Hilary Topper On Air

With the many challenges, we’re facing today, experiencing burnout and negativity is inevitable. However, if we are intentional about facing each day with a positive mindset, perhaps we can attract opportunities that will ultimately lead to success.

About the Interview

In this episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Hilary interviews AJ Sarcione, Founder of Get Your Shine.

AJ will discuss what he calls the Shine Mindset. Learn how living in the moment and creating a positive mindset can lead you on the path to business success. He will break down how to get your shine back in his three-step process. He’ll also speak about lifting others up using a personality quiz he created called The Shine Scale, which helps you create further business success. Finally, learn about his virtual event and celebration this March called the Get Your Shine Awards honoring those people who did extraordinary things during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About AJ Scarcione

AJ Sarcione is an international motivational speaker, intentional communications coach, and corporate culture consultant, author, and the creator of the personality quiz The Shine Scale™. His goal is to help people accelerate success and smile more as a result. As the founder of Get Your Shine, he believes it takes simply one spark to ignite your path to success.’ He has lived out two major dreams and found accelerated success in his career and life from engaging the characteristics of shine. While being intentional about what he wanted, he welcomed it showing up in life in the way it was meant to — something he calls Unintentional Perfection. He works with people and companies to advance careers, advance teams, and advance lives. AJ built his career in branding and communications, working closely with C-suite execs from Fortune 50 companies to start-ups. Prior to his work with Get Your Shine, he is credited with establishing and leading internal marketing at Yahoo, and following the company’s acquisition from Verizon, he was the head of mojo.

About Get Your Shine

Get Your Shine provides services and tools to help people and companies accelerate success. The company owns a proprietary tool, The Shine Scale™, which uses a data-driven approach to unlock and unblock potential. Led by AJ Sarcione, we offer speaking, workshops, coaching, and products. AJ Sarcione was previously the head of internal marketing for Yahoo and head of mojo and employee experience for Verizon. For more information about AJ and his company, Get Your Shine and the Get Your Shine Awards, visit https://getyourshine.com/, contact him via Instagram at @AJSarcione, or go to https://connect.getyourshine.com/ and book your FREE 15-minute consultation with AJ himself.

More than 23 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Daily death rates are at an all-time high. But, there is hope. As the COVID-19 vaccination rollout gets underway, here’s what you need to know to help you decide if you should get the COVID-19 vaccine.

About the Interview

In this episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Hilary interviews Imei Hsu, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Nurse in the State of Washington.

Imei will discuss the COVID-19 vaccine and rollout across the United State. She will touch upon why someone should get vaccinated and how it will make a difference down the road. Learn more about what to expect when getting the vaccine and what COVID-19 long haulers should do. She will also touch upon how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe while you wait your turn for the vaccine.

About Imei Hsu

Imei Hsu is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Nurse in the State of Washington. She maintains a private practice by delivering online counseling,  with a subspecialty in helping those with Autoimmune Disease and chronic illness. While volunteering for King County Public Health through Medical Reserve Corps in the COVID-19 response in Washington State, Imei has worked in the Isolation and Quarantine centers, COVID-19 testing, Debriefing Groups, and the current COVID-19 vaccination. She is an ultrarunner and Ironman, an avid hiker, and lives with her husband and cat in Redmond, Washington.

Podcast Transcript

More than 23 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 daily death rates are at an all time high, but there's hope as the COVID 19 vaccination rollout gets underway. Here's what you need to know. I'm Hilary Topper. And this is Hilary Topper on air. Today I'm speaking with Imei Hsu, a licensed mental health counselor ad registered nurse in the state of Washington. Welome to the show.

Imei Hsu - Thank you for having me, Hilary.

Hilary - So can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your backgrounds?

Imei Hsu - Okay. I will start off right off the fact that I am not a physician. I am a registered nurse at a licensed mental health counselor. Anything that I say today is purely my opinion based on the data that we know. And it's not a substitute for medical advice from your provider or from any other source, a trusted source on your end.

Hilary - So, let's talk about COVID 19 vaccination COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we live, we work, our lives. So here comes the vaccine and I want to know from you why someone should get the vaccine. Will it make a difference? And also I know a few healthcare providers who have given me a little bit of a hard time about getting a vaccine. So I know it's a loaded question. There are three questions in one. So if you could help answer those, that would be great.

Imei Hsu - Okay. I'll start with the first question, which is why would you want to get it? And the reason is that whenever there's a virus, there are multiple ways that we can mitigate risk of getting it and transmitting it. One is the one that most of us are familiar with. Wear a mask and wash your hands frequently. So if you're touching things, touching people for any reason, you wash your hands, these are basic mitigating risk practices or behaviors that any person could do, not just in healthcare, but really anywhere. And when you do those, that was social distancing, staying away from sick people, asking those who are sick to quarantine, these basic measures do the heavy lifting of preventing transmission. So we know, and we've seen it, not just with COVID-19, but any other virus that we've ever had to deal with these behaviors make a huge difference. So then why do we need a vaccine? Well, if we ever want to gather together in larger numbers, if we really want to cut down transmission rates and I will talk a little bit more about that later, if we want to be able to be in public without the risk of severe disease. And we've seen that this is very random about who gets severely sick and who has an asymptomatic version of it. And they kind of sail through it very quickly without any symptoms and without long-term damage, we just don't know who, so you'd want to get a vaccine because if you could prevent that, if you had an effective vaccine, Then you're, you're looking at people not getting severely ill and then also most likely not transmitting it to anyone else and increasing that risk for others.

And the health care provider question. Oh yes, I was. I wrote that down, getting to that. So with healthcare providers not getting them, this is a severe issue. They're on the front lines. Majority of them are if they're even in primary care and not necessarily working directly with COVID-19 patients doesn't matter because you have to treat everyone is potentially being a carrier unless they just had it and they're still in that immunity period of time and when they're not getting it, they risk exposures all day long. Now there's one thing about using these basic preventative measures. Hand-washing masks, social distancing, but when you're a healthcare provider and you're seeing say even a hundred patients a day in a very, very busy practice, you don't know who's sick. You don't know who's recovering,  you don't know who's asymptomatic, so you have to treat them all as possibly having it. And the possibility of transmissions is higher without the vaccine. I've already discussed that, um, in brief, and I'll get to that more, but at some point you're going to have somebody who's going to have these multiple exposures per day and PPE will fail.

Meaning, unless you are perfect about it every single time, and we're human, it's going to happen. And that's why in the front end of the coronavirus pandemic, when it hit the shores, you saw healthcare providers die. Of this because they were being exposed in the ICU where it's extremely dangerous. The minute that you go to intubate somebody, the minute that you go and try and ventilate them, the minute you do anything where secretions can start flying into the air, these exposed ICU nurses, doctors, staff members, and you saw death happen in there. So, yes, they need to be prioritized. And depending on what state that you're in, that rollout of the vaccine differs quite widely. I mean, I'm in front of you right now talking and I already got my first dose, should have happened earlier, later in December for me, but it got delayed just a little bit, but I do know in my state, ICU doctors, nurses, frontline workers in EMT, fire responders, anybody in that first responder category we're rolling through starting December 17th.

Hilary - That's great. Now. We've heard the term COVID-19 long haulers. What exactly is that?

Imei Hsu - A long hauler, a person who got COVID-19 got a positive diagnosis and became severely ill. And instead of having a more routine recovery, somewhere in the line of four to six weeks, post their, their diagnosis and their illness. That they start showing a number of different, more chronic issues, meaning chronic, meaning that it goes past four to six months. Now that we've been in the state almost a year. You're starting to see we've already started to see a number of people pass the six month period where they are not recovering. So they're showing up with cardiomyopathy, they're showing up with significant lung scarring where these were healthy 30 year olds, healthy 40 year olds, healthy 50 year olds. People that didn't have any significant disease challenge before they got sick. And now they can't walk around the block of their house without feeling extremely fatigued, having these kinds of symptoms. With no real response to any type of treatment we have other than standard for those specific conditions. Like you treat the cardiomyopathy, but there's all these residuals leftover. It's leaving a lot of our healthcare professionals, frankly, scratching their heads about what more can be done for them.

