Lisa Curtis
Episode 201

Narrator:

Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, friends, welcome to another episode of the Story & Experience Podcast. I'm delighted to be in Roseville and with this guest, and you will be delighted when you hear them. I'm going to ask them the first 10 questions, and then we're going to dive in, and they're going to choose numbers between 11 and 100, where we go. They're all about stories and experiences that shape them into the leader that they are today. And yeah, we'll see where we go. So, let me begin with the first one. Could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Lisa Curtis:

My name is Lisa Curtis, and people used to pronounce my last name all kinds of wrong, because I was born with a very Eastern European last name.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Lisa Curtis:

And that's why I always tell my husband, "That's why I married you. I needed a last name that people could actually spell and pronounce." So, it's been 17 years and it's worked out well, so.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What was your Eastern name, your maiden?

Lisa Curtis:

Kershisnik.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, wow.

Lisa Curtis:

I was Kershisnik, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We're glad for Curtis.

Lisa Curtis:

Right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Lisa, what do you do for work?

Lisa Curtis:

I am a credentialed Epic trainer. So, that actually looks a little bit different than how it usually does to people who are used to the EPIC world outside of Adventist Health. It's not the credentialed trainer in the sense that most people know, think of me as the person and the rest of my team, as the people who are going to be the liaisons between Epic, doing end user training as people get onboarded and getting ready for go live, and the materials, the deliverables, how are people going to learn those things in between? Epic will do the high level stuff, and we're going to get into the nitty-gritty of, and how does this look for Adventist Health? How does this look for Castle or for Tillamook, if they have different nuances?

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right.

Lisa Curtis:

So, that's what we're going to be doing. It's going to be fun. It's going to be a challenge, for sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes. Now what is Epic?

Lisa Curtis:

Epic is going to be-

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:02:04].

Lisa Curtis:

This little thing called Epic.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

Some people might've heard of it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I know. Can you tell me about it?

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, so currently our electronic health record, our EHR at all the markets is Cerner, and we are going to be converting everybody from Cerner to Epic, another EHR on September 1st, 2026.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So as a patient, this is the system that I use to see to connect to my doctors, and?

Lisa Curtis:

It's everything.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Everything, it's everything.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes, and it's funny, so I have to put this on here. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say EMR, electronic medical record. I'm like, this isn't 1990 anymore. An electronic medical record is I can go in and I can see the medicines that the patient had, and that's it. The electronic health record is so much more comprehensive, and I think we're doing ourselves a big disservice if we, for both Cerner or for EPIC, if you call it an EMR, because it looks at your social determinants of health. It has your immunization records, it has so much of your social history, all of the things that contribute to your health and your medical conditions. It's the whole enchilada, so.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great.

Lisa Curtis:

So, that's my PSA for today. Call it an EHR, please. I cringe. I tweak and twitch a little bit.

Japhet De Oliveira:

PSA noted, all right. So you take your credentialing?

Lisa Curtis:

Yes, it was a credentialing and because we had to do it remotely, it's an accreditation. It's basically a virtual degree versus an in-person degree.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. Now, have you been doing this long?

Lisa Curtis:

I have been here doing this, doing education and training with Adventist Health for, I just hit my 15 years.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Lisa Curtis:

So I've been on the same team. It's evolved over the years, but it's always been doing the EHR training for the folks at the markets.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fantastic, fantastic.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, it's been a lot of fun.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, I'm glad you're doing that. 15 years.

Lisa Curtis:

Me too, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right, so where were you born?

Lisa Curtis:

I was born down in Northridge, down in the LA area, and I'm a California mutt. We moved to Santa Rosa, I went to Chico, I lived down in the desert. So, I've been all over the place, but.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Now when were born, did you grow up down there?

Lisa Curtis:

I lived there until I was six, and then my parents got married. So then I would mostly consider Santa Rosa my hometown. That's where I went to school and grew up.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What did you imagine when you grew up to be?

