A Functional Health Team in Your Back Pocket: Supporting a Family Through Every Season
What does it actually look like to have a functional health team in your family’s corner—not just during a health crisis, but through all the different seasons of raising a family?
In this episode, Elizabeth sits down with longtime Hey Hey MAE client Karissa, whose family has leaned on the practice in many different ways over the years. From stool testing and questionable lead levels for her boys, to emotional support, homeopathic remedies, and those everyday “Is this something I should worry about?” questions, Karissa’s story is a beautiful example of how functional care can fill the gaps between routine pediatrician and PCP visits.
But in 2024, Karissa became the one who needed deeper support.
After an intensely stressful season, she began experiencing chronic headaches, nausea, crushing fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, dizziness, anxiety and panic, thyroid changes, and strange episodes of feeling flu-like around ovulation and her period. She was sleeping 10+ hours and still exhausted—and emotionally, she felt like she was losing herself.
She knew something was off. She just didn’t know where to start.
Together, we talk about how stress can sometimes be the tipping point for a body already carrying a larger immune burden, and how a broader look at Karissa’s history and labs uncovered clues involving Epstein-Barr, strep, Lyme, Bartonella, and other infectious stressors that helped us begin connecting the dots.
But this episode is about more than chronic illness.
It’s about the value of having different kinds of practitioners on your family’s healthcare team. Your pediatrician, PCP, therapist, and other providers each have an important role—but sometimes you need someone who has the time and tools to look at nutrition, gut health, immune function, infections, environmental exposures, emotions, and the seemingly unrelated symptoms that don’t fit neatly into one box.
And sometimes, you simply need more tools to help your family feel better along the way.
We talk about how Karissa has used functional nutrition and homeopathy from season to season, why supporting mood and everyday quality of life matters, and how reassuring it can be to have a team who already knows your family when something changes.
If you’ve ever wished you had somewhere to turn when your gut says, “Something isn’t quite right, but I don’t know what we need,” this episode is for you.
Please note that transcripts may contain minor errors or inaccuracies. We hope you enjoy reading them and find them helpful.
Welcome back to Hey, You're Going to Be Okay. Today we're going to kind of dive into what does it look like to have a functional health team in your back pocket when you have a family. We're going to talk today with Carissa and go through a lot of the different ways that we have visited with one another since 2021 sometimes it's been for her sometimes for the kids but there was always a little something going on where more or different support was merited and i think that made a lot of difference for their family and we're just going to kind of explore what does it look like to approach different health support, if you will, on the journey of raising family. So, Carissa, you've actually been around HeyHey for a long time. I think we started in 2021-ish, maybe. um And like I said, we've helped you guys through lots of different seasons. and i really wanted to talk about that because we have lots of families Like your family where we kind of come in and out and it's not like we have this big dramatic, we found one big thing and everything changed story. It's more about What does it look like to have that functional support? woven into normal family life. so How did you originally find us or what brought you to starting work together?
i have been racking my brain to remember, and I cannot remember. Who put us in contact? Do you remember who put us in contact?
I don't. I mean, you weren't even seeing There's a pediatrician that we often get referred to from, and looking through my notes, you didn't start seeing them until after you came here, so I don't think it was that. maybe just a common friend i would guess but
Yeah.
um
So... Yeah, I remember... Having Levi. He was like my tricky baby, second born. And I was like. He cried so much and he was so miserable and it was like... I think he was...
He was probably two. And I was like, send help. We are not okay. Something is wrong with this baby.
And like our pediatrician was like super helpful, but like just nothing. that they could find. And so I don't, whoever it was, was a total godsend sent me to you. And I was like, probably on the verge of a breakdown. I don't remember exactly. And I was like, hey, help, send help. We don't know what we're, like, something is wrong here. No one can figure it out. And You were like, yeah, that's weird. None of this is okay. Um.
Yeah.
Like, she was... I just remember he would like cry. Like he would hold onto my shoulders and cry when he was trying to poop. And it was, like, the most miserable. And it would happen, like... It was only every two weeks.
And I just remember being like, this poor baby. Like, this is not... And you were like, no, that's...
Yeah.
Like that's miserable.
We have to do better.
Yes. yeah So that was our...
The foray into things. Yeah. Have you, um I mean, I, you said you'd seen the pediatrician and and I think that's like such a common thing for people is like kid dealing with constipation or even the kid who doesn't necessarily go like two weeks without stooling, but it's just having trouble in that area And in my experience.
yes
Sometimes when we go to the doctor, we don't get a whole lot of help. So have there been times when you didn't necessarily feel like you need to see a doctor, you just needed somebody to kind of like help you through?
what you were seeing or did you guys even try to get more help for Levi, I guess at that point. via the doctor.