Hilary - Now does the COVID vaccine work for people who are long haulers?

Imei Hsu - So currently, I will refer to everyone who's listening to this, to the CDC website. Cause it's, that's where we get most of our information as it rolls out from the manufacturers. The recommendation is if you haven't tested negative for COVID after you've passed through a period of time where you were positive, you built immunity and then you should be negative for COVID 19. There was a period of time where it's recommended. You can go ahead and get vaccinated because there's a chance. One that you could get again. And two, because we now have three documented variants flying around in our nation that you should get, um, you should get vaccinated. And then it depends on which vaccine you get. There will be guidelines from these specific manufacturers on the timeline of when you should be vaccinated.

Hilary - Now, there are people who may be symptomatic and they don't know that they have COVID-19. If they get the vaccine, will there be any implications?

Imei Hsu - Well, the recommendation again is for the individual vaccinations. So when you come through, when it's your time in the phase in the state that you're in to get your vaccine, they will screen you. So in your state, they will screen you according to the manufacturer's questions around that. And if you fail any one of the questions there, they will delay your vaccination until it's in the safe period of time. So I think that's the better way to answer it is because we now have at least two and possibly in the next month or so we may have four different types of vaccines. So I don't want to say for sure which one's going to be under what category, but there is some understanding that for the two that are available now, Pfizer and Moderna, there is a period of time post if you had COVID positive. You were COVID positive. There's a period of time where your immunity is enough that you don't need to be vaccinated and you may choose to wait. And so you would want again, go to the manufacturers that listed there and be screened for whether or not you want to wait.

Hilary - So our current president has chosen to do that. Since he too was vaccinated, sorry he was not vaccinated. He chose not to be because he had been COVID positive and it seems like there are a lot of people out there who say to me, I had COVID already, I don't need the vaccine, but that's not really true is it?

Imei Hsu - No, it's not because we do have some cases and again, it was on the CDC site and you can refer there that it is possible to get COVID again and now with three variants that are in our system, one of them showing in the early stages to be easy to transmit that it's a good idea to go ahead and be screened for the vaccine. So my overall idea that I'd like to urge listeners today to consider when it's your time to be offered the vaccine, please strongly consider getting it and then be screened so that if there's a reason you shouldn't get it, I think that's a better way to go look at why you shouldn't get it through the screening questions, assume that you should, until you're told.

Hilary - Now let's talk a little bit about the vaccine. How does it work? What can you expect when you get it and how will you find out when you get yours?

Imei Hsu - Okay, your state should have some kind of infographic from the department of health may have released it to public health or your primary care provider's office may have also supplied phase finder information that helps you see which phase one, two or three or four you should be getting it. And it's a little bit cloudy right now at this early time. One, because we had a delay in how many actual doses were available per state, but you can start there, do a phase finder search and then see where you should be getting it. So if you're in healthcare, technically, if you're a first responder of any type you should be in phase one, and then from there for, there's a couple of other caveats that are really important, if you are black indigenous or person of color, specifically looking for Hispanic, and then after that Asian, after black and indigenous, those people also go to the front of the line of the health care workers, because their communities were hit much, much harder than all the others in the United States. So we have that data already that they should be prioritized. And if you have any question, if you're listening to this and you have any question about that, again, go on the CDC website or appeal to your department of health in your state. Because you really should be at the front. The problem is that sometimes if you're not in sort of the main part of the system of your state, like you don't work for a hospital, but you work for a small private practice, but you're seeing patients, you may not have been prioritized simply because they didn't know about you. And so it's important for you to advocate for yourself. If you are a firefighter, your state's already advocated for you, or they should have, because you are on their radar. If you're in that caveat of being a BiPAP and a first responder advocate for yourself, go to the front of the line. And then for everybody else that infographic from your state should tell you where you are in phase. And if you have any questions about it, usually it comes with a bunch of screening questions. So for example, if you are in your fifties, so you're not 65 years old, but you happen to be living in a situation where you're taking care of an aging parent that may qualify you in your state to go closer to the front align, maybe phase one, one B or one C, but still in phase one to be prioritized for vaccination, including your aging parent. Some people did not know that. So it's important to get that information out. And then with the new administration, just days away from stepping off in and taking over operation warp speed. We are getting information that there will be more prioritizations in phase one. And that would include teachers who are going to be ready to go back to work either in a hybrid model, sometime in-person teaching and some time, teaching from a remote location, trying to do this in the safest way possible. So there's more prioritization happening and that also has to be coordinated with getting enough doses and then depending on which. Which actual company or brand of vaccine you'll be receiving also determines where you'll be in phase and what options and choices, because with the first two Pfizer and Moderna, you always have to match a person with the same dose for that second booster dose, you cannot mix Pfizer and Moderna. So, if you got a Pfizer first, you can have Pfizer your second one, and there'll be a specific number of days that you can get that second one, same for Maderna. So it's a little bit more complicated and making certain, everybody gets a matched dose.

Hilary - With the second dose. Do they tell you once you get vaccinated, the time that you should get the second one, do you make an appointment at that point? Or do you have to go back online and try to go through this whole New York state has a crazy crazy system.

Imei Hsu - Well, again, that's going to, depending on your state, I've seen in some places, you know, long lines for people trying to get to a vaccination site and I can only speak to my state is that we have a very robust way of documenting how we collect the information on making certain that people get a dose matched, and then they get scheduled for their second one. So when that information's all inputted in, they're usually given a date range that they can get their second one in and schedule it immediately.

Hilary - Now let's talk a little bit about the 18 year old, uh, kids out there. Should we be concerned about them, you know, anybody 18 and younger getting the vaccine, at what age should they not get the vaccine or should everybody get the vaccine?