Lisa Curtis:

Gosh, I wanted to be so many things. I always thought I would be some sort of journalist, a journalist or a counselor. I was really good at writing, creative writing. And if you know me, you'd know I've got a very crazy creative brain, so, and I still get to do that. I still get to interject that passion and that fun stuff into my work to make it a little more interesting, because learning about the EHR isn't fun. People aren't like, "Yay, let's go learn about this." So, how do you make it not a dog and pony show, but oh, this actually really matters to me, and what's in this for me? How does this apply to me? And putting it into those sort of terms for people so they're learning, but not really realizing. It's just I'm trying to take the boredom out of it. So, that's where that creative-

Japhet De Oliveira:

I have to ask, Lisa, what were you like at school?

Lisa Curtis:

Smart, very smart. I always wanted to get good grades. High energy, played soccer during high school, so.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic.

Lisa Curtis:

I was a good kid.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great, that's great. Now, are you an early riser or a late night owl?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, I'm a late night owl.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh really? What's late night?

Lisa Curtis:

I'll usually go to bed around like 10, but then I'll read or play stupid games on my phone till about 11 or 11:30.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fair enough, fair enough, fair enough. All right, so then in the morning when you wake up, what do you have drink of the day? Do you have water, liquid green smoothie, coffee?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, I start, I double fist it. I have my protein shake in one hand and then I have my coffee in the other.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, all right, all right.

Lisa Curtis:

So, it's a good blend.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. Hey, protein shake and a coffee, great. You ever mix them together? No.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, actually I do.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Lisa Curtis:

There's a little bit of that protein goodness at the bottom of it, you take the coffee, you dump it in there-

Japhet De Oliveira:

No you don't.

Lisa Curtis:

... you shake it. Yes, I do. You got to get every little ounce of that, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. No, that's a lot, that's a lot. All right. This morning... I kind of see this now. This morning when you woke up, first thought that went through your mind today was?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh shoot, I got to get out of bed early.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You're welcome, thank you for adjusting. Yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, and I work from home and I roll out of bed. Well, my alarm goes off at about 7:45.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right.

Lisa Curtis:

And so I'm out of bed and on the computer usually around 8:00.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's good. That's good.

Lisa Curtis:

My husband gets the kids off to school and stuff. God bless him for that.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, that's good, that's good. That's fantastic. All right, personality, if people were to describe you, would they say introvert or extrovert? And would you agree?

Lisa Curtis:

So, anybody who knows me is just laughing right now. There's only one answer. I am absolutely an extrovert. I remember a long time ago I did those quizzes, those personality things that measures how introverted, extroverted, or ambivert are you. And I'm 82% on the extrovert side.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really? No, I'm kidding.

Lisa Curtis:

I soak up... I know, surprising, right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

I soak up energy from people, I really do. I love coming into the office. I have to get my hugs. I have to see how people are doing, how's the family, how are the kids? All those things.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's good to connect with people.

Lisa Curtis:

I love people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah. I actually think there's so much value in that as well.

Lisa Curtis:

There is.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, this is brilliant. Last question. It's a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

Lisa Curtis:

No, no, I'm not. Again, when we did those Gallup, your strength finders, I am an activator. I definitely like to get the ball rolling. And actually, I partner really well with people who are the, I think they weren't the completers, but it was basically the person who, if I get the ball rolling, they will pick it up and finish it for me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Pick it up and run, yes.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes, the achievers. They're the achievers.

Japhet De Oliveira:

The achievers. That's good, that's good.

Lisa Curtis:

So I partner well with achievers. No, I definitely like to just get things started. I'm not afraid to spearhead something.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Do you know where this came from? You were born this way, it's like, did you have this with your parents, or?

