Taking Back My Health
A few years ago, I was feeling my absolute worst. No energy, swollen stomach, chronic respiratory infections, headaches… all the things. But I was a new mom of three, the youngest of which had a laundry list of health issues of his own that made sleep nearly impossible. Clearly this is why I was sick… I was sleep deprived.
But then the baby slept, I inched further and further from post partum, I stopped breastfeeding, and instead of things getting better I was worse. That’s when the rapid heart rate, asthma diagnosis, dizziness, brain fog, and weight gain took over.
My lifestyle was the cleanest, and healthiest it has ever been, so why did I feel so awful?
It was then that my oldest daughter started to experience some strange, dramatic changes in her personality. After a quick virus my sweet, calm, joyful daughter was filled with rage, anxiety, and OCD. My baby was suffering. Thanks to a friend’s advice, we quickly got Mere diagnosed with PANS ( a story for another day) with the help of her pediatrician and a functional doctor.
After this… I had to dig deep. Why was my family suffering when we live so, what I thought, healthy?
A Journey to a Non-Toxic Life
The thing about suffering, is sometimes it leads you to a better path.
Meredith’s journey with PANS was one of the hardest I’ve ever traveled as a parent, so again, I blamed my declining health on the stress of parenthood. But years later she is almost completely back to baseline, and I only continue to decline.
I knew through Meredith’s diagnosis and work with a functional health doctor that her issues were greatly due to inflammation and learned about how many things in our environment and in our diet contribute to that. So I got thinking… could I have something similar going on?
I found a doctor in our area, and then went to where Meredith was diagnosed in Winston Salem, to run a BUNCH of tests and listen to all of my symptoms. What came back was astounding… lyme, positive ANA (autoimmune), multiple chronic infections, severe anemia, and low thyroid across the board. While we are still trying to figure out the root to all of this (my guess is mold… Meredith’s trigger for PANS flares), this rock bottom I’ve hit has led our family to a new path of wellness.
Taking Control of Our Health
We immediately changed our diets. Although we had ate healthy before, I decided we now were going to source our food locally, all organic, with as many things from farmers I could actually talk to as possible. We would filter our water, trash the plastic, get rid of the snacks, and bake and cook more at home. We would reduce the toxins within our home as much as we could because THAT is what we can control.
It’s been a process, but one that is my passion now, and I can see a difference in not only myself, but my kids. They are happier, less hangry, and take pride in our mealtimes.
For this reason, I’ve switched my focus for my clients away from small business and specifically to health and wellness (with some beauty thrown in there ... because that needs some cleaning up and reform as well!).
Using my creative passion to fuel my life passion is a dream come true. Taking back our food system and our health is truly a movement, and I’m happy to be a part of it.
Become Part of the Movement
Join me on my journey by following @brookeolexa on instagram.
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