Imei Hsu - So the main answer to that is based on the manufacturer. And I do want to step backwards and realize that, I didn't actually answer the other question. You said, how does these vaccines work? So I'm going to combine those two questions together. The vaccine works, the two that we have right now, they're both RNA vaccines, which is messenger RNA. And basically they were coded with the DNA information that's matched to that specific virus that we got from China when they documented what this thing is. And that information is super important, because for those who were designing this vaccine, they want to match it specifically to the DNA content of this virus. Because when you do that, you have a much better chance. You don't have to shoot in the dark, you know exactly what you're dealing with and this type of vaccine, an M RNA or messenger RNA vaccine has been in the making for 18 years. So, this is not new. It's been used in other places, but the technology behind it is not brand new. What is new is that specific DNA structure being matched to that. So they could create a vaccine and that is why the effectiveness rates on Moderna and Pfizer are so high. With the flu vaccine, as a comparative, we get lucky if we get, you know, 50 to 70% effectiveness against that specific strain and every year we've got to research to guess what we think the next strain will look like. And that's why we have a quadrivalent flu vaccine available. We basically put four different strains together or the vaccine fights for different strains so that you have better coverage. But this one, they were able to use that DNA structure. And the way it works is that you introduce the vaccine into the body and this small dose. And it basically primes the body to be able to recognize the spike protein that. Everybody knows that it's part of that funny looking Coronavirus, you know, infographic that lots of us have seen, it looks like a Bumble ball, right? With all these different little lobby things on the outside or lugs. And then that spike protein is where basically it's kind of the focal point of that virus. And when you do that for the body, what ends up happening is that when you give that second dose 21, some days later. Body goes, hm, I've seen this before. And it mounts an immune response, a small one all by it makes you feel like he has a cold or flu. You might have some chills fever. Maybe even a little diarrhea or nausea that lasts about no longer than 48 hours for the average person. Whereas the first dose, not the booster, but the first dose you might just have injection, sight muscle soreness feels like you got the MMR. Which many of us remember in childhood, it's like, oh, wait, my arm hurts, it feels like that some people will have some very mild symptoms, like a headache, a little bit of fatigue the next day or so the arm soreness goes away, maybe four days tops and most people don't report any other symptoms. There's a very, very small component of citizens that may experience some stronger symptoms and then a very small group that may have the more rare allergic reaction, which would happen to any vaccine, not just this one and may not even be responses to the vaccine components themselves, but rather just because they are sensitive people. And so that's how the vaccine works. That's what you can expect from dose one. And dose two, we have some vaccines that are going through the phase three clinical trials that are likely to be approved. In the next couple of months, one of them is AstraZeneca. Another one is the Johnson Johnson. When you're now looking at a single dose vaccine, there can be some other options available, which is lesser efficacy, but only one shot. Less response to it in terms of symptoms, but we can get people to have some pretty good coverage and this can be rolled up very quickly. So we're hoping that that will help everyone, now to the question of, should we be vaccinating 18 year olds or 17 year olds? Uh, it depends on the manufacturer's recommendation of how young we can vaccinate safely until we know more, again, these vaccinations were approved, not by the FDA, but for emergency use authorization. And then it'll be later as we collect more data that will formally be probably FDA approved, because that is a much longer process. So got to go by the manufacturer for right now and see how that's working. But the reason why you want to even go for younger and healthier people is that we've seen that this coronavirus does not discriminate by age, young people have died. Young people have gotten sick and even middle-aged healthy people, or even below middle age have gotten it and have had devastating results. So we want to try to vaccinate all adults at minimum. And that they're probably going to be seeing how young we can vaccinate too. So just like chickenpox, B-cells other childhood diseases, we can go younger and younger as we understand more about what ages we can receive the vaccination safely.

Hilary - This was so enlightening. I really, I was so informative and thank you very much. I really appreciate you coming on. Are there any last thoughts that you'd like to share with our audience before we wrap this up?

Imei Hsu - I think the big question on everybody's mind and my heart goes out to all of you who are thinking this thought is when are we going to go back to normal? And that's been, you know, on our minds from day one, as a healthcare provider course, there are so many things we have lost. This coronavirus has affected people's mental health as we've not been able to gather with people we love. We have not even been able to be at the bedsides of those who are dying. We have not been able to travel, which is a huge part of our experience to know more about our world and to see that we have more in common with one another. And when we travel and see how other people live, then if we stay in slurry, Insulated in our homes. So it's a really huge loss for everyone. So we want to know, when are we going to come back to normal? And at first there was some speculation that we would be back to normal, the end of 2020. And my reaction was, yeah, right now, that's not happening. And then others said, okay, let's be more optimistic. Normal's going to come back in July of 2021. And I still kind of rolled my eyes at that because they didn't understand that it's never really been about not having enough doses for at least the United States. I'm not talking about the rest of the world, but we have populations where it's going to be very difficult to get vaccinations to remote countries and those who are not wealthy, but just when we start talking about the U S it's never been about getting enough doses, it's been about the administration. How do you get this many millions of people accepting the vaccination readily, unless they really are disqualified from getting it for some health reason. How do you get shots in arms? There are not enough healthcare providers and you can't just train anybody who's unemployed to do something that doctors, nurses, EMT, perhaps, medical assistance at a higher level of care are trained to do. So. And this comes down to me just recently I had my first fainter in the office, meaning the person, uh, just doesn't like needles. And this is a possibility for those who just don't like needles or pain, how to respond to being vaccinated, not the vaccine components themselves. And because I'm trained, it's like the back of my hand to be able to help somebody through that safely so that there's no injury and that person can recover very quickly. And it was a success and it went very, very well, but I dread the idea that somebody who doesn't have that training would simply be asked to learn how to do this. Let's say we take some from the national guard who don't have medical training and say, we want to train you to just fax innate, there's problems with that. So we're never going to roll it out fast as we want to, until we get the mechanisms in place which costs money and time, and I'm hopeful in the new presidential inauguration happening and the continuance of operation warp speed that we will speed up so long story made short. I'm looking at much later in 2023. Or, sorry, 22 or 21 to start seeing the beginning of normal and 2022, really to see normal. Which is a return to a lot of the activities we have, as long as people don't get COVID fatigue, which is to everything you know now. And when you get the vaccine, until we find out more about transmission rates, continue washing hands, wearing a mask, continue to socially distance, treat everyone as if they might be asymmetric in symptomatic carriers and take care of one another as best as you can while we get through this together.

Hilary - Awesome. Thank you so much. And how can people get in touch with you?

Imei Hsu - Best way to get in touch with me is you can go online and Google my name. Imeihsu and you will find me across a number of different channels. I think if you have medical questions again, I would refer you to ask your provider, if you have specific questions about today's interview.

What are estate taxes? Who pays them and how much?

About the Interview

On this episode of Hilary Topper on Air listen as Hilary speaks with Vincent J. Russo, Managing Partner of the Russo Law Group P.C. They will discuss estate taxes in New York State. Learn what estate taxes are, who pays for them, how much, and more. Vincent will also shed light on the estate tax cliff and how New Yorkers are moving out of New York to avoid taxes. In addition, discover ways to save on estate taxes and the best way to navigate them.

About Vincent J. Russo, Esq.

Vincent Russo is the managing shareholder of Russo Law Group, P.C. He has championed the rights of seniors and people with special needs since 1985. Vincent is a Founding Member, Fellow and Fifth President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a Co-Founder of the Academy of Special Needs Planners and ElderCounsel, LLC. Vincent is the president of the United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau County Guardianship Corporation. He is also a Co-Founder of the Theresa Alessandra Russo Foundation (and the Theresa Academy of Performing Arts) established in memory of his daughter which helps children with special needs.

Vincent Russo is admitted to the New York, Massachusetts, and Florida state bars and is the co-author of New York Elder Law and Special Needs Practice (Thomson Reuters).

He is happily married to his beautiful wife, Susan. Together they have four children, Dante, Elizabeth, Theresa (1986 -1991), and Robert. In his spare time, Vincent Russo enjoys traveling and spending time with his grandchildren. He is also an avid Beatles fan and collects John Lennon lithographs.

Contact Vincent Russo, Esq. at 516-683-1717 or via email at [email protected]

About the Russo Law Group

Russo Law Group, P.C. is dedicated to providing peace of mind to you and your family. Their team of elder law attorneys, estate planning attorneys, and special needs (disability) attorneys have experience in helping people with their problems. They promise to answer any question with a straight answer. Once they meet with you, they will be able to assist you. For more information about Vincent and the Russo Law Group visit https://www.vjrussolaw.com/.

Are you tired of paying someone 50% of your savings to file a tax grievance?

About the Interview

In this episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Hilary interviews Jeff Gold, a partner at Gold Benes, LLP.

Jeff will discuss the Nassau County tax reassessment, how to file a tax grievance, how to pay for one, what you can expect, and tips for a smooth process.

In addition, to watch a recent seminar Jeff gave about how to file a tax grievance in Nassau County, click here: https://www.facebook.com/LegislatorArnoldWDrucker/videos/319317446183868.

About Jeff Gold

Jeff Gold, a partner at Gold Benes, LLP is a former member of the Nassau Board of Assessors and a former Commissioner of the Assessment Review Commission. For the last 18 years, he has taught homeowners how to grieve their Nassau County Tax Assessment. His 30,000 member Facebook group is among the County’s largest groups to help local community members file a tax grievance.