Lisa Curtis:

I think I was, I think I was always that way. I've just never been afraid to be with people, in front of people. As a child, I was a bit of a ham. I did commercials when I was a little kid-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Lisa Curtis:

... down still living in LA. So yeah, I'm like, I should have continued that because I did commercials with Heather O'Rourke from Poltergeist, Joey Lawrence, Brandon Call from Step By Step. I'm like, man.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, okay.

Lisa Curtis:

I could have been a teenage sensation or a child star.

Japhet De Oliveira:

A Disney star.

Lisa Curtis:

I could have.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's awesome. Well, you are our Disney star right now. Okay? So, where do we go? You pick a number now.

Lisa Curtis:

Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's yours, yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

Let's go with my lucky number 13.

Japhet De Oliveira:

13, all right. What's the ideal end of your day?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, the ideal end of my day. When my boys come home from football practice and my husband, he coaches them as well. So when they all come home from practice, I of course will have been at Zumba this whole time while they're at practice.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, okay, all right.

Lisa Curtis:

So I come home from Zumba, they come home from football, we have dinner, and then we just sit on the couch and we'll watch one of our shows together. We have certain shows that we watch together as a family.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good.

Lisa Curtis:

And the kids are like, "Mom, scratch my back. Massage my feet." And it's just a snuggle fest and it's so sweet and I love it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's true, that's true. That's fantastic. How old are your kids?

Lisa Curtis:

They're going to be 14 on Sunday, they're twins. Two twin boys.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, wow, okay. Okay, that's fantastic.

Lisa Curtis:

It was a BOGO. So buy one, get one.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I was like, what's the BOGO? I was like, that's new. All right.

Lisa Curtis:

A BOGO.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Not buy one, bring one. All right, so let's go. All right. That was 13. Next?

Lisa Curtis:

Let's do 23.

Japhet De Oliveira:

23, all right. Tell us about the most outdated piece of technology that you still have and use.

Lisa Curtis:

I don't know if you'd even consider it technology, but I still have my Rolodex.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Lisa Curtis:

For my phone numbers, I absolutely do. I know I can take them and put them into my phone and have them all right there.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So you insert new cards, and-

Lisa Curtis:

I do, I still have... It's not the circular one, it's the one that's in the... If you had one, you know what I'm talking about.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, I do.

Lisa Curtis:

It's the one that looks like the box and you lift it up and it's got everything alphabetized. I still have that and I still use that usually at Christmastime [inaudible 00:10:05].

Japhet De Oliveira:

Is that that because you like to write?

Lisa Curtis:

I think so. And I think it's especially for people who've just been in my life forever. If I've known them, if I've met somebody in the last several years or whatever, they'll be in my phone. But for people who've been in my family, my long-term friends, they're still in my Rolodex. So when I have to do Christmas cards and stuff, I bust that out, and-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Really?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, this is their address. Yeah. That's the thing that I still clutch to.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. I've got to ask. So, Christmas cards are coming up. Do you still do Christmas cards?

Lisa Curtis:

Absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira:

And do you actually write the addresses out yourself or do you label print them, or?

Lisa Curtis:

No, I have a great system where I have an Excel spreadsheet and then I do a mail merge. I do, I confess. Sorry, everybody.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. No worries. That's good, that's good. All right, where next?

Lisa Curtis:

Let's do, we'll do my kids' football number, 26.

Japhet De Oliveira:

26, all right. Tell us about one thing that you love that most people do not.

Lisa Curtis:

Public speaking.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No?

Lisa Curtis:

I love it. Yeah, and I know that's a big phobia for a lot of people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it is, yes.

Lisa Curtis:

Does that surprise you, Japhet?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No.

Lisa Curtis:

Does it? You look at me like, really?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No.

Lisa Curtis:

No, I don't mind it at all. I know.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So public speaking, like impromptu or prepared?

Lisa Curtis:

Either. Maybe impromptu might even feel a little bit better. Prepared, I think I'll get a little bit more into my own head of how it has to be perfect and how I have to present things.

Japhet De Oliveira:

How do you know that you've landed a talk?

