Purposeful Healing: Dr. Katrina Nguyen's Mission Against Childhood Obesity

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. If you believe, you can achieve Welcome to the Live in the Dream with Curveball Podcast. A show where I interview guests that teach motivate and inspire. Today's guest is someone who we define resilience and debate in action. Dr. Katrina Wynne is a board-certified paediatric doctor and a two-time best-selling author. And she is also the founder of Faithful to Fitness, which is a nonprofit organization that helps combat child obesity. And Dr. Wynne has a unique journey as she escaped to Vietnam as a toddler during after the fall of Saigon. So we're going to be talking to her about her nonprofit and her journey and everything that she's up to and gonna be up to. So Dr. Wynne, thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Thank you very much. We uh I look forward to our conversation here on your show.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

So I am Dr. Katrina Wynne. I've been a physician since 2002 and a pediatric gastroenterologist uh since 2009. I currently live in northern Illinois with my husband. Um, and uh I'm a dog mom. I love to serve people, and that's why I formed a nonprofit for Chaduro Beastie, really educating and inspiring people towards a life of health and wellness, and inspiring others to also give back by using their time, talent, and treasure to better the world.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Well, your journey begins with an incredible escape from Vietnam. So talk about that and how that has shaped who you are today.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Yes, uh, April 30th, 1975. Um, I was 14 months old, and uh my dad is a fisherman. Um he took my uh myself and my seven siblings. I was the youngest of eight, and my mom, we went into his uh fishing boat and he took us out to sea uh to escape uh communist uh Vietnam. We were in the south at the time, and uh just courageously, you know, uh taking that risk, hoping to be saved by a humanitarian ship out to sea. And uh during the process of uh this we were uh we had to abandon his boat and eventually were rescued by um humanitarian merchant ship and brought to the Philippines. Um and we were processed there and eventually uh we were flown to uh Guam, which is our first U.S. settlement. Um, and that was about a five to ten day process between leaving Vietnam and boat and getting into Guam. And in Guam, we were there for uh about I would say a year and a half, and my parents uh went through you know several hurricanes there. My little sister was born in uh July of 76. And uh later, later on, uh we were sponsored by Catholic charities and brought to New Orleans, Louisiana, where my uh youngest brother was born in March of 1978. In 1980, we moved to California, which for the most of my childhood and into college, I spent uh time in Southern California before I went off to medical school.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Well, I know that uh you describe your work as a vocation instead of just a career. So talk about the turning point that uh made you realize that.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Um several things. Um, you know, people often ask me like why I went to medical school, why I want to be a doctor. So um during the journey of leaving Vietnam, um, I nearly died twice. Uh once when I was transferred uh from the um onto the ship, I nearly uh fell into the ocean when somebody didn't catch me. And um, luckily somebody caught me by the leg and made it there. And the second time I was very sick in the island in Guam and required emergency surgery, and I made it, but uh during that time before surgery, my parents were told that they didn't know if I'd make it, so they had to find a burial site just in case. So I look back at that that that story and realize that you know God brought me people in my life early on to give me second chances, so doctors and nurses who saved me. Uh I always say, you know, there's there's an angel that was sent, right, to have me in the right place with the right people who saved me. And um I look at his vocation as giving back, giving back from God's many blessings and many second chances in my life. Uh people say, you know, in your career, um, you have opportunities to, of course, make an income, but uh at some point you have to realize it's more than income, that it's about making an impact. So since uh 2020, uh I left uh secular health care and focused on faith-based healthcare. So I'm part of a group of uh tele uh doctors who primarily do telehealth, um and it's called my Catholic Doctor. I joined them in November 2020. Um, and so I am licensed in seven states and provide consults for patients through telehealth. Um, as part of my vocation, I also have served in medical missions for once a year for about 10 days uh since 2020. So in the February, March of each year from 24, 25, and 26, I go to El Salvador and I serve with um you know other clinicians. Um, and with that time frame each year, we serve about 1,500 uh patients in El Salvador. And for many of them, it's their only time uh in the whole year that they get medical care. Um, and we all pay our way and we fundraise uh for the supplies and the ability for us to travel there and to be able to give back um alongside other colleagues who are just as passionate about sharing God's love with other people.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Well, as a doctor, a pediatric doctor, to talk about some of the biggest health challenges you're seeing in children today.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Um I think that the childhood obesity epidemic is one of the biggest challenges um in America. And uh and that's why in uh 2014 I established a nonprofit uh to help make a difference in our community. Uh I I found that even before then, uh my first job job was in Augusta, George out of my fellowship. Um I, you know, worked there and realized that so many people don't have access to the knowledge of what's healthy, um, what kind of food, what portion sizes, uh how what level of activity you need to stay healthy. Um also access, access to a dietitian that insurance won't pay for. Um food deserts, being near a grocery store and getting fresh fruits. Um and then you know, for many kids, over time, school doesn't even offer physical education. And so parents can't afford to pay for them to go to sports or you know, weekend or travel sports, those types of things. Um so the lack of knowledge, the lack of resources, uh, access, motivation, uh, insurance, uh all those things add to this chronic health problem of obesity that leads to things like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, um, cholesterol problems. Um, so yeah, my way of tackling that is to take it outside of the hospital and clinics and just partner with the community, with the gyms, the grocery stores, um, the um, you know, dietitians that volunteer, the fitness instructors, the farms, all those things together to help make a difference and reach people who don't have access because of uh, you know, minimum uh the finances and the knowledge and the motivation, putting them really in the right environment, like every Saturday, working out together. And sometimes you're in the right place with the right people who are all struggling together. We can motivate each other.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Well, uh, let's talk about Faithful to Fitness. Talk about what inspired you to start it and and how is it helping in the fight against childhood obesity.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

