My Story

Hi there, looks like you found me! The Universe works in funny ways, so maybe it was me who found you! Since you are wondering, I will tell you a little about myself, how I got here and the ways in which I can help. My journey of Health and Wellness started in my early 30’s when I was not feeling well at all. I found myself in the waiting rooms of many specialists, doctors and the ER.  Stress tests, blood tests, CAT scans, MRI’s, and test after test. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that you may be closing in on right now; SELF RESCUE! Because no one could seem to help me, I had to take agency over my own health and start on the long and crooked path toward wellness. My constant traveling partners (who still are with me today) are education and curiosity. I have never stopped learning and I never stop trying new things. As one tends to do upon the discovery of the secret to wellness, I wanted to share my success with the world! That is how I found myself here, with you, right now!

To be your coach, you have to know and trust me, so I’ll tell you everything:

I was born in the hot summer of 1979 in Flint Michigan, the fourth and youngest. My childhood was free and I was wild. I lived outside playing in the woods and with sticks, rocks and balls and I loved it. My parents divorced when I was four years old leaving a heavy responsibility on my two older sisters to help raise me. I was kind and honest child but my energy was a force of its own. School was generally easy for me, though I did not get good grades in the early years. My teachers were not sure what to do with me and a term was born in the early 1980’s that would fit me like a glove, ADHD. I would repeat second grade as I did not have the control or maturity required. Nearing the end of all options my parents were ready to put me on medication, but we switched schools and a few wonderful teachers would grace my life and give me a second (or third) chance. In the classroom things were not always smooth, but it was manageable. I coasted through the end of elementary and into middle school and high school. I would find school of little interest, but the classes were easy enough that I got decent grades without a lot of effort. At the end of high school I had worked quite a few jobs already and made good money in a local union, so was not sure college was my thing, but went to a Junior College anyway. I found the environment much more conducive to my personality. I was free to choose the classes I wanted. The material was interesting and challenging and the professors treated students with respect. I would transfer to a State College (Michigan State University - GO GREEN) and graduate from the college of Fisheries and Wildlife with a minor in Journalism. I moved to Portland Oregon and worked with the school system as well as the Boys and Girls Club serving at risk youth. This was my most fulfilling job yet, but it failed to pay the bills. I applied for and was hired by the railroad and would soon complete my training to be Switchman and Train Conductor. The hours were brutal and the work hard, but I took pride in it and it was rewarding, plus I got to drive trains by remote control! Family brought me back home and I took a position at a local college as an Admission Advisor. This job was amazing until it turned into a sales position and my morals forced me to resign. I was freshly married at the time and the great recession was just beginning. Life’s rollercoaster took me for a dip and once again my ADHD was of little benefit. I went back to school and worked two jobs while looking to advance my position in life with little to show for it. With a failing marriage and no real future I found some relief in counseling and self help for ADHD. With my marriage back on track, the slow climb up and out was about to begin. Hard work at my main job along with regimented routine and lots of lists found me in an interview that would set the trajectory for the next decade plus of my life.

It was about this time, when my professional and personal life were on the rise, that my health would being to fail me. I have always been a fit and athletic person; strong, coordinated and with good endurance, but my health was taking a decidedly bad turn. I found myself in the offices of all the “ologists”. Not a one could figure out the what or why of my various conditions. I was having anxiety attacks, my gastrointestinal track was verging on Crohn’s, my chest was tight, my joints hurt to the point of exhaustion and I had psoriasis all over. One Super Bowl Sunday I had to leave my own party and check into the ER for fear I was having a heart attack. It was then it dawned on me that I needed to become my own best advocate. The research and learning started. The more I dove in the less certain I became as I felt like I had everything under control and there was no hope. I was some months into self-research that I chanced upon a book that would change the course of my life, “The Gut Health Protocol”. In these pages I found words that rang so true it was as though it was written just for me. The ball was rolling and self education for health and wellness would consume me from that point on. I stopped all medication and began to journal and run diet protocols until the ship started changing course. It was slow, so slow the change was almost unnoticeable, and then it wasn’t. GI symptoms began to abate. Anxiety disappeared. Chest and heart were all normal. Psoriasis was hardly noticeable. I was healed by my own hand and will and I wanted to share the wealth but was not ready.

Years would pass and I would give advice and try and help those I could, but it seemed no one wanted to listen. I was on a fall night walking the dogs that it struck me, everyone has their own path and cannot be simply told what to do. That is how I came to Duke Integrative Medicine as they focus on the whole person and their unique and personal situation. After becoming a certified health and wellness coach I wanted more to do with the mental fitness aspect of change as that was paramount in my journey. I studied Mental Fitness with PQ (Positive Intelligence) and finished the PQ program for coaches in order to further my clients success.

Just as my physical journey is never done in the pursuit of a strong and capable body, neither is my Mental Fitness. These will both be journeys for life. Come along with me!

I became a Health and Mental Fitness Coach because I want to make an impact in as many people's wellness as possible. The path towards vitality and wellness is living right inside you, waiting to come out. It’s there, you know it and can feel it, and I would love to help you discover the power inside. Acting as your guide, we will navigate your unique and individual journey towards the optimal you. It would be my pleasure and honor to be able to introduce you to the future you.

Health and Mental Fitness Coaching is all about the partnership. You and me makes WE, and that collaboration is Being Human! 

Oh and I guess you may want to know about credentials as well. I am a Certified Integrative Health Coach through Duke Integrative Medicine. I am also a PQ Mental Fitness Coach. In addition, have studied diet, nutrition and movement on my own for more than 12 years, dedicating more than 400 hours a year to the study. I quite literally eat, live, move and breath this way of life. I am also a graduate of Michigan State University with a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife/Natural Resources and a minor in Journalism and Communications. Lastly I graduated deans list in Computer Science with a Cisco Networking Certification (CCNA). My journey started just like yours will, with a small first step. I really love this and cannot imagine a better way to spend my life than being in service of others who want to craft the best versions of themselves. Lets go DO LIFE BETTER!

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