I raised my four children using nutrition, herbal medicine, and supportive bodywork.
What do I mean by that?
In our home, we relied first on food, herbs, rest, and hands-on care. We did not use over-the-counter medications or prescriptions in our home.
After experiencing a concerning reaction early in my parenting journey, I began researching more deeply and asking different questions about how to support my child’s health. That experience shifted something in me. I realized I wanted to understand the body more fully, not just what to do, but why.
Over the years, I became deeply committed to learning what truly requires medical intervention and what can be safely supported at home.
Today, my grandchildren (both born at planned homebirths) are being raised with a similar foundation of nourishment and natural support.
How did I do this?
I’m not a medical doctor.
I’m a mother - now a grandmother - who was determined to understand the body more deeply.
When I first became a mother at 23, I was terrified. My own mother had passed away when I was 15, and I didn’t have her to call on for reassurance or advice. I had been raised in a very conventional medical model in the 1970s and 80s... we went to the doctor for nearly everything, and I trusted that system completely.
So with my first baby, I ran to the doctor often. We had good insurance, and I genuinely believed almost anything could harm her. I didn’t yet know how to assess what was truly urgent and what was part of normal childhood illness.
I remember reading dosage labels on infant medications and feeling afraid I might make a mistake. That fear alone told me I needed more education.
Over time, I realized I was missing three essential pieces of knowledge:
- When medical care is truly necessary.
- What is genuinely dangerous - and what is uncomfortable, but safely manageable at home?
- How to confidently support the body through the vast majority of common illnesses and injuries at home.
That journey changed everything.
The first and most important lesson I had to learn was discernment: knowing when to seek medical care and when home support is appropriate.
Because this distinction is so important, I created a free video called, When To See A Doctor. It’s designed to reduce fear and provide clarity - not to replace medical care, but to help you feel confident about when it’s truly needed.
At some point, I realized I didn’t want to live in constant fear.
I didn’t want to feel powerless every time one of my children developed a symptom. So I made a decision: I was going to learn.
Not to reject medical care — but to become more informed and more capable at home.
I committed to understanding how the body works, how illness progresses, what truly requires intervention, and how to support recovery naturally whenever it was appropriate to do so.
Over time, that commitment changed our family’s health experience.
We did not rely on antibiotics or over-the-counter medications as routine solutions. Instead, we focused on nutrition, herbal support, rest, structural care, and strengthening the body’s resilience.
What did that look like in real life?
Over the past 26 years, I’ve supported myself, my children, my grandchildren, family members, and clients through a wide range of common illnesses and infections — including:
- Colds and flu-like illnesses
- Various types of coughs, including croup-like coughs
- Sore throats (including confirmed strep in some cases)
- Fevers
- Sinus congestion and infections
- Ear infections and fluid buildup
- Digestive upsets, including diarrhea and constipation
- Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
Over the years, I’ve also supported situations that required calm, practical skill, including wound care, bleeding control, and tissue healing after cuts and punctures.
I’ve helped women navigate menstrual discomfort and heavy cycles, supported pregnancies and non-medicated births, and walked alongside friends experiencing fertility challenges.
There have been cases involving mastitis, iron-deficiency symptoms, urinary discomfort, cradle cap, allergic reactions, asthma symptoms, minor burns, and insect stings.
Some situations required especially close monitoring and thoughtful care. In each case, the focus was the same: reduce inflammation, support the body’s healing response, and remain attentive to any signs that would require escalation.
What these experiences taught me is not that herbs replace every other tool, but that when used skillfully, they are powerful allies in restoring balance.
Over the years, my work expanded beyond acute illness and injury into chronic and emotional patterns.
I’ve supported people navigating skin conditions, hormonal shifts, sleep disturbances, mood fluctuations, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms. I’ve worked with digestive discomfort, inflammatory pain, nerve pain, circulatory concerns, and fatigue. I’ve sat with families facing intense viral illnesses and complex diagnoses. I’ve helped clients integrate physical healing with emotional and even spiritual layers of their experience.
