0:00

Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams,

0:02

a production of iHeartRadio and The Black

0:04

Effect. Hey,

0:19

y'all, what's going on? You know,

0:21

there are just some people that you see on

0:23

social media and they just have an

0:25

amazing bright light about them.

0:28

And sometimes they go unknown

0:32

to people because maybe they

0:34

they're not the singer that's got the

0:36

you know, the top five charting

0:39

hit, you know what I'm saying, Or maybe

0:41

they don't have a new movie coming out

0:43

in theaters that's this blockbuster special.

0:46

But they are making impact

0:48

in their own communities or

0:50

in their industry that they work in. And so we

0:53

found someone by the name of doctor Rob Singleton,

0:56

and I just became just so inspired

0:59

by the things that he was posting. And one day he

1:01

posted about how you know, children

1:03

need eight hugs a day, and I was like, oh my gosh

1:06

to hear him talk about that. Normally you

1:08

only hear that in the space of like mental health,

1:10

but for someone you know like him,

1:13

I was like, Okay. So I became more and more interested

1:16

about him and just about his life, his wife's

1:18

life, whom I'm excited about having

1:20

come on the show, and

1:23

you know, listen, I just

1:26

I just really love when people are doing

1:28

their thing in their

1:31

industry. So I'm excited to welcome

1:34

doctor Rob Singleton.

1:36

He is an anesthesiologist and advocate

1:39

for evidence based health information,

1:41

a father and a husband, and

1:43

so you know we're gonna be talking

1:45

about so much. We even

1:47

talk about the controversy a little

1:50

bit about ozembic

1:52

and how does a busy person

1:54

make sure that they just keep ut

1:57

first and in the center of

1:59

every thing that they're doing, or just

2:01

just your life. How do you find time to meditate?

2:03

How do you find time to read your Bible? How do you find

2:06

time to work out? How do you find time? Just

2:08

everybody is so busy. So I'm

2:10

excited to welcome doctor

2:13

Rob Singleton. Everybody,

2:17

y'all know how excited I get when I

2:19

talk to two smart people, thriving

2:22

people, people that are making impact

2:25

and making such a difference in

2:27

this world. I

2:29

saw a video on Instagram

2:33

from a doctor not like he was

2:35

a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a

2:37

therapist, licensed clinical social worker,

2:40

a doctor in different

2:42

practices. Just stay with me, I'm gonna get there.

2:45

An anesthesiologist, uh, anesthesiology

2:48

physician, but anesthesiologist

2:52

to make it right? Am I am? I am

2:54

I so

2:57

board certified an a caesiologist and

2:59

he's folks meet eight

3:01

hugs a day or children meet eight hugs a day.

3:04

And I thought it so profound to

3:06

hear that coming from him, an

3:08

anesthesiologist, and I could

3:11

not wait to talk to him because that is my

3:13

field as far as the field of mental health and

3:15

people feeling great, and I could not wait

3:17

to have him on here, y'all.

3:19

He is Illinois based, board

3:23

certified physician. Specialty

3:25

is anesthesiology, which I've

3:28

had before, and I don't remember my life

3:31

prior to or after I was told,

3:33

y'all, doctor Robert Singleton

3:36

the second is checking in with us

3:38

today.

3:39

Thank you so much for that introduction. Thank

3:41

you for having me. I'm a huge fan of yours,

3:44

and I thank you for the opportunity just

3:46

to talk about, you know, some of the things that

3:49

God has on my heart and to

3:51

have this conversation with you. Wow.

3:54

So listen, y'all. His

3:56

background. I saw Peoria,

3:59

Illinois. I saw

4:01

where you graduated college from, and I was like,

4:04

so, my memories of Peoria is partying.

4:09

Yeah. So I finished my training, I

4:12

went to well first, I'm from

4:14

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and so I went

4:16

to Louisiana State University for college.

4:19

Then I went to Howard University in Washington,

4:21

d C. For medical school Howard University,

4:25

and then I did my anesthesia

4:27

training at the University of Arkansas.

4:30

We wanted to get back closer to Chicago

4:32

because my wife is from Chicago.

4:36

So we got close to Chicago

4:38

in Peoria, Illinois, which is about

4:41

two and a half hours away. We

4:43

were there for five years or so, but

4:45

we wanted to get back, you know,

4:47

even closer because her parents are

4:50

here in Chicago. We have a lot of family here.

4:53

But Peoria, you know, it was a very

4:55

small city. We

4:58

were able to grow p Acson.

5:00

Only my wife advanced

5:02

career wise there.

