about

 As a Functional Medicine Health Coach and Women's Health Advocate I empower others to achieve their wellness goals using education, support, and simple, sustainable lifestyle changes. 

 
As a recovering ranch-oholic who did not eat a single veggie until age 22 (hint: this ends badly), was terrified of cooking, and used cereal as major food group, I get how overwhelming it can be to make lifestyle changes...

                                                                                         I get it...  

                                                  and I promise it's easier than you think! 

 
I've had more surgeries than I can count (literally, I've actually lost count), been on more prescriptions than I could ever hope to list, and, like most women, I've been on a diet since before I can remember. 

I was born sick (but I don't love it--shout out to those who get the reference)...I don't say this to be dramatic or for pity, I say it because it matters. 

Long before you are conceived your genetic makeup and health are being determined by the choices your parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents are making.

For me, it started with a collapsed lung, and apparently weak immune system, on day one. 

By Elementary School the chronic pain, migraines, cold sores, and acne had taken over. I vividly remember being a small child arguing with my pediatrician (if you know me, you can see it ha!) about this not all being "normal" and not wanting to take more medications--which always made me feel worse.

The debilitating periods kicked in in Middle School-and extra special treat, but always being told it was just part of being a girl. By age 16 I was on Birth Control and at 17 anxiety meds. I spent most of my life exhausted but unable to sleep at night... 

All the while, starting each day with cereal, avoiding veggies at all costs, chugging sweet tea all day long, having an ice cream treat before bed each night, drinking a gallon of milk a week, and considering Chick-fil-A's grilled sandwich my favorite "healthy" meal with no clue I was feeding my chronic disease state. 

 
At 23, shit really hit the fan...

 
I'll always remember going to my annual OBGYN visit and her saying, "you are boring...I love patients like you!"; meaning I was essentially the picture of health and our appt was just the standard checking of a box....

 
One week later she called to tell me my results were abnormal, early signs of Cervical Cancer, and that we need to do surgery immediately. 

And for the next 10 years I battled, mostly with my doctors, who continuously said things to me like...

    -“anxiety causes pain, pain causes anxiety, if you don’t get your head straight 

          you’ll always be in pain” 

    -"everything your experiencing is normal"

    -"just get pregnant (3 yrs trying and no one found it abnormal I had never 

          succeeded) or go back on birth control"

    -“if you'd just get pregnant you won’t have to deal with difficult periods” 

    -“if you think a wedding is expensive, wait til IVF” (literally yall, this was mid pelvic exam 

            2 wks before our wedding, no bride needs that!)

    -“it’s not that you can’t get pregnant, it’s that you may not be able to hold a 

         pregnancy because of all of the surgeries” 

    -“just go back on BC, it wasn’t as bad when you were on it” 

    -“have you tried Motrin?” LOL *facepalm* 

    -“the only way to truly diagnose is to remove your uterus” 

    -“we can try medically-induced #menopause and see how you react” 

    -"you may have to accept the diagnosis of unexplained infertility" 

    -"you tell me you can sleep with you take the medication and can't not sleep 

         when you dont...you need to take the medicine as I prescribed"...me fighting to 

         go off of daily muscle relaxers after THREE years 

    -"you need to drink more water"....after I told her the medication was making me 

        suicidal and that I had drank over 180oz of water 3 days in a row 

   AND MY FAVORITE: "you are the most frustrating patient I have ever worked with" 

All because I asked tough questions, often that they could not answer, and demanded more!  
 

In 2019, staring down the barrel of a hysterectomy at the age of 32, I decided I was done with being passed around like a hot potato and was going to find answers and healing come hell or high water. 

 
I started making small changes in my eating and lifestyle. Little stuff like...

    -listening to Functional Medicine Podcasts + reading a ton 

    -switching from cow's milk to nut milk

    -following the Dirty 12, Clean 15 for produce

    -eating more veggies

    -cutting out my screen time

    -getting sunlight each morning 

    -getting 30 minutes of gentle movement in each day

    -using the EWG Healthy Living app 

    -cutting out foods that made my tummy hurt (for me its eggs and dairy, 

          but everyone is different)

AND HOLY COW GUYS.....the results were unreal! I lost weight I didn't even know I needed to lose, my mental health improved, I started sleeping through the night....I FELT ENERGIZED for the first time in my life! I was BALANCING MY HORMONES!

 
Soon I began calling all over the country to find anyone who would take my GYN symptoms seriously. In 2021, we traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, where I underwent a series of 3 surgeries (20 hours!) to treat Stage 4 Endometriosis, the disease I had barely heard of and been told very clearly by my OBGYN and Oncologist that I did not have.

I wish I could say this was the end of the story. While the surgeries absolutely saved me from the debilitating pain and horrific periods, over the next year we suffered 2 pregnancy losses. One of which was a blighted ovum---did you even know you could be pregnant, and I mean really, nauseously exhausted pregnant, and there be no baby?! Because I didn't.

So here we are. I feel amazing, I have energy, I am physically stronger than I have ever been in my life, I look healthier than ever, I sleep well at night, I eat what I want and never deprive myself and I want to help other women achieve this.

 
It has taken a lot of work but I have built and incredible team of specialists who I can finally trust. We are currently undergoing insanely in-depth genetic reproductive immunology testing through Pregmune (Dr. Andrea Vidali) and will see what comes next!

I am healing from...

-Cervical Cancer 

-Stage 4 Endometriosis

-Recurrent Miscarriage/Blighted Ovum Loss

-Severe Hormone Imbalance

-Chronic Pain

-Anxiety

-Insomnia

-Multiple Herniations + Back Surgery

-GI Challenges + Acid Reflux

...years of misdiagnosis, medical gaslighting, being over-medicated and undereducated on my health....SO

                                                                                                I get it.  
 

I believe that each of us unique and deserve the education and resources necessary to take control of our health! 

Need support? Want to be heard? Please reach out! I am here to help!