My Story

It’s time I shared my own story, how I got to where I am, my journey…

I want to share my naturopathic medicine story with you, because I want you to understand that I am human too. I’ve made mistakes, fallen down, gotten hurt, and most certainly make bad food choices. I don’t know everything there is to know about medicine, but I will work very hard to explore your path with you.  Each day an opportunity to learn from my patients, grow and create change in our world together.

My path to exploring naturopathic medicine came as a last ditch effort to save my own health.

I’ll admit I started out on the journey to a new career because I was tired. Really tired. A patch of the hair on my right side had fallen completely out receding my hairline. Acne lined the ridge of my jaw and was ever present, despite never experiencing it during teenage years. I couldn’t lose weight. In fact exercise actually resulted in me gaining weight with no changes to food intake. I was always starving and there wasn’t enough sleep in the world to get me feeling recharged. My menstrual cycle at times lasted 2 hours.

I saw several health professionals, had tests run on my blood and urine as well as kept temperature charts. It seemed regardless of their specialty or approach it was generally concluded that I looked good on paper. Looking good on paper sucked. No one wanted to help you because they had no idea where to start. I knew that the struggles I faced to move forward each day were beginning to seem insurmountable. This wasn’t someone who was just tired.

Persistence Was the Key to Success

It was my fourth naturopathic medicine doctor who cracked the code. While she didn’t get me back to 100% on the first go, she did however get me back on the upswing. But before that happened I crashed, hard. My husband recounts it as the sleepy year. The crash came just after moving in with him in a new province, new house and at the time he was a new boyfriend. I was awake between the hours of 8am – 5pm, and that was about it. He tells stories at our dinner parties of times when 5:05pm hit and I would be asleep in my dinner as though I was a watch that someone forgot to wind up.

The climb back to health was slow, and it took almost three years before I started to feel really good again. It took baby steps, multiple approaches and time. The underlying tale connecting my treatments together was that I needed to prioritize myself. Through a combination of supportive nutrients, diet and sleep (a lot of sleep), I became a whole person again.

My Journey Brought Me to You

Today,  I am now ready to help people in the same way someone helped me. I learned from my own journey that the time to listen to the patient in front of you was the most critical thing in cracking the code. That from that journey you could develop a plan that would work for them, something that was specific to what they needed. I had someone that gave me hope that there could be brighter days ahead that she would be by my side to find them.

So, what was my diagnosis? I’m not sure it was a single condition, or even one that we would be able to put into a tiny therapeutic box. I ran a lot of tests on every fluid that could come from my body. Some of them identified areas of concern – low adrenals, high stores of lead and mercury in the body, a body that lacked regular exercise (not simply weekend warrior stuff), a diet high in whatever someone else made, a lack of feeling loved by the people around me, a stressful job, and even the lack of love for myself.

Was it the combined recipe that had me headed for disaster, or was it simply one culprit that was bringing the others along for a ride. I don’t know that we will ever know, but I also don’t know that I need to know. Each of the contributors was affecting my health on some level.

Naturopathic Medicine Saved Me…

So, how did things turn around? I tried a lot of things but it was one naturopathic medicine doctor in particular who came along and just said the right things at the right time. There are days still days I don’t feel amazing, but those days are few and far between. I simply consider myself a work in progress.

I know that in coming across this page you have read a lot about your condition, you have tried ample treatments and you have talked to every health professional under the sun.

But yet, something drew you here and for that I am grateful. I can’t promise you a miracle recovery (I wish I could) but I can promise to provide the same listening, support and care that someone gave to me. To provide you with hope, to become an expert in everything about you and to never give up on you, even if there are times that you want to give up on yourself.

I look forward to meeting you, and beginning our journey together.

Now you know my story, want to get to know what I stand for, read this.