About Gold Benes, LLP

Gold, Benes, LLP has nearly 100 years of combined experience in the legal profession. Jeffrey B. Gold co-founded Israelson & Gold in 1997. In 2004, Mr. Gold formed Gold, Stewart, Kravatz & Stone. In 2005, Christopher J. Benes joined the firm and became a full partner in 2006.

The firm’s expertise in insurance coverage and defense, personal injury defense, and in commercial litigation is well documented by the firm's trial and appellate level successes. Conveniently located in Bellmore, NY, the firm litigates throughout the New York Metropolitan area and offers opinions on New York law as well as the laws of other states.

The firm presently consists of five attorneys, each one with finely tuned litigation skills that comes from years of dedication and experience.

To contact Jeff or learn more about Gold Benes, LLP, visit https://goldbenes.com/, call him at 516-512-6333, email at [email protected] or join the Facebook group.

The COVID-19 vaccination rollout is starting in states around the country. Some are doing an okay job while others are not. This rollout reminds us of the Polio vaccination. Hilary’s mother had Polio in the 1940s and was one of those children in an iron lung. She remembers when she was growing up in the 1960s how adamant her mother was that she get the Polio vaccine.

About the Interview

In this episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Hilary interviews Robert V. Fallarino, Esq. of the Pegalis Law Group, LLC.

Robert will discuss the similarities and differences between the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the Polio vaccine rollout. He'll touch upon the inoculation phases of the COVID-19 vaccination, who is eligible now, the two-dose timing and effectiveness, how the rollout is going so far, opting out of the vaccine, strains of COVID-19, and what's next. He will also offer listeners advice on how to medically protect yourself and your loved ones by learning from our missteps over the last year.

About Robert Fallarino

Robert V. Fallarino, Esq. is a trial attorney with more than twenty-five years of experience leading medical malpractice litigation, complex labor law, and product defect litigation.

Robert has dedicated his career to compassionately helping people who have endured life-altering and catastrophic injuries. He strives to resolve matters in the most advantageous setting for his clients, whether that means obtaining a jury verdict, a court conference settlement, or by use of a mediator. He is noted for obtaining the fourth highest verdict in New York State for medical negligence, and a top ten verdict overall, in 2012.

Robert has been named to the 2020, 2019 and 2018 Best Lawyers in America® which each year includes only 5% of attorneys across the country. He has also been named New York Metro Super Lawyers© List every year since 2012, for peer recognition and professional achievement. Robert is admitted to practice law in New York, North Carolina and the District of Columbia, as well as in the Federal Courts for Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

About Pegalis Law Group, LLC

Pegalis Law Group represents people suffering from preventable medical errors and personal injury. We strive for accountability by advocating for clients, which ensures safer medical practices and better patient care. To discuss your medical/legal situation, call Pegalis Law Group at 516-684-2900 or 1-866-MED-MAL7. There is never a fee for legal consultations. To contact Robert or learn more about Pegalis Law Group, visit https://pegalislawgroup.com or email him at [email protected].

Podcast Transcript

COVID vaccines are starting to roll out in States around the country. Some are doing an okay job while others are not. This rollout reminds me of the polio vaccination. You see, my mother had polio in the 1940s and was one of those children in an iron lung. I remember when I was growing up in the 1960s, how adamant she was that I get the polio vaccine. Today, we're talking about the COVID vaccine and its rollout. I'm Hilary Topper and this is Hilary Topper on air. Today, I have the great pleasure of speaking with Robert Fallarino of the Pegalis Law Group. Welcome to the show, Bob.

Robert - Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here.

Hilary - So can you remind our listeners about your background and the Pegalis Law Group?

Robert - Where I met a call malpractice law firm, I've been practicing medical malpractice, since the mid 1980s, we handle all kinds of medical malpractice matters in terms of care and treatment at hospital settings and in the local community settings. And one of the reasons we're tracking the COVID vaccine distribution and what's happening is so that we can be prepared if some people call us about not so much the vaccine rollout, but in terms of the aftercare and the ramifications of the vaccine rollout and people who have COVID and their care at hospitals or their local physicians.

Hilary - Interesting. All right. So let's talk about the COVID vaccine. Can you discuss the phases and the different types of vaccines that are out there?

Robert - So let's start with the phases, the inoculation phases. We're currently, this is mid January 25th so we're in phase 1 - C in New York state. And pretty much similar from what I'm gathering across the country. And so right now, we initially are trying to make sure that the elderly, who seemed to be the most frontal and certainly had a large number of deaths associated with, would get the first big batch in terms of nursing home facilities and assisted living facilities and even rehabilitation facilities. So that seemed to have been going so well that New York opened it up to 65 and older. And then some of the other things that were supposed to be the next phase already in this phase. The next phase is going to be 1 - C, which will include a more broader range of essential workers.

And for a lot of people, state court personnel will be getting to that level so that the court system might open up sooner for criminal cases and also for any kind of thing so that the personnel won't be exposed. It won't be carrying it and won't be exposed to the people coming in. So that's an interesting little take so that we can open up more and more facilities. And now let's just talk a second about the different types of vaccines. There's a Moderna vaccine and a Pfizer vaccine, initially Moderna was going to be a one injection but they seem to have been spreading it out over two. And certainly Pfizer's was definitely going to be two. So there's been a little bit of a glitch, if you will, in terms of the distribution, because of how cold everything had to, you know, Switzerland to Pfizer is unbelievably cold and needs to be maintained. And Moderna was better but still needs to be in a refrigerated situation.

So the interesting rollout, what's currently out there right now, a two shot within 21 to 28 days. What's concerning me and then people who track these things is some of the discussions about spreading out that 21 to 28 days and trying to extrapolate data from the studies that were done in that 21 to 28 day reference time and extrapolate out, can it be given 40 days, even as far as 60 days out and still be effective. That's concerning and, hopefully, that won't come to pass because that might defeat the whole purpose of what we've already got accomplished since the end of the year through this first month of distributing it. This is one of those things that's the communication from our government, both state, local and federal, so that we understand that everyone who has gotten an inoculation is going to get it on schedule and I think New York state is doing that and is acting in that fashion but, it's kind of concerning in the sense that every state is kind of running it differently because the previous administration distributed it to the States to be distributed the state-by-state local basis. And now, I think we may have a little different distribution with this whole plan, which president Biden saying a hundred million inoculations in a hundred days, it might be a more robust distribution if the manufacturers have that robust district distribution to give us. So there's another interesting vaccine and then we'll talk a little bit about some of the plans with the president Biden plan and going forward is Johnson and Johnson's Vaccine, that is they're still doing the analysis, but it seems like it's in the very end stages.

And now the ones I have said, once they are approved, once they get through the final analysis they'll have a hundred million doses by the end of the spring. So that will aid us, I think, in getting to where we want to get to: reopening the country and getting that done. Maybe the tail end of a hundred million injections in a hundred days will help us get there. And supposedly that doesn't need to be as refrigerated. But throughout that's all data we're going to hear when they do the final analysis that they're putting together right now.

So that's an interesting overview as to where we've been and sort of where we're heading. Hopefully, the one will be available soon. Unfortunately, we seem to run out of vaccines and certainly in New York city. So they shut down last Thursday until Tuesday or Wednesday. If you go on the New York state website, there's only a few places that are still open once Plattsburgh. So I said, well, that's a long drive for us down here in the bottom half of the state. So that's, where we're kind of at, I think SUNY is an open place and Albany is also open. So those, you have to be proactive and I understand the letter sent to the governor probably within the last week or so asking for help for the senior population that it's not just a clicking on a website there's more a phone in where they can get an appointment in a manner where they can handle it and not realize they have to hit refresh all the time and things of that nature.

