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Then, in July 2020, I began experiencing severe symptoms of an unknown illness. While working as a project manager in the construction industry, I was vomiting for several hours every day with multiple other symptoms. I rapidly lost significant body weight and my company granted me time off to pursue answers to my severe health condition. After seeing more than 15 doctors and specialists over the course of several months, I was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease in February of 2021.
It was a huge relief. I remember thinking, ‘Great! Now I know what it is. Now I can get back to my life.’ My husband and I happily went on our modified, post-Covid honeymoon, and I was able to go back to work.
Within a few days of my return to work, I found myself once again in the Emergency Room with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The diagnosis was Clostridioides difficile (C-diff), an intestinal condition that if left untreated, is fatal. In order to battle the C-diff, doctors halted the medication I was taking to treat my Lyme disease.
As a result of these serious infections my body was pummeled into a state of complete malnourishment. I was no longer able to tolerate solid foods, and I struggled to hold down any liquids. My situation became dire, fast!
I transferred my care to the world renowned Cleveland Clinic as well as a clinic in Tennessee that treats rare, severe Lyme Disease cases. Thankfully, in June 2021, the Tennessee clinic understood my situation to be imminently fatal, and admitted me six weeks early.
Within two weeks of specialized treatment in Tennessee, my health turned around completely. I was able to make short walks around the hotel, began eating solid foods, and systems in my body were up and running once again. For the next several months while I was actively treating the Lyme disease, I devoured every possible piece of information that could help me get my arms around my health. I worked to recover my strength, repair my body, and soothe my traumatized mind.
Realizing I was not going to die, my life perspective began to shift drastically. The most significant was that I no longer cared for the chemical engineering degree I had obtained or the construction career I had worked so hard to achieve. It wasn’t important to me anymore, and I felt that I was being called to pursue something more with my life!
In May 2022, a career opportunity invited my husband to relocate to Arizona. This provided me the perfect opportunity to dive into a new field: Health, Wellness & Life Coaching.
For the previous few years, I had immersed myself in volumes of data and information about the mind, body and spirit … how they work together and how to heal them when they don’t. This path is clearly my destiny, and achieving certification as a Health, Wellness & Life Coach is one of the most fulfilling accomplishments of my life.
I look forward to sharing my experience and insights with you! If you would like to arrange a personal consult, please click on the link below.
Hi! My name is Michelle!
My journey through health has been quite extensive. My decision to become a health and wellness coach is the result of personal experiences with the health and medical fields, as well as intimate knowledge of the health crises of family members and dear friends.
When I was 16 years old, a freak jet-ski accident nearly took my life. I was medi-vacked via helicopter to the nearest hospital for immediate surgery and awoke with an attached colostomy bag. Meanwhile, my 51-year-old father was battling lung cancer, fighting for his life, and eventually succumbed to his illness a few months after my accident. My physical injuries from the accident improved, and within six months, the doctors removed my colostomy bag.
Growing up, I had wanted to be a doctor, but after the intimate experiences I had with death in 2008, I ended up deciding to go another route, and in May of 2016, I graduated college with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Duluth
While attending classes at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, I was plagued by severe abdominal pain and vomiting. The local Emergency Room became a frequent destination, and doctors told me the episodes were caused by scar tissue resulting from the jet-ski accident.
After graduating with my engineering degree and into my mid-twenties, the abdominal episodes became chronic. Doctors and specialists prescribed a myriad of medications, yet provided no explanations for my condition. One doctor even prescribed medical cannabis to help alleviate my symptoms.