I just wanted it to stop hurting.
It was a lot for a little kid to deal with.
I was eight years old, holding a popsicle on my stomach to try to soothe the burning. Next thing I knew I was in the hospital for two weeks, diagnosed with ulcers.
But this wasn’t my first trip there. When I was four, I was admitted and put in an ice tent after having a seizure following a reaction to a vaccination. I had a temperature that reached over 102 degrees. The ice tent knocked the fever down, but then I got pneumonia. That kept me in the hospital for a week.
I suffered from such severe tonsillitis that they sliced my tonsils out some time after that.
There were multiple attacks of bronchitis, so bad my ribs ached from the coughing. Then the all too annoying ear infections, which were slightly eased by my worried mother putting warmed drops in my ears to try to take away the pain.
I was a happy kid, but a sick one.
Thus my lifelong search to understand how to feel better was born.
It was a journey of trial and error. I did research on myself, eliminating certain foods and adding others as I discovered that what I ate made a difference.
I learned meditation at the age of 13 when I stumbled across Shakti Gawain’s book Creative Visualization. It changed my life.
But I consider myself fortunate. I grew up in a rural setting, surrounded by horses and nature with two loving parents and an empathetic older brother. It provided me the atmosphere I needed to learn about the healing power of nature, and the beautiful energy of horses.
And I healed. My problems fortunately weren’t permanent – some children aren’t nearly as lucky as I was.
I learned how to heal by reading hundreds of nutrition books, learning yoga, and spending hours talking to horses, all before turning 16. The journey to learn as much as I could about being healthy had begun.
That journey continues today.
Now I am a certified yoga instructor, a holistic health coach, a Reiki practitioner and a fitness junkie. I feel strong, healthy, and happy every day. I consider myself fortunate – and I never forget how being sick feels.
It sucks. I want to share what I’ve learned with anyone who is struggling with health.
I truly know how it feels.