Yeah, like, I remember going...
Not to. impact
Sorry, what was the end of that?
Sorry. I was like... Not to bash any doctors, but.
No.
just like two different places maybe is more what i was trying to get at
we haven't
Yeah. I mean, I remember going to the doctor and it just being like not great, but like not really something that could be done. I think we maybe did some like allergy testing and there just wasn't a lot.
there that they were able to find at that point which I mean that was what five years ago and I do feel like even like the knowledge and understanding. from five years ago is different than like what people know now.
Yeah.
um And so... it was I think it was a referral maybe to GI was kind of like the direction we were headed in. And I was like, oh, I don't know that that's exactly what I'm looking for here.
And so, I mean, now like. Bye. sort of like uh relationship with you is like hey this feels off can you help me with this or like hey my gut like my mom gut which I feel like you've told me a million times like is very valid like hey my mom gut is like like something's not right here like can you
can you speak into this or like hey i got this advice it didn't quite It wasn't quite what I was like. Thinking or, you know, like. What do you like? How can you speak into this?
Yeah. Yeah. And that is the thing. It's like different perspectives, right?
Okay.
Like we're never looking to diagnose or treat disease.
Mm-hmm.
We're looking to help you understand how the body works and maybe we can find out where it's going off the rails or is it missing? a tool that it needs is it missing nutrients or you know is it missing sometimes having an antimicrobial or something like that or is there
uh-huh
small component because that part i think We hear so much from families now around, especially using homeopathy for emotional stuff. like Kids. especially before they're able to express a lot of emotions carry things in their bodies like They will.
Mm-hmm.
hole up and be constipated on purpose because they don't want to let stool go or and there can be emotional crossovers and it's just like lots of different tools available, which usually with the boys.
just looking through notes like we kind of moved to testing most of the time it seemed like we would do kind of some gi testing what was helpful about actually getting able to like look as a mom versus
Mm hmm.
routes you were taking or you know knowing a little bit more about what was happening than guessing doing the like mom dance
yeah I mean, so, like, I know my kids. Like, I spend a lot of time with them. Like, I can, you know.
Yeah.
um But this was, like, concrete. When we did the testing, it was like, hey, like, you can walk me through it. And you can tell me. almost exactly what was going on. And even the questions that you were asking.
told me that you were clued into like how it all works together. And I think that was super helpful for me because you would be like, oh, this means this. Are you experiencing this? And I was like, yeah, I'm experiencing a ton of that.
Like. So I think that was super helpful as opposed to like.
Mm hmm.
Um... Take Miralax, which is a lot of time is the ah the thing that... that you're told and you know to my To that, my question is, and for how long?
like Are we doing this forever?
And so I think a lot of, like... What? A lot of my experience with Levi, which was my first experience working with you, was like... results Like. he was getting better. Like things were, I mean, and he had, he had. He was just a whole...
He was like a whole bubble of of... Things that were all connected. But like. and And he even had, like... trauma when i when I was pregnant with him. like We had a ton of like emotional trauma happening in our... life and so It's just like you were able to help me put together all of it and then not only have an answer but also Train it.
um Which was like, I always call it. the crockpot method you know like you might go to the doctor and the doctor is like take Miralax and he will poop tomorrow. And it's like, Okay, that's like a quick microwave.
Yeah.
Yeah.
you know solution or there's like you can go to someone who is gonna Actually, like... Dig deeper. Do the root cause. It might take some time to get all the results back. and make a plan but ultimately you're going to come out on the other end Thank you.
holistically doing significantly better. um than you are if you do. the microwave that's just gonna fix a problem and then you're gonna kick the ball down the road a little further.
Yeah.
So that was, I think that was like our... That was like my like, oh, this works. Seeing Levi, like, do so much better. I was like. Oh! o Okay, we are doing this. This is... this is This is working.
Yeah, that's good to hear. And it is like, it is hard, especially when you have kids because they're outside our body and they're basically us outside our body. So we want them to feel better. quickly but I think what you said about like taking the slower route and you end up with this like all encompassing better. Like he didn't end up just pooping regularly, which was something that happened, but I think we saw mood change, you know, he.
Yeah.
disposition is different. There's lots of things. And kids like you, they can have constipation, have a little bit of eczema. And once mom learns that the constipation and the eczema are related, if we just resolve the constipation, away goes all the skin and itching.
That part is so important because if you go often to the doctor, not all doctors, but a lot of pediatricians, you're going to get the Miralax and the like, just put some like. Just grab an eczema cream at the store and see how that goes.
I'm of the thinking, too, that kids don't really deserve to suffer for a really long time for things that we know.