5:03

And so I'm a schedule

5:05

heartening

5:11

to amazing

5:14

attorney, this power couple.

5:17

Thank you so much, Thank you so much.

5:19

She is she's ten times smarter

5:21

than I am. I'm so proud

5:23

of her. She is the

5:26

chief compliance officer at the University

5:28

of Illinois and just

5:30

so intelligent. I'm so proud of her. But

5:33

but yeah, we moved to the

5:35

We're not in downtown, we're not in the

5:37

city of Chicago. We are in the

5:40

south suburbs. But you know, I

5:42

love my job safety reasons, but

5:49

you know, we have our kids, love their

5:51

schools, we love our neighborhood,

5:53

we love our jobs, and so we

5:56

are so happy to be in the Chicago

5:58

Land area.

6:00

I am so excited to

6:02

hear that the very very first

6:04

house I ever bought was in the South suburb of

6:06

Chicago. I'm from Rockford, Illinois originally.

6:09

Okay, okay, my

6:12

brother.

6:12

Still he lives downtown Chicago and

6:15

family is still in that rock For area. I

6:18

went to school in Illinois State and

6:21

some of the parties kind of took us

6:23

down the highway to Peoria every

6:25

now and there was a nice

6:27

church that we shipped

6:30

with from time to time. I

6:33

don't know if it was City of Hope. Hope was

6:35

in the name. Bishop Hail Dawson was the

6:37

pastor. So I don't

6:39

want to I'm not gonna bring y'all any shame

6:41

because I was. I was a good girl. But

6:43

I did go to some of the parties. Yeah,

6:46

man, and look

6:48

what God has done. He has a seated in

6:51

heavenly.

6:51

Praise God, Praise

6:54

God.

6:55

Everybody has a story. Everybody has a

6:57

story. So this

7:00

interview can go so many ways.

7:03

You are a literal practicing

7:06

physician. Yes, but

7:09

we I think what I like is

7:11

we get to see you as a father,

7:14

someone's husband, I'm sure, a

7:16

son. Do you have any siblings?

7:17

I have a younger brother.

7:19

Okay, so as a brother and

7:22

being so we think that you're

7:24

just a doctor, but you're human

7:27

too, who is also like

7:29

killing it as a content creator?

7:32

Thank you?

7:33

Okay, tell us about

7:35

that journey.

7:37

You know, when I first I started

7:39

on Instagram shortly

7:41

after the pandemic, and

7:44

I at first just kind of posted about

7:47

my family birthday parties, we

7:49

love to travel. I kind of just posted personal

7:51

things. But as you recalled, during the

7:53

pandemic, there were so many conspiracy

7:56

theories about the virus and the vaccine,

7:58

and it was so crazy, and I felt like it

8:00

was my responsibility

8:02

because so many people trusted me. I

8:06

felt like it was my responsibility to

8:08

spread reliable health information.

8:11

You know, many times people they

8:14

don't know what sources

8:16

to trust, and so if they can, you

8:19

know, find me a black physician. You

8:21

know, cultural competency, it,

8:24

I think can make an impact on

8:27

their health decisions and which

8:29

what type of medical

8:31

information they choose. So I

8:34

started posting more. Thank

8:36

you. I posted more, more

8:38

health information, more

8:40

about me as a physician, and people

8:43

became more interested in my journey, and so

8:45

I went in that direction. And

8:47

then about a year ago,

8:50

my wife and I started back going

8:53

to church. We had not gone for

8:55

two years during the pandemic, but

8:58

that was an experience or both

9:00

of us started to become

9:03

closer to God through we joined

9:06

the new church. So we went to the new

9:08

members classes and then from

9:10

there, the transformation

9:13

I was experiencing spiritually

9:15

crossed over into my social media

9:18

and so I started to post things that

9:20

were inspiring to me, things that I thought

9:22

would help other people, that you know,

9:24

would resonate with people, because and

9:27

what I post, I don't get too

9:29

too deep. I share scriptures, but I don't

9:31

I don't get very deep. I feel like many

9:34

times people just need a little bit of

9:36

encouragement just to make it through the

9:38

day, make it through the week, you

9:41

know. And so what

9:43

I share, it's it's very simple, but

9:46

it's things that I think that you

9:49

know, can can help people, just to

9:51

just a little bit of encouragement and in the

9:53

process, you know, share the gospel.

9:56

I was about to ask you, how do you share?