Lisa Curtis:

I think I reflect afterwards. I will reflect and I'll say, "Did I sound like an idiot? Did I ramble? Did that make any sense?" And sometimes I'll ping somebody that was maybe in my audience or on my team. "Did that make sense? Did I sound like an idiot?" And they'll either let me know, "No, no, it sounded good," or, "Yeah, you went on a little bit too much, Lisa." "Okay, thank you. I'll check myself for next time."

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good, that's good. Hey, I like that. All right.

Lisa Curtis:

I got people who keep me honest, for sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good.

Lisa Curtis:

That's the beauty of having a team you're really, really tight with.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We need that, we all need that.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, we do.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah. All right, where next?

Lisa Curtis:

Let's do 68.

Japhet De Oliveira:

68.

Lisa Curtis:

That's my cousin's a football member.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. If you could learn one new professional skill, what would it be?

Lisa Curtis:

When I was in my mid-20s, so my career path originally I was going to go into public health. My degree was in health education, I worked for the health department in communicable disease, and I absolutely loved it. And then this is going to sound so silly, but I literally had a dream where I was an OB nurse and I remember waking up going, "Why am I not a nurse? I would love that career. I would absolutely love it." So, and I did try to start pursuing that. It was at the time where, okay, I'm working full time, I had to go back and get some of my prerequisites redone because there was a recency requirement.

So, it was taking a lot of time and it got to a point where I didn't want to go back and get another bachelor's. I was trying to get into just one of the community colleges to get my associates in nursing just to get my foot in the door. And at that point there were lotteries, there were 600 people competing for a cohort of 55 spots in the nursing program. So they never drew my number and I'm like, look, at some point I have to either really commit to this or my eggs are going to shrivel up, I'm never going to have kids and be able to start a family. At this point, didn't want to be that much of an advanced maternal age mom. So, I wish that I had gone back and if I could start it all over again, I would've loved to have had a nursing career. I really, really would've loved that, I think.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What draws you to that idea?

Lisa Curtis:

I think whenever people are hurting or sick or sad, I'm drawn to them, I just want to help them. Most things I'm not afraid of. I'm not grossed out by many bodily fluids except for vomit, that's terrible. But I would just love to be able to help people when they're in such a vulnerable state.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. I think that's actually probably one of the most essential things that you see in nurses and doctors is that they actually do love people. Yeah, they want to help them, yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah. It's not just a science, it's actually the humanity.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes, and as you can probably tell, I am two months out done with chemotherapy so my hair's growing back, I got a quarter of inch of hair.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I did not ask. I was just... Okay, so tell us what's going on. Well, first of all, you have very short hair.

Lisa Curtis:

I do. I have very short and it's very white right now, much to my dismay.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I thought it's just a fashion statement.

Lisa Curtis:

No, no. I have the GI Jane look right now. It's that very fierce look.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Do you do one arm push-ups?

Lisa Curtis:

All the time.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All the time.

Lisa Curtis:

Just on two fingertips. I've got skills.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, I'm glad. Two months of chemo.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes. Well, two months done. I did-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Two months done, all right.

Lisa Curtis:

... six rounds every three weeks. So, and getting back again to the clinicians, the oncology team at UC Davis, because I'm not near an Adventist Health facility so I am using Davis. And they have been just an incredible blessing. And I told my oncology team, "You have to be an absolutely whole other kind of special clinician to be in oncology."

Japhet De Oliveira:

[inaudible 00:15:01], yes.

Lisa Curtis:

Just the genuine care and concern and how incredibly brilliant they are. They took something that was a horrible situation and they made it a great situation for what it was.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow, wow.

Lisa Curtis:

They really did.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, so I've got to ask, when you're at these places and you're doing your treatment, you must be the energy for everybody else as well, right?

Lisa Curtis:

Maybe.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Maybe.

Lisa Curtis:

Maybe.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Positivity, like, "Hey, we can all do this. We're going to get through." Yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

I am. I think inherently I am. I know I'm that person.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So, you're helping them as well?