That's an interesting letter and hopefully that will work because we really do want that population to get it as early as possible cause they seem to have the most vulnerable component. So, I think what was announced by president Biden on the first day or so of his administration, is that he’s going to get involved in setting up a hundred center centers countrywide. And I'm hopeful that will have more equity in terms of the distribution and also equity in terms of who gets it and who doesn't get it and open up the doors to places that maybe don't have it, not so much in New York state, where we seem to be getting our share. From what I understand, New York state has been getting 300 doses a week and they just have used them all up, which is a good thing, you know? So it's like 1.4 million New Yorkers have gotten inoculated at least the first dose and maybe some of them the second dose already. So that's a good start.

The other thing that I think is important is health and human services is going to have recruitment to get more people who can administer and maybe disperse them. We're all waiting for the pharmacies to be able to give it to us where it's a little bit more convenient in a locale, or maybe the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will help us along those ways but it seems to be not a dearth, but not as many as we would hope that are trained in how to give it, how to handle it and how to store it. So, hopefully, that does help a little bit as well. And I think just the simple, the mask mandate, at least in federal buildings and federal places might spur more people to protect themselves, but that's an overview of where we've come with the vaccines and where we're at the current time.

Hilary - I have a couple of questions about what you just said. So my first question is they're giving out the vaccine to the first one, but we're not sure about that second dose. And it's supposed to be within the first, you know, 20 days or so. What if it's longer, you know, does that mean that we're going to have to all get the vaccine again? If we can't get it in that timely fashion?

Robert - Well, the data is clear in terms of how it was approved and how it was studied and the people who did it, who volunteered for the study, it wasn't a 21 to 28 day cycle. So that's where the data is good. When you get beyond that. You're trying to do extrapolations as to whether it's going to work or not. So I think that's a very good question and I don't think it's been sufficiently answered yet. And I think we need to see DC to really step up and make a promulgation as to where that falls for us. Cause I've heard estimates as much as 60 days, it should be effective as much as 60 days after the first dose, if you get the second dose and, I'm leery of that because of the length of time, that gap in time. And it was so clearly wasn't studied in along those ways. So there's no, I don't think there's enough scientific data that gets you there.

Hilary - The other question I had is about seniors. So you alluded to the fact that seniors are having a hard time getting on those websites, which I totally understand. They are very difficult to deal with and I've helped both my mother-in-law and my aunt tried to get an appointment and it's just impossible, I can't really seem to be able to navigate it myself. I mean, this is...

Robert - You know, why I'm hopeful that the letter will open up the door to telephone calling for the, this certainly this, you know, 75 and older, and maybe even as a 65 and older ground, it's clearly a difficult website to, you know, and it has to do with volume, not the difficulty in how it's set up. It has to do with the amount of people trying to get in. And the younger generation knows that you just gotta keep hitting it until you get in and get to the window. But some people who don't understand that as they think they're doing something wrong as opposed to keep trying. So I think that's an important little adjustment. I also think as it becomes more available, outside of distribution centers are more available to their own physicians. I think that's got to be something that has to be a key in the next distribution site is gerontologists and people who cater to the elderly population and maybe, one of the benefits which we find hasn't been a benefit to healthcare is that mega hospitals buying up all the practices, but in this instance, it may be a very good distribution route is when the hospitals who have the physicians on the contract, they get it, they can disperse it. What's the cost when it's not refrigeration needed, they can disperse it to the healthcare providers at the local site and the elderly can just go to the doctor, then regular visit and get the shot. So that's hopefully the next wave when the refrigeration issue was dealt with. Much happier doing it that way.

It'd be interesting if that does happen. So that would be an interesting and helpful way for the elderly to be able to get into their regular doctor or someplace maybe a pharmacy as a local pharmacy, as opposed to a big center where they're waiting on line three hours in their car.

Hilary - I want to go back to the beginning of this interview, where I was talking about my mother and having polio and how it reminds me of the same type of polio vaccine rollout. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Robert - Yeah. You know, what was interesting about the polio vaccine is when it was rolled out, it was rolled out in schools. And that was a situation where the government wanted to inoculate all the youngsters so they wouldn't get polio and bring it into the next generation going forward. So it was literally a line up and get your shot. And so that's an interesting difference. I think they tried to use that and that model to a little extended nursing home health care facility rollout, but obviously not. There's a small percentage of the 75 and older population there than there used to be. There was a lot more at home, a lot more stayed at home, cared a lot more, you know, nursing, even if there's nursing care, it's at the home site.

So that's been stymied a little bit. So, that's where we need to get the distribution out. To broader numbers. I do hope quite frankly, we’ll be using that model before the school year ends. In terms of, even though we know the students have been safe in school that hasn't been that mass Communication once everyone started wearing a mask and six foot social distancing, but we have a great number of our population who are now going home to their parents. And when they have grandparents living with them, all those, you know, like where we live on Long Island, there's a large number of people with either caretaking for their parents or close by where the students dropout of high school students drive food over.

So you also don't want someone who has to carry it to be able to distribute it. So you would want to knock that out. So I'm hopeful that at some point in, as the spring, before the school year ends, that they do a distribution because many of the many other school districts outside of New York city, of course, but many of the school districts, either half population or full population or certainly every third day, there's someone coming into the building. There are a lot of options, but that's a different model, but we have a good number of students every day in the facility. One of the things , as you know, I sit on my local school board. So one of the things we organize for our teachers is we get in touch with one of the urgent care centers, the stat cares of the world. And we contracted out to basically come on a Saturday afternoon. If they had extra they could set up, some teachers were open. So it could be a way of maybe if we could do that on a wider scale of getting all the teachers in our communities that, you know, inoculated by having it brought right to in mobile vans to the facilities. The interesting by-product of that though is only 77%. How about teachers take advantage of that? So it's an interesting, I don't know if they, I don't know if 25% opted out to opt out forever or they already had it set up in a different fashion. So that's an interesting problem where we have the opting out.

Hilary - Yes. And I would like to actually ask you about that, so I know a lot of physicians and nurses who refuse to take this. I mean, do they know something that we don't know?

Robert - Well, we're taking this. Hopefully not. Hopefully, I know that we've been given by Moderna and Pfizer is accurate data and the CDC has analyzed it, but, I think there's always a concern when a new vaccine comes in as to whether it's efficacy and if it's safe and things along those lines, it is an AMR and it's not a DNA per specific vaccine. So there are always concerns with those in terms of what it means. And, uh, and it's an interesting topic that I think when we get to the end of this, we should really explore. And it'd be interesting to see if doctors, nurses, support staff and see the demographics, how it breaks out that way. Cause there's always the problem with social media is good cause it gets things out. But the problem with social media is you don't know the source. So once something comes out that maybe is trying to present their own bias in terms of whether it's efficacious or not, you then have that word of mouth in different settings where there's a concern. That really isn't true. So the issue you broke it down very nicely is based on the data we know. They should be taking it because they should be sick.

And that's the data that we know, that's been given to us now, if they know some data that we don't know, that's going to be an interesting little kicker, but it doesn't seem to be so because we've gotten a month worth of, there's been 41 million vaccines distributed across the country, 20 million have been given out and, and we haven't heard any adverse reactions. I'm sure there's one idiosyncratic reactions out there, or a handful of those, but it hasn't been a report. Like, Hey, stop, this isn't working, or this is giving people COVID or any concern there hasn't been a backlash and there's 20 million people have gotten it, you know? So even 10% or 5% is a big number there's a big number of people and there was such a risk that it was what was out there.

