away, but I like, I can't walk there. There's no way. I order the lift to take me there. I grab, you know, the things that I'm going to need. I live in a fifth floor walkup at that time as well. So I am trying to get myself down the stairs, like hand over hand on the railing and the cars, they are great. Every bump in the road. was like, I'm going to die. This is so awful, but it was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. And.

We might talk about my other ailments later, but I've had some ailments and surgeries and stuff. And this was by far the worst pain, like 11 out of 10, like I said, like knives stabbing me. And it drops me off the hospital. It's like, okay, great. Here's the ER. It was not, it was not the ER. So I had to walk around the block with this stabbing knife pain. Luckily they realized when I walked in the door, finally, like how much pain I was in, I got into the ER right away.

leslie_field (07:59.375)
ailments.

leslie_field (08:13.437)
no.

abby_whipker (08:23.628)
They put me on a bed. I took them maybe like 30 minutes to see me though, which was just agonizing. And in between that time, I puked everywhere, all over the place. It was like the exercise. was so bad. And still, no, it was funny. We have to laugh at the, that's one, when you have a medical, know, ongoing medical stuff forever, chronic illness, you gotta laugh about it. Otherwise, what are you gonna do? You know?

leslie_field (08:37.352)
We shouldn't laugh, but like, we have to laugh now. We have to laugh now.

leslie_field (08:49.054)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (08:50.828)
But eventually, you know, they did come see me. thought it was appendicitis. you know, the first, I don't know, time didn't exist in that ER. so then they did some exams and stuff. determined, okay, not appendicitis. They put me in, I don't know, every type of machine, you know, for ultrasound, for CAT scan. I don't know. I don't remember. I blacked out probably. a lot of exams, they finally determined they saw that I had this.

massive cyst the size of a grapefruit on my right ovary. no, I remember they couldn't tell which ovary it was on because it was so big. That was it. But they knew they knew it had caused ovarian torsion, which is why I was in so much pain. So what is ovarian torsion? That is when something has caused the ovary and the fallopian tube to tors. That means just like turn on itself, which cuts off the blood flow. And that is actually a medical emergency. And it's very dangerous because it's

leslie_field (09:26.061)
my gosh.

abby_whipker (09:48.074)
literally the lack of blood flow, you're going to lose the organs. so like, okay, well, at this point, I don't, God, it was like six in the morning. They're like, okay, get ready. We're going to do emergency surgery. We're going to remove that cyst. And so that was rough. But then the pain had stopped at that point too, for me, like there was no more stabby knife pain. And they were like, well, actually let's reassess. We don't need to do the surgery because somehow magically, not magically though, the, torsion had stopped.

I think, I don't really know what had happened, but because the cyst was so large, it had just been like shifting around in my body. Think about like, you know, when someone's pregnant, like organs and stuff are shifting. I mean, a similar thing was happening with the cyst because it was so large. And so it had just like moved some stuff around it settled and it was fine. And the torsion had stopped. So they decided we don't have to do emergency surgery because it was also a Saturday.

I'd gone in Friday night and it was now Saturday morning. So they don't have a full medical staff and you don't want to have an emergency surgery on a weekend. Hot tip.

leslie_field (10:52.924)
Good. Wait. Good point. So before you continue, I remember, and you have more to this story, but I remember when you came in on Monday, you came in on Monday and you told me about what happened and I was actually really weirded out. Like, I obviously do not know a lot of all the medical things, but like me and you have a lot of weird medical shit that has happened to us. So like you learn things along the way. So I've done a round of IVF and

abby_whipker (10:57.796)
Yes.

Yes!

abby_whipker (11:13.656)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (11:18.662)
So they warned me of this exact things. They, when you're doing IVF, what they're doing is sort of, they're stimulating all the follicles in your ovaries. So your ovaries are going really big. And so I remember when I was doing IVF, they were like, you cannot do anything when you're, when you're in this process and we're getting the follicles grown so that we can get all the eggs out. They're like, you cannot do anything. I was like, come on. I was like, I, they're like no Pilates, no yoga. I was like, what can I do? They're like, you can walk.

And was like, that seems a bit intense, but fine. I will just walk until this is done. And so I'm real. And then when you came in and told me the story, I was like, my gosh, this is what they were telling me would happen to me if I didn't do what I was supposed to do. So anyway, so as soon as you came in and told me this at work, I was like, I know what's going on with you. my God, that must be horrible. So anyway, continue. you go, yeah, go ahead.

abby_whipker (12:08.62)
I remember.

Well, I remember what they're called, the other kinds of ovarian cysts is follicular cysts, the follicles. Anyway, this can also happen to balls, to testicles. They can tors. And apparently it's really painful. And also, again, it can cause a lack of blood flow and you can lose your ball. So also for all of our people who have balls out there listening, can happen to you. Anyway, so they didn't do the emergency surgery. They said, though, you need to have surgery and like,

leslie_field (12:16.488)
Mmm.

abby_whipker (12:40.876)
The sooner the better because the torsion could happen again because it was so big. could shift like, you know, at any time. And again, it's an emergency because you can, the lack of blood flow can cause you to lose those organs down there. So I went home. I was in pain for a while, but honestly, the worst thing was I had scheduled the surgery for three weeks out and just the waiting and the anxiety of those three weeks was just insane. Cause I was just so nervous about.

would it happen again between now and then? like, obviously, you know, I could get emergency surgery, but that's never ideal. It was just it was just so anxiety inducing. And like, I remember kind of struggling, there were a few days of like struggling to find a surgeon. And that was never fun. You know, that's never fun. But when I'd have the surgery, and also with the surgery, even there was still some like, unknowns going into the surgery, because there was a few options, it could be that.

Because with all the tests that they could do, there was still not a lot. Like I said, they didn't know which ovary it was on. They didn't know if it was left or right. They just knew it was in there. I remember seeing on the test, like the x-ray or the CAT scan or something that like the cyst was so large, it had like shoved my uterus to the side. And I could see my IUD like pushed to like the left or the right. wasn't like center. Anyway, the outcomes of the surgery were best outcome is they just removed the cyst.

The worst outcome was full hysterectomy. Middle outcome was that they take an ovary and a fallopian tube and kind of any mix there enough. And I wouldn't have any call or decision or autonomy over what they did once I was put under, which is also like terrifying as a woman to not have that decision, no matter like what you want in your future as like.

you know, having children or whatever, like, still not having that decision of control over your body. It's like once you go under, you're consenting to any of those options. So that was really scary to know you could wake up as at that point, how old was I, 31? And I could have had a full hysterectomy. So that was really scary. But

leslie_field (14:50.94)
now.

leslie_field (14:59.039)
Yeah, I do. I remember that. I remember the three weeks being at work too. I was like, like, it was just really weird because you're like, well, God this assisted me. I think at one point you were like, I'm just I've named it. His name is Cecil. It's Cecil the Sist.

abby_whipker (15:13.132)
Yeah, see, so yeah, again, that's what the humor, yeah, I had to have it.

leslie_field (15:18.376)
But I know that to get through it, that was a long waiting time. Like, I remember waiting with you and then I remember you telling me the potential outcomes. And I was like, God, like, you just don't see these things come in. You live in your life. You're just doing your daily routine and things. And then boom, we have these these things that happen in our lives and they're they're intense and they can feel really scary. But I do love that you always approached it with humor and just like grace and just like

Just take some deep breaths and just get through it. I think you were telling me before you continue, you were telling me a little bit though about these types of cysts. They can have like features to them, right Abby?

abby_whipker (15:54.542)
Mm-hmm.

abby_whipker (16:00.788)
yes. Yes. Fun features. Yeah. Again, humor. Well, if you remember that movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the aunt is talking about like a lump with her twin in it. This is really, I think what they're maybe talking about is it's like, it just has like bones and teeth and hair inside of it. That's basically what's in a dermoid cyst is.

They're also called germ cell tumors. That's another fun name for them. They've, I don't remember all the science behind it, but basically it's just like stuff that can become human cells. And they are kind of like inside of your body from like when you're a baby or from when before you're born and they are just like dormant. And then sometimes they start growing and they're, and they're most, and they're most common in the ovaries and on the spine.

leslie_field (16:52.488)
leslie_field (16:59.592)
This is the other thing I about you, Abby. go ahead. No, go ahead. I was going say this is the other thing that I love about Abby that like, you know, I know a few things about like medical things, but once Abby gets into it, she's like, well, the Latin name is this. However, in 1925, they distinguished that it actually is this thing versus that thing. And like you're like a walking like medical encyclopedia. And I love that about you.

abby_whipker (16:59.97)
but so yeah, it's just my, no, say it.

abby_whipker (17:18.478)
But.

abby_whipker (17:26.882)
Well, I think part of like, you know, having medical shit is I want to understand it and I want to know. So I look it up and it allows me to advocate for myself and to understand it and feel better about just knowing all the ins and outs. So the more I can know, the better, I guess. And then some of it is just like funny and interesting. I asked if I could keep Cecil. I wanted to have it like in a jar, you know, on the shelf in my apartment or whatever. Unfortunately, I could not.

because apparently that's like hazardous waste. But they did tell me after that, because they also had to send it for a biopsy to make sure it wasn't cancerous. It was not. But they told me it had bone and hair, no teeth, and the hair was blonde.

leslie_field (18:17.274)
Remember this? Stop!

abby_whipker (18:19.63)
Maybe I never told you I was a little busy.

leslie_field (18:23.812)
You know, you're just having surgery and like recovering and stuff. What? Blonde. Aww.

abby_whipker (18:28.44)
Mm-hmm. Blonde. Blonder. Well, I guess it's never seen the light of day, so maybe that's why it's blonde.

leslie_field (18:32.56)
I they told you that.

leslie_field (18:36.968)
I don't know how hair follicle color works, but I don't remember you telling me that. But this was very important information that I'm finally glad, like for me, closes the story. But...

abby_whipker (18:41.143)
Yeah, I don't know.

abby_whipker (18:47.123)
That's out there. See soul of the sea soul of the blonde.

leslie_field (18:55.904)
And, but there was also a good outcome as well, right? That how did it turn out the surgery?

abby_whipker (19:00.198)
Yes, they all, they only had to take Cecil out. None of my other parts went with Cecil. Yes. And the recovery wasn't too bad. I would say I had a few weeks where, you know, I couldn't really work out. And it was a like non-invasive type surge. I mean, it was like arthroscopic, I guess, right? Or, you know, there's...

leslie_field (19:07.976)
Good, good. I know, I was...

leslie_field (19:28.21)
keyhole surgery. There's different type of surgeries,

abby_whipker (19:29.918)
Yeah, right. Yeah, no, like big open gaping wounds. They just did a couple with the camera, you know, type thing. So very small incisions. As far as like the scar, I don't even know if you can see my scars anymore. But I still had to take it easy for, you know, a few weeks. I remember kind of being like, feeling ready to like go out and exercise and stuff. And I had a like a week or two and then New York City shut down from the pandemic. So

But I'm very fortunate actually that that happened like, you know, before March of 2020, like that would have been rough.

leslie_field (20:05.732)
Absolutely. I remember there was us laughing at some point where we were talking about your 2020 in particular and we were like, wow, it's been a rough one for you, Abby. I remember that.

abby_whipker (20:16.19)
Well, because I got COVID, it was like shortly after St. Patrick's Day, because I caught it probably, you know, like my last day of work in the office or something.

leslie_field (20:27.726)
yeah, yeah, I remember that everyone, we all went into quarantine and then like we saw that in different departments who had all gotten sick. That's what that was it. That was the thing we were laughing about. Like Abby, this year's been really, been really rough for you, but it got, it got better maybe, kind of. No, you're right. Sorry. I'm so mean. I did not mean to laugh like that. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. my God.

abby_whipker (20:34.917)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (20:40.468)
Yeah, yeah. Well, no, then Carlos died.

It's fine. It's fine. We again, we got to laugh now. Carlos is the cat for listeners.

leslie_field (20:56.701)
Sorry, Carlos. I remember his butthole well. Joking. I'm joking.

abby_whipker (21:03.31)
But I guess I want to say, I don't know, do you want a transition of just if you take anything from hearing about the cyst is that it is an emergency situation with the ovarian torsion or really any other kind of torsion because it's cutting off blood flow to whatever organ is attached to. So if you feel stabby pain, yeah.

leslie_field (21:28.498)
Go see a physician. Go get it checked out in a safety.

abby_whipker (21:31.39)
Yes, absolutely. Don't ignore that.

leslie_field (21:34.482)
Yeah, this is a Abby story and I'm hoping that, know, you know, especially I'm just hoping that people I'm not saying like if you're well, if you're an extreme pain, you should probably go check it out. But, you know, we're not giving full medical advice or just common sense like, hey, I actually had an appendicitis. So I do remember that pain. But I guess talking about pain for a second. First off, I was young when I had my appendicitis and actually learned a lot about

abby_whipker (21:46.285)
Yes.

leslie_field (22:02.64)
I mean, I've been in the medical world or the medical area, medicine, whatever you want to call it. Since I was born, I don't think many of us happen if we were born in hospitals, but I particularly have always had health things happen. And so when I had my appendicitis, I think it was only like nine or 10 when it happened. So I still have a lot of memories of learning about like surgery and medicine. And I still remember that I had pain and then it was on the, I think it's just in the stomach in general. And I'd just been boogie boarding.

like a lot of my friend, imagine a boogie board hitting your stomach. Like you're little, you jump on the board, you go into the waves. So my parents, thank goodness my parents were smart, good people. They thought at first it was just from all the boogie boarding, but then it kept going like a day later and it shifted from the middle, like tummy area, like over to the right side. I still remember my parents like asking, they were talking like a doctor on the phone or a nurse potentially. I don't know who they were asking me to do things like,

abby_whipker (22:35.883)
Ugh, yeah.

leslie_field (22:57.58)
well have her jump, have her do these things. And I still remember being like, I mean, I'm nine. I'm like, well, I don't want to be sick. Like this sounds really scary if this is serious. I remember doing all the things to prove to them that I was fine. And I'm just so glad. I remember like, it was just like, they're like, you know what, let's just take her to the ER just to be safe. You know, and I'm little and it was painful, but like, I guess it wasn't extreme pain, but it was enough that you're like, hey, mom and dad, my stomach really hurts and it hurts over here. So I was really lucky that both my parents like,

abby_whipker (23:24.93)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (23:27.282)
you know, took it seriously and we went and checked it out. And then turns out I had an appendicitis. It wasn't ruptured. Thank goodness. But they went and they did the surgery. And like speaking of surgery, like I was nine when this happened, right? Or thereabouts. I didn't realize that like surgery, you know, I'm nine. I've never had surgery before. I thought like I'd be fine after surgery. I thought they cut you open. They do a little da da da. And then like, boom, you're back. You just.

abby_whipker (23:32.415)
Wow.

abby_whipker (23:51.776)
On your way.

leslie_field (23:52.614)
You wake up and you start running. Well, that was like a big shock as a child. I'm realizing that I was like, wait a second, I have to stay in the hospital? I have, I have like surgical sutures and all these things we have to tend to. And yeah, I guess you just, I had to learn young. So it's just interesting. I mean, I don't know, even now I'm like, wait, after surgery, your body has to like heal. I know that sounds really like obvious, but I don't know. It's...

bodies are weird. That was a little sidebar.

abby_whipker (24:23.564)
Yeah, well you said some.

no, I'm, I'm, it's so lucky you had parents who were like paying attention and, know, had support to be able to get you there. You said something earlier about, I don't know, like people and, you know, dealing with illness all the time and stuff. And it's like, you, know, you and I both have, think, and I guess I just like, it feels like we take it in stride and like, it never seems like a big deal, I guess, because it's just like, well, here's another thing. Here's another thing to do. Like, and it's just like,

part of, you know, routine, I guess. And it's like, I guess I don't know what life would be like to not have to do this stuff. And I see people who like, people who never have to take a medicine. I'm like, what, you don't take pills? What, you don't have a medicine you have to take every day? Like, what? What's that like? You don't have to go to the doctor ever? What?

leslie_field (25:13.254)
Who are you? I know. was like... I mean, how many doctors have you seen in your life slash I still see slash it's out of control? Right? If I were to look up in my phone doctor, it would be far too many doctors in my phone. So many.

abby_whipker (25:24.75)
I have no idea.

abby_whipker (25:30.488)
So many, so many are like, how many prescriptions have you ever had for XYZ things in your life? Like the end, the list is endless.

leslie_field (25:36.9)
I just... I actually have the medication list of an 85 year old woman for sure.

abby_whipker (25:45.351)
Yeah, same. like the pills plus the vitamins.

lot.

leslie_field (25:51.615)
I know. I'm starting to look at the prescriptions a little bit to see if there's anything that I can do or shift. I mean, that's part of what I'm doing in this podcast is just being open minded. I don't know if I've said this to you, Abbey, but like I had a real aha and I'm this is not an exaggeration. Maybe the last six months to a year that I had an aha where I was like, so these prescription medication things like this isn't going to heal me. This is just going to like

abby_whipker (25:58.328)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (26:18.568)
kind of get, try to rebalance things or sort of treat me or sort of just like deal with symptoms. I'm 38. It took me until I was 38 to think about that. And I feel a little embarrassed. I feel silly, but I bring it up because it's just the medical system we're in. And this is, this is what we're told to do here in the U.S. and Western, you know, industrialized countries. And so I'm only recently now starting to go, you know, are there other options? Like, can I try other things?