Some situations were straightforward. Others were complex and required careful monitoring, contingency planning, and deep discernment.
Through it all, I learned something essential:
When you understand how the body functions, and when you respect its signals, you can respond thoughtfully instead of reacting from fear.
I believe we're all born with remarkable healing intelligence. I also believe that responsibility comes with that belief... responsibility to learn, to observe carefully, to know our limits, and to seek additional support when it’s needed.
My commitment has never been about rejecting other forms of medicine. It has been about strengthening our capacity - individually and as families - to participate actively in our own healing.
I remember what it felt like to be a young mother, afraid of missing something important. Afraid of making the wrong call. Afraid that every symptom meant something catastrophic.
That kind of fear is exhausting.
What changed for me was education, and then putting that education into practice.
As I learned how the body works, how illness progresses, what truly requires intervention, and how to support recovery at home, something shifted. The fear softened. In its place came discernment. Confidence. Skill.
I believe parents deserve to feel that kind of grounded confidence.
Not perfection.
Not isolation.
Not rejecting support.
But informed participation. Calm response. The ability to look at a situation and say, “I understand what’s happening here, and I know my next step.”
I believe parents carry both the right and the responsibility to be active participants in their children’s health.
When we choose a more natural foundation, it requires more than simply reading about herbs. It requires learning the historical and modern uses of plants and then putting that knowledge into practice.
It requires attentiveness.
Noticing the first subtle shift in your own body. The faint scratch in the throat. The change in your child’s tone of voice. The slight drop in energy. The look in their eyes that tells you something is brewing.
Over time, that awareness becomes attunement.
You respond earlier. More calmly. More precisely.
You offer elderberry syrup before the cold deepens. Echinacea at the first sign of immune stress. Garlic oil when the ears begin to ache. Extra rest. Extra hydration. Sometimes, it's simply a long hug and reassurance.
At the heart of home healing is attunement - the cultivated ability to notice subtle shifts and respond with care before fear takes over.
It isn’t hypervigilance.
It’s connection.
And that kind of connection builds resilience, not just in the body, but in the relationship between parent and child.
Over time, my vision expanded.
I began to imagine what it would look like if more homes carried this kind of healing literacy — if families understood nourishment, herbs, nervous system regulation, structural alignment, and early symptom support.
Not to replace doctors.
Not to reject medical care.
But to complement it.
To reduce unnecessary panic.
To strengthen families from the inside out.
When education replaces fear, people respond with wisdom instead of reactivity.
And empowered homes create resilient communities.
That is why I teach.
I believe our communities benefit when more people understand the basics of health and healing.
Medical professionals carry immense responsibility, especially in emergencies and complex cases. Homes carry a different kind of responsibility - the responsibility of daily literacy in nourishment, herbs, nervous system regulation, structural awareness, and emotional health.
When families understand these foundations, something shifts.
Fear decreases.
Confidence grows.
Early natural support becomes possible, often preventing unnecessary escalation.
Over the years, I’ve seen what happens when people are taught these skills. I once created an after-school program for high school students focused on nutrition and herbs. They went home and began supporting their own families. Watching that unfold brought me to tears. Seeing young people step into confidence and support their families with herbs gave me deep hope for the future.
That's the kind of future I care about.
Not power over anyone.
But capacity within families.
I teach nutritional herbalism, Reiki, reflexology, and practical home-based healing skills to parents and individuals who want to feel more grounded and capable.
Through Life Purpose hand analysis, I also help people understand their innate wiring and relational dynamics - because when stress decreases and connection increases, the body responds differently. Calm reduces inflammation. Love regulates the nervous system. Purpose strengthens resilience.
Your children don’t need a perfect parent. They need an attuned caregiver - whether that’s you, a grandparent, or someone you trust.
If you feel called to deepen your skills and confidence in natural healing, I offer both education and one-on-one support.
You’re welcome to explore how I work - and what deeper study can look like - here: