My Story

I knew I was in a health mess. I had been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and had been taking progressively stronger and stronger medicines.  A series of doctors in three states had tried everything they knew to alleviate my symptoms but nothing helped.

An additional result was that my immune system was becoming more and more compromised. I soon began to experience additional symptoms not caused by my primary condition but rather as a result of my medications and their stronger and stronger prescribed dosages. When it finally got to the point that my husband had to help me out of the bed in the morning and I was unable to even walk around the block with my children, I knew something had to change.

I spoke to my doctor about reducing or eliminating the drugs but he balked. When I talked about leaving, he said, "If you walk out of this office, you will be in a wheelchair in six months.”

At that point deep down, I knew that I would need to take personal charge of my health…for my benefit and for my family. That was the day I knew I needed to get out of the vicious med cycle I was in.

 Fortunately, with a degree in Medical Technology, I had a good foundation in health science.  I began to read everything about the relationship of foods and nutrition to health and how importance the balance between health and exercise are. I began to eat and cook better. I began to exercise by swimming daily, walking and eventually hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains.​   

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 Over time my arthritis went into remission as I became stronger and healthier…proper nutrition was the key and it was paying off. To this day, I am convinced that I probably would be in that wheelchair today if I had not changed directions. For certain, I would not have been able to subsequently have my beautiful twin daughters and go back to that same Santa Monica Mountains bluff twenty years later with them.  I am so glad I changed directions.  

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For me, it took a deep conviction that ultimately, only I could be responsible for achieving better health. I became my own health coach and continued to educate myself. I learned which foods are best, which are bad and all the whys. I learned to prepare nutritious meals without sacrificing delicious flavor. I taught my husband and our four daughters about healthy eating and watched the light bulbs brighten up as they understood.   


Over the years, my family has learned even more and has applied what we learned...with my ever present coaching.  I am glad to report that we are still learning and growing healthy.