So our my first program was April uh 2015 uh in Lough Park, Illinois at a gym. Um so the our program is a 12-week program once a week for an hour on Saturday. We meet uh with fitness instructors and parents and kids, um, we and even siblings, we get together and we work out with uh with no equipment really, um, just uh aerobic, just teaching people to move. And um that's one way. The other thing that we do is we take kids to the farm and have having the farm instructor provide education about uh where food comes from, how to grow, how to harvest, um, the the value of certain types of food like fruits and vegetables, organic farming, um, and then exposing them to new foods that they wouldn't try by taking them to the grocery store and doing a tour uh with the dietitian who can show them how to shop on a budget. So, you know, eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive. You if you know how to budget. And um, and then you know, learning to be conscious of what the conscious of what we're eating and reading the food labels and knowing what we're putting in our grocery cart, um, you know, minimizing the drive-throughs and and fast food, uh teaching them how to meal prep, taking time every week to meal prep because prepping a meal is usually the more challenging part than cooking the meal. Um, and then every year in August, uh for 10 years now, we do a community walk called Fight Obesity Walk With Me, a 5K event. And that brings again the community together, the parents, the kids, and allowing people to know that you don't have to be an athlete to be active, right? Anybody can come out and learn how to walk and prepare for that 5K every year. Um, and so those are small things we've done. What I've also noticed is that just giving them a chance to, you know, be around other people who struggle with the same problem lets them know that they're not alone and that there are doctors, nurses, dietitians, medical students here to help them on the journey and be a role model. If we're gonna tell our patients to be active and healthy, we should be out there being active and healthy with them as well. Um, I've had kids who have lost, you know, 30 pounds even after the 12-week program, they continue to work with their parents and kept that weight off. And because the kids are being in our program, the parents have gotten active and lost weight and we um reversed their labs for diabetes. I've had um a teenager who even got off insulin uh because of losing weight, eating better, that not needing the insulin to control sugars. So it's a very ripple effect when you include the whole family and just not take a child into a clinic or hospital, but take it out of there and say, let's go do something about it rather than talk about your obesity or your diabetes.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Well, let's talk about how you integrate your Christian faith into your medical practice without compromising clinical care.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Well, um, a couple things. Um, I think uh num number one is with the um, you know, telehealth, it's it's a a Catholic organization. Um we don't require, you know, patients to be Catholic, but they come to us knowing that we value life and family, and we help encourage them uh to value their body and take care of their mind, body, and spirit. Because health is not just about physical, it's about mental health, spiritual health as well. Um so we still you know practice science-based medicine. We provide the care, the counseling, the you know, getting a good history, prescribe medications that are needed, get labs and imaging that's needed. Uh, but at the same time, you know, talking about the importance of uh you know prayer and uh you know taking time to rest and relax and um and and taking care of your mind, your body uh together. Um there's been many, many studies uh that have shown the importance of prayer and healing and um you know journeying together and suffering trials as a family, having a good support group. Um and then the other thing is um, you know, for us as Christians, as Catholic physicians, we always look at everything that we get is a blessing. So, you know, using our treasures, our time and our talent to give back. Um and and therefore that's part of the vocation, you know, factor. We don't really look at whether a patient can does have insurance or whether they can afford to see us, but we work with them to make sure that we are serving those who need us, and we find a way to take care of patients regardless of their ability to pay. And so um that's the beauty of it. We have charity care. Um, I think of Mother Teresa, one of the greatest humanitarians, who is not a doctor, but provided a lot of relief of suffering and caring for those who were unfortunate, least fortunate in the community, um, during her journey as a missionary nun. So she's also you know a good role model for all of us as uh Christian healthcare providers.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