Mhm.
how to resolve and that drives me bananas too so Did you ever do any other functional testing? like on your own i don't I wasn't sure if you ever did but sometimes people do like a tiny health test or something like that.
Are you guys ready?
yeah
I did some kind of test back... What, in like 2015? Um, And... And for like my own, I mean, that's when I kind of figured out my thyroid was off.
and all that stuff.
Hmm.
ah So we had a little... like i was already leaning i have always like leaned more natural um but that was probably like my first
Yeah.
Sort of like... Dipping my toe in the water.
Yeah.
What would you say?
I don't remember when I did that.
What would you say, and maybe it's hard to talk about because you don't totally remember, but what would you say of like... Doing the DIY. Let me try to. Hold on.
She was not in here and then she... i'm sure you heard her but
Yep.
Um. Okay. So thinking back to like. when you did do a little testing yourself and even before you came back this time you had had some testing done because you had kind of guessed and we'll get into that more but you felt like you had Epstein-Barr going on and strep going on but what was it like to get the test and then kind of be with the test and not maybe have as much direction like what's the what's the feeling difference maybe between like getting some information knowing some stuff
Because you... usually have really good intuition when we get together you're like this is what i think's going on and i'm like let it And it's usually a very solid thread. But what does it feel like as a mom or even?
as yourself, just dealing on your own health. the difference between the two things.
I think... Like... I just don't have the like wealth of knowledge that you have. Like, you've done a ton of... work to understand how everything works together and I can't put together those like puzzle pieces so it's like having a puzzle and so like I know that there is an outcome here but I can't put it all together And so. sometimes it can be helpful to have some information but
Yeah.
Sometimes it's not helpful because it's like, what do I do with this? like I don't know.
Like, it's good to know that there's a problem. But if... but I don't have the tool set. Get to the... result like
Yeah.
It can cause more anxiety than anything else, I think.
Yes, and I think that's one of the things that I see parents dealing with a lot because I understand and in some ways I ended up here because I was sick and I needed to get better and I had limited options.
Right.
But parents are constantly making little health decisions and parents are also usually working jobs and managing extracurricular activities and buying groceries and all these things. But there's so much stuff you need to ask.
right
like Do I really need to worry about this? Do I wait? Is it gut? Maybe it's behavioral. Maybe there's something I could try at home, but I need to go learn about this.
Mm hmm.
Like there's so much value in having someone who can come along and like answer those questions or make short work of that. Or even when we go to the pediatrician, we're like, this kid's been kind of off. no fever they go through a list of things to check to make sure there's no big fire and this is really no different i think um And it's important to know that like...
We can take the stress off of our parenting by going to the pediatrician sometimes and like, can you just look and see if it's an ear infection or not? but also we've heard smaller things or
Right, right
quality of life things our kids or ourselves are going through. that's where our team can really kind of come in and strategize and of course bigger things too but
Mm-hmm.
that part's different so one of the things i think that's been helpful for you through the journey and you had decent success with is the homeopathy part. And I just kind of wanted to talk about how that has impacted quality of life or.
if and when you use those things with your family or if you just use them with yourself in your last kind of healing season.
Yeah, do you mean like the... I mean... like the stuff that I did a few years ago or do you
ah go The like emotional support remedies or some of the hey, hey stuff.
The wheels now.
or a calm wheel or...
Okay.
I can't recall if you've used much with the kids or if I know about it. even
um Alright, so... Recently... I've gotten a lot of the wheels. uh and i love it there's like if i have a problem i type it in into your little like hey hey me
mm-hmm
Whatever. Shop. And it's like, there's a will for that. And I'm like, oh, this is great. So.
Yeah.
I think I used the sleep wheel. And I was like. You know, sleep in me. who had our issues for as long as I can remember.
and what Yeah.
And I was like, okay, you know what? I'm going to give this a shot and we'll see how it goes. And it was great. I was like, oh, like, so I think that was my first. Like everything that you have given me has always... worked but the wheels i was like ah You know what? I'll give it a shot.
oh
And I was instantly, like, impressed. I was like, oh, this actually... This actually works. And we all kind of had a little touch of like. some type of like virus, I think.
yeah
And I hit, I hit them all with a heavy hitter. Like I gave it to my kids. I was like, all right, use this. And we were like. I mean, we were down for a little bit, but it was like... Pretty. Like we all felt better.
Yeah.
And I was like, oh. So it's like... You know. I don't know. Eileen. much more natural. But sometimes when my kids are sick, I'm like, I just want you to feel better. And so I'll hit them with something like, you know, that.
I don't physically have them. I give them medicine.
All right. its
And...
And I was like, oh, this feels like a much better. way to do this that actually is like working with their bodies and not suppressing symptoms so that they feel better.
