The reality that lead me to wanting to share what I’ve learnt and to provide other families with knowledge and healthier options; I had always struggled with various health ailments; stomach issues, candida, fatigue, depression. I saw multiple doctors and felt a little sick all the time. In College my passion for health and fitness developed. I craved eating well, I wanted to learn how to cook and I even started to horse back ride again. Something that I did alot of as a child. Over the years I worked in the health field teaching, I researched and learnt how to cook with my husband, Anthony. I even developed my riding career and became a certified coach. From there, Anthony and I bought a wonderful horse farm that quickly became our family business with our baby boy that was born only 2 weeks after we moved in. In 2010 my daughter, Ryleigh was born. She was full term, being only 4 days early when my water broke and we headed for the hospital. Feeling great I told the doctors yet again that I felt she was not ok and yet again I was told I was being paranoid…. Ever been there… Nothing worse then being ignored and then told your are just a worrier… Within hours I was hemmoraging and the reality that my girl may not make it into this world became a reality for all. In minutes the doctor announced no heart beat and I was rushed for a crash c-section. They got her out in just a meer 55 seconds, her apgar scores were 0 across the board. They tried relentlessly to revive her little body and bring her back. In a last attempt of hope, an intern asked about the idea of epinepherine straight into her heart. I have since visited CHEO and kissed the cheek of that blessed young intern because at that moment his adstract idea started my girls heart. She was placed on a cooling bed to “chill” her for 72 hours and for those of you who know what I am talking about, you know it is one of the most difficult things in life to watch. She was on countless meds and we were told she may not make it through the night. On day 2, she was stable and we were told she would likely have kidney, liver failure or brain damage. On day 3 she was done being “chilled” and as I watched her lifeless body, I made the painful decision to take her off the meds. I could feel something pulling at me, you know the feeling when you know you need to do something but you fear its the wrong decision. Intuition is something I no longer take for granted as within 12 hours of that decision I was told Ryleigh was improving at an tremendous speed. She had a suck and gag reflux and by day 4 we were able to hold her. Her stay at the NICU was a grand total of 7 days, going from lifeless to seemingly normal; but we were forever changed. I would never think or feel the same…. I had witnessed and suffered through the possibility of loosing a baby, there are no words for that… I was grateful and excited Ryleigh was coming home and yet terrified as to how I was going to keep her little body healthy and fearful of what could/would go wrong in the days to come. When we brought her home we decided to do whatever we had to to keep her body as healthy as possible as we were warned she could still have liver or kidney failure from her traumatic birth and all the meds. We began to look at our life; removing chemicals, toxins, pesticides…. our house was turned upside down as we did everything possible to assure a healthy family. I was very ill from the crash c-section and my body was given up on me, I could not metabolize food anymore, my bladder was damaged, I was in a constant state of shock that was later recognized as post traumatic stress. I continued this relentless struggle for 2 years while still running the coaching business and trying to be a functional mom and wife. Finally, Anthony suggested we sell the farm and focus just on our family. I was devastated at first but agreed 100% that it was a good decision. I can easily say now that it was a great decision. I dove into reseach and found myself spending countless hours studying food, supplements, various doctors, holistic medicine ect. Soon enough I was well on my way to recovery and discovering the fasinating world of holistic medicine, food and emotional well being on a new level. As a health instructor I began instructing full time again at a local College, but this time teaching felt different. I wasn’t doing anything differently… I finally realized that with all the additional years of research and experience I had obtained that I wanted to help people more. I decided to get my certification as a Holistic Nutritionist and Health Wellness Coach and do just that… I am happy to say Ryleigh is know 5 years old and an extremely happy and healthy girl. She has never had gluten or dairy and she knows no difference. We have seen the benefits that living and eating in a healthier way can have as a whole family. From Ryleighs birth to Aidens mood and candida issues, as well as Anthony (hubby) who lost 30 pounds when he first went gluten free.