abby_whipker (26:19.736)
treat you.

abby_whipker (26:29.621)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (26:47.388)
But it's a long road because like you said, like we have a huge, excuse my language, fucking list of shit that we're taking probably right now.

abby_whipker (26:56.311)
I think it's a really interesting way to like think about it and try to like shift.

you know, our mindset, particularly I think there are some great options with like plant medicine, you know, things for particular.

diseases or illnesses or, you other symptoms, not, not to detract from some Western medicine, because there are some things I think that probably, you know, do need treatment or combination combinations thereof.

leslie_field (27:25.136)
Yeah, no, absolutely. I that's where I'm personally going. It's like doing our standard Western medical system, which is science and some really incredible breakthroughs that, you know, I wouldn't be living today without these things. I wouldn't be. But like, I'm getting more curious and that's sort of some of the conversations I'm having on this podcast is trying to say like, where are the other places that can complement it or I can get more curious about? And again, I am only just starting on this path.

abby_whipker (27:52.12)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (27:54.362)
I know what that means. And it takes a lot of work. it's, it still takes, I feel like a fair bit of work to talk to my doctors all the time. I get the prescriptions, it takes the pills, which is super annoying. But even this other stuff, I'm, I'm curious if I can sort of layer it in and see what happens. So you're just catching me at the beginning of that to see what happens.

abby_whipker (28:12.408)
Yeah, I'm excited to hear more about it as you go along.

leslie_field (28:15.996)
Well, we will see. But the other thing I love about Abby is that she is also the, not only like the medical person, like whenever she has her medical thing, like she becomes the medical encyclopedia for the thing, but also insurance. So like Abby was like at her office. If you had a question about insurance or the handbook for that matter, I love that about you. You're like, section five of the handbook here at Girl Scouts says this.

abby_whipker (28:31.736)
Hahaha

leslie_field (28:44.912)
or like our insurance policy, I feel like you would just like almost like whip out a book from nowhere. Like, let me reference that for you on page five of our insurance, depending on she's like, what level insurance coverage did you get, Leslie? The highest? yeah, me too. Duh. Look at our medical history. And then, you know, you were just, you would crack me up. Like you texted me like a year or two ago asking me about the thing I did with my FSA and it was cracking me up. Cause I'm like, you work it. You got your insurance, Abby. You're like, you are.

on it and I really love that about you.

abby_whipker (29:15.246)
Yeah, well, thank you. I appreciate that. I think it's just because as someone who has, you know, chronic illnesses and things like that is you have to be an advocate for yourself, particularly if you are lucky enough to have insurance. And if your employer provides that or whatever route, you know, you take care of your medical stuff is one tip. I mean, the best thing is to understand it and use it if you have it. Like, why not? But if you don't understand whatever, like if you have insurance, if you don't understand it, like I think that's going to

be a downfall for you if you're not going to be able to go in and advocate for yourself. Particularly our medical system tends to take advantage of people and knowing the most you can about it is going to be beneficial to you.

leslie_field (29:57.616)
Absolutely. I know you've experienced this too. I've had to go really deep into my insurance for different medical procedures or different things. For instance, I was doing IVF, so I had to see what I could learn. And I don't know who said this to me. And again, this is just my opinion, but someone said this to me. And I was like, I felt like I was studying for like a master's program to try to understand. I think I was trying to select insurance and then figure out, I don't know what I was doing, but I was going really deep in.

I don't ever forget someone saying, you know, Leslie, I, they might, or, know, this is my opinion. Can't say it's true, but you know, she said, they kind of make it really hard to understand for a reason. Like kind of saying, yeah.

abby_whipker (30:40.642)
Yeah. I mean, our, our American medical system in particular is about making money and insurance. Yeah. Which is just like a whole lot, a whole other, like really sad and anger inducing thing that we can't talk about right now.

leslie_field (30:48.488)
we can make a...

leslie_field (30:56.84)
I know. No, that's a whole nother. I'm like, wah, wah, I don't even want to go down that route. But I remember someone saying that to me because I'm like, wait a second, I'm a well-educated person. English is my first language. I am smart. I like how that's like characterized myself. I is smart. I would have to like take a deep breath and say all those things to myself and then go, I do not fucking understand what this is telling me.

abby_whipker (31:15.872)
You is smart, Leslie.

abby_whipker (31:25.824)
Yeah, yeah. And I've had I've had experiences like that are like, right now I'm leaving my job. And like, I'm trying to look up how do I use my last of my insurance benefits? What's it like, and the month between when my new insurance kicks in, like, you know, looking at the handbook and what that says, and like using up the FSA, and it's very unclear. And I've had to ask people had to things up. But just like you said, yeah, it seems like, you know, they are trying to make it difficult so that they can take advantage. And again, that's why I say,

leslie_field (31:28.679)
and it's...

abby_whipker (31:56.02)
be an advocate, look into it as much as you can, read, people, like, get everything in writing. Always.

leslie_field (32:02.164)
Mm-hmm. Totally. Yes. And it just, you know, our lives are busy and we want to go out and have a cocktail versus sitting and combing through what our insurance policy says. I get it. And those are the moments that really suck, especially, I mean, especially with people who are managing chronic illness or some sort of medical thing that they now have to look into and heal and figure out. It's time consuming. Like, how time consuming is all that stuff too. How?

abby_whipker (32:30.382)
Mm-hmm.

leslie_field (32:30.912)
seeing the doctors, making the appointments, making sure you have all the pills. Like sometimes I feel like it's my part-time job managing my health. And like I say feel like, it really literally is sometimes.