9:59

But I think I just heard a voice say he's

10:01

graced to share. The

10:04

reason why I say that, I

10:07

Well, the reason why I believe that just got the

10:09

revelation is because your job

10:11

is a heavy job. You

10:15

probably need the encouragement the

10:17

strength because what you

10:19

do, like you got

10:22

to like know, like the person's

10:24

wait, every

10:26

single medical condition, if

10:28

they've had surgery in the past, y'all,

10:31

let me tell you if you've never if you've had anesthesiology

10:34

before, whether it was a major procedure

10:36

or within patient or outpatient.

10:39

You know, I know these questions that they

10:41

ask and it during near scares

10:43

me, like I'll just live with my condition

10:45

because this is just true. So

10:48

imagine if the patient is feeling

10:50

that way. You've gone to school for this, but

10:53

you have to know every single thing

10:55

about this person that you are

10:57

about to prepare for some

10:59

time medical procedure

11:02

that is going to be life changing for them.

11:05

And thank you for that. Many people don't realize

11:07

how important our role is as anesthesia

11:10

physicians. And in

11:12

a typical day, most days everything

11:14

goes smoothly. You know, we see

11:16

our patients, we do our cases, we go home,

11:19

but every once in a while, there are

11:21

emergencies. We have massive hemorrhage,

11:23

you know, bleeding where we have to administer blood

11:25

products and platelets and frozen plasma.

11:28

We have had.

11:29

So it's more than just administering the

11:31

good good that puts us to sleep.

11:33

It's more than that. It's more than that we

11:36

have emergency sees. We have that see

11:38

sections, we have trauma, we have cold

11:40

blue cardiac arrest. There's

11:43

emergencies that happen even in the

11:45

outpatient procedures, and

11:48

so it's important that we've remain that

11:50

we are vigilant, that we remain

11:53

up to date on the latest health information

11:55

guidelines. I just came

11:57

from an anesthesia conference

12:00

in San Francisco. Every year, the

12:02

American Society of Anaesthesiologists

12:05

holds a conference and we're able to not

12:08

only network, but learn about the newest

12:11

trends and anesthesia and patient

12:13

care. And so it's important for us

12:15

to remain up to date on what's

12:19

going on because it can save someone's

12:21

life.

12:26

I'm so excited, y'all. I'm talking to

12:30

Rob's second fifty three.

12:32

That is his Instagram profile.

12:36

So if you're like me, sometimes when a movie

12:38

is going on, I'm nosy, I'll go and

12:41

research the author or more of the synopsis

12:44

of the movie or something that I'm watching. So in

12:46

case you're kind of curious about who we're

12:48

talking to right now, you can go to his Instagram

12:51

at Robert second fifty three. He

12:53

does have a TikTok which

12:55

is the.

12:56

Same Yeah, so I post

12:58

the same thing on most

13:00

of the same videos

13:03

on YouTube and Instagram, same

13:05

name, But I primarily I

13:07

focused on Instagram. It's

13:09

just I've built community

13:11

there and so every day

13:14

I post something new that's on my heart. That

13:16

was kind of a challenge that I gave myself

13:19

just to every day post something.

13:21

And so, okay, well I've

13:23

got to ask this question. Yeah,

13:26

I got to ask this question. Do

13:28

you get flack from

13:30

fellow colleagues

13:33

or just people who probably like, you're a doctor,

13:35

you shouldn't be on here.

13:36

This is for kids, you

13:39

know what I do not. It's so funny.

13:41

My my coworkers

13:44

and hospital administrators are

13:46

so supportive. It's

13:49

funny because you know, I'll get

13:51

my the different administrators

13:54

will come up and say, oh, how is your vacation,

13:56

or we saw this real we saw this video.

13:59

They're very supportive of And

14:03

whenever I went to our anesthesia

14:06

conference in San Francisco. You know, I

14:08

talked about it with some of my colleagues

14:11

there, and you know, they very

14:14

happy that I was able to share

14:16

about my profession. Because anesthesia,

14:20

I know you're familiar with it, but many people don't

14:22

realize, you know, what we do and

14:24

how important our job is. And so it's kind of a

14:26

form of advocacy, uh for

14:29

for safe anesthesia care. And so

14:31

people kind of can see

14:33

me and know what an anesthesiologist

14:36

does, and you know,

14:38

so I get lots of support

14:40

for my social media presence. I do have

14:43

two rules that I have though. I don't

14:46

sing and I don't dance, so I

14:49

don't do those things. I

14:51

feel like if I do and

14:57

I sing, I sung in the choir

14:59

before, but I can't. I can't

15:02

sing solo. I can sing an a choir.