But this is... Actually... fixing their problems so that they feel better and building up their immune system so I was like, great. And I think I just. Bye. like seven more of them because I was like what else can we
That's good to be used. And I think, too, we're going to talk about your...
yeah
Health season, but like. lime became part of that and other infectious stuff when you came back and the rage remedy which feels like i don't know as well.
Mm-hmm
but like it is so helpful for lyme feelings because there is that like exact like irritation and it is
Yes.
so helpful for kids but so helpful for adults because you don't really as a mom like get to pause like when you're sick no one really It's not like you get to take off mumming for a while.
Bye.
It really, really hard, but those things are. I think it's... It's important for me that we talk a lot and just in general, that they exist, that there are things, because we think of supplementation as like something you can take when you don't have enough B vitamins or you can get a little support.
Yeah.
lightder reance's weird But there are so so many emotional remedies that push the body because really mental health, we kind of accept it as part of physical health, but in lots of ways. we're not even all there yet on integrating that idea but it is still a
Hmm.
for Health and there are tools that can help us. get through portions of seasons when there are you know symptoms that come up but In 2024, you kind of go back, and this was...
yeah
um Not a question for kiddos. You were just kind of like, look, I feel out of whack. My body's not doing great. I don't really know where to start. And I just. need help figuring out. So what was going on in life leading up to that season?
um before you came back
yeah Um... We were... I think... it was ah It was like a rough patch of... our lives that we were going through but then there was also this piece of like every time I had a hormone surge I was like sick in bed for like three days like fever, like headache.
And I was just down, like, felt like I had been hit by a truck. And that was happening, like, every two weeks. and like I'm a pretty active person and it was just taking me down like I could not I couldn't bounce back. I couldn't get back into my routines. Like, I homeschool. I was working. I just could not.
pull it together being sick You know. For three days, every two weeks, it's just like not.
Yeah.
It's not. It'll work. uh So my husband was like, what you would you call us? like
Thanks.
Talk to her. Yes. Talk to her. Figure out what is happening here and, like, let's... You know. Let's try to get you feeling better. So I think I called you or I made like a.
clarity call. And I was like, hey, it's me. Send help.
Okay.
And you were like... You were pretty much like... I have some ideas. Let's do this testing and kind of see.
Yeah.
And go for glare. Uh...
Yeah, because I think you...
You'd had EBV positive and strep positive. that you had done maybe right before And you were like, I know some things, but I don't know why I haven't.
for three days when Niall...
Yeah.
When my period starts, that part's not. making any kind of sense. and
Yeah, it was
Good try. um
Yeah it was so bizarre. Yeah.
Yeah. There was other stuff too. Cause I mean, you have always been like active and you work out and you guys really eat very well as a family. I've looked at plenty of food journals coming out of your house and know that those things are.
Okay.
really pretty good in there as good as we all are doing, you know, but you were still having like a dizziness stuff was on set and there was like more anxiety and there were little bits of joint pain, but your headache.
Mhm.
situation it was like chronic ongoing.
oh yeah
I think there were times when they were peaking and you were getting more like.
yeah
nausea. And then morph it.
Mhm.
Following. Yeah. So things were just not.
Yeah, I think it... It was like every... It was like every afternoon at like 1 or 2 p .m. I would get a headache. And I was like, it would just like hit. And I was like, oh. There it is. And that was so bizarre
I cannot.
Yeah.
I can never get that out.
It really still hurts because your kids... are small. and you're homeschooling And you have boys.
and
I have boys. They're great, but they make noise.
Bye-bye.
A lot of noise.
They're not quiet.
Yeah. Yeah, and your thyroid stuff, you were having thyroid stuff at the time, right? Which we'd looked at but in other seasons, but I think that was part of the cocktail at that point too.
Mhm. Yeah.
Yep. so emotionally I think part of it too where you were like I just feel like garbage in that way too I feel like I'm just kind of stuck in bed and losing my mind but what else were you doing at that point like trying to figure stuff out before you got to me?
What do you remember?
I don't. I remember trying to... I mean, I think I was just like... taking Tylenol for my headache. Like, I don't think that there was a ton of...
Yeah.
Trying to remember.
You were in therapy, I remember, and you were like.
I don't... I don't... Oh yeah.
I don't feel like that's... The problem, like I kind of feel just like emotional, not related to that, but also I'm sleeping a lot. So you were still eating good.
yeah
You weren't like. You hadn't fallen off the rails. At all.
I don't feel, that's what I so was trying to remember was like if I was gluten free at that point or. If I wasn't. I think I... I think it was, but. Because it was only like two years ago.
Yeah. You were looking for it mostly because you were like, I know I'm supposed to do these things because I learned from a boy.
