McDermott Footcare interviewed Leah Korkis, RN, the nurse-entrepreneur owner of Healthy Now and Later.
Leah, please tell us about yourself
I graduated from nursing school in 2010, but honestly I feel like I was born to be a nurse. I feel especially called to care for the older population, so I made it a point to work in what I see to be the most complex field in adult care; neurology. I absolutely fell in love. It was one night though while I was at work that I got a phone call that completely changed my life. On the other line was my Grandma who was in the emergency room with my Grandpa. It quickly became clear that my Grandpa was having a stroke. As I looked out the window at the first blizzard of the season, I knew that I had to continue to care for the individuals under my care. Instead though, I cared for them as if they were my Grandpa or my Grandma. That summer I moved in with my Grandparents and became a full-time nurse and full-time family caretaker.
One of my favorite activities is cooking. My Grandma is the gatekeeper to many secret family recipes, so I see cooking as a means of connecting the past to the present. Each recipe is like a symphony of flavors that I can bask in with friends and family. Cooking truly bubbles over into all aspects of my life; my husband and I even met in a market.
Why did you start Healthy Now and Later?
As a nurse and a caretaker I’ve gained a new perspective on health and what it means to be “well”. It’s such a subjective thing, to be “independent” and “healthy”, and yet most people strive to maintain both. In creating a website I wanted to reach beyond the walls of the hospital to look at what can keep people healthy and help individuals explore their own definitions of “independence” and “health”. I believe that wellness is rooted in how one lives, what one eats, and who one is surrounded by (or who one loves). In an essence, Healthy Now and Later was made to inspire those 55 and better to live well, eat well and love well (now and in the future) based on their own definition of each. This is what living life to the fullest is.
How will readers benefit from Healthy Now and Later?
Each article within the blog and on the Healthy Now and Later website has much thought and research put into it. As I mentioned before, the meaning of “well”, “independence” and “healthy” differ from person to person. My aim is to provide high quality information, so others can make well-informed decisions that are best for them.
What are your future plans for the Healthy Now and Later?
My future plans for Healthy Now and Later are extensive. I’m excited to be partnering up with other experts within their field, like Terry McDermott of McDermott Footcare. Weekly additions will continue to compile articles in our disease-specific recipe blog, hot-health-topics, and our nation-wide database of caregiver resources. It’s exhilarating to see some of the bigger plans begin to unfold even now. For example, this coming week we’ll be having our first giveaway product. But this is only the beginning.