abby_whipker (32:41.92)
Yeah, yes. But at the end of the day, it's something that we have to do in order to be as healthy as we can to be able to take care of ourselves and the people that we love and be able to go out and enjoy the things that we enjoy.

leslie_field (32:58.888)
I was so positive of you.

abby_whipker (33:02.818)
I try.

leslie_field (33:07.984)
I the... I just love talking to you, Abby. This is why we were... this is why you're my work wife and I love you so much. you know what? There's the other thing I wanted to talk about connected to our colorful health history is that you would always... I would always find this really wild and I was like, wow, this is so fascinating that you shared with me that you also have Hashimoto's. I do as well.

abby_whipker (33:10.868)
I love talking to you, Leslie.

abby_whipker (33:24.75)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (33:32.974)
Yes.

leslie_field (33:34.384)
And that I would love it because, you know, again, I work with Abby. She sits like five feet away from me. And when I'm, when I'm not like, we're not talking, she can still talk and I can still hear her. Like that's how close we sat when we worked together in an office. I loved it. But like, we always got to talk all the time when we didn't want to do our work. Anyway, I hope Maggie will never listen to this podcast. good point. I love that. Thank you.

abby_whipker (33:46.871)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (33:56.974)
Well, you know what? Neither of us are there anymore, so it doesn't matter.

leslie_field (34:03.912)
Anyway, I loved it because like certain days you'd be like, I just feel off today. I think it's my medication. I need to switch my thyroid medication. It's just not right. It's just not right. I know it's not right. And then you would go and check it. You'd be like, I knew it. My readings were off.

abby_whipker (34:16.226)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Yep. I don't know how. I mean, I think part of it is having had thyroid disease for so long. I was diagnosed really early at 15, which is a little rare, I guess. But me with the rarities. I'm a rare gem.

leslie_field (34:35.783)
I mean, me and you, are special. We are special Abby.

abby_whipker (34:41.409)
We are special. Yes. So special. So I think that's part of it is just having had it for a while and knowing when it's off. And also my thyroid is extra sensitive. So it's the readings and my TSH level has been off many times. So I just kind of know, I guess, but I think, I don't know, do you want to know what it is? Like for me, I would, would, I like,

leslie_field (35:06.856)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (35:09.262)
I would just, my energy, I'd be tired. I might be moody. My skin might be dry. You know, there's like, those are pretty standard, thyroid things, but sometimes, yeah, but sometimes I would just maybe like, no. And just, maybe that's just like a thing of like being in tune with your body. I'm not really sure.

leslie_field (35:20.516)
indicators, yeah.

leslie_field (35:26.567)
Yeah.

leslie_field (35:31.824)
I think it's a yes. It's a yes. But I think that's what like, and this is coming out a lot and a lot of the listeners are going to hear me say this over and over on my podcast, whenever I talk to people who are managing, you know, some health sort of stuff in their life, it's also really frustrating because sometimes...

abby_whipker (35:33.804)
Yeah, all of the above. Check all the boxes.

leslie_field (35:51.994)
It's number one, I could do all the things to make sure I'm doing the medication, the foods, the sleep, de-stress, whatever. And I could still feel off and that makes me so mad. So that's one thing. And there's also so many variables. Like for instance, this week, I should have known, like I knew better this week. I planned far too much this week. I was overachiever Leslie. And then, and then even on top of it, which I hadn't factored in,

is that I'm menstruating this week. So then I'm trying to go 100 miles per hour while I'm trying to menstruate. Like, and I know.

abby_whipker (36:24.072)
EWWWW

abby_whipker (36:28.738)
Leslie, what are you doing?

leslie_field (36:32.176)
I don't... Okay, so fun fact, I'm like telling everyone, I mean, everyone's gonna know all my health stuff by the end of this anyway. I have an IUD and I don't ever menstruate because my IUD, like I don't even spot. So I've always had very light periods before I had IUDs. And so I might be one of the only few women in the world who asked for this, but I actually told my body and you know, I'm kind of woo woo and witchy. I was like, you know, I'd really like to know.

If I'm going to have a cycle, where would it be? Like, where would my period be? And I even talked to my doctor about this, and I'm probably gonna get this all wrong and someone's going to like send me some hate mail back. Leslie, what you said makes no sense. But whatever, I'm telling you all anyway that I asked my gynecologist about this. She said, well, Leslie, because you're on an IUD with a hormone, you're not really going to have a cycle. And she's told me that twice. And I'm always like, I don't I don't think that's how that works. And I could have all my medicine wrong and you all can.

send me your hate mail and tell me I'm wrong. But like my body still must do the stuff. It doesn't stop like...

abby_whipker (37:36.014)
I have an IUD and I get my period.

leslie_field (37:40.08)
Yeah, so I don't know what why because I told her I was the weird person was like, you know, I don't get any spotting or a period with my IUD and I would really like to have it. I'm probably like the point one percent who actually asked for that. So I asked for it. And, know, like to her and just to myself. And I started spotting the past few months.

abby_whipker (37:46.775)
Right.

abby_whipker (37:50.446)
Yeah.

abby_whipker (38:00.44)
So did you switch your IUD to a lower hormone?

leslie_field (38:03.728)
I did, but I switched that like almost two years ago now. Just started happening.

abby_whipker (38:08.59)
Yeah.

leslie_field (38:12.719)
no.

abby_whipker (38:12.76)
So how did you start getting your period, either the sotting then? You manifested it?

leslie_field (38:15.674)
I know. asked, I asked the she- Yes, I asked it- I asked it the she goddess. I was like, she goddess of the womb.

abby_whipker (38:23.126)
And then I'm glad that happened for you. No, I'm the same Leslie. I want to know when I'm having my period. One, because I want to know that I'm not pregnant. That's an important thing for me. But two, it's just nice to know when I'm syncing up with my cycle. I also, mentioned this earlier, is I get middle schmerz. I get the ovulation cramps. So I feel it when I'm ovulating.

leslie_field (38:37.362)
Fair point, fair point.

leslie_field (38:51.59)
You got a very, very expressive little body over there.

abby_whipker (38:55.486)
I do. My reproductive organs are just, they scream at me.

