I’m a homeschooling mama to my six most precious blessings and wife to an amazing guy. I’ve been a Holistic Health Practitioner for over twenty years, and I believe that we ALL deserve to be the CEO of our health! Whether we’ve connected locally at my office, on social media, in a networking group or through one of my educational webinars or live presentations, I am so happy you’re here!
My love for natural medicine, my fearless entrepreneurial spirit, and a grim diagnosis for our son Trey, (which I’ll share more on) gave birth to Essentially Sp’OILed for Life. This has been twenty years in the making as I’ve had the opportunity to gain a wealth of experience, knowledge and passion in my vast career in the health and wellness industry. My true passion is to connect others to natural solutions through education and community.
My twenty years of diverse experience in the health and fitness industry began back in the mid-90’s at Northeastern University in Boston as a Health Science major with a concentration in Exercise Science and Nutrition. An internship for two well respected Orthopedic Surgeons led to full time employment. My tenure there increased my knowledge of modern medicine, where the focus was primarily that the body is a machine that is best fixed with drugs and surgery.
This quickly became a deep-rooted conflict for me. As I began to further my studies, taking as many courses as I could on natural medicine, I knew that I wanted to promote health through non-toxic therapies such as nutrition, lifestyle modification and herbal remedies. My interests led me to the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise, where I earned certifications as a Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and Health and Life Coach.
Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of clients 1:1, group training, boot-camps, authored and co-authored holistic health courses, and have had numerous opportunities to present globally on a variety of health and wellness topics.
Now let me share with you the pivotal moment in my career where everything fell into place and I knew that I had found my purpose. Our son Trey was first prescribed prescription medications at just six weeks old. For years, he was on all sorts of medicines. Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, Nasonex, Flonase just to name a few. While giving Trey these medicines, he NEVER seemed to be asymptomatic. He always had a stuffy and runny nose. He was the kid that ALWAYS had buggers wiped all over the sleeve of his shirt. He snored so loudly that when he was asleep, everyone in the house knew he was asleep. For years, I continued to give him what the pediatrician recommended. Finally, I had come to realize that no matter what we gave him, he would always have symptoms and I knew that the toxins building in his little body from the medicines were probably doing more harm than good. So, one day, I just said “that’s enough.” We are done with all this. We are going to stop taking all this junk. We are spending all this money and they don’t work anyways.
Fast forward about 6 months or so when it was time for Trey’s annual checkup. We arrived to the doctor’s office with no real issues to report. Trey was growing and prospering. It was no different than any other well visit we had been in for. The nurse came in to take Trey’s vital signs, weigh him, take his blood pressure, all of which were normal. Then she took Trey for his hearing and vision screening. When she brought him back to the exam room, she asked me “do you have a history of hearing loss?” My heart began racing as I told her “no, we don’t.” I was concerned as she continued to share with me the results of Trey’s hearing test. She said, “Trey has no hearing on his right side and only 25% on his left.” The doctor will be in to go over all of this with you.
When the pediatrician came in, she began by first looking through Trey’s chart. She asked a lot of questions but the one I remember most is “so which of these medicines are you giving him?” I told her none and, in that moment, I remember feeling like a really bad mom. She continued the exam by looking in Trey’s ears and then reporting that he had so much congestion built up around his ear drums, that it was interfering with his ability to hear. So much so that he was practically deaf!
I felt awful. She handed me a stack of prescriptions that she wanted me to fill, including a steroid. She also advised that I should give Trey Benadryl every 4 hours to help thin out the congestion around his ear drums. She wanted to see him back in 4 weeks for a follow-up and a re-check on his hearing.
I left the doctor’s office that day knowing in my heart that there had to be a better way. There had to be something more natural to help with Trey’s issues, so I wouldn’t have to overload his body with synthetics. While I was searching high and low for a solution, a friend of mine invited me to an essential oils class. Now, I must tell you that when I first heard about essential oils…….my thought process went something like this…….NO WAY! I hate smells in general. They give me a headache. And the only smell that came to mind when I heard the word essential oils was Patchouli! Yeah, I am not a big Patchouli fan.
Anyways, I was desperate, and I wanted so badly to find something to help Trey. So, I attended the class. I was intrigued. Skeptical, but intrigued. I remember thinking to myself, I have spent so much money on all kinds of prescription medications for Trey. What’s a little more to give these little brown bottles a try? I made the decision to go ahead and order myself a kit and asked a lot of questions about which products would be best my son.
I was doubtful that this would FIX my son, but I was open to the possibilities and excited to give them a try. I placed my order and made sure to include everything that was recommended. I was working on limited time as I had to bring Trey back to the pediatrician the following month for his follow up. A few days after the class, I received my oils and diffuser. I’m not going to lie….at that point, my husband and kids thought I was crazy! I did exactly what I was told to do, using the products aromatically, topically and internally. After just a day or two, we saw remarkable results. For a short time, I thought I might just be imagining that Trey was improving. You know…one of those “if you believe it will work, it will.” As the day approached for Trey’s appointment, I started to get really nervous. I hadn’t followed doctor’s orders at all. I even considered the possibility that she would file a report for negligence against me if I had failed to do what she had told me to. I prayed….and I prayed some more. I even scripted what I would say if Trey failed his hearing test. I would promise her to fill those scripts as soon as we left the office and that I just wanted to see if I could help him more naturally.
We arrived at the office for the follow up. I’m going to be honest here…..not only did we use our oils that day for Trey’s issues….but for my emotional state as well. I was a mess! The nurse came in to get Trey and bring him for the test. I felt like she was gone forever. She brought him back and didn’t say anything other than the doctor will be in shortly. I remember looking at Trey and saying, “could you hear?” He nodded yes. The doctor came in with Trey’s chart in her hand and looked at Trey. She said, “are you feeling better buddy?”. Then she looked at me and said, “See mom, he really does need his medicine.” “His hearing is back to 100% on both ears.” I honestly wanted to burst into tears…. happy tears that is. As she waited for a reply, I was trying to decide what to say. Do I tell her we didn’t fill the prescriptions that she gave me? I hesitated for just a second and then said “Actually, have you heard of essential oils?” Her face said it all. She was completely flabbergasted and seemed disgusted. She looked at his chart and replied, “as long as he can hear, that is all that matters. We will see you next year.”
While her reaction could use some work…. I chose to focus on the “nothing short of a miracle” outcome of this visit. In four weeks (less if you count the time it took to attend the class and actually get the oils into my home), my son Trey went from being practically deaf to passing his hearing test with 100% accuracy. I called my husband on my way home from the appointment. He said, “how was Trey’s hearing.” I said “you aren’t going to believe this……not only could he hear; he passed his test with 100% on both ears! Do you know what we can do with these oils?” Little did we know that would be the first of many incredible experiences.
Not only did doTERRA provide the answer that I needed for my son’s health issues, but it also ignited a spark in me that I will be forever grateful for. All my experiences came together and led me to where I am right here, right now, living out my purpose.
I attract people interested in becoming the CEO of their health and their life and I provide access to the education and the community you need to accomplish this.