Lisa Curtis:

I think so, and I think they appreciate it too, because I understand that they have a lot of people that are in very, very much more advanced stages of cancer than I am. They're in much more dire situations and it's more of like, okay, how are we going to keep you comfortable? What's the best we can do? For me, they're like, "We're going to cure you. This is going to be done." This was ovarian cancer and they actually caught it at stage one, which if you know anything about ovarian cancer, that is insane. Usually it's stage four and let's keep you comfortable. So, the fact that they caught it so early, they did complete surgery, they took out everything and everything that it possibly could have touched. I'm like, fine, take it all, I don't need it anymore anyways. And then they're like, "We think we got everything, but we're going to do chemo just to put the cherry on top and make absolutely sure we got everything." So I was like, "Let's bring it on. Let's do it."

Japhet De Oliveira:

Fantastic. Fantastic.

Lisa Curtis:

So yeah, knock on wood, everything's clean and clear.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, how long before the final, how much treatment left?

Lisa Curtis:

Treatment is done.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Treatment's all done? All right.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, treatment is done, chemo is done. And now it's just every three months they'll be monitoring me with blood work exams, an occasional CT and stuff.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You got it, you got it. Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

I do. Now I feel really, really good about it. After surgery and then I got that staging, I was like, oh, okay, no problem, I got this. If it's stage one, I feel completely confident that this was going to be a one and done, I'm going to be done with this after all this is said and done.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So I have lots of friends, lots of friends, and personally I've seen it happen as well that they've gone through lots of difficult things with this. What advice would you give somebody who's thinking, oh, the struggle's so hard, losing the hair and everything's difficult about this. What would you say to them?

Lisa Curtis:

It will all pass. It very much is, it stinks in the meantime, but it will pass. Get through it, stay active. One of the things, when I was going through chemo, I only had two days that were that really achy flu, just, ugh, I just want to stay in bed. But I didn't stay in bed, I walked. I would just take the dog for a walk and walking helped so much. And even with bone pain and some of the other symptoms, staying active, protein, water. I actually had a five point plan, protein, water, sleep, exercise, and a positive attitude.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's good.

Lisa Curtis:

That is your pentagon of perfection.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good, that's good.

Lisa Curtis:

The Pentagon of perfection for getting through chemo. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good, good. Thank you, thank you for sharing that. And anyone listening, encouraging to them as well. That's great. Good, all right. Where next?

Lisa Curtis:

Let's do 76.

Japhet De Oliveira:

76. All right. Tell us about where you feel the safest and why.

Lisa Curtis:

Just at home, my family, they are my safe place. And just my house, my family, my dog, my cat, everything just feels good. Yeah, just no expectations, we are very much ourselves, for better, for worse.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, that's what home should be, right?

Lisa Curtis:

It is, and it is everything I think that a home should be. It's one of those things that someday when you're a little kid, you're thinking about what it's going to be like in the future. I feel like I've got that. It's self-actualization, if you think about that hierarchy of needs. I'm like, wow, I'm really, really blessed, I really am.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. I'm very happy for you and happy for the family as well. That's great.

Lisa Curtis:

Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Great. Where next?

Lisa Curtis:

Let's do 85.

Japhet De Oliveira:

85, all right. Oh, describe a role model you aspire to be like.

Lisa Curtis:

I feel like I would want to Frankenstein a bunch of people together into my perfect role model. Can I do that?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Lisa Curtis:

Can I Frankenstein people?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Lisa Curtis:

Gosh. I mean, I think about people like my mom who was just a sweet, funny, person who was just very fiercely independent and creative and self-sufficient. I really, really admired that about her. She's not a damsel in distress kind of person. I don't know. There's people that I work with where I'm like, wow, just the poise, the maturity, the emotional intelligence that they have that I want to draw from and I want to be like them.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Isn't it great?

