How She Left a Six-Figure Job to Build a Life-Changing Clinic

lymphedema is the swelling of the extremities, so we help get rid of the swelling and get them back to their normalist.

“It's definitely understudied and underdiagnosed and under treated, and they're not enough of us out there.”

Dr. Nicole Lampo is a physical therapist, certified lymphedema, and wound specialist, and the founder of Healing Journey, drawing from years of clinical expertise. She helps patients improve their quality of life through specialized lymphedema care, advanced wound treatment, and compassionate evidence-based rehabilitation. I left a six-figure job to do this because they no longer wanted to pay for the

supplies I needed. This is my life since this is my reputation and I don't want to do that with

lymphatics, doing the interventions. I can see immediate results, and being able to provide that kind of effectiveness and something that they could see and feel and then want to continue. That's why we all get into the profession as to help. Hey, welcome back everyone to another episode of Living Your Legacy Podcast. I'm your host again today, Jason Langen, and yeah, we're here at the quarterfinals.

Halfway through the quarterfinals of the World Cup craziness where we got the Norwegians in town that evaded us, but yes, Sunny, Miami Beach, Florida, and the studios, and we got another special

“guest who's come down from Merrill Beach, I believe, another beach, okay? And what's your name?”

Introduce yourself, and what's your business? My name's Nicole Lampo, and I own a lymphedema clinic, physical therapy, lymphedema clinic, and Merrill Beach, South Carolina. All right, so what's a lymphedema clinic? The lymphedema is the swelling of the extremities, either their legs are very swollen or breast cancer patients have swelling in the arm in the hand after surgery, so we help get rid of the swelling and get them back to their normalos.

Wow, and so I didn't know that a lot of people suffer from that so much that you'll need a clinic for that. Yes, and they're not enough of us out there. Wow, okay, so yeah, tell me about it. Like, why what causes the swelling? You know, you must be busy since you have a clinic. I mean,

“I didn't know that it was even a thing. Yeah, a lot of people don't. Even in the healthcare”

world, it's definitely understudied and underdiagnosed and under treated lymphedema that we're back up to say, all edema is lymphedema, so anytime you get swelling, your lymphatic system has to get rid of it, so they typically don't. So like, even like you have a sprained ankle and it swells. So if it's inside a joint capsule, that's effusion, so sometimes the ankle joint or the knee, the swelling there is is in the joint capsule, so that's effusion and not edema.

Okay. But anytime you have edema, so if you get it in the legs, you get it around the ankles, but not necessarily in the joint, the lymphatic system that clears that fluid out. So they typically don't call it lymphedema until it requires intervention to get rid of it. Okay. And so, yeah, what are the main causes? Why is it happen? You know, I'm so,

I always say there's, there's, and I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, but they have a great

term called muggles, right? And you got the wizards out of the magicians, the muggles that they're not the magicians. They have no magic, right? And so in this scenario, I'm the muggle when it comes to this. So teach me the muggle about what's going on and what should I be on the lookout for? The common occurrences for lymphedema, venison's efficiency in the legs, the heart can't pump the fluid back up out of the legs or the veins are leaking that fluid

and it gets in that space. So it starts at the feet, starts to work its way up the legs. That's one of a very common way to get it. Again, breast cancer patients, if they've had lymph node removal, when they get rid of the cancer and they test the lymph nodes to see if it's spread, the lymph nodes are the pumping devices that pump the fluid out of the extremities. So if they remove those pumps, they're left with a deficiency in that system. So can happen there,

it can happen from an injury or surgery. Anytime you have an impact on your lymphatic system

to anyone. Yeah, and is there is there pain or other things to look out for or is there a preventative

measures that we can do? So there is pain associated with it, not always. Sometimes it's just a

