Step 1: be born.
This was a whole thing. I was born reluctantly, a month late, fully bruised, with persistent dislocations, and periodically stopped breathing.
This was also where the journey to discover how things worked began.
In my 30s, I realized I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Hypermobility, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (an auto-immune disorder that affects the thyroid, not a thyroid disorder), Arthritis, ADHD (which comes with a side of Delayed Sleep-Phase Syndrome), and Hereditary Fructose Intolerance.
What does all this mean?
Three and a half decades of random dislocations, severe joint pain, migraines, digestive distress, chronic fatigue, severe brain fog, sleeping 10+ hours and not feeling rested, skin rashes, persistent candida overgrowth, severe cold-intolerance, hair-loss, oily skin and hair, weight fluctuations (that did not coincide with caloric or activity changes), inexplicable swelling, narcolepsy after eating, vomiting after eating or drinking, bouts of time with different types of intense body odor (not hygiene-related), significant periods of time without any sex drive, miscarriages, seasonal allergies, depression, anxiety, sensitive / sore gums, easy and constant bruising, pigment-free spots on the skin, and balding eyebrows (the outer-third disappeared).
Imagine for a moment how many different doctors, different specialties, different medications, different points of view on treatments and the outlook for my life I got to experience through all this.
Now imagine that not a single specialist or treatment path helped.
Sure, they would manage the symptoms for a short period of time, but here’s the kicker: just like whack-a-mole, when you smack down one symptom, another one pops up. (Symptoms are how our body alerts us to something being amiss. When our approach to ‘fixing things’ is to shush the symptom, the body just finds another way to alert us.)
I began studying health and biology as soon as I had a library card and a bike (the internet didn’t exist yet…) because I wanted to understand what my body was doing and how to have a cooperative relationship with it. Needless to say, there wasn’t a lot of info available, but I’ve been studying ever since.
I have a Master’s Degree in Research and have been paid to do research for over 20 years, but I’ve been doing it for much longer than I’ve been paid for it – out of necessity, but mostly out of insatiable curiosity.
We’re learning new things all the time.
A consistent thread through everything we’re learning is: there’s no “one thing” that will fix everything. So, be leery of anyone who claims they’ve found the “one thing” that will sort everything out for you.
Another consistent thread is that everything is connected. We are ecosystems, not machines, so a change in one area will affect all other areas. While “one thing” won’t fix everything, it will affect everything. Balancing an ecosystem is gentle, steady work. If you try to do it overnight, the system will move too far in the other direction. Quick fixes are very difficult on our systems.
In 2012, I figured out that I couldn’t process fructose.*
Eliminating fructose from my diet eliminated about half of the symptoms I listed above, and it only got better from there. You see, my body’s reaction to the fructose was leading to the damage to my thyroid and the inflammation in my joints, etc.
It’s all connected.
Since then, I’ve dedicated my study time to understanding these connections and designing processes and practices to balance our ecosystems.
I firmly believe that no one should have to live their life in constant symptom-management, feeling awful, and believing that their body “just doesn’t work.”
You deserve better.
To begin, we have to ask the question: why does this line of thinking even get airtime in our lives?
I think the answer is: we have never been taught how our bodies work or what health is.
My pledge is to change that.
My aim is for this basic understanding of what health is and how our bodies work to be so fundamental to our education and daily lives that this service will no longer be needed – that it’s just part of our culture.
Let’s learn the art and science of living in a state of Chronic Health.
*As it turns out, up to about 50% of the US population either can’t process fructose at all, or can’t process the amount that they’re consuming… more on this elsewhere.
My Philosophy
Leave everything better than you found it — be it a borrowed tool, a house, a company, a person, or the planet.
Everything can be improved, and I love figuring out where and how the biggest impacts can be made.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
~ Albert Einstein
My Toolbox
Our outlooks and skill sets are developed through our experiences. I started working when I was 8, so I’ve had a lot of time and opportunity to develop various skill sets.
Above all: I’m a student.
But if you’d like a glimpse into some of the experiences I’ve had along the way, here you go:
| Researcher | Artist | Cat whisperer |
| Inventor | Pool shark | Explorer |
| Farmer | Chef | Photographer |
| Tractor driver | Bartender | Designer |
| Motorcycle rider | Hairdresser | Snowbird |
| House builder | Skincare consultant | Potter |
| Feeder of the hungry | Cyclist | Writer |
| Cattle herder | Runner | Barista |
| Sustenance grower | Dancer | World Traveler |
| Hunter | Lawn care technician | Unwell |
| Gatherer | Mason | Healthy |
| Micro-loaner | Painter | Struggler |
| Builder of computers | Demolisher of “good paneling” | Perseverer |
| Repairer of damaged goods | Night owl | Nearly homeless |
| Companion to elderly | Tutor | Excessively housed |
| Caretaker of children | Nutritionist | Un-insulated |
| Office dweller | Carpenter | Questioner of things |
| Road warrior | Auto mechanic | Answer finder |
| Student | Teacher | INTJ |
| Balloon Artist | Magician’s Assistant | Model |
| Health Coach | Data analyst | Fitness trainer |
For me, every one of these phrases comes with a memory.
I cherish each and every one of them.
The most up-to-date list will be on 