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

To be able to find so many pieces from other people that just like, yeah, I like that. The Frankenstein one's kind of scary, but I like the idea.

Lisa Curtis:

I want to blend them all together.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I see a lot of greatness in people. Frankenstein, I don't know about that metaphor, but yeah, I'm with you. It does paint a picture, so, thank you. Thank you. All right, all right. Where next?

Lisa Curtis:

Let's go 94.

Japhet De Oliveira:

94.

Lisa Curtis:

I'm not scared of the high numbers, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no. Okay, if you could change one thing in the world, one thing in the world, what would it be?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, I wish people would just listen.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

I think people are much more, and I'm trying to think definitely in America and maybe globally, but maybe let's just start with America because we got to start somewhere. People are so focused on their own beliefs and their own perspective, which, own it. That's completely fine, everybody should have their own belief system and whatnot. But be open to understanding that there is more outside than just your perspective. Other people have different experiences, other people have different stories. That just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean that theirs are not real.

So, I think so much anger is from people feeling always just defensive like they have to defend their stance and my stance is my way. And no, there are many ways, and it's okay to be humble and listen and learn from other people. And if you change your mind, just say, "Oh, that was a really great perspective. Never really thought about it that way." I've had things in my life even over the last 10 years, socially, there's so many things that I've had a perspective that maybe I was raised with. And then as I talked to people and learned more and maybe just grew up, it's okay to change your perspective. It doesn't make you weak, it doesn't mean they win. It's just that's what evolving is, you become a better person by learning.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, the courage to grow.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Right?

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, and you should never stop growing.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. And do you find that with children they grow so well, but then we become adults and we become stunted in our growth? We don't expand.

Lisa Curtis:

I do. When kids are small, they are true sponges.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes, they are.

Lisa Curtis:

And then I think you get to a point where you become a teenager and you know everything, and then you become a college student and you really think you know everything. And I don't know, again, if it's just a pride thing where people just become too prideful to change or to continue to grow. And then I think that you get into your 40s and pushing your 50s and you're like, yeah, I just don't care anymore. That's great, if that's how you want to think, that's cool. And we can agree to disagree, and that is fine. It doesn't make you a bad person, it doesn't make me a bad person. It just means I like chocolate and you like vanilla, and there's nothing wrong with that because we both like ice cream and that's great.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I hope people do listen more. That's good, it's good wisdom. All right, that was 94. So, where next?

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, let's creep up to 97.

Japhet De Oliveira:

97. Tell us about a time when you did the right thing.

Lisa Curtis:

So in about 2019 or so, I was the manager of the, back then it was the learning solutions team, the education and training team. And I was getting to a point where, to a fault, one of my things is I will take on a lot of work. And I don't mind, I don't care, I'm a workhorse and I enjoy that, but it was getting to the point where it was really, really affecting my mental health. I was starting to have panic attacks and really, really, really, really terrible things.

If anybody's ever watched Ted Lasso and you know when he has the panic attacks? I almost cried because I saw him and I'm like, that's it. He just exemplified exactly what is happening to me and in my head, in my body, in my chest. It was like I could finally show somebody, that's it, that is what happens to me. I was just taking on too much and I stepped away from that position, from that leadership position. And it was a hard decision because, and thank God I'm still with most of that team. We've all found each other again, we've all come back together. I love that team so much, but I think it was going to be doing them a disservice and then myself a disservice if I wasn't taking care of my mental health. I had to take a step back. And I took a different position still in education, it was just more on the provider side.

And then that team obviously continued to thrive and they were great because, I mean, they really didn't need much of a leader. They were so self-sufficient and amazing, they could do everything on their own anyways. So, that was a hard decision, but I am glad I did it. You can still be a leader without a formal title, right? And I still feel like I had a lot of opportunities to help to spearhead projects, people. It was definitely the right decision.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's good.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

A courageous decision and the right one.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Great. Hey, love that.

