Valerie’s Story
You can’t always judge a book by its cover. Valerie grew up in a Southern California suburb within a large close-knit family. She was very active and enjoyed cooking and sewing. She enjoyed eating her mother’s cooking which was the Standard American Diet infused with the cultural blend of Filipino – Hawaiian – Japanese cooking.
From the day Valerie was born, she struggled with thriving because of her impaired immune system, chronic food sensitivities, facial eczema and bleeding, lack of hair and hayfever. She developed pneumonia at age of 2 and from there, she continued to struggle with food sensitivities and allergies, poor digestion, headaches, abdominal pain, and tummy bloating which continued all the way through her late teens. Its normal for a cold or flu to hit everyone in the family but she seemed to be the only child unable to bounce back. Her mother offered her the over-the-counter medicines just like the other children in the family but when those didn’t work it was off to see the doctor. The doctor would always prescribe the same dose of penicillin or antibiotics that would leave her feeling sick with poor digestion and depleted energy. It took weeks to feel normal again, why wasn’t her family and friends struggling like her? It wasn’t long until she developed asthma and the regular use of a bronchial inhaler to help with breathing. Everything was the same until she turned 30 years old and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called hypothyroidism. Her symptoms were depression, feeling cold most of the time, muscle weakness (even though she was playing tennis 5 times a week), hair loss and eyebrows thinning, sudden weight gain, slow heart rate, etc. Her doctor prescribed a natural thyroid medication which seemed to help with most of her symptoms. For a short while she was feeling better but then started feeling cold, some depression, and low energy. She was not out of the woods with her autoimmune disease. Right before her 50th birthday, she came down with pneumonia. She remembered thinking just like so many of her friends who are the same age – that this was all part of the aging process and she needed to practice acceptance. Feeling stuck and settling for her current health conditions, she decided to do some research and find out what were her options.
It was in 2012 that Valerie began searching the web for holistic solutions for the recovery of autism spectrum disorders. Her sons were struggling even though they are both high functioning. Their health symptoms varied between them, so it couldn’t be a one-size-fits-all solution. She found a local doctor trained in “Defeat Autism Now” that was kind, supportive, and knowledgeable and brought both boys some lasting results. Things began to change for her family once she enrolled in a year-long course at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Learning from IIN was exciting and opened her eyes to how food is medicine and that when we provide the body with what it needs it can heal itself. She began applying each piece of new knowledge into her family’s daily lives. What she found was not only helpful to both of her sons’ autism spectrum but for her own autoimmune disease, too. Learning about food sensitivities and food allergies and how it can leave people feeling emotionally sick with low energy helped in connecting the dots in her family’s food choices and recipe planning. In the years that followed and as she continues her education, Valerie has witnessed many more ah-ha moments since 2012.
It wasn’t until after her father’s massive heart attack and 3 week recovery from surgery did she decide to pursue a career as a holistic health coach. All her experience and knowledge fell into place to assist her father for a successful recovery. Today her father is living independently and enjoying life with her mother.
Today Valerie is a practicing functional and integrative health coach. Together with her clients she creates personalized packages based on their health history and status, priorities, and personal goals. She specializes in supporting individuals and families on the autism spectrum, with autoimmune disease, and cardiovascular health. She offers collaborations with client’s doctors and healthcare teams. Her services are available through online teleconferencing and phone consultations.
It has been a pleasure to see the remarkable changes in each of her clients. Everyone is different and moves at their own pace, it’s not a race to the finish line – enjoy the journey!
If you are interested in working with Valerie or want to get a feel for what it would be like as her client. Please click on the ‘START HERE’ tab and complete the Free Strategy Session Form and she will contact you shortly.
Enjoy this great day!