We'll talk about your transition into uh telemedicine with my Catholic doctor, you know, talk about that and how that's uh you know, uh helped you with your work life balance.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

So um prior to 2020, as you probably know, um during the COVID pandemic, um a lot of uh doctors, nurses, uh healthcare uh clinics, hospitals, we transitioned to virtual care, telehealth. And so I would say most people in healthcare were not familiar with telehealth until we were, we needed to learn, we were required to learn to do that. And from there, I realized there was so much value in it, um, even though prior to that I wasn't a huge fan because I felt like I wanted the contact with a patient. But it was more about seeing that telehealth allowed me to see how the everyday life environment, the challenges of patients, because you're actually seeing the patient within their own environment, you know, on the on the screen. And um, you know, for instance, it's not like a mom or dad just bringing a child to our office and it's isolated to let's just talk about the child. But in the virtual setting, we're seeing mom struggling with uh, you know, providing education virtually for one child while also having that child see the doctor and also preparing a meal and cleaning the house and the chaos, you know, that we can witness virtually through telehealth. There's also the convenience of if a family had several children, um, not having to bring all four of the children plus another one to the clinic because they didn't have a caretaker so that they can be seen within the home without leaving the home. Um so those are things that were you know positives. Um I also had patients who just needed to come for checkup, maybe a medication refill, and instead of having them drive for an hour or two to see me, they can be seen there in the home and not having to pay for gas to drive for that far for a 15-20-minute visit. So I try to look at the positives of that and the ability to serve more people because um, you know, I can be can be licensed in multiple states and just see patients uh wherever they are.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Well, for someone seeking to align their work with their purpose, what advice would you give them?

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Um I think that uh you know what helped me is to find, you know, uh balance. And I always, for me as a faith-based doctor, and God was always important to me. So I always make my decisions on my day, my schedule, what to do, what to accept is the making God a priority. And finding peace with, secondly, after God is to prioritize my family. Um, even though I don't have children, but my husband is also a physician, so we have to find a way to balance our schedules so that it's not just about what's convenient for me, but what works for both him and I. So that we're not always about work, work, work, but really finding time to, you know, go to church together, uh, travel together, prioritizing uh family holidays together, you know, seeing his parents, um, seeing my family. Um so the work but life balance is important. Early in my career, I think I prioritized my work a lot more, and I wasn't prioritizing my family as much. So those are things we learn with time, and we get wiser and we know to prioritize God family, and then finding ways to better a country, and then business would be next, and then self would be last, so that we're not self-centered, that it's not everything that we do is just what's best for us, but it should be best for you know other people that we love and especially that we love God.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