Oh, yeah.
and i learned from past and I'm mostly doing them but they're not really even mattering. So.
Yes, yes, yes now I remember
No. So let's look into some things. So we kind of had some clues. We had some EVV testing or mono. We had some strep. We've known your thyroids had moments in and around pregnancies, but it was back to doing weird stuff.
um And then I said, why don't we do an infectious panel?
uh-huh
Because I feel like. This headache is not normal. found stuff is fine it's related to mono but there's more going on four months are being impacted yada yada and it wasn't like you were sick because you were stressed entirely it was like that stressful season had kind of put your body in a place where it was overburdened and kind of Once we got testing back, it kind of almost regressed.
knowing what was there. So we got testing back and It showed us there was Lyme and Bartonella. FCMAR was there. strip stuff. and then we also found tick-borne encephalitis virus which is Not very common in America, but we started talking through it.
and we talked about past travel for you. How did it feel to like...
Uh huh.
See all that. have the dot connecting. Tell me about that part.
I mean... I just feel like nobody else is going to do that. like digging that Deep. to figure that out and so I think
mm-hmm
There was a... Like... You go. I was kind of at the point where I was like so frustrated that I was feeling so. bad.
But I had kind of done a little bit to, like, figure out what was going on. And I was just like... Is this just me? Like, is this just my life now? And so I think You get testing done. And you...
Hold your breath and hope which sounds crazy, but you hope that something's wrong because it's like how am I gonna get any better?
Yes.
If this is my, if this is my good, like. Where do I go from here? And so
Yeah.
I kind of was like... please something be wrong and so i got the test back and i was like oh my gosh something is wrong It's like you...
this Yeah.
You know in your gut something's wrong, but like... You know a lot of times You go to your PCP and it's like. Actually, your lips look great. And so. I was, like, very relieved to find out, okay, there is a problem here. You, like... I mean, I've I've known you for...so long you know that like there is a chance like That I could actually have. but take born encephalitis like because you know my life and so It was like very encouraging. to put all the pieces together.
and say, here's the problem, and here's what we are going to do. To fix the problem.
yeah yeah It was interesting for me getting it back because I don't see that very often. I've seen it about four times practicing across all of our practitioners. It is a viral. bug-borne illness that's transmitted primarily in Asia and europe Eastern European countries. And as soon as we said that, I was like, wait a minute.
didn't didn't you do like an overseas stint like missionary something or other below and you were like yeah and I was like sick when I was there and I was like Oh!It's so sick.
Yay! Well, there it is. And it's been there. And like a virus, it can go back into dormancy and the body can handle it. And then a stressful season can come back out and come out.
It did with Epstein-Barr and parvovirus at the same time.
It's... Yeah.
And once we went through that, it was like. this all makes perfect sense. And even the strep wasn't the common, that wasn't the leading thing. And even the line piece was there, but it was much more of that viral presentation. And those together. Epstein-Barr tick-borne encephalitis, you will have a headache.
you will have an uncomfortable hunt.
Yep.
It will not be going anywhere. You will feel exhausted. And it was really validating, but surprising even on my end because
Yeah.
I was like. I mean, I guess she could genuinely have tick-borne encephalitis virus. usually that's asia europe And then we talked and I was like, yeah, I totally forgot about that. so
Ding ding ding.
I'm sorry. yeah so we started addressing that stuff and like yay we have an answer once things started moving how did it feel how was going through the experience of um just that immune rewiring so that we're getting longer term immune resilience.
But we know as you go through, there is working through the illness itself. So what was that like for you?
I mean, I feel like you gave me a really good set of parameters of like, hey. This is not going to be the easiest thing you've ever gone through, but there are some ways that you can make it easier. And so like with the. food like I was you know pretty careful with what i ate like stayed away from inflammatory foods which i think was really helpful for the process for me um you were like prioritize your sleep prioritize your eating like Take care of your body.
Like, while you do this, take care of your body.
Give yourself lots of grace. ah And so I think... I felt like I was set up pretty well to do it. um and so The process was...
Hmm.
It was, like, exhausting. um But I think it all made sense. like I can point to and you can you helped me do this like when I was having a hard day you were like oh this these are all symptoms of this and so the um Those bottles that you gave me of, like, Herx, I think, were super helpful.
Yeah. I'm empathic.
um And rage. Rage was like my BFF during that time.
I took a lot a lot of that. ah
it doesn't that irritation like when you have a headache like all the time and then you need to parent and on top of that you needed to teach and homeschool and still show up while feeling super fatigued like
It's such a good remedy that covers so much. like irritation anger rage yes but like That chronically, like, zapped and frustrated feeling. And Mano's so frustrated.
Yeah.