Often. You said something earlier though about, when recognizing when like things are off in our body, seems like even if we're doing all the right things or like when I think my thyroid, my TSH is my levels are all off, like, I could get them checked because something feels off and they're fine. But there is always something right? Like you said, like maybe there is something in our life that is out of balance. We're doing something too much or maybe, you know, it's like, we didn't, you know,

Maybe we thought we were eating healthy, but we weren't. Or maybe we weren't quite getting enough exercise and we weren't just like, you know, we, we lied to ourselves about like something we were doing, you know what I mean? Like, and you have to take a look and be like, well, maybe I, I do need to like readjust her, you know, sleep. You know, there's always like something that, you know, it's hard as like a human living in 2022 and the way that things are to like, make it all happen.

leslie_field (39:59.44)
I mean there's so many variables coming at us in the world right now particularly. So yeah, some days I'm just like, it's so hard. It's so hard.

abby_whipker (40:15.032)
I just want to lay in bed and cuddle with my cats and watch TV and ignore everything that's happening all around me. you can some days, it's fine.

leslie_field (40:20.464)
And you know what? You can some days. I mean, totally. We need self care. And I think it is that that comes up a lot too in these conversations that there's a woman I follow named Lisa Lister. And I'll never forget when she posted this and something I follow. She's like, sometimes the most radical thing you could do as a person, a human woman, whatever, is to lay down on the couch and do nothing. And I remember reading that statement and be like, my God, I need to hear that because I was the person who went

a million miles per hour and go go go productivity and got really tightly wound. I'd say that's how I used to always work my last job. And I've had to really, I know it was way too intense. And then everything imploded, my job, my whole life in New York City, everything imploded and then all burned down to the ground. And luckily I had the means that I could just lay on the couch because I'm not actually sure I could have done much more of anything at that moment.

which was really shocking to me because I might've spoken already about this on one of my podcast episodes, but I always had a lot of judgment, which is interesting because I'm someone who needs a lot of rest for my body and just sort of the medical stuff I have going on. I used to really judge people so harshly about needing rest. And I'd be like, what's wrong with you that you have to lay down today? like, figure it out, like get up. Like what's wrong with you that you're like...

stuck on the couch for a week. Like, it seemed, it seemed unfathomable to me. And then everything I went through, which was a lot of mental health struggles that I was going through at that time, I really couldn't function. And I think, you know, actually you came out and visited right during the middle of when I was like, I was really a big mess. I was so in the middle of it. And then I remember when I, then I...

abby_whipker (42:03.604)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. In it.

leslie_field (42:11.792)
Me and you, like we were like so gimpy. Sorry, that's probably a very non-PC word. I apologize. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Because you you couldn't walk and then my foot and then I sprained my foot. was like that was talk about your year in 2020. What was mine was 2021. Yeah, my that was my year of of just it was dark. It was deep. I mean, to the point where I was really struggling and you came out and visited me here in California.

abby_whipker (42:15.822)
But because your foot, my hip...

abby_whipker (42:30.254)
2021.

leslie_field (42:39.856)
And then I hurt my foot and they told me, and this was also like really interesting to me that because I had sprayed my foot, they said, you need to stay off your foot. So it already had like a month or two of me laying on the couch most days, barely being able to function. And then I hurt my foot and I had to lay on the couch another month. And I also, because I'm woo woo and spiritual like that, I was like, well, I guess this is a sign that I just got to keep doing this and that I'm not ready. I'm not healed. I just got to...

lay on the couch a little longer. But yeah, that was the mental health stuff.

abby_whipker (43:14.796)
It's hard. mean, I've many times had my moments of dark clouds of depression or anxiety that make it hard to do anything. You know, when it's, kind of like a Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you know, when you're basic functions can't be met, how do you get to that next level? You know, when you're stuck in a

leslie_field (43:25.672)
just to do

abby_whipker (43:41.122)
cycle of your brain not being able to like, I can't even like make the words to describe this. But you know, when your emotional wellness isn't complete, you can't move up to those doing those next kind of level activities. Does that make sense?

leslie_field (44:00.368)
It totally makes sense. It's I'm still trying to under I mean, it's probably gonna take most of my life to sort of understand what I went through and because it was so deep, it was so so dark and it still feels really scary and painful what I went through. Yeah, I'm still sort of integrating and reconciling and sort of sort of healing why that all happened and from that situation.

There were two things that came through though that helped me get through. Cause when you're in those depths, you know, I mean, just to like talk about mental health for a moment and my experience, I really had, I didn't, I remember looking around at life and going, I don't understand what is the purpose here because I had, I had no access to joy or anything in those moments. I was so stuck in a different emotional place that was so deep and dark. A lot of people call it your shadow.

but I was like down there and for a long time, like I was like stuck there. The amount of tears, I guess I just, that just had to come out of my body and the feelings that maybe had just never felt in my life. They're like, this is the moment and this is time. And so there were the other thing that helped me sort of get through that time was someone reminding me that, or, know, through the people I follow and when you're going through these tough moments. So number one, I had no joy. I remember looking around and going, I don't understand what life is about.

And that was like a really crazy feeling to feel. I wasn't to the point where I was going to take my life, but I could see how you feel so empty and you just like, I don't get what the point is of this. Yes.

abby_whipker (45:36.268)
It's like apathy. People talk about depression, I feel like apathy is worse. Like the worst feeling. I've had times where I felt sadness, but the apathy is worse than sadness for me.

leslie_field (45:44.424)
Yeah.

leslie_field (45:49.713)
Yeah.