Well, I know you've been involved in several medical missions and pilgrimages, so talk about uh one specific moment during that work that deeply impacted you.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Um well for El Salvador Medical Missions, um I would say that you know, my first trip there in uh February to March of 2024, uh being able to see like in a third world country, the level of poverty and the lack of healthcare access, things that I took for granted here uh in America. And uh what impacted me is to to see that even though patients there, the families there were very poor, um you know, maturely they were very poor, but spiritually they're very wealthy. And when I came back here after the trips, from there on every year, uh I I just learned to appreciate the little things that I take for granted. Um, for example, there in El Salvador, there the water is not treated, and so there's parasites within the water. So clean water itself is valued, uh, so much so that we bring about um 400 to 600 water filters from here, each costing only$40, and we help uh families there get the water filters installed and maintained, and it provides them free clean water for five to ten years. Uh without clean water, the the families, the patients there have abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, poor appetite, bloating, and they have to go in and get treated with medications every three to six months if they get access to it through the health department. And when they don't, um we come there once a year and we provide the medications to treat the parasites. But, you know, for me to go there during that time, learning how to take a shower and not and worrying that I might drink the water and get parasites. So learning how to shower the right way and you know, using the the uh bathrooms there and you know, just access sanitation, all those different things that we had skills and just daily habits that you just go and do things and you don't think about here in America. When you go there, you have to think about ways to adapt to that so that you keep yourself healthy while you're taking care of patients.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Well, let's talk about your sponsors, Chick-fil-A and Fleet Feet. Uh, talk about how these partnerships help you scale your mission.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

So that they are my partners for uh my nonprofit for childhood obesity. Um every year in August, we are always getting sponsors to support a 5K event. And uh you know, Fleet Feet um and Chick fil A provide um products and services to help motivate and uh you know share uh inspiring uh things for the participants. So Fleet Feet um provides like raffle prizes so They can get discounts, certificates, um, through the race bib drawing every year. And they've been a partner for most of the last you know 10, 11 years. And Chick-fil-A for I think six or seven years. Um, the last three years they provide uh, you know, some sandwiches, you know, at the end of the event so that the participants have something to eat when they're done with the event. And uh so it's it's been great to see that if you just reach out to community partners. There's always people and businesses that want to make a difference in the community, participate. But the most important thing is taking time to say, you know, can you help us? And people always say, How can we help you? How can we make a difference? We would be honored to do that. And so they've been great partners in that way to be part of our annual event.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Well, looking ahead, what legacy do you hope to leave both in medicine and through your ministry work?

