My passions are health, fitness, music, personal development, spending time  with loved ones and helping others become better versions of themselves.  My route to becoming a health coach spawned from my own personal journey through chronic illness that spanned seven plus years.  Shortly before my 35^th birthday my health quickly diminished. I developed insomnia, joint and muscle pain, horrible brain fog, digestive issues, constant exhaustion, you name it, I had it.  Ifelt isolated, lonely and depressed as I was no longer able to enjoy the things I was most passionate about.

For next two years I bounced back and forth from doctor to specialist.  They performed x-rays, cat scans and a plethora of blood tests which revealed no clues as to what was ailing me.  Their suggestions were all similar: manage stress and see a therapist.  Later I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, as my symptoms fit the criteria.  Regardless of diagnosis, I was determined to find the root cause, so I continued my search for answers.

My first clue came while I was away on a weeks’ vacation when I noticed the severity of my symptoms had decreased.  At first, I thought this was due to being more relaxed, but it got me to thinking.  A few years earlier, my condo had suffered water damage and some mold had formed, which was later removed.  Was there a link between my symptoms and mold?  After some research, I found the symptoms I was experiencing were typical of someone dealing with mold and mycotoxin exposure.  With this information, I decided to test my home right away, and the results came back showing high levels of Black Mold.  Further investigation revealed the mold had spread to nearly half my condo. This left me a tough decision – leave my home of 8 years or spend thousands of dollars to remediate.  I chose to remediate, but when the issue turned out to be much greater than initially expected I was forced to leave; I was devastated!

Removing myself from the mold proved to be a very important piece of the puzzle, but I quickly realized there was more going on.  Many of the mold symptoms I had were gone, but I started to experience new ones. My insomnia and exhaustion were replaced by vision problems and neuropathy, and my memory and cognitive functions were pretty much gone; I even forgot my girlfriend’s name while attempting to introduce her at a party. Everything I ate would cause me to flare up; I lost 30 pounds in less than two months, and my family and I were very worried.  My search continued.

I started looking into diet and causes of food sensitivities, which led to my discovery of the Paleo and Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) diets.  I knew diet was very important to health, but I wasn’t aware that many of the things I believed to be healthy (grains, dairy and plant oils) could be causing inflammation and many of the symptoms I was experiencing.  I converted to a Paleo diet, and within 30 days I started to notice many of the symptoms decrease in severity.  Though I was making progress I was still suffering from many other issues.

I was frustrated with the Western model of medicine, so I decided to investigate alternative and integrative medicine practices.  I eventually found a wonderful Doctor of Osteopathy who fit the bill.   He was the thirteenth doctor I had saw in the past 18 months, and he was the first to listen intently to my story and theories on mold and diet.  Though he believed these were valid issues, he had his own suspicions based on my answers to his questionnaire.  His instincts proved to be correct, as the blood panel he ordered finally unveiled my elusive enemy- Lyme Disease.

Over the next four years I saw multiple Lyme Literate doctors and naturopaths.  I picked up valuable information and clues from each of them which I combined with my own research and experimentation to create customized natural protocols for myself.  I learned the importance of creating a strong foundation of health based on diet, detox, digestion, mindset, movement and stress reductions.  As I adhered to these principals my health slowly but steadily improved.

Throughout my journey I discovered how much I loved helping others in similar circumstances, so I made the decision to get more educations and become a coach.   That’s when I discovered the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) program.  The curriculum was exactly what I was looking for.  The FDN model is one that focuses on D.R.E.S.S. (Diet, Rest, Exercise, Stress Reductions and Supplementation) and treating the person by restoring the body’s own healing powers. The knowledge I learned through course strengthened my understanding of the basic principles, and as I started running functional labs on myself I discovered hidden stressor and healing opportunities.  As I addressed each one my constitution became stronger and my healing accelerated.  I am now 42 and feel better than I did when I was 25.

When working with clients I run a combination of functional labs which help to give clues to the root issues contributing to the chronic symptoms they are experiencing.  I also focus on mindset, movement and habit change, all of which help to lower stress, develop positivity and create an internal bodily terrain which is synonymous with health.

My mission is to provide those shackled by pain and sickness with the knowledge and tools required to create freedom from their current situation while at the same time inspiring personal growth and spiritual prosperity.