From the moment I found out I was pregnant with my first child I started to wonder…What will my baby look like? Will he have my hair, my husband’s pretty blue eyes, my skin tone? Excitement and joy filled my heart as I dreamed of this precious little one.

 

As the date of his birth approached and I came closer to meeting this little blessing which I had envisioned many times in my dreams,  concern and worry moved in to my mind and crowded out my thoughts... I worried… would he be healthy? Would he have negative personality traits? Could he have a chronic illness? Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cancer runs in our family, what if he inherits those? The future of this baby seemed out my control, I felt hopeless. We couldn't control the genes that we had already given him, that had become the blueprint to every cell in his developing body. Our contributions had been made and the project was in full development, thankfully I learned that my job was still not done.

 

I started reading all I could get my hands on about health and our amazing  bodies and complex immune system. I discovered how to strengthen it by eating whole foods and limiting exposures to toxins. The dangers of processed foods and how much sugar is hidden in our most loved snacks…heartbreaking :(  After decades of wishing I could have the chef boyardee and Kool-aid my classmates would bring to school, I finally appreciated how my mom’s stringent food rules were based on love, not deprivation!  Still with all I learned nothing had as great of an impact on my life as my introduction to Epigenetics. As a biology student in college, I had understood genes to be deterministic, you are the result of what your parents gave you, you become what you inherit. Yet it’s not that simple, we are not victims of our heredity, our genes only express our potential. Studies repeatedly prove that we have control of how our genes express themselves. Our environment, the food we eat and lifestyle choices we make direct our very cells.  Healthy lifestyles support healthy genetic expression. We are all innately equipped with the power over our own health and wellbeing. I finally realized that the road that my son was headed on was not predetermined by the genes his dad and I gifted him, rather these genes were just a mere “suggestion” of the path his life could take.  He was the driver, and he had control of his destination and my job was to guide his journey to optimal health. This new found knowledge empowered me, filled me with hope and equipped me for all the challenges I had yet to face.

 

My journey to knowledge led toward living a more holistic lifestyle and introducing more eco-friendly products into our home. We were more careful about what we put in and on our bodies, choosing organic foods and ingredients whenever possible and from the very first pregnancy I went cold turkey on my candy addiction (a huge accomplishment for someone who’s very email address was sugajunkee@internetprovider.com!!) … Time passed, we kept increasing our knowledge and took even greater precautions with our second child.

 

At my second son’s one-year visit to his pediatrician, his blood work indicated that he had cyclical neutropenia, a rare blood disorder. It caused him to have irregular, dangerous drops in his white blood cells leaving him vulnerable and exposed to illness. We began seeing specialists, did daily blood tests for weeks at a time, and even genetic testing. It’s generally considered an inherited disorder, yet no one that we knew of in our families had ever been diagnosed with it.  As a result, the doctors had few answers or solutions for us. No one could tell us how to resolve it or even how to cope, the advice was “keep testing him and just wait”. Thankfully our past research and understanding of the immune system guided our decision. We never stopped giving him extra care. He ate an all organic,whole food, sugar and preservative free diet and nursed until he was three years old. By the time he turned 5, he was released from the care of the Hematology/Oncology department at our local University Hospital. His blood work was normal and steady with no more drops in his white blood cell count levels, on the contrary, his numbers were “excellent”. His journey proved to us that the love, support and nourishment my baby received by his support group, including our loving friends and brilliant pediatrician, helped his body naturally over-come this disorder.

 

Most recently I lost my mentor, comedic partner, hero and best friend, my incomparable mom. She lost her four year battle to adrenal cancer. A rare, terminal cancer. Doctors gave her a life expectancy of “maybe six months” Yet despite the expiration date the oncologists decided to stamp on my mom, her strength, determination, faith and love continued to amaze all the doctors that met her. Though she was never cured of her cancer and eventually succumbed to the side effects of the conventional treatments, her life and experience has given us greater faith in the human body’s ability to heal, battle and persevere.

 

My  faith and relationship with my creator led me to embark on my search for knowledge and wellness. God does not make mistakes, our bodies were created in a magnificent way, perfectly equipped to heal and repair themselves if given the right tools and conditions. Unknowns created a great desire for knowledge. In essence, fear caused me to learn, love and wisdom caused me to grow. Today I am still a student of holistic health sciences and natural medicine, trained in various integrative modalities, actively working on advanced degrees, and a never-ending student of parenthood and life itself.

 

As a holistic health practitioner, coach and educator, my goal is to be a reliable source of knowledge, guidance and support for women looking to create and maintain healthy lifestyles for themselves and their families. My greatest desire is for my programs and classes to reflect my deep concern and passion for teaching women how to give their families the greatest wealth possible - the inheritance of good health.

 

"...I had understood... you are the result of what your parents gave you, you become what you inherit. Yet it’s not that simple, we are not victims of our heredity, our genes only express our potential."