What makes a 45 year old, civil engineer with a distinguished career go back to school and change her entire life? The journey started after becoming a Mom.
We used to joke that my youngest son could go from happy and fun loving to nuclear explosion in 0.003 seconds. To say that he was unpredictable is an understatement. The only thing predictable was things were going to change in a nanosecond. From his mood to choice of movie to what he wanted to eat to what shirt he wanted to wear. When Katy Perry’s song Hot n Cold came out in 2008, we joked it was his theme song. When he was in daycare, we were told by the teachers how fun he was, how helpful he wanted to be but also how he really struggled with staying focused. How he sometimes became too rough with the other kids. Often, I would find him sitting in a “timeout” when I arrived to pick him up. Each time the teacher saying, “he just needed a break”. I remember the nagging feeling I would get hearing this but also confusion because I’d never get further details on what this meant. Is this normal for active, energetic 4 year olds? Boys are full of energy, right?
Kindergarten felt a lot like the daycare experience. Comments from his teachers about how kind, respectful he is but he has trouble focusing and staying on task. Keeping his hands to himself. Playing too rough with other kids. Each report ending with “but we know he’s not malicious or doing it on purpose”. We would have endless conversations with him about appropriate behaviors, making good “choices”, responsibilities, body control…blah blah blah. It was his first-grade teacher who sat us down and really explained WHAT was going on and how it was affecting him socially and emotionally. She recommended we talk to his pediatrician about an assessment for ADD/ADHD. My heart simultaneously broke and sank into my stomach. We met with his pediatrician, got the packet of paperwork to fill out and waited. Not surprising, although I was praying desperately it wouldn’t happen, he was diagnosed as having ADHD. We turned and asked his pediatrician, ok so what do we do help him? The response was “Medication.” OOF…there’s that heartbreak and gut punch feeling again.
This diagnosis awakened my internal instincts to “fix it”. Once I knew the what/why of the issue, then my brain started the questioning, understanding ADD/ADHD treatment options and research on “underlying causes”. My cursory research all pointed to medication and the side effects scared me. As my husband and I discussed what we should do, the thought of this fun, loving, smart, caring boy who desperately wanted friends continuing to struggle was heartbreaking and unacceptable. We chose the only option we thought we had, and he began taking ADHD medication. I still remember the fear churning inside of me giving him his first doses. “Am I doing the right thing?” a constant thought on repeat in my brain. The medication worked, he was able to focus at school, had more self-awareness and self-control. And then all the side effects began. His lack of appetite, he was losing weight, had low energy, trouble falling asleep at night and had lost the “spark” that made him who he is. We worked very closely with his wonderful pediatrician, monitoring his responses, making dosing changes and even trying different medication brands. It wasn’t until we tried a schedule of skipping the medication on weekends that something else surfaced. We were having family dinner and my son blurted out “Oh wow I can taste my food again!” All heads spun his way with a collective “WHAT!?” That was the moment that the unsettled, nagging, worry about our decision rose up and screamed “you need to fix this!”
So, I began again researching and searching for information related to ADD/ADHD triggers and more natural therapies. I looked at the things I could easily control. I began at home. Removing as many toxic chemicals as possible, looking at our cleaning supplies, laundry detergents and body care products. Utilizing essential oils instead of chemicals. I found information on excitotoxins (food additives) and artificial food coloring that discussed how these can alter the chemistry of your brain and can increase the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. I was shocked to find just how many products we regularly used have these additives, especially artificial food coloring. I discovered that some brands of WHITE marshmallows contain BLUE food coloring. There is artificial coloring in toothpaste. Do we REALLY need colored toothpaste?
Even though we did notice some positive changes, it still did not get to the core of the issue. We would stop the medication for vacations and school breaks, and the first two weeks of school after these breaks would go well. But like clockwork, he would struggle again, we would start the medication, things would improve, and the side effects would come back again. We were in what felt like a never-ending cycle and were trapped. And that is when homeopathy found us.
A dear friend of mine knew I was on a mission to find a more holistic, natural way to care for not only my son but my whole family. She invited me to a presentation on homeopathy. I had never heard of homeopathy and had absolutely no idea what it was about. Was it supplements or herbs? And it was the middle of the week, a school/work night. I would have to find a babysitter, figure out how to get lunches made for the next day, I was tired from working and a million other reasons why I would have normally said “No thank you”. But instead, what I heard coming out of my mouth was “Oh sure. That sounds interesting. I’ll meet you there.”
The presenter was a professional homeopath trained in classical homeopathy. She began by explaining that homeopathy is a system of medicine that has been used for over 250 years. Symptoms are looked at from all parts of a person. How a person feels physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually are all equally important and all are necessary to understand where is the core of a person’s suffering. I was immediately hit will full body goosebumps, ringing in my ears and a million questions. THIS. WAS. IT! This was the missing piece, the path I had been searching for. I NEEDED to talk to her about my son. He began his homeopathic journey the very next month. That was 2010.
Both my sons have received homeopathic care since early adolescence, through puberty, teen years and into adulthood. Their level of wellness through these challenging stages of life has been remarkable. It was amazing to see how they were supported as they experienced things such as anxiety, digestive issues, injuries, and acne. Throughout this entire journey, I used every opportunity I could find to learn as much as I could about Homeopathy. I was continually in awe of the depth of healing that would take place with friends, family and within myself. Homeopathy saved us from a life dependent on medications and the unintended impact those medications can have on our overall health.
In 2017 I decided to do the one thing I said I would never do – go back to school. I completed my formal training in classical homeopathy at the Northwestern Academy of Homeopathy (NAH) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NAH is a four-year professional practitioner program. After graduation, I ended my 28-year engineering career to work on my passion full time. We don’t know what we don’t know, which is why I feel very passionately about continuing to educate people about homeopathy. I chose the name Source Healing Homeopathy for my practice because homeopathic remedies are made from source materials in nature and as a homeopath, I look for the expression of the source of someone’s suffering.
Charles Ropel wrote “Take the ‘I’ out of illness, add ‘WE’, and you have wellness.” Working in partnership with others as you take control of your health is what brings lasting results. If you or your family is struggling to find success with a health concern or unintended side effects, consider a different way with Homeopathy. It would be an honor to be that partner as you move towards greater wellness and vitality.
All my best,
Sandy