heaviness or a tightness, but if there's enough fluid pushing on the nerves in that that superficial interstitial space, then it can cause pain and weakness. Coast surgical, when they know lymph nodes and remove, there's prevention as far as keeping an eye on the swelling, not leading till it gets bad. A lot of people think swelling is common. It's true, especially after a surgical procedure. If they get intervention right away, we can reverse or help manage it in the

early phases. Well, the doctor after surgery, they're going to say, okay, there's going to be some swelling, right? But you're saying, hey, if the swelling continues right after a few days, that's when, okay, something might be wrong here. Get it really help. Yes, well, especially if it's if they remove lymph nodes, whether it's from the armpit or the groin or even people who have throat cancer or procedures or thyroid, the anytime they go into the abdomen, there's lymphatics in

there. So lingering swelling, yes, should see contention. Yeah, okay. And so how did you get into why

is this your niche, right? I mean, here in science success, we always say the the richest is in the

niches, right? And then you see kind of doctors, but also psychologists, right? And they're kind of saying,

“oh, well, my, they're like niching on niches, right? So it's, it's honestly like, you know, we had this,”

this one, this one woman who her niche was people that have experienced getting cheated on, you know? And it's so like, you know, her whole thing was just helping, you know, couples or the men or the women dealing with, you know, having infidelity, right? So how did you get into this? Why, why did you choose that as your niche? The backwards way into it, I suppose, my my father was diagnosed with cancer when I was 15. And then when I got into the physical therapy world, it was,

how do I help cancer patients get the strength back and get back to who they were? And every time I would google physical therapy and cancer, this word lymphedema would show up. Yeah. And we had one class on it, one lab on it when I was went through all of my doctoral studies. So all of the the research I had to do was was kind of on my own, but every time I paired this two words, lymphedema came up. So started going into it and I just went down the rabbit hole and fell in love with it

“and just wanted to be able to help. Yeah, all right. And yeah, I mean, what, what does that mean?”

Falling in love with it? Like, like, I know falling in love with lymphedema. It just sounds funny. But this particular thing was like, oh, wow, like, you just, I mean, for me going down the rabbit hole of AI and learning all that stuff, you know, like, but you and your profession, you were just like, this is something that I can, I can help and tell me about that. It was

seeing the difference. In regular physical therapy, my favorite thing to treat was always

vertigo because it was one of the very few things that we could do that we saw instant results. Okay. So with lymphedics doing the interventions, I could see immediate results, questions, and being able to provide that kind of effectiveness and something that they could see

“and feel and then want to continue. I think that's why we all get into the profession is to help.”

Yeah. But seeing it that quickly is amazing. A lot of times in physical therapy, you're waiting forward a six weeks to see the strength return to see the function return. Gotcha. But with this, it's, it's pretty immediate. Yeah. And, and so what are your patients look like? Like, what's what's the spectrum of the people that come and see you? Kind of a variety. Um, I've got current. They, I mean, I have a 30 year old woman who has primary lymphedema. She was diagnosed

when she was three and she's in her eighth month of pregnancy. And so we've got with that her that we're, we're having to trade all the way to I've got a 96 year old woman who's been dealing with lymphedema her whole life. The aging process already makes it difficult for mobility. And, and that sort of thing. So, um, and we see everybody in, between, but getting people there, their function back, getting them back into their regular shoes and clothing,

And how does being a mother kind of weave into this journey? And a lot of ways. I mean, I think

the caretaking side of things makes it easy to take care of my, my patients, because we, yeah, we treat them all like family. Part of it, too, is with with my own children, um, showing them that that making a career of what they love is so rewarding and beneficial in, in so many ways. Financial even we started. I had no idea where this would, would turn out, but I definitely wanted to have the freedom to be there for them as much as I could be.

“And still make a living at what I loved. Yeah. And in, in your, in your expertise, right?”

What, what are the big question marks that they're trying to kind of, trying to answer?

Are there, are there big question marks of like, oh, this is still, um, kind of untreated, right?

