My own story is something I avoided telling, even throughout my early years as an acupuncturist and alternative healthcare practitioner, until recently. As a teen I started developing strange symptoms- trouble breathing, extreme fatigue, serious digestive symptoms and the most terrifying for me personally- extreme joint pain in my ankles, knees and fingers that sometimes made it difficult to walk or use my hands. What I remember the most about this period of my life was fear. Fear that even as a teenager I was falling apart inside my body while friends and peers thrived and still seemed youthful.  Fear about what was happening to me because I felt that something was really wrong, and yet no one else seemed to take it seriously. I was taken to doctors and reported my symptoms but I received only the diagnosis of "growing pains".

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I carried these symptoms in my body from my teens until my mid-twenties with silent suffering and an immense amount of fear. I tried to convince myself that it was in my head, or that this was just what "normal" felt like, but the fear and sense of alarm and desperation remained.

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An unexpected series of events and choices led me in my twenties to study natural medicine, Chinese medicine, herbal healing and shamanic arts. I entered my first year of study in these modalities very ill, under-weight and psychologically barraged from a decade of suffering so much inside my body. What I experienced in the following five years of full-time learning, training and healing, and the subsequent years of practicing these modalities in the world, is more than can fit on this page or a hundred pages! But I can tell you the result: the health issues that plagued me for over a decade are completely resolved thanks to the tools and wisdom of Chinese medicine and the additional modalities that I now use to support others. 

 

I live completely free of the symptoms that once dominated my life, and without fear of their return, and I am grateful for this every single day. I have been through the darkest of mazes with my health and my psychological well-being because of my symptoms, and I came out on the other side.  

 

I picked up tools, knowledge, information and alliances along the way that I want to share with others who are going through something similar to what I have gone through. I can now offer all that I learned to others, as well as support and true understanding because I know how challenging it is to live with chronic or undiagnosed illness. And I know how to support others through a healing journey, and I care!

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For many years I avoided recognizing that I wanted to work with people who experience similar issues as I did because it was such a harrowing experience for me, I wanted to move on from it the moment I felt totally healthy and well again. But I now feel so happy when I do this work because I see results that allow people to feel healthy again, and clients feel seen and understood during our time together, and it's incredible to be a part of this change and relief for others.