So, how did I get here...?

I’m incredibly grateful for what I’ve learned about myself and the internal peace and calm that comes with it…it’s without a doubt that my own personal work and the tools I’ve gained from studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and my continuing studies into seasonal cleansing, anti-inflammatory eating for pain management, weight loss, hormonal issues including adrenal fatigue, peri-menopause and menopause plus how to live with confidence in yourself and feel amazing in your own skin, (no matter what size) that have given me the resilience and ability to get through the last decade.

And I’m just going to say it all quickly, because it’s been a lot!
 
A car accident, leaving me with 5 herniated discs, I’ve gone to school to become a Health Coach and opened my own practice, moved house 6 times (including to and from gorgeous St. Croix, a Caribbean island) , got married, had Zika Virus, lost both parents, my hubby was in a motorcycle accident, almost losing his right arm and most recently, suddenly lost my younger brother.

Between pain and my stress level, anxiety and exhaustion, I felt like I was rising and falling like the waves in the ocean. In 2017, for the first time in my life, dealing with sugar cravings and crazy mood swings, breaking into tears at the drop of a hat plus that constant nagging feeling that I just wasn’t in my best health & something was going on. I kept searching...

It was July 2018, after a routine mammogram that I received the diagnosis we hope never to have.

I'll remember that phone call clear as day forever, just like people remember where they were on September 11. As soon as the radiologist asked "Karin, are you driving right now?" I knew the results of the biopsy were positive.

Not only did I have Breast Cancer, but I also tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation. Making me high risk for Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer and increased risk for Melanoma, Eye Cancer and Pancreatic Cancer.

Over the year that followed I underwent a double mastectomy, total hysterectomy , and 3 reconstructive surgeries.

PLUS medication blocking estrogen production for 5 years.

I was just settling down into this new phase of my cancer journey, when I started to have issues with my left reconstructed breast. I came to discover that I had Baker Grade 4 Capsular Contracture...often the body's way of fighting back against a foreign object that it deems not to belong, AND over 25 Breast Implant Illness Symptoms.

My husband and I made the decision together, that my health is more important than anything else, and we decided that I would have the implants removed and  get an aesthetic flat closure performed. You can read more about this decision HERE.

After explant surgery, (BEST DECISION EVER!) in July 2020 within weeks I was feeling like my old self...and then just 3 months later we were hit with yet another critical family health crisis.

What I've noticed in life is that the waves keep on crashing...but it's our ability to learn how to surf, that makes the difference!