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Um well, I would say that um probably one of my most important legacies is related to my nonprofit and the battle uh to help reverse the childhood obesity epidemic in America. And uh I think that, you know, for for me personally, with obesity and for children, uh I really emphasize nutrition, behavior education, uh, physical activity, and not medications. And my legacy and my hope is that people with time will value that and know that if you put the right food in your body, that the body will heal itself. Uh, and to reduce the need for medications uh and the other diseases related to obesity. Uh, I hope that with my example and what I've set up here for the programs in northern Illinois, um, and I share it across the country through lectures and through podcasts, is that other cities, other states, other doctors, dietitians, nurses, medical students will say, How can I uh replicate what is done here in northern Illinois by Faithful to Fitness? So I'm ready with you know licensing agreement to be able to have that done in other places. Um, and I look forward to other people reaching out to do the same for their community. Um, as far as my you know mission in healthcare, um, I think we need more compassion in healthcare, and that's what Christian doctors like myself will focus on that, and finding ways to serve people regardless of their ability to pay. Uh, at the same time, prioritizing the culture of life, uh, uplifting families and parents and supporting women through pregnancies, um, you know, bringing the importance of prayer into healing and uh allowing the mind, body, and spirit to heal together. Uh, so the family unit is very important uh when we heal, when we help each other uh achieve wellness uh in the future.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Well, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Um, well, let me think. Um I have you know signed up for another medical mission for 2027 again into El Salvador. Uh I'm also working um to hopefully, you know, I started the draft of a children's book uh with my uh publisher, Hilton Publishing, that published my first book, Live to Give, uh, in 2020. Um so we're in the process of that. I wrote a first draft and hopefully, you know, connect with an illustrator and editor to get that out. It's related to coping with loss, but um, for a children's book. And it's like a superhero theme. So that's my goal is to get out my first children's book. Um, and then my um, I guess a few other things is you know, we're planning today. I just started to plan a the the 11th 5K event for this August. Um, and in honor of America, the 250th birthday, uh, we are incorporating many of our designs into our 5K t-shirt uh for that. Um, I also started serving um on several committees uh at national Christian um organizations uh to help fundraise for many causes that will allow medical students and residents to be trained in a way that they feel empowered to share their faith and their vocation in medicine and to bring joy and compassion to uh those that they will serve. So uh those are small things I feel like, you know, I'm in my 50s now, uh over two decades in Madison, and it's my turn to give back and be a mentor to others and fundraise to provide resources for the for those in training and in the future of Madison.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Yeah, speaking of books, uh talk about your books, uh, tell listeners what they can expect when they read them and uh you know uh where they can get them and throw out your contact info.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Yes, yes. Um so my website is M D Katrina, so mdk a t r-in-a dot com. Um and when you go on there you'll see uh like a little logo for author. Um and when you click there, you'll see three books. Um I published my memoir, Live to Give, uh, in December 2020 with Home Publishing, and that is partly what you alluded to in the beginning, my story of uh escaping communist Vietnam as a toddler, my journey as a physician, the importance of faith in my career, the formation of my nonprofit, and many stories uh within my book about where I saw God asking me to make a difference in you know people's lives and how other people made a difference in my life. And I always ask, like, where did you see God today? And if we look at that question every day, we can find stories of God's impact in our life and in other people's lives. Um, and then in January of 2023, um I published a co-authored book with uh I believe about 12 other women. I forget exactly the number, but 11 or 12 other women. Um, and it's called The Confidence of Yes, and that became an Amazon bestseller. You find that uh on Amazon. Um, you can also find it on my website, uh, mdkatrina.com. And then in October of 2023, another book called Overcoming Mediocrity, Epic Women, and 17 women total there, where um for me I wrote a chapter there sharing um my nonprofit work and several stories about patients uh that I have served and the success stories from Faithful to Fitness. Um, and also other women's stories there also, finding ways to overcome being mediocre, because each of us have our special talents that God has given us, and it's about using those talents not just for ourselves, but to make the world better. Um, so and that also became an Amazon bestseller as well. So I've been very blessed uh from writing my first book to doing lots of speaking engagements and meeting other people to to collaborate and and share our stories and and be inspiring and motivating to other people.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

All right, ladies and gentlemen, mdkatrina.com. Please go check out that website, pick up the books and you know, support everything that she's doing. Follow rate review, share this episode to as many people as possible. And for more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.curveball337.com and please share the website of the show to everybody that you know. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And uh Katrina, uh, thank you for all that you do. And uh real quick, if somebody wanted to get involved with with your Faithful to Fitness organization, can they do that and in what ways?

SPEAKER_01 31:38

Uh yes, they can reach out to me um through the website. They can also um go to our Facebook page, so facebook.com slash faithful to fitness. Uh also read uh on faithfultofitness.org and send me a message there as well. So there's different ways. Um I you know I look forward to connecting with somebody who says, uh, I would like to do the same program you have in in uh Love's Park, Illinois in my city. And can I come out and speak in their community and bring community partners together and give them the you know the blueprint, right, to make it happen in their community as well. I'm here to serve, ready to serve.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

Absolutely. Again, thank you for being so kind to join uh join me and talk about what you're doing to make the world a better place.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Thank you very much, Curtis, for all that you do, and God bless you and all of your listeners.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.curveball337.com. Until next time, keep living the dream.