15:05

And you're not tempted to do like the

15:07

latest dance trends.

15:10

On they're cool, they're cool. I do

15:12

them. I do them with my kids whenever

15:14

there's no cameras, but that not

15:16

on camera, no one.

15:18

And stay and do you know what works

15:20

for you?

15:21

Yeah?

15:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know exactly

15:24

what works for you. Y'all. Y'all got to see this

15:26

microphone he has. Do you have a podcast?

15:29

You know what I just I just started

15:33

a quote unquote podcast for

15:35

the month of or for the new

15:37

year. I'm trying to read one

15:40

chapter a day of the Bible, and so I started

15:42

in the Book of Matthew. So I record

15:44

a chapter and I have it

15:47

recorded in podcasts format. So

15:50

it's just me reading the Bible. It's not any

15:52

commentary or any other content yet,

15:55

but I'm thinking about it.

15:56

Y'all listen, Okay.

15:59

So some people might think

16:02

when you're a doctor, you must

16:04

stay just a doctor.

16:07

So my uncle, who is a

16:10

family practice physician in

16:12

Rockford, Illinois, also became a pastor.

16:15

Wow, and he loves to teach. I

16:17

don't know if you're like him or not, But now

16:20

that I look back and like, I asked him a lot of questions

16:23

about medicine, and I never knew

16:25

if he likes to talk about medicine.

16:27

But because not only he's a teacher, I

16:29

think he enjoyed sharing the information.

16:32

Now when I go home, I don't ask me

16:34

about Beyonce, don't I don't

16:37

ask me where he is, don't

16:39

ask me about Jay Kelly.

16:42

I where are the greens and

16:45

the Yeah?

16:46

Yeah, just get that right

16:49

for you.

16:50

I am just wondering you're

16:52

outside of medicine,

16:55

and do you think you have to choose?

16:58

That's a good question. You know. I'm all about

17:01

balance. Like whenever I'm at work, I'm

17:03

professional. I work, but

17:05

whenever I as soon as my scrubs come off

17:07

and I get in my car and I go home like I'm

17:09

I am Robert second five three,

17:12

like I'm about my kids, you

17:15

know. I

17:17

you know, like I mentioned, it's it's

17:20

it can be stressful at work, and so I

17:22

try to compartmentalize it, you

17:25

know, whenever I come home, I'm not. My wife

17:27

likes to watch you

17:29

know, Gray's Anatomy and you know these

17:32

medical shows. I don't want to see that.

17:34

Now, do you then? Do you torture

17:36

her by watching all the law shows?

17:39

You know what? That's so funny. She does. She does

17:41

not watch the law show. She doesn't watch all

17:43

Rise or any of that. So, you

17:46

know, I don't know, but.

17:47

The medical especially the medical

17:49

shows, I'm not sure about the law shows, Lauris.

17:52

I don't know about the medicals because family members and they

17:54

be like they'll watch the shows and be like,

17:56

why is this electro? Like placed

17:58

in their fear load does not go Yeah.

18:01

Yeah, where are the consultants to tell

18:04

them, you know, how to how to do things?

18:06

Yeah?

18:07

Right, right, right right,

18:10

Okay. So the reason why

18:12

I ask you all of that is because what you're

18:14

saying you're doing with you know, reading the Bible

18:16

and all these kind of things. So I'm just here

18:18

to encourage you to go for whatever.

18:22

Uh it seems like God is leading

18:24

you to do, you know, and

18:27

this journey that you're on, the

18:29

fact that you're sharing it unashamedly,

18:32

yes, I mean some people

18:34

find God and they get a shamed

18:36

I mean, you're quoting scripture, you're

18:40

low key reading people sometimes,

18:42

you know. It's so it's

18:44

absolutely amazing. But I

18:46

want to go back to the video that you made about eight

18:49

hugs a day. Again, that's how I found

18:51

you and what I like. You are

18:53

an advocate for evidence based

18:56

health information. Yes,

18:59

I heard it was ten hugs a day, eighth

19:02

days the same,

19:04

but because some people don't get any hugs a

19:06

day.

19:07

Yes, yeah, you know. It's

19:09

so funny. That post has

19:11

like thousands of comments. I haven't

19:13

read them all, but every once in a while I'll see a

19:15

comment and somebody yeah, you're

19:17

right, You're right. But

19:21

every once in a while I'll see a comment and

19:23

somebody will say, you know, I should

19:25

be dead right now, Like I haven't gotten a hug

19:27

all year, and it's like, wow,

19:30

A lot of times I take for granted all the

19:32

hugs that I get from my kids and you know, my

19:34

wife, and there are people

19:36

out there, you know, even though we are so

19:39

connected through social media. You

19:41

can see your old classmates and your neighbors.