Anyways, because you're like... Why do I have an illness where I'm like literally so tired? Four weeks.
Literally.
on end. Yeah. It's very... I don't know i had it severely after calvin and i was like this is infuriating i have the cutest back
It is.
eat this baby and I can barely pick him up. to feed him like this is so dumb it's very
It just makes you feel... Help us.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah. Yeah. But it does. I mean, as you go through the immune therapy process, there's moving out of symptoms, but then there start to be days where you're like. I think I feel good. Like you're almost like.
Not prepared.
You're like cautiously optimistic?
Yeah.
You're like... Is this it? Am I better?
Yeah. Did it take a long time for you to have days like that or get to a place where you felt like? function was possible slash decent good.
Again, I think you prepared me really well because I knew that there were going to be hard days, but I could kind of know where to expect that. And so you were like.
mm-hmm
I think it was every like third day or something.
good
I would know, hey, you need to get a really good night's sleep tonight. I mean, as much as you can.
Sure.
And so... um Yeah, there were. There were definitely like days that were harder. But I think knowing that they were coming, I was like... weren't prepared and then as Thanks, guys.
Better. I was like. Oh. Am I? Is this me? Like, you know, it's like, am i'm I back?
Yeah.
It was. Yeah, it was. It was... Great. I was not. Yeah, I think. When you have, like... Sounds chronic. Sickness.
It's hard to like look at it. Optimistically. It's like this is just who I am now. And so knowing that that was not the case was... A real game changer for me.
I think it's helpful too when you're chronically ill. to be with a team who can say We literally look at this all the time and we help people.
Hello.
watch them walk out of this bodily dysfunction and this is what it's going to be like because one of the scariest parts of chronic illness is not knowing when you're going to be able to be a normal person if you're going to ever please want to be a normal person
Right.
And how. or not you'll be able to show up for yourself like at work or your children that part is
right
it like threatens your security and safety in a very primal kind of way and then that makes everything else hard to do.
Mhm.
And I think that's one place where even in functional care situations I've taught for myself. Like I could never find that sort of. support. and was something that I wanted to hear. And going to a PCP, you're definitely not going to find that kind of support because a PCP is a job
The pediatrician has a job. Your therapist even has a job. We're not trying to replace any of those people. but there's a gap in those spaces. I'm going to the emergency room if I cut my leg off. I will be there. I will do agree whatever they want to do to me. I will. Yes, ma 'am. But if I have chronic Epstein-Barr, I've.
I probably won't take my kid. or myself to the doctor, because the the best I'm going to get is go home and rest. Maybe I'll get a vitamin C recommendation. Maybe I'll get an antiviral. And that's still not going to get me back in the game as fast as.
a lot of the things that we've learned in using the practice. Looking back. um What did you feel like you gained? maybe even with the boys stuff like what is working with our team gain you as opposed to working in some of those other settings, things you're not getting, things you can't.
yeah
Expect a fee from me. those places.
Yeah. i Every single time I sat down with you, you... Whether I could take all of the information in my brain and remember it, like you were explaining how literally everything works together.
Yes.
and then you were giving me like very practical like Um... like ways to do. how what you're explaining so like just the knowledge that i've gained of like how to eat like how to eat to support my family how to feed my kids like but also i like very clearly remember working with you
Yeah.
and having some anxiety over like wanting to do things perfectly, with especially when we were working with Levi.
mm-hmm
And. I was like, so... Like. We're gonna I'm gonna do this perfectly and he's gonna come out on the other side like this Like he's going to be great and it's going to be. So much better.
And that did happen. But you were like, I specifically remember I was going to take a trip and he was going to my mother-in-law's. And I was like, she's great and she'll do what I ask her to, but she wants to spoil him. Like she wants to like give him ice cream and like he's not supposed to be having sugar. And I was like. I don't want to be crazy, but like.
ah And you were like, girl.
Yeah.
Like, go and have a good trip. Like, send send this child. Know that it's not going to be perfect. like Allow yourself some time. And allow him some time.
Like, we will all come out on the other side just fine. Like, do your best. Have your mother-in-law do her best. Do not panic over him eating ice cream.
Yeah.
And I was like...
Okay. I was like, we can do this. We can do this. And so I think that's something that I like. really try to remember is like, we do our best, but like, it's not going to be perfect. Perfection isn't really the goal. The goal is like. to do better.
And I think. That has just been, like, super helpful. Like, even doing, I mean, therapy, like. I didn't do it perfectly but like... It worked. it was great and it was super super helpful and i think taking some of the pressure off Like, stress is not...
really a friend. And so to take that. Pressure off. was actually more helpful for me in the long run than like stressing and doing it perfectly.
