Based On A True Story

Here’s a plotline we’re all familiar with, something from a novel or a movie.

After years of good health, our heroine begins to feel less like herself. She feels sluggish and fatigued at work. She loses her appetite and can’t sleep at night. She begins to worry. So she makes an appointment with her doctor and the recommended specialists, of which there are many. Yet, the medical diagnosis is the same: there’s no cure for what ails her.

Then, as in all Hollywood blockbusters, our heroine discovers a miraculous, surprising cure, recovers her health, and lives happily ever after.

Hollywood describes these “ripped from the headlines” tales as “based on a true story.” In this episode of Out to Lunch we hear two of those true tales.

Nikki Thompson, her restaurant Veganish Vibes is inspired by her mother’s soulfood restaurant in New Orleans and her own battle with cancer that she won by switching to a plant-based diet

Nikki Thompson was a stay-at-home mom with three children when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. Her doctors had no explanation why the cancer progressed so quickly, so Nikki decided it must be in part a result of what she was eating. She became a vegan and, after three years of living a vegan lifestyle, opened Veganish Vibes on Bennington Avenue in 2022.

Dr Lynn Duhe, her Miracle Wellness Center treats the whole patient holistically, including their psychological and spiritual wellbeing. “We’re a ministry first and a business second.”

Dr. Lynn Duhe was drawn to holistic medicine by her own health and wellness journey. In 2017, she began to suffer from migraines. When five different doctors gave her no hope for recovery, she turned to a chiropractor and a nutritionist for treatment. In 2019, Lynn Duhe launched Miracle Wellness Center, which became a full medical practice in 2022.

Nikki and Lynn both turned to alternative medical treatments after receiving a potentially fatal diagnosis. With harrowing, true tales “ripped from the headlines” — both Nikki and Lynn were cured. But the story doesn’t end there. Separately, Lynn and Nikki decided to share what they had learned from their experiences with the public by opening their respective businesses. And today Baton Rouge is the better for it.