19:44

We're so connected, but how

19:46

much of the time do we actually

19:48

get to see people, to enter

19:51

to interface with people, you

19:54

know, And so we have to not

19:56

forget that we really we as

19:59

humans need and we're wired

20:01

for social interaction. And so that kind

20:03

of was the point of that of that

20:05

video, that you know, we have to

20:07

make sure that we are still socializing,

20:10

that we're still you know, being kind to

20:12

each other, that we are you

20:14

know, not taking out our physical needs

20:17

for being around other people

20:19

for granted.

20:20

M that's so good, that's so good.

20:23

People are Well, how do I how can I hug my children

20:25

that many times a day? I just be trying to get them out the

20:27

door to go to school. But I

20:29

thought I'd figure it out Okay.

20:33

Hug them when you wake them up in the morning.

20:35

Okay, hug them when they've

20:37

gotten dressed, or after they've bathed

20:40

and all this. They breshed their tea, you

20:42

know, hug them maybe

20:44

you know, when they're eating their food. You might just walk

20:47

by and just give them a little nudge or

20:49

something. That's three.

20:51

Yeah, yeah, get them.

20:53

Out the door to school. You're driving

20:55

to school. You hug them. We're tapped

20:57

something when they get up. That'st for. It

21:00

ain't even nine am.

21:01

Yet, there you go.

21:04

Okay, okay, So you got them

21:06

off to school, y'all get home

21:08

from work. He's

21:10

come home.

21:11

Five.

21:11

You don'et hug them. Hey we at

21:13

five? They told you about their

21:15

day, Dad, I didn't have a good day

21:18

at school today. That's the time grab them.

21:20

You hug them, man, I'm so sorry you didn't

21:22

have a good day. Six okay,

21:25

okay, okay, Lucy? How can how can they? So they

21:27

tell you about their day? Then y'all are y'all

21:29

are eating dinner? Dad,

21:32

I hate Brussels sprouts, little

21:35

girl, you're gonna eat them Brussels sprouts.

21:37

Okay, they eat the Brussels sprouts.

21:39

She ate the Brussels sprouts. You hunt

21:41

her. That's so good, baby

21:43

girl. Hate hugs. That's

21:46

by seven o'clock at night.

21:48

Yeah, I don't hugged.

21:51

That's that's seven things, eight hugs.

21:53

So at seven o'clock at night,

21:56

then you're telling them it's

21:58

time to go to bed. I

22:00

don't want to go to bed. Man

22:02

you and come here and get your tail in that bed.

22:05

You drop them up a little bit. Do the little hugs.

22:09

That's bad hugs. Then you'd be like,

22:11

you know, before you go to bed, let's say our little prayers

22:13

or something, or do you a little bathing or

22:15

whatever you gonna y'all, y'all, that's

22:17

ten hugs.

22:18

That's ten hugs. There you go. And it's

22:20

so funny.

22:21

My daughter, Hey, I could have stopped that.

22:22

Eight you could have stopped date. My

22:25

daughter actually tells me at the end of

22:27

the day how many hugs she's gotten, and so I

22:29

try to make up for it. Yeah, it's

22:31

it's so cute. It's the cutest thing ever. She'll

22:34

say, I got six hugs today. So when I get

22:36

home from work, I'm like, okay, we're gonna get you those

22:39

your other two hugs to get you eight hugs,

22:41

and you know, I hugged my daughter. I hugged

22:43

my son too. We're very affectionate

22:46

in our house, and so I try to make sure

22:48

that you know they know that

22:50

I love them. You know, we say I love

22:53

you. You

22:54

know, kids need that and everybody needs that,

22:56

even we as adults, you know, need to

22:59

know that we're love and to fill that warmth.

23:02

That's so good because I'm

23:04

told or or through therapists

23:06

and just looking at things like people

23:09

that work in the medical book, doctors, attorneys

23:12

and police officers can

23:15

are not affectionate. They

23:18

can't be affectionate because lots

23:21

of times you're delivering bad news.

23:23

That's true, Yeah, you

23:26

know what I mean.

23:27

And so for you to still be like, I gotta go

23:29

home, I got a Huggies kids, I gotta hug

23:31

my wife, I gotta rub her feet.

23:33

I don't even like fee look

23:35

at me trying to be all in your head.