And for Levi, because he probably took up on some little bits of stress of like mom getting him ready to go to grandma's and like, why is everybody a little bit chaotic?
I don't know if that's...
You know, like it may not have been like that.
Mommy crazy.
Definitely.
Yeah.
And their security totally comes from us, especially when they're small. So I do think it's weird how in like wellness world, there's so much messaging around like. Well, that's kind of the crux of our thing that you've got to do it all perfect.
You have to do this. You need no sugar.
Uh-huh.
We cannot go off the diet, whatever. But that's actually not how our bodies were designed. And that for me is a flag that the immune system is involved because there's not resiliency that should be there.
The immune system is what gives the.
Yeah.
public resiliency. We should be able to flex. like We're all going to have bad dates. We're all going to eat crappy meals. Sometimes I don't plan food and we end up somewhere I can't do gluten at all in any way, shape or form where there's not an option. And so I don't eat for several hours. but Like my body does. it does take care of me it still can bounce back but for some reason in wellness world and then when you've been really sick.
It's easy to get in this mindset that like it has is all or nothing Which is so... It makes sense. I get it. But it's funny because... our bodies like a bazillion times a day are changing shifting able to reach homeostasis And I think when we understand more of how they work, it's more freeing.
it brings us Like I know my body can take care of me.
Uh huh.
if i don't eat for six hours i will not shrivel up and fall into the floor like it will fine or blood sugar in my system to handle things. you Or if I have. scream and I'm in the middle of it Candy the protocol.
If I am on a good protocol that's building my health, my body can keep pushing for resiliency. so I think that's so important because we talk to so many moms. And I love moms. We're like, we just give him a shape man. And it's hard because you'll be going to multiple doctors and then ah we'll just send you to GI. And you're like, great, we'll do this four month wait list for GI. And by the time.
you get there it's not even helpful or they use their tools and there was nothing And it's tough. And it can make you lean towards. i gotta do what i do know could work all the way perfect and there's more than that so
yes
You can knock it off.
yes Absolutely.
the book. But if you could talk to yourself. In 2021, when we first kind of got together, or you were thinking about coming this way. What would you tell yourself about taking care of your family's health?
I mean, I think I would say like, don't panic. Like... We're all, like, gonna be okay, and there are... Really great options out there. You know, that are like...
Super helpful. I just didn't know about them until... we started working together, you know? um
Yes.
I think... Like...Yeah. Meh.
yeah there's going There will be things that happen over the course of like the next five years that will like really throw you for a loop, but like you will work through them and you will get better. on the other side of it.
Um... and so And I think some... some Some words on like stress, how stress... impacts your body like things of that so um nature because I didn't put two and two together on like stress, and my body.
Like you can feel it. You can, you know, that stress is doing something to your body.
Yeah.
but I didn't. I didn't know. I did not know.
I... I do remember one session talking with you about the study where they look at cortisol release in a person who's in a car accident and then they look at a person who's thinking about being in the car accident and the cortisol release is right about the same like neck and neck meaning
Cool.
If we are in a stressful situation, our body is going to respond. almost identically to if we're sitting on our couch in our safe house. thinking about the situation. And I remember you being like.
Wow. Okay.
Yep.
Okay. and it
Yep. Yeah.
Like there are things like that. that you're never going to learn in a traditional. medical space. But those are things.
yeah
that really can change the game. especially for moms. It's something that we can eliminate from our day to day. wow, your body's going to be able to...
Yeah.
to cope and respond so much better without that excess What's a little body?
Yeah. well and i think too like that your body is made to do this like they're like your body is made like Very well, like there are a lot of like it is it all works together and it knows how to do it We just have to give
And you don't do it. mm-hmm
We have to give ourselves the tool and then the tools and then we have to support our bodies. And I think I knew somewhat about the tools, but the support, like the actual giving my body back what it needs, I did not.
method
I did not know anything about that.
Yeah. What's one thing that you used to think you just had to deal with? that you now realize you can actually support. and do something about.
um Gosh, I think there's like so many things. Oh. I would say like being tired. Like I just thought being tired was like. Me.
Yeah.
Just... Like... But. I think. you know, through the testing that we did a few years ago. Like. It was like, oh no, there's actually reasons.
There's like... crazy infections going on in your body that are making your body Tired, so they heard. body will Survive. So that it will.
Yeah.
Continue to live.
Yeah, keep looking at those infections.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the mom fatigue is hard because it's easy to to like kind of gaslight yourself. We're like, you have four kids. if it would make sense that you would be tired and you're homeschooling and working and running a family but Also.
one of the things i always say is like you know like if you as a mom are speaking up and saying i'm really tired and wanting to get help like you know that you please stop gaslighting yourself. Like that isn't true.
and real desire and need.
yes
And there are reasons physiologically for that to be a continual thing when somebody looks at it. He sees it all the time. It's very easy from this side to be like, boom, boom, boom.
