My Why

I was an ambitious twenty-something behavior counselor at a local hospital. Initially, strange burning back muscles started wearing me down. I tried squeezing the pain away by tucking my elbow into my side while working with patients in the hospital. “You walk weird,” I was told.

Chiropractors and massage therapists somehow couldn’t get to the right place. The pain mysteriously dissipated whenever someone dug for it. Working out daily at 5 am did absolutely nothing. A vegan diet made it all the worse. Eventually, our employee physician suggested to give Pepcid a try. “Odd,” I thought for back pain. 

Amazingly, months of nagging, burning pain dissolved within a couple hours of taking that little pill. 

A Pepcid prescription empowered my professional ambition once again with a sigh of relief now that the ghost pain was found.

Fast forward 10 years later and I was deep into a fast-paced, growing technology company. It was a career move out of quiet desperation to provide better future for a quickly growing family. Bloat and discomfort were returning, but my new career path was strong, and I was determined to not let it get in my way.

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A new, sharp gut pain emerged.  For months I visited a GI doctor to run tests. Secretly, I kept the pain away from my family, not wanting them to worry. 
 

The sensations became so intense that a nearby hospital parking lot became a routine stop on my way home. After work, that's where I would wait while waves of spasmatic pain would force their way through my gut like glass slivers migrating south. I figured if I passed out, maybe someone from the ER would find me. 

Pride blinded me. The extreme weight loss, prednisone side effects, and constant hot pain-numbing baths were obvious red flags to my wife. Eventually I had to even tell her about my ER visits. 

 

That confession became one of my turning points. 

 

Fast forward again: After a year of frustrating tests, rotating medications and multiple specialists, I was diagnosed with Crohn's, a classic version of the inflammatory bowel disease. By this time, GI scarring constricted food from passing into the colon, and the small and large intestines were both riddled with ulcers and inflammation.

 

It was a hard road for years. My days were filled with surgery, monotonous dietary trials, hormone adjustments, and tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills, medical testing, and natural "treatments." Even from doctors, I got the comments, "You don't look sick." "Tests look normal. Let's do another." "Diet has nothing to do with it."  My wife felt powerless as I drifted into painful isolation, missing so much of our family time, and also fearful of what's going to be next.

 

While "enjoying" one particular hospital stay, a text popped up alerting a co-worker had unexpectedly passed. He was a colleague, a friend, and one who always gave a cheerful face. He was a genuinely good guy. The text went on and said, "he died from a Crohn's complication..."  

It hit me like a ton of bricks lying in that hospital bed. I didn't even know he had any GI issues. 

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Today, I am grateful to have had a strong recovery, especially considering my poor prognosis. Eventually all medications were replaced with occasional natural supplementation.  I achieved renewed vitality, trailblazed an inaugural Technical Vice President position, and finally listened to my wife [sometimes].

 

Now in my 50s, I’m in better health than as a young adult.

 

I know both the sick and the healthy paths all too well.

I know the shame of not being able to provide and the pain of an incurable diagnosis.

I also know the joy of playing with my granddaughters and the pride of proving my GI doctors wrong.

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I learned the hard way that being healthy is only my responsibility and not my doctor's.  It took years of trial and error, but finally, this was the realization that started me on the right path. 

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Now, I'm called to be THE data-driven health practitioner I needed so long ago.  I specialize in using functional lab testing to quickly blaze a science-based path to health. Plus, I'm backed by a team of other expert practitioners and medical oversight. The paths I trailblaze now are a bit off the traditional path but are MUCH quicker and way more enlightening.

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Feel free to contact me directly if you need help blazing your path.

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