23:37

I'm not sure, but but but.

23:39

Thank you for stating that. And it's real.

23:42

I grew up. My mother did that, Like

23:45

we would try to bummerish her with hugs and she just

23:48

did not like hugs. You know what I mean.

23:50

I can give hugs, but sometimes receiver

23:53

hugs. I'd be like, I'll do a little church thing where

23:55

you yeah,

23:59

or if you're in my real, real core.

24:01

But you just never know what physical touch

24:04

can do to someone. How

24:09

do you feel that a busy person

24:12

can incorporate the

24:14

habit of incorporating God into

24:17

their daily life.

24:19

That's a good question. So part

24:21

of my focus, you know, this month,

24:23

no matter how busy you are, you

24:26

know, even if you only have a few minutes

24:28

today, I think it's important to read

24:30

God's word. And so I've been

24:32

reading, like I said, the Book of Matthew. And

24:35

you know, each chapter it takes between you

24:37

know, at some chapters two minutes to

24:39

read, three minutes to read. And

24:42

I believe that if you honor God with

24:44

just that little bit of time, you

24:46

know, even if it's only one Bible

24:48

verse, even that one verse

24:50

that you meditate on throughout the day, can get

24:53

into your spirit, transform

24:55

your heart, transform your mind, get your

24:57

perspective right for the rest of the day.

25:00

It doesn't take you know, reading for

25:02

hours and hours and hours, because one Bible

25:04

verse can make a difference.

25:05

That's so good. One Bible verse. And it's

25:08

so funny because I find in my you

25:10

know reading, you get excitedly

25:12

Okay, oh, this chapter is twenty verses, that's

25:14

good, and you get some of them

25:17

chapters be one hundred and twelve verses.

25:19

I'd be like, now, wait man,

25:24

yeah, and then we get discouraged. We

25:27

get discouraged by that. And you

25:29

know, my thing is sometimes

25:31

also whenever you have Bible reading plans,

25:33

which are good, don't get me wrong, but you

25:36

can be so focused on meeting

25:38

your quota for that day, like I have to get this many

25:41

chapters where you to where you don't even you

25:43

aren't able to really focus on what

25:45

you're reading or meditate on what you're reading.

25:47

So that's more important

25:50

to have the word inside of you transforming

25:52

you than how much the volume

25:54

of what you're reading.

25:56

Wow, I'm so excited, Thank

25:58

you for being here. I've just

26:00

got some more questions. I just want to get

26:02

through, okay, because this is so good.

26:05

This is so good some of the stuff that I actually

26:07

was not on our run

26:09

down for today. But sometimes the

26:11

conversation just becomes so organic

26:13

that I just can't help while I have the person

26:15

here like to take advantage of some of those

26:18

moments. How do you take

26:20

care of yourself because

26:22

your job is so stressful.

26:26

Any techniques for any healthcare

26:29

workers,

26:31

you know you probably like, man, I'm not perfect.

26:34

I get stressed like everybody too, So.

26:36

You know, what do you do? So

26:39

I start my day with weightlifting.

26:42

I weightlift about five days a week with

26:44

my trainer.

26:45

I'm actually three all right, three.

26:47

A

26:50

early early in the morning, which

26:52

surprisingly there are there are lots of

26:54

people in the gym that early, and

26:57

I'm actually preparing. I'm doing

26:59

a pH zek show, like a body building show in May,

27:02

and so I'm doing all the diet and all

27:04

that for that. But I

27:06

find that, you know, if you're able to

27:08

start off your day with that boost of endorphins,

27:11

that sets the tone for the day. And

27:13

so that's that's how I, you know,

27:16

balance myself by prioritizing

27:18

my fitness.

27:20

Okay, okay, So prioritizing

27:22

your fitness, y'all, and of course

27:24

reading reading your word. I mean, come

27:26

on, uh, I'm sure on

27:29

some great music and you know, a

27:32

great life giving a farming music.

27:34

How do you, as a doctor cope with loss

27:37

and handle grief? Because many miracles

27:40

happen, sometimes the miracle

27:42

might happen on the other side of eternity

27:45

for those who are left behind

27:47

to deal with.

27:48

Yeah, you know what's crazy.

27:50

I have never suffered major

27:54

loss or grief. Uh, you know,

27:56

I I haven't lost anybody

27:58

close to me. And sometimes I think about

28:00

that often, like how would I how would

28:03

I respond? How would I react? I don't

28:05

know, because I've never lost anybody close

28:07

to me. Knock on wood?