Uh huh.
so um You guys kind of have moved over the years or just this is kind of how stuff's always gone. up Using our team is like almost. limits tell me that not like they're using this but like you check in here and there like an almost like concierge but not really like i'm gonna call it like our sick day calls we do sos your strategy and that's kind of the deal you'll be like somebody's not Stop thinking right now.
Let's like kind of check in.
Yes.
So knowing that, what would you tell another mom who's thinking like nobody's really sick enough to need help? This isn't really something.
Yeah.
we need to do we're just dealing with like a lot of little things like what would you say to her
I would say do a clarity call. Do a clarity call because Elizabeth will put all the pieces together. And this is what I've told my family who I've sent to you.
Hmm. mm-hmm
I'm like, Elizabeth will put all the pieces together and you will be like, your mind will be blown. You'll be like. Oh! These all point to something and they all actually make perfect sense together.
And we can, like, we can fix this. We absolutely will work on this and it will not be an overnight fix, but you will. Come back feeling better. Like. Yeah, no, no, ah no reservations at all. I would say do a clarity call.
yeah Yeah. I mean, I think it's pretty low risk and you get to hang out with me and I usually have something useful to say, even if it's.
ah chris Right.
o We've done so many clarity calls in the last two years where I will just whip through it and be like, um, I'm pretty sure your child is dealing with this and this. We don't hear anything for months. And then I get an email. We actually ripped our whole part of our house apart. There's stacky buttress and all the walls. We didn't realize we were all sick. or had no idea bartonella was our thing we told our pediatric neurologist And they started to treat our child for that, stopped having seizures. Like there's all these things where, and I'm.
happy to talk about this stuff all day long whether you land here with us or you get a little nugget of something Two take. on your journey because That's how I got to get better.
10 years ago and I
Right.
So thankful for that. So um going through chronic illness, going through health change, eating differently than other people, all of that is its own kind of burden. So one question I ask everybody at the end of our episodes are, what's one way that you or your family were loved really well?
through chronic illness seasons that maybe someone else could. The end. emulator And you're seeing.
Mmm.
I think... From the my friends, there was just a lot of grace for like... the the like hey i know we're supposed to have a play date today i am not feeling great I had um one friend who was like, I know you're having a rough day.
Can I come and take your kids? And I was like, oh, and she was at my door like. Picking out my children. And like, I have four kids.
Yeah.
Like, it's not the most kids, but like, it's... It's some kicks. And so...
That's not a spot. Yeah.
Yeah. And so I think, I mean, I had friends who cooked me dinner. I had... A girl who was like, I have some soup for you. And it was. On my doorstep. but Like, just things like that. Like, the actual...
The doing of the things and like not. burning and other people with like... how can I help? But like, just like, I'm going to do this. Um, and how can I help can be great in some, I think it depends a lot of times on like the relationship that you have with people, but.
Yeah.
The relationships that I had. More. people who are like i am going to do this for you and you can say thank you it's like Thank you.
Yeah. And I'm sure at that point, because there was so much fatigue and there still was like even us getting started, there was still a phase of you slowly crawling out of that, like super tired, overwhelmed and to have to make more choices at that point, I'm sure it felt like.
yeah
I don't know if what we need for dinner if someone's trying to help. So that.
Right. Right.
Dropping noise. Such a grace. I think two new moms.
yeah
Because everybody knows a new mom at some point. I often won't bring food the first week or two because... sometimes you need it then but you need it like four or five weeks in when the baby's no longer sleeping you can't ask anybody for help you're like
Yep. Yeah.
But that same thing is so important that we both show up for other people.
yeah the other thing my mom did she paid for like a cleaner to come every other week and I was like hallelujah yes
Oh. Yeah.
Yes it is. Delightful So.
That is so delightful. That is a gift above all gifts when you have small children.
That's really sweet. Well, thanks for spending time with me today. I really wanted people to hear your guys story just because it's not. a big like someone's super terribly sick But there have been lots of ways that hope we've alleviated stress and, you know.
constipation and other things in your family's life without it being a big giant you know intense to do season just the here and there as needed in another space that you can
Yeah.
get support, get different tools. or you know have a different resource so our goal is always to kind of fill in some of those gaps in normal. care that's good and there for us for certain reasons but We're giving family tools in the context in a place where they can come if they know.
Something's not really right. But I'm not really sure where to go after this. So I appreciate you sharing with us. And I'm just glad to get to journey along life with y 'all.
Tim, who's always here to tell you. Call Elizabeth. Appreciate them.
Yes. Yeah, he's great. Yeah.