Yes, apathy, 100%.

abby_whipker (45:54.43)
I'm so sorry that you had to experience that.

leslie_field (45:59.666)
Thank you.

abby_whipker (46:00.494)
I can't empathize with you. It's just awful.

leslie_field (46:07.176)
It's so hard. It's awful. And you know, there are many, many moments because we're talking, this happened over many weeks and months that this was going on. There were so many moments. I personally decided not to take any sort of antidepressant medicine. I had that as an option. I considered it many, many times, but I knew because I had the ability and time to just go through it for just and I wanted to see. And I guess I was just like, I'm just going to try to do this. You know, I didn't have

kids that needed my attention or like a job where I had to be super focused and highly functioning. So I just was really happy and lucky and it was a privilege that I could just let myself ride through it. And that also makes me frustrated because our modern society and just, again, I don't want to go down this total rabbit hole. Like we don't really allow this to happen. It's just a part of life and humanity that this shit happens. It does happen.

abby_whipker (46:39.81)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

abby_whipker (46:59.36)
Right. Right. There are people who have to take, you know, medications forever because, you know, they need that in order to make themselves functionable to live in the world that we live in. Instead of like you're saying, you know, they might, if our society functioned a little bit different, maybe they wouldn't have to take those medications and just be able to ride the wave.

leslie_field (47:17.544)
Yeah.

leslie_field (47:22.384)
Absolutely. And so there were two things they said about these moments where I was trying that helped me kind of understand what was happening was one, sometimes your whole life has to implode and burn down because you're supposed to go on a different path. And my God, that doesn't make it any easier in the moment. But I was like, fine, I'll go on the other effing path then because you just blew up everything else. I'm not angry. No, it's good. I'm I'm feeling better. And the second thing, which was really powerful and it was sort of

abby_whipker (47:39.022)
Thanks.

leslie_field (47:50.632)
connecting to what you were saying is someone likened these sort of periods or if you have these huge moments in your life or depressive episodes like what I had is an initiation. They actually likened it to having an initiation, a part of your soul's initiation for your life. And so, like you said, we don't have a culture or society that would support that as an initiation. It's more seen as a detrimental

abby_whipker (48:08.622)
Hmm.

abby_whipker (48:16.536)
Right.

leslie_field (48:19.088)
You can't be productive and pay your bills. What's wrong with you?

abby_whipker (48:20.32)
It's like, right, you can't go to work. You can't take care of your kids. You can't do X, Y, Z. Right. It's all negative, which I do want to say it is. It sucks. It is hard. Like we want people to be able to do the things that, you know, make them human. Right. We want you to able to spend time with your family and go out and have fun and do life things. Right. But like, it is an interesting thing that if our brains are made to do this.

right? Should we experience that? I don't know. It's just like something to think about. I do want to just circle back though and say I do advocate for using Western medicine, mental health medication, if it is the right choice for you. You know, I think they are life saving medications. I will say

leslie_field (49:05.736)
Totally. It's not an easy, I just, I've never shared my story and...

abby_whipker (49:10.52)
There's never an easy answer and thank you for sharing Leslie. That's very brave of you to share that all with us. It's a hard.

terrifying thing to deal with, especially, you know.

with, you know, on your own. mean, you weren't on your own, like, you know, like you had just moved. You'd made a lot of life changes, you know, that is scary.

leslie_field (49:41.212)
Yeah, I know, thank you. don't know if I've ever, I think I've told you after, because you came and visited right in the middle, and we've talked since, so, but yeah, I'm still, yeah, here we are.

abby_whipker (49:47.758)
We have talked about it, yeah.

abby_whipker (49:54.776)
But you've been making some really exciting changes for your life. And so I'm excited to see where they go.

leslie_field (50:03.176)
thank you. I mean, here I am doing a podcast that prob- probably wouldn't have happened if I didn't go through my Dark Knight of the Soul initiation. Here we are. Woohoo. No, no, I am, I am finding peace with it and finding those silver, silver linings and, and, you know, yeah, that's just how I am. That's my personality. And I actually, before we close though, there was something that you shared with me and I thought it was really cool that I would love you to speak about is that

abby_whipker (50:06.018)
Here you are. Here you are.

abby_whipker (50:13.482)
Yes.

leslie_field (50:33.148)
You also, from this whole period when you came and visited me, you had a hip impingement and... Liberal tear. I actually have a liberal tear too. High five on that. I mean, so you had to have surgery on that. Are you feeling better? How is your hip feeling after the surgery?

abby_whipker (50:41.997)
Yes.

abby_whipker (50:54.676)
My hips feeling pretty good. Yeah, it'll be 16 weeks since my surgery next week. So I'm feeling pretty good. I'm back to all of my activities that I wanted to do. This was my seventh or eighth surgery I've had in my life. I know there are people who've had a lot more surgeries, not on my hip, just like in general surgeries. Yeah. I'm no stranger to going under the knife.

leslie_field (51:00.648)
leslie_field (51:12.386)
my god.

abby_whipker (51:25.782)
maybe for another podcast, but yeah, this surgery was not the easiest of the surgeries, but not the hardest of the surgeries that I've had for sure. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, I really, I needed to get the surgery done because I was, I was hurting. I didn't realize how much pain I was in until I had the surgery, which I think, you know, is kind of a common thing for people.

leslie_field (51:27.272)
haha

leslie_field (51:35.405)
well look at...

abby_whipker (51:55.234)
They don't realize until it goes away. And you're like, wow, I do. I feel better. I've been going to PT ever since I got the surgery, twice a week. You know, it's interesting. I had a goal in mind and it's really simple of like, you know, what I wanted to do. And it was to just go back to this place called 305 Fitness. They have these very fun kind of like a dance cardio.

classes, they're very clubby, there's like a live DJ, there's a lot of twerking and ass shaking, like it's just a really fun time. And that's all I wanted to do. was like, my goal is to be able to go back to 305. Like that's all I want out of my hip surgery. I mean, obviously I want, I wanted to have a healthy hip that doesn't need to be replaced. Like, yes, those are all good things, but the short term was get back to those classes because they make me feel sexy and confident and healthy. And that's all I want right now.