Where's, where's it going? I think as with anything, you see it evolve. Unfortunately, this hasn't had the spotlight enough for people to watch the evolution of what the treatment looks like. I do know, you know, the old school of thought with, well, I'll back up. The, the gold standard of treatment for lymphedema is compression, elevation, manual, lymphatic therapy. Those are the three things. Because I use enough rice. Rest, ice, compression,

elevation, right? Okay. Yeah. And that's similar. So yeah, compression, elevation, manual, lymphatic drainage. So the rice is more for, if you spray an ankle, if you have a fusion, it still helps with swelling. But the old school of around compression was you're going to push the fluid back into the veins for it to be redistributed through the circulatory system. And reset medicine. And I say recent, I mean, a decade. Yeah, what, but it takes a while to make

its way through, there's little to no reabsorption at the, the venous level. So the compression actually pushes the fluids through the lymphatic system. It does eventually get back into the circular source system when it reaches the heart. But it has to come up out of the legs. It's got to go back down the thoracic duct into the abdominal cavity. It makes its way all the way around before it gets redistributed. So compression has has to be done a certain way. It has to be done in a way that

pushes the fluid distilled approximately. So old school wrapping in this circumferential pattern

“to push it back in doesn't necessarily work in causes other issues. So I have a question, right?”

Is elephant Titus kind of in your area also? Is that like the extreme version of lymphedema? It is indeed. It is stage four lymphedema. Ah, okay. The most extreme of the cases, yeah. Gotcha. And have you, have you dealt with any of that? Because you see the photos of that and it's just like, usually it's, it's like a leg. Right? Mostly it's like the lower leg that I've seen or the foot, right? Maybe you've seen the arm, right? But yeah, how does it get to be that bad?

All different reasons. But a lot of times it gets to that point because it's left untreated. Either they didn't know that it could be or they didn't know how to, way back when they called it elephant Titus. And all of that was, they just didn't know about the lymphatics. They didn't know how to treat it. So they even called it that anymore. It's still part of it, but you don't hear it as much. It is stage four lymphedema.

Because now it can be treated. Yeah. I mean, they make custom compression garments now that can fit

all the different shapes and molds and everything to help reduce it first and then get through it.

“So yeah, they're good because they can do for them now. Okay, that's great. And how about you?”

Like, in your journey of opening up your own clinic, right? Being a mom, opening up your own clinic and taking that entrepreneurial leap, right? Kind of betting on yourself and having your place, right? How was that? Because there's a lot of doctors that come in here and I've talked to a lot of doctors that, you know, that journey of having their own clinic, right? There's a lot more complexities than they're like, okay, I'm good at what I do, but then I got to be putting my business

hat on, right? Filling up the clinic, making sure I've got the patience, right? Not just for the short term, but for the long term. Some people even raise money to do that, where they come in with partners, right? What was your journey like? Well, I left a six-figure job to do this because they no longer wanted to pay for the supplies I needed. And they told me that the

bandages, which are far more expensive. Yeah. And I said, that's fine, but this is my license,

“this is my reputation and I don't want to do that and they wouldn't budge, so I couldn't do that”

anymore. And I was traveling among Tork County, so actually took out a heat lock. Now, make it a line of credit and went all in, put my job and, you know, told my family, here we go. We'll see what happens. My assistant, too, was my assistant in Home Health, made the leap with me. She's still with me. And then I had a front desk girl who also made that leap with me. And, you know, then you do, you take on that responsibility of now not only what you can do,

but now I was responsible for their salaries and their families and you know. So your journey McGuire moment was about ace bandages, you know, and you come in with me, right? It is. You don't know what you don't know. So I jumped in again, like you said, knowing that I'm good at what I do. Does it translate into the business owner had? It's a lot, but you figure it out. You really do. And when the when the desire is there, when that passion is there,

you find a way. And, and you find people who want to help you get there. So I have an amazing