28:09

What? Yeah,

28:11

what do you do when the patient didn't

28:13

make it?

28:14

You know, it's actually exceedingly

28:17

rare. So I've been practicing. You

28:19

know, I finished school in twenty sixteen.

28:22

Knock on wood again, I haven't lost

28:24

any patients in the operating

28:28

room. Whenever I work in the intensive care

28:30

unit. You see a lot of deaths in the intensive

28:32

care unit. Yes, And a lot of times

28:34

I will perform an anesthesia case

28:36

for a very sick patient and I

28:38

have to go back like the next week or next two

28:40

weeks, and I find out that they have passed

28:43

transition. Okay, yeah,

28:46

but actually to lose somebody

28:48

in the operating room, it's

28:51

pretty rare. So I don't see that very

28:53

frequently, thank goodness.

28:56

So basically, folks, don't

28:58

be afraid to go

29:01

to the doctor, get your checkups,

29:04

and get your care. Aren't

29:06

we happy to hear that he's saying it's for him?

29:09

It's can

29:11

he also be my primary care? No?

29:16

No, he cat, no he cannot.

29:19

On one of your posts, you mentioned the five types

29:21

of people you need in your life. M

29:24

hmm, yeah, okay, so that

29:27

goes beyond if you're if you're in medicine

29:29

or not. Give us one or two what you're

29:32

thinking, or share the most

29:34

important type of person you need

29:36

in your life.

29:36

I'll say this a lot of us. Uh,

29:39

it's we surround ourselves with people

29:41

who are just gonna tell us what we want to hear. But

29:43

it's so important that we have people

29:46

in our lives who are going to tell us the truth,

29:48

who are going to motivate us to be

29:50

better, people who are going to help

29:52

propel us forward. And so it's

29:55

it's so important that we have those kind of people

29:58

in our lives. I forgot five types

30:01

of people.

30:01

Don't worry, no, no, no, no worry is to me.

30:04

It's just what do you think the most important

30:06

type of thing?

30:07

Yes? Yeah, somebody who can

30:09

who's gonna push you forward, who's gonna encourage

30:11

you towards your goals, tell you the

30:14

truth about yourself. You know that that

30:16

is very valuable. Not all

30:18

of us have that. But whenever you come across that

30:20

kind of person, and whenever you do find

30:22

people like that, you really have

30:24

to not take them for granted because

30:27

you might not you know, that's so

30:29

good, might not have them always.

30:32

Not only do not take them for granted,

30:34

but don't take what they might share with you personally.

30:36

Because I'm guilty of saying on honey,

30:39

please tell me about me, tell me

30:41

about myself.

30:42

Yeah, that's good. My best

30:44

friend.

30:44

Told me something I said I

30:48

wanted to she I was gonna

30:50

come. You have to come see you the

30:52

way I wanted to let her.

30:59

But it's truth and not

31:02

that it hurts. But but

31:04

the truth can hurt, you know, Yeah, but

31:07

it can. It should fortify and just

31:09

can be used as a tool of correction.

31:12

Definitely.

31:13

Can you talk about ozimpic. What

31:15

do you think about the explosion of interest

31:17

and use of it and do you think it's

31:19

mostly safe to use considering

31:21

some of the side effects like stomach paralysis.

31:24

I'll say this, You know there are people

31:27

who need it, and that's why it's

31:29

it should be and it is prescribed by physicians.

31:32

People don't realize that with obesity

31:35

comes comorbid conditions.

31:37

So a lot of times obesity is

31:39

tied to diabetes, it's tied

31:41

to sleep apnea, it's tied to

31:45

a lot of different other conditions, and so people

31:48

a lot of times need to lose weight for their

31:50

health. And so I think that ozimpic

31:53

used correctly, can help

31:56

make us healthier. However, there

31:58

are people who abuse it, who don't

32:00

use it correctly, and they

32:02

are not good candidates for Olympics.

32:04

So you know, I

32:07

think that it's a great drug when you used correctly.

32:10

He said, how do we go from talking about eight hugs

32:12

to Olympics.

32:17

Yeah, everybody's talking about it. Everybody's

32:19

talking When I.

32:21

Tell you, everybody is

32:23

talking about it. And then

32:26

I'm just even careful. Just because everybody's

32:28

talking about it, don't mean I got to talk about it. But

32:32

I'm excited because somebody here

32:35

is going to want

32:37

to know or hear, like you said, especially

32:39

when you have some pre existing conditions in which

32:41

this drug could really be you.