Lisa Curtis:

Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. We have time for two more. Oh, where'd you want to go? Last two.

Lisa Curtis:

Okay. I'm not scared. Let's do 99.

Japhet De Oliveira:

99, all right.

Lisa Curtis:

I'm just curious.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What is the most difficult truth that you've ever told?

Lisa Curtis:

Well, when my mom died of cancer, she had colon cancer and she died two weeks after my boys were born.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, wow.

Lisa Curtis:

And she literally held on to see them, to meet them. I was like six months pregnant, she's like, "Are you having those babies yet?" I'm like, "Not yet, mom. They still got to bake a little bit longer."

I think one of the most difficult truths was when the boys were born, she and my dad came and they spent some time at our house and there were just beautiful memories that happened. And shortly after that, she ended up basically in hospice. And I remember my dad saying, "Look, when it's really time, I'll call you and I'll tell you to come," because they were over in Santa Rosa and I was in Sacramento area. And he called me and he's like, "You need to come. This is pretty much going to be it." So I remember I had time with her where my dad and my sister left and just have your own time. And that was hard, knowing that it was literally going to be the last time I would ever see my mom. Just petting her hair.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, hey. I know.

Lisa Curtis:

Yep. Just petting her hair. And I remember leaving and telling my dad, "I can't believe I'm never going to see her again." So that was a truth of just, it was kind of his circle of life moment. My mom was leaving but I just had these two boys.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Hey, it's okay, it's okay.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, and they were incredible blessings.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, and they are, they are. Yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

And they know, they're like know Grandma Terry is still alive or she still is with us. She sends us little reminders all the time that she's still there and she is part of our daily vernacular and stories. And she's gone, but she's not really gone.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's actually one of the most beautiful ways to remember people and to keep them present is to talk about them.

Lisa Curtis:

Oh, absolutely.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, yeah, and I think we don't do enough of that and we need to do that because that's actually a reminder of who they were and what they've done and how they're still shaping us. Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

Yeah, and I feel like by talking about them more and just still keeping them here, it takes the pain away, I think. Don't stifle it, let them be here, let them be present. Let their legacy live on.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, that's good, that's good. Lisa, thank you for sharing. We just have one more. Where'd you want to go with your last number?

Lisa Curtis:

Now, do I have to do 100? Is there an escalation?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no, you could go up and down, it's up to you. You can go anywhere you want to.

Lisa Curtis:

Has anybody ever done 100?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Lisa Curtis:

Okay. I'm going to be bold. I want the 100.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You want the 100.

Lisa Curtis:

Let's take it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right, all right. Would you tell us one question that you don't want to answer?

Lisa Curtis:

One question I don't want to answer.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Uh-huh.

Lisa Curtis:

My social security number. I don't want anyone taking my identity.

Japhet De Oliveira:

What is your social security?

Lisa Curtis:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right. That's amazing. Yeah.

Lisa Curtis:

I mean, isn't that the right answer? Anything else? Anyone who knows me knows I am a pretty much an open book.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay.

Lisa Curtis:

But yeah, I don't want my identity stolen, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay, all right.

Lisa Curtis:

Stop trying to get that out of me.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I tried, I tried. Hey, well, thank you for trying. So hey, thank you for taking the time. Thank you for taking the time.

Lisa Curtis:

Thank you so much. This was fun.

Japhet De Oliveira:

This is good. I say this every time and I really do mean this. You learn so much about a person just by asking them good questions. And I believe that we are changed for it and we're changed for the better. And it's good, it's good to do this. So, I encourage people to do the same maybe with a cup of tea or a coffee or something, or a coffee with protein shake. I'm not too sure.

Lisa Curtis:

Yes, so good. Don't knock it till you try it.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I don't know if I'm going to have the courage. But hey, Lisa, thank you so much again, and God bless everybody and we'll connect again soon.

Lisa Curtis:

Thank you.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for the Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventistshealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health, through the Office of Culture.