office manager who, um, I worked with at a PT clinic, you know, 12 years prior to opening this, who worked for me for the first couple of years for free because she believed in it. She wouldn't let me pay her. Wow. So set her money every now and then and she complained every time I did. She's one of the best people you'll ever meet in your whole life. But um, she now is full time and salaried and everything. But it's it's finding the people that help you get there. It's knowing

that it's okay to say, I don't know how to do this and reaching out for help where you need it. And working in the business while working on the businesses is tough, but he's around yourself of people that want to see you succeed and it happens. Yeah. So that that team, uh, and just the support. Yeah. I would not be sitting here without them. Yeah. 100%. What's her name again? The one that was worked free. Bethany? Yeah. So find yourself a Bethany people. Bethany and find yourself a

Christian. Yes. He's my assistant that came with me. All right. They're amazing. And they they're

holding the fork down all I'm here and they they keep it going and they've grown with me. And uh, so what what what are you most excited about? I was asked everyone here. I was like what what what's most exciting on on your list. Cash fish so much. We just opened a new facility. So that's super exciting. We went from 2,200 square feet to 6,700 square feet. Wow. From five treatment rooms to 13. So super excited about our growth and being able to reach more people. Yeah. And with that,

“are you offering more services with physical therapy? We are able to offer. Why why the jump?”

Because there is not enough. I mean, not enough, uh, too many patients and you need a bigger

facilities. Definitely outroo our other building. Um, but the original plan was to open a second one

so that we could reach more people that way. Um, the landlord at my my former building, uh, decided that it was time change for him. So, um, it kind of forced my hand a little bit. But because I haven't found another me yet to to help there. Um, we stayed in one building, but got more rooms. Lymphety matreatment takes a long time. We spend an hour, hour and a half with each patient. And if you're familiar with physical therapy at all and appointments a lot of times,

you're very restricted on how much time you get to spend with your patients. Yeah. Um, so we want our patients to have individualized, customized treatments. If they need an hour with us, we give them an hour with us. If they need, you know, an hour and a half or two hours in the room, they can do that now because we have space. We don't have to worry about turning the room over and and turning people in and out. But we do also still have a two month waitlist, even with the growth.

So, it's hard to keep up with. There's not enough of me out there. There's not enough lymphedema specialists. Um, and hopefully this will bring awareness to clinicians in the one. All I'm thinking

“is, hey, those lymphedema specialists, like, how do they find you? How do they contact you?”

The lymphedema specialists and the people that, you know, look at for a great lymphedema care. My company in Merrill Beach is healing journey. So, they can find us by looking us up there and knowing that we may reach a lot of people, started a non-profit. So, we can also help people that may not be able to find a lymphedema specialist in their area, and it's called the Lymph Love and that's LymphLove.org. In that way, we can provide compression or maybe financial assistance

Mm-hmm. Reach out. All right, healing journey. SC.com, right? That's it. All right, and social media, you get into that

“game at all, or we have a Facebook page. But you're not doing the physical therapy tick-tocks or”

that. Well, funny should say that. So, part of our staff is young. Um, 23, 22, and we recently hired a

20 year old, and so they are bringing us into the tick-tock world. Okay. Shout out to Olivia, my other

PTA, who has decided to take it upon herself to do our tick-tock page. Yeah. She just recently

“did it. Maybe you last week. We have three videos on there, I think, maybe four. So, we're just in the”

waters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just saying, yeah, I'm not a tick-tock guy. You know, I'm just, um, I'm good. But hey, choose to the people that go on your team and are, you know, because the people are out

“there on it, you know, just not me. All right. So, they have to teach me. Yeah. Well, thank you so much”

for coming through our studios and sharing your journey. And um, yeah, and helping all the people that have come through your clinic, right? And that's great that you were able to expand. And um, yeah, and lipidema specialists, if you're out there, you know, give her a call. Yes. So, uh, and thank you guys for tuning in for another episode. So, uh, yeah, and we'll see you next time. Thanks everyone. Cheers.