So I think that should give us who haven't gotten it yet, comfort. But there hasn't been a big number of reports. And as we know, as the delay goes on and maybe the second dose has given, those of us who are below 65 and in the healthy category, we'll have a lot of data before we have to actually get it. So I think that should allay everyone's fears. But I think that'd be interesting to see, and that's why I got the data from our little school district, if that plays out nationally, if it's the microcosm of the world or is it just our little district?

Hilary - Yeah, definitely interesting stuff. So. Tell me Bob, how can people protect ourselves from this virus? I mean, where do you play into this?

Robert - I think it goes down to what the mask wearing again is actually the best and the six feet of social distancing and just general hygiene and self protection we seem to have worked. And now what the problem is, you know, as a boomerang across the country in various areas there's been different strains that are starting to pop up. So the one thing in terms of protection that I think is concerning is it seems to be three strains, UK strain, Brazilian and South Africa that are changing in terms of, they seem to be, certainly the UK and the South African in particular seem to be more transmittable. And so there are different theories. There are two theories that sound interesting in terms of whether the transmissibility has to do with volume load. Is there just more volume load in the nose and mouth and sneezing and coughing and things like that. And it also seems to be a theory that, these are theories until proven, it's just more sticky in terms of the virus, the cells themselves just adhere better. And so it'll be interesting how that plays out, but that's, it goes right down to the mask is the way to protect yourself. And it's interesting how you say in terms of where, how our firm would play a role out front would play a role more. And, unfortunately, the people that get it, there's this thought out there that all only the old die from this or people with really bad comorbidities, but when you break it down to age, the CDC through December 16th had broken down the age group so of the overall deaths and the, and there were similarities, it's basically 10% across all age groups die once their hospital. Once, you know, COVID takes over, you know, 45 to 54, where everyone thinks is safe is 9% and 85 and above is 10%. So there's not a statistical difference. It's just a number I get that sick from it. So the issue we will look at is in terms of the younger population. Those who passed away from it were medical errors in terms of how they went about treating it, that they gave and things of that nature that have been somewhat protective.

And then did they do the, as we spoke about previously on the COVID, did they not intubate intubate in the appropriate manner that they try proning and things like that before intubation. So those are the issues we'll be looking at. And there is a potential that you have to have a highest standard if you have a COVID related death, but still that can be missed, in terms of how care has been given. So we will certainly, if someone wants our help, they can certainly contact us if the loved one of theirs has passed away or God forbid. And in terms of additionally having long-term qualifications where they're in a rehab facility for eight, nine months, you know, trying to get over it. And we'll look into that as well. But those are all, those are somewhat individual roles that we can play. And that's why we're tracking all this data because it's interesting that it's really dead 10% across the board. And the other thing that's interesting is the death rate has just gone out by the number of deaths from COVID. So it's not as though it's not as, it's not that you know, people would be dying from something else. If this didn't happen now the extra people who have died, 400,000… So for everyone who's listening, protection is still the way they go in terms of mask, the simple mask wearing. Because it's respiratory. It is, you know, you happen to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. When you know someone either. Coughs or sneezes and you walk the grocery aisle the next three minutes and it happens to be there. So that's where you're at in terms of protecting yourself. And the other way to protect yourself is not wait. You know, if you get some of the early signs and symptoms is, you know, get to the next level of health care, don't assume it's sinuses don't, assume why don't you certainly, once you get to have these signs we all hear about cough, but one of the other leading predictors is fatigue. So that may be a little different than people who were like saying, Oh, I have sinuses or I have a little runny nose kind of thing. Once you go into the knee, once you get, certainly into the next levels, you gotta be very protective and you have to be protective of the people in your own house.

Once you have any sign, you should be quarantining yourself. And, it's only for a 10 day period, if you don't have it because you're shed cells. And that first 10 days when you don't really think you have it. And that's why the quarantine is only 10 days. That's why it got reduced all the way from 14 down to 10 is because that seems to be the most contagious time.

So, I think that's a very important way that people protect themselves and protect the people they love is, once you have some signs of symptoms, don't expose yourself to someone else and wear the mask to protect the other people and maybe wear the mask in the house for the first five, seven days or quarantine and isolate and set up your own bathroom, if you can, for your use until you make sure.

Hilary - Thank you so much, Bob, this was really informative. Could you tell our listeners how to get in touch with you and the Pegalis Law Group again?

Robert - Sure. Uh, where obviously online at pegalislawgroup.com. Our local phone number is 5166842900. You can email us, we have a 24 hour reception service so that we can get the message to us. And if there's any questions you have about, the care for a loved one, not just COVID related, but any kind of issue that you feel. Okay. Something was done wrong. And then God forbid there has been a catastrophe in your family that you want to just get the answers to, you know, you can give us a call.

Hilary - Awesome. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time today. And. I also want to thank our sponsors. The Pegalis Law Group. Thank you. The Profit Express, Russo Law Group, Pop International Galleries and Gold Benes LLP. And last but not least, I want to thank you. Our listeners for tuning in. If you want more information on this show or any other show you could visit our website hilarytopperonair.com or you can find us on Spotify, iTunes, Google play, Apple podcasts, you name it. We're out there. Have a great week and we'll see you next time.

Have you always wanted to run a 5k or 10k? Maybe you’re a newbie or beginner runner or maybe you’re a veteran looking to improve and PR.

About the Interview

In this episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Hilary interviews Jeff Galloway, America's Coach for running and walking and inventor of the Run Walk Run method.

Jeff will discuss the run walk run method and his newly released book, Galloway’s 5k/10k Running –Training for Runners & Walkers. Learn how runners and walkers don't have to become injured. Evaluate nutrition information, how to improve fitness, and reduce the aches and pains of running.

About Jeff Galloway

Over a million runners and walkers have been coached by Jeff Galloway through his Galloway Training Programs in 50 cities, run injury free schools, fitness retreats (FL and CA) E-coaching, books, and clinics.  But before he became a US Olympian and “America’s Coach”  he was an overweight and lazy 13-year-old who struggled during the first 10 years and understands the problems of non-elite exercisers.  His hard work, research, and direct feedback from over 500,000 clients have resulted in the innovative and highly successful Galloway Method.  This run walk run program has reduced aches/pains and injury risk to almost zero, helped beginners get off the couch and finish 5Ks, marathons, and beyond.  Surprisingly, the method has allowed veterans to improve times in distance events and come back to running when they thought they could not.   Jeff’s mission is to help all levels of exercisers experience the life-changing benefits of running without pain or exhaustion.

About Jeff Galloway Training – Run Walk Run

Jeff Galloway provides walking and running programs for beginners, veterans, and even Boston Marathon runners for 46 years through 30+ books, online clinics, training programs retreats, 60-day challenges. For more information about Jeff and his new book, Galloway’s 5k/10k Running –Training for Runners & Walkers visit www.JeffGalloway.com.

Episode Transcript

Hilary - If you're new to running. And you thought you couldn't run a 5k or a 10 K listen to today's podcast. And if you're a veteran runner who wants to improve your time, this interview is also for you.

I'm Hilary Topper, and this is Hilary Topper on air. Today, I have the great pleasure of speaking with Jeff Galloway. He's America's coach for running and walking. He's an Olympian and the inventor of the run-walk-run method. Welcome back to the show, Jeff.

Jeff - Hilary. I'm great. I'm feeling great to be here. Knowing that I don't have to go out on long Island and run today.

Hilary - So can you remind our listeners about who you are and how you got your start?

Jeff - I was a very, very overweight kid when I started running at age 13, out of shape and lazy because exercise hurt. So I totally identify with beginners cause I went through all of those issues. What happened to me is... very early, within the first two weeks, I got hooked on the socialization of running groups, how we support one another, how there were so many good stories and experiences that people willingly shared. And it just changed my life. I wasn't good when I started, and it took me 14 years before I really started making significant progress a little bit each year and 14 years later, I made the Olympic team. At that point, I had a wonderful career over 10 years at the world-class level, but right after making the Olympic team, I had a lot of reflections during the times when I was giving clinics to high school kids and other groups and which I said to myself, what can I do to use this platform of having made the Olympic team and being asked to talk to help other people. And so what I did decide to do was open up the first running store in the US called Phidippides.