And I've been going back for a while, so goal met.

leslie_field (52:55.918)
Yay! Yay!

abby_whipker (52:58.144)
And so I think, yay, yes, I think it's funny, know, even just having like small, you know, simple outcomes for yourself when it comes to health that are just gonna like make you feel good, you know, that's important.

leslie_field (53:10.32)
I love that. Actually, so we spoke, you told me about 305 and then I was listening to like, I think a Pitbull song. He's like, 305, da-da-da. And I was like, my god, I was cra- I was cracking up because I think it's a Miami-based zip code. Yeah. Yeah. So I was, yeah, error code. Yes, that's right. I was laughing. I was like, Abby's 305. She's dancing there. Anyway.

abby_whipker (53:18.446)
yeah. It's the Miami, it's the Miami, yeah, yeah. Area code, wait, area code, yeah.

leslie_field (53:34.844)
So Abbie is so much more than just all of her eight surgeries and colorful medical history and her dermoid cysts that had blonde hair. She is so much more than that. Blonde hair and baby dermoid cysts. So I like to always close, or not always, but I do like to close by asking people, you know, kind of saying, what do want to say who you are beyond your diagnosis? Like your wants, your desires, your wishes, your likes, like...

abby_whipker (53:38.894)
Thank you. Blante.

leslie_field (54:04.732)
Tell me, who is Abby beyond all the things we discussed today?

abby_whipker (54:09.962)
Yeah, well, so I'm getting ready to start a new job. you know, jobs aren't everything, but you know, we do have to earn a living in this world, the way it is currently. And, you know, it's kind of a career shift for me. I'm, you know, working on doing something different. And so that's kind of something for me right now is figuring out kind of a new path. So that's something for me. I love cats. We've already talked about the cats. I am a cat lady.

love cats. I like to dance, I like to move. am hoping to, I have an interest to maybe just move into the very, very, very amateur burlesque scene. Manifest that for me. I signed up to take some classes on burlesque here in the city. So I don't know, maybe one day you'll see me perform some burlesque under

leslie_field (54:56.104)
Woohoo! Yes!

abby_whipker (55:09.692)
some performer name that I haven't come up with. That would be way down the line, but, that's something that I think would be fun. yeah, otherwise, you know, I live in New York. live here like 10 years. I'm from Indiana. for those who might be interested in knowing that, don't ever want to live there ever again. but yeah, I live in New York and Manhattan in a very, very tiny apartment with the two cats.

leslie_field (55:32.338)
Sorry.

abby_whipker (55:39.254)
And I just, you know, I just like to enjoy everything that goes on in the city, you know, see the nightlife, go to concerts. I have recently stopped drinking. it's been almost 10 months, I think that I've been alcohol free. So that's been like a really wise, decision for me. So, you know, if you're interested in talking about all things being alcohol free, know, you can reach out to me. I'll put my Instagram. I don't know if you're sharing Instagrams.

leslie_field (55:51.591)
Yes.

leslie_field (56:07.016)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do it. We will.

abby_whipker (56:09.654)
Yeah, Leslie can put my Instagram. can reach out to me to talk about anything. I don't really care. Hit me up. That's all I'll say for now.

leslie_field (56:18.234)
Yay! Okay, so two things already came up. One, you are a really, really good baker as well.

abby_whipker (56:24.51)
yeah, I do like to bake. haven't been baking as much though, because I would normally bake for people at work or, you know, I'd bring it into work and like been working remote. So I don't want to have it at home and just like eat it all myself.

leslie_field (56:32.893)
Yeah.

leslie_field (56:36.584)
I mean, yeah, like basically you were baking partly for me because you knew if you brought it in, sweets are like my total weakness. And then she would make, she would always make me for my birthday the chai cupcakes. I still dream about them. They were so good. And then the, I, I love them. They're so good. Okay.

abby_whipker (56:42.776)
Harley for Leslie, yeah. Yeah.

abby_whipker (56:53.06)
yeah, those are so good.

yeah.

abby_whipker (57:00.742)
I even baked for you when I came to visit you. Remember? I made that cake. That was a good cake. That was really good.

leslie_field (57:03.208)
my gosh! you did! my gosh. Yes. It was a good cake. That was, I mean, yes, yes, yes. You could bake for me anytime. And then the last thing I was thinking, no pressure, Abby, but if you are going to have a burlesque name, I think there were like kitty or some sort of cat oriented thing might need to go in there, but that's just me. I mean, you have a tattoo of Carlos on you for goodness sake.

abby_whipker (57:23.106)
You

abby_whipker (57:29.102)
I do, I do, I do. I don't know if the kitty thing is like overused or less though. I don't know. We'll see. That's like jumpin' the gun here.

leslie_field (57:34.994)
But we'll see. Well, perfect. So people can reach out to you on your Instagram, you know, by this time or whenever they listen to it, it could be like yours in the future. They'll like see your... it would be like your Instagram with like, maybe you're like some famous burlesque lady. So I can't wait for that moment to happen. Who knows? Well, Abby Whipker, I love you. I love you. Thank you so much for coming on my podcast today.

abby_whipker (57:46.222)
It could, it could be.

abby_whipker (57:52.12)
Who knows? Who knows? Let's make it happen.

abby_whipker (58:00.759)
I love you, Leslie. This has been so great. So fun. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to hear your other podcast guests. I'm curious what all comes up and for all the other fun things that you're working on and for, I'm most excited for when Leslie comes back to visit New York City someday soon and say hi to me.

leslie_field (58:21.766)
Yay! Okay, me too. I love that. Okay. I love you.

abby_whipker (58:26.774)
I love you.