32:45

So listen, I am so

32:47

thankful for your time today. Keep

32:50

doing it, do the books, the

32:52

podcast, the appearances,

32:55

whatever it is. Just keep

32:57

going on. And I'm sure that this

33:00

also probably be a great escape from

33:02

a job that's fulfilling but

33:05

can be quite stressful. To you. So thank

33:07

you so much.

33:09

Thank you. I'm enjoying my vacation. You have made

33:11

my year with this interview. Thank you so much.

33:14

Oh, thank you. It is a new year.

33:16

It is a new year, and you so

33:19

much.

33:20

Joy.

33:21

So I'm excited. I mean

33:23

that miss Singleton, we got to have

33:25

you on here on

33:27

my podcast. We talk to everybody,

33:31

so I'm excited

33:33

to get to know to get to

33:35

know her, and to get to know because

33:37

I want to know too. When people say

33:39

how do you make it work? It's not because

33:42

we are anticipating or want

33:45

anything happen, but it's like attorneys

33:48

and physicians, that's those are really demanding

33:51

jobs. And I love it together. Man.

33:53

Yeah, yeah, she's busier

33:55

than I am.

33:56

So wow, Okay, okay,

33:58

He's like, I'm just I got my little schedule

34:00

at two pm. We got to do this, you

34:03

know, okay and me, and then you might

34:05

have to get some cancel because somebody probably ate

34:07

you're not supposed to eat the twelve to twenty four exactly.

34:10

You know it, you know it, you

34:13

know it.

34:14

I had a pro seizure in

34:16

the fall of twenty twenty two. Okay,

34:20

and I just remember the doctor

34:22

was so sweet. Not

34:25

the aneses allergies was very kind, but

34:27

the doctor was rare. She held

34:29

my hand, okay, and

34:31

I just remember her grabbing my hand.

34:35

And then I woke up in recovery.

34:37

Yeah, oh yeah, the best

34:39

sleep ever.

34:41

But they said what I was coming out

34:43

of the anesthesia. I have

34:46

pictures. I

34:48

looked cool. I

34:51

they said I was just but

34:53

while I woke up and I was in a

34:55

little bit of pain in my aftermen,

34:58

and I was I'm in so much and

35:01

I think that I need drugs or blah

35:03

blah blah. And then my girl Samantha on here

35:05

she said she even woke up during surgery.

35:08

Hap it.

35:11

Yeah, everybody's like, oh no, oh no. So

35:14

I know that I was like

35:17

advill knocks me out. My mom was like,

35:19

okay, like a sleeping agent in it. So we

35:21

don't understand why if I take to atvil,

35:23

it's night night. Wow, it

35:26

is night night for me. So anesthesia

35:30

you're light weight. Yeah, I'm

35:32

a cheap date too. I'm a cheat day.

35:34

I'm a cheat date. Yes,

35:37

yes, yes, all right, Well we love you You

35:40

are welcome anytime we will

35:42

be following you to keep track

35:44

of everything that you got going. You

35:46

are welcome to be in touch with us

35:48

to to say, hey, I'm doing this

35:51

or whatever, let's talk about it. Just know

35:53

that you're always welcome.

35:54

Thank you so much, Thank you so much.

35:56

All right, doctor Singleton, God bless

35:58

you.

36:00

Have a good day.

36:02

Oh MG, that was such an amazing

36:05

interview. He's so laid

36:07

back and so chill,

36:10

but I guess you have to be that, y'all.

36:12

He's an anesthesiologist, meaning he

36:15

got to put people to sleep for procedures.

36:18

So I guess I don't know. He maybe

36:20

he can't be too jittery and

36:22

blah blah blah blah blah. He can't

36:25

be like me because sometimes I be turned

36:27

up. I don't know if there are personality

36:30

tests or personalities that

36:32

are best suited for certain jobs.

36:35

Find it. I'm gonna find the personality

36:37

tests that are best suited because when I have a cup

36:39

of coffee, man, I

36:42

go bonkers. AnyWho,

36:44

I'm just so excited to give y'all

36:46

this episode of checking in. I really

36:48

really hope that you find a nugget or too

36:51

that inspires you and just helps

36:53

you keep going during this

36:56

time. I think the last word

36:58

I want to share for this episode is

37:01

shine your light. Wherever you are,

37:03

shine your light, wherever you work, shine

37:06

your light, and whatever doors you

37:09

walk through, just be a light.

37:44

Checking In with Michelle Williams is a production

37:46

of iHeartRadio and The Black Effect.

37:49

For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

37:51

visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple

37:54

podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite

37:56

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