Fortunately, we are still around. Through that, I was able to put on clinics and to have training groups, have retreats and running schools to instruct people. And, as a result, I was able to learn more about what the average person went through. And so my mission, at that point and to this time, is to help people enjoy the amazing benefits of exercise to improve the quality of their lives. And I have now individually talked with over half a million runners and walkers who had various problems and then got back to me to tell me how my suggestions worked. So what I do now is have a vast database to be able to pull out solutions to problems and I'm here to help your folks today.

Hilary - And I want to congratulate you on your new book. The book is called Galloway's 5K and 10K Running, training for runners and walkers, and it looks fantastic. It's not only a great read, but I love the cover as well. So, congratulations to you.

Jeff - Well, thank you very much. It really did turn out well. The folks from a publisher Meyer and Meyer sports publications really are top-notch.

Hilary - So you have a lot of books and they're all fantastic. Can you tell us a little bit about why this one is so different than the rest?

Jeff - Mainly because it deals specifically with the 5K and the 10K. I do have several other books that will include 5K and 10K schedules, but they also have schedules and information about other events.

This book gets into the 5K and 10K whether you just want to finish it, or whether you want to improve your time, or whether you really want to put yourself out on a ledge and go for a stretch time. So, just about anybody who wants to run a 5K or 10K can find something that can really help them.

Hilary - Talk to me about why you felt compelled to write this book. If you had information about the 5K and 10K in other books.

Jeff - There are a lot of individual issues that runners have presented to me about 5K and 10K over the years. And in a book that covers a number of different other distances, I can't get into the details for the 5K and the 10K like I can and did in this book.

Hilary - Before we go on, I want to just say that I am so appreciative of our sponsors and must take the time out to thank them. Please support our sponsors and tell them that you heard about them on Hilary Topper on air. Special thanks to the Russo Law Group, The Profit Express, Pop International Galleries, Gold Benes LLP, and Pegalis Law Group. Now, back to you, Jeff. So we're talking about your new book. Galloway's 5K 10 K running training for runners and walkers and you give a number of plans. Can you talk a little bit about this?

Jeff - Yes, the plans are gradual in terms of how they progress in the book. We start with a to-finish program, somebody who is a beginner and just wants to get to the finish line. A lot of folks who don't have time goals will use that to-finish program every single time that they train for a 5K or 10K, but, a good percentage of the folks that buy the book, I would say far more than 50% want to improve in some way.

And the book has a wide range of ways that you can improve. The schedules are oriented to gradually increase the length of the long run every two weeks and, then, to put in some speed work every week in the form of quarter-mile repetitions that can allow the body to get used to what's called an oxygen debt.

And that's what you experience more in a 5K in 10K than you will experience in a half marathon or a marathon. And, therefore, by building up the number of these quarter-mile repetitions with a little rest in between you get yourself prepared for the mental and the physical demands that you're going to have at the end of your goal race.

Hilary - Very interesting. So, the other thing that's really interesting in the book is you talk about injuries and you talk about aches and pains, especially as we age when it comes to running, what do you recommend?

Jeff - There are two things that I need to mention first. The first one is that there are a number of runners who don't use my run-walk-run method who buy my book because the schedules will work whether you use run-walk-run or not. Now, the data that I've collected over the years shows very clearly that those who use run-walk-run tend to run faster than those who try to run nonstop even in a 5K. But it's your choice. I mean, each one of us is the captain of our ship, so we can determine whether we do this or not.

So as a runner gets into these schedules, the main thing that they need to focus on to avoid injury is to be sensitive to the weak links. And this is covered quite well in the book, but, to do the cliff notes on that, if you experience any possible signs that you're going into an injury, there are three main signs. The three main signs are inflammation, loss of function, and then pain that doesn't go away when you take an extended walk break of three to five minutes.

So those three tell you “I must take three to five days off and then treat whatever the area is with some form of remediation”, such as an ice massage if it's a tendon next to the skin or anti-inflammatories if your doctor feels that those are needed for whatever injury you have. And then massage is the best treatment for a muscle type issue.

Hilary - Hmm. Interesting. There are several people that I know that just keep reinjuring themselves. What would you recommend for people like that?

Jeff - There are almost always one to three main reasons why this happens and they usually involve these concepts:

The first one is not backing off enough after hard workouts. The body is designed to be able to push a little bit farther than you have pushed yourself in the past, so, with the increase in the long runs that you will see on my schedule and also the increase in the number of quarter-mile repetitions, you're not overwhelming your system in a great way. You're just overwhelming it in a very small amount, which the body is usually fine with. Now, the mistakes that the type of people you're talking about make, because they get injured quite often, is that they don't back off at the first sign of an injury like I just mentioned, and they don't allow enough recovery time because it's during the recovery time that the body rebuilds and readapt and becomes better. And if you're hammering yourself day after day after day, the body can't rebuild.

Hilary - So let's switch gears a little bit and talk about nutrition because you do talk about that in the book. Can you talk about why it's so important and what advice you would give runners out there?

Jeff - Nutrition is obviously important for overall health. And, to be honest, most of the people that I have worked with over the years who have also worked with a registered dietician and gotten feedback, have discovered that they're not very far off on the type of general nutrition that they need. So I'm not going to get into general nutrition other than to say that health wise, it's not a good idea to eat a lot of simple sugars, and it's not a good idea to eat saturated fat regularly. So now that said, there are a lot of choices out there that are healthy and tastes really, really good.

And it would take us a couple of hours to get through nutrition for life thing, which we won't do, but nutrition for running is important. The first major mistake that people make is not keeping their blood sugar level up, especially when it's a day, when they're doing a significant workout, like a long run or a fast run. If the blood sugar level is low, motivation is going to be low. And also you're not going to have fuel for the muscles you need during that workout. One simple, fix for those that have busy days and work out in the afternoon, is if your blood sugars level is a little low, then eating a hundred-calorie snack within 30 minutes before you start your workout has usually been enough to be able to allow the blood sugar level to come up. And if it's taken within 30 minutes before the start of the workout, it's very unlikely that you're going to get an insulin response from taking sugar before that workout. So those two things are the first item.

Now, the other item of nutrition is at the other end of the workout is immediately after the workout and the recovery snack. This is a very important snack for those in an endurance program, it's probably the most important type of nutrition that you can have. The idea is within 30 minutes, you want to have a reloading snack of 100 calories if the run is four miles or less. And 300 calories if your run is 13 miles or more. And then of course in-between, if it's in between. If you did a speed workout and the total of that workout didn't add up to two, four or five, six miles or whatever the intensity of the speed workout could bump up the number of calories consumed to another a hundred calories so you could go up to 200 calories after a speed workout.

Hilary - Wow. I'm curious now. Again, I'm switching gears back to this COVID-19 pandemic. How has your training been going and what do you hear from the general public about training alone or virtually or in small groups?

Jeff - Well, we at Galloway productions have, quite honestly, been devastated financially by this. And we, our whole mission is to keep people motivated because this is the way that the community of runners will be able to keep going. The most powerful thing runners have is that connection with one another. And so we, our whole purpose in the alternative things we've done since we can't hold races anymore and most of our programs are not allowed to run in groups anymore. What we have done is a shift to online clinics and also to challenges. We have a challenge coming up this weekend, for example, that deals with our race in Atlanta.

They used to be an actual race, but we can't get a permit and I totally understand why the city won't issue us a permit with the COVID situation. So we have a virtual, but it's better than any other virtual that I've ever heard because we have a charge running app, which allows for a broadcast that goes on during the race. And not only do you get a pep talk from me because I'm on the microphone the whole way, but we're actually going to have three other famous runners, Bill Rogers, who's won the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon four times, Amby Burfoot also a Boston Marathon winner and Dean Karnazes a friend of mine who is an amazing ultra-marathoner. They're going to come on the show with me and cheer for the average runners out there that are going through their 13.1 miles.

We also are putting this on an on-demand recording, so that, runners who couldn't go with us on Sunday or Saturday for Barb's 5k, will have that recording and be able to do it. And this is all a response to the answer to your question “What are runners going through now?”.

Well, it's really adrift because you not only can't go to races or usually not run with other people. But there's no end game to it right now. We don't know when it's going to start back up, we know it will, we just don't know when.

Hilary - Right, right. Well, this is a great motivational book too, and I think it will help a lot of people get through these tough times, along with your virtual race. How can people get in touch with you and learn more about Galloway's 5K 10K running training for runners and walkers?

Jeff - Well, I'm going to give all your listeners my direct email address. This doesn't go through anybody but me and it's real simple. It's [email protected].

Hilary - Awesome. Thank you so much. And we also have a bunch of giveaways that Meyer & Meyer Sports is giving out. So if you comment on this podcast, at the bottom of hilarytopperonair.com, you can be eligible to win one of these free books. So that's very, very exciting. And I thank you. And I thank the publisher for doing this.

Jeff - Let me tell you, Hillary, you're doing a great job. I mean, I do a lot of podcasts these days and yours is right up there at the top of the list.

Hilary - Thank you very much. I appreciate that, Jeff, and thank you so much for being on the show and taking the time out there for you. I also want to thank our sponsors, The Russo Law group, The Profit Express, Pop International Galleries, Gold Benes LLP, and Pegalis Law firm.

And last but not least, I want to thank you our listeners for tuning in each week. If you want more information on this show or any other show, you can visit our website hilarytopperonair.com. Or you can find us on Spotify, iTunes, Google play, and even, Amazon Alexa. Have a great week and we'll see you next time...

 

Everyone from a high school competitor to a professional athlete, to a weekend warrior, to the osteoarthritic, and the accident-prone eventually asks that all-important question: R.I.C.E. or heat when injured? Or maybe it’s both? Finally, anecdotal treatment is giving way to scientific evidence. And you might be surprised by the findings!

About the Interview

In this episode of Hilary Topper On Air, Hilary interviews Donna Cantrell PT, DPT. Tune in as Donna talks to us about sports injury treatment options, R.I.C.E., what works, and the science behind why.

About Donna Cantrell

Dr. Cantrell is an NYU graduate and has a physical therapy career that spans four decades. Though versed in geriatrics, back school, and pulmonary rehabilitation, sports medicine has been at the core of her practice for the past 30 years. Whether treating professional athletes (such as the New York Islanders), high school competitors, or weekend warriors, a healthy return-to-activity has been at the core of the treatment she provides. Recently, she has folded her passion for sports and the special needs community by touring the globe providing health screenings for the Special Olympics World Games. A late-in-life runner, she has now become her best client. Blogging at Post 50 Rx is an opportunity to share the current evidence-based guidelines for health and fitness.

On today's episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Hilary talks with Donna Drake of the Donna Drake Show: Live it Up! Donna is an inspiring person who moved to New York from St. Louis. She talks about her journey and thoughts about Long Island. She also talks about her new set and direction of The Donna Drake Show which is seen throughout the country on the CBS affiliate. It also appears on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The full episode appears on SBTV.com.

In addition to her move and the TV show, Donna talks about her philosophy, "It's raining greatness every day so I don't save for a rainy day."

Donna talks about what types of guests she has on her show.

Hear what Donna did when COVID-19 struck us in March and find out some other things about Donna that you may not know.

About Donna:

Donna Drake is an international award-winning creative artist, writer, producer, actor, and influencer. She is the creator and host of The Donna Drake Show: Live It Up!, a weekly 30-minute TV, and digital talk series. The Donna Drake Show, produced by Drake Media Network, Inc. is a two-time Telly Award winner, and her focus on hope motivation and resilience through empowering conversations.

In 2020, The Donna Drake Show celebrated 12 years on-air interviewing celebrity entertainers, sports legends, top journalists, business moguls, authors, health and wellness professionals, beauty and fashion icons, chefs, non-profit groups, and everyday heroes sharing their stories of triumph and perseverance.

How to get in touch with Donna:

You can reach Donna at [email protected] or you can find her on Facebook and YouTube.

Aliens invade! Ghosts haunt! Ancient legends come to life!

In this episode of Hilary Topper on Air, Innovate Long Island Editor, Gregory Zeller, returns to discuss “Quantum Acres,” his globe-trotting trilogy of supernatural thriller novels – and to help other writers personalize their creative process, overcome the challenges of self-publishing, and experience the pure joy of writing about what you love. Hear him discuss writing tips for part-time aspiring authors!

About the Interview

Gregory discusses writing tips for part-time aspiring authors, his own creative process and inspiration, and shares the best advice he’s ever received as a writer. Learn more about his trilogy, “Quantum Acres,” how he came up with the idea, and what it took to get self-published.

About Gregory Zeller

By day, 30-year journalist Gregory Zeller is the vice president and editor of Innovate Long Island, a news website covering the innovation economy on Long Island and beyond. By night, he’s the author of the “Quantum Acres” saga – a supernatural smorgasbord diving deep into UFO lore, ghost stories, Native American legends, parallel universes, and more, honoring genre-definers from “The Twilight Zone” to “The X-Files.” For more information about Gregory or to order his books, visit: here.

Being a great salesperson is hard work. But one that thing that can set you apart from your competition is truly getting to know your potential clients/customers AND letting them get to know you.

About the Interview

In this week's episode of Hilary Topper on Air, listen as Hilary interview Tim Healy, lightning round style!

Tim is the host of the business talk show/podcast, “The Profit Express” on WRHU FM, NY and online at WRHU.ORG Wednesdays from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EST. He is also the owner of Healy Success Solutions.

About Tim Healy

Tim Healy is the President and Owner of Healy Success Solutions. Tim’s mission is to help sales organizations “Turn their Prospects into Profits.”

For over 17 years, Tim has helped individual sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and corporate sales teams create selling success through his customized Prospect to Profit Sales Training & Coaching Programs.

Tim works with clients in advertising, finance, insurance, industrial manufacturing, social media, marketing, information technology, payroll, real estate, law, and accounting.

The Profit Express

Tim is also the host of the business talk show, “The Profit Express” on 88.7 FM WRHU and online at WRHU.ORG Wednesday nights from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EST. The Profit Express tackles all topics from Sales and Marketing to Entrepreneurship and beyond! Each week he interviews some of the businesses’ most exciting and successful authors, entrepreneurs and celebrities. The Profit Express has recently celebrated 450 shows!

Tim Healy’s Profit Express is geared for 25-54-year-old business owners and executives who want to be entertained and to make money. Tim’s ability to engage guests, by peeling back the onion, results in great stories and usable advice.

His guests include business leaders and celebrities from AOL Founder Steve Case, to Barbara Corcoran, Mike Rowe, to a best-selling former Gambino Mobster and George Foreman. You can listen to George as he shares why he was ready to sell his famous grill right after losing a 12 Round Fight!

You’ll never want to miss an interview! Guests of Tim Healy’s Profit Express share amazing stories that reveal their top secrets so his audience can gain real profits. These are interviews you won’t hear anywhere else. To contact Tim or learn more about The Profit Express or Healy Success Solutions, visit https://healysolutions.com/the-profit-express/.