I am the daughter of a Stanford trained surgeon, and yet I've spent the past two decades questioning Western Medicine and considering all the ways that it has failed us.
I loved my dad dearly. He passed away in 2013 from an undetectable skin cancer and I miss him every day. My dad was an ardent supporter of the concept of Universal Healthcare and had the kindest bedside manner of any physician I've ever seen. He was an incredible doctor and I'm very proud to be his daughter for many reasons.
When Western Medicine fell flat on its face in my life, I turned to diet and nutrition, mindset work and herbalism to help me heal my mystery illnesses which ran the gamut from full body hives, eczema, itching, depression, brain fog, and fatigue, to hair loss and digestive distress.
Flash forward 14 years and I am feeling strong, healthy, excited, energized and tired in all the right ways (from the pursuit of my dreams and the hard work of raising a family and running a company of my own design).
Most of my healing came from within. I felt a particular calling to learn about traditional healing modalities and I incorporated them into my life. This is how aMYLK was conceived. I paired healing adaptogens from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and Rainforest Shamanism with my homemade almond and hazelnut mylks to create my own healing elixirs. Today, you can taste my elixirs when you try I'm beautiful or I'm abundant or even Blue Belle super aMYLKs.
I think that part of my healing came from having fun while trying to be of service to the greater world around me. My healing journey isn't over. I continue to struggle here and there with my digestion, food sensitivities and chronic arthritis, but I manage it all with nutrition and with the help of my alternative healthcare wellness team. I'm very grateful that many of my treatments are covered by insurance. Progress!
I've been thinking a lot about my dad this week and about the intersection of Western and Traditional medicine practices. As many of you know, my daugher had an emergency surgery last summer. She's spent the last 12 months being chronically sick. I thought we could heal it with nutrition and time alone, but I was wrong. We had her tonsils removed this week and the doctor said that in 20 years, she'd only seen a few cases that were worse than hers. She had deep underlying infections that were not healing on their own. Without Western medicine, my baby might not have the opportunity to heal.
I wish my dad were still here to debate with me. For all of my rebellious ways and my criticisms of Western healthcare, I can see clearly now the importance of both. I'm looking forward to the day when Western and Eastern medicine are not an either/or but are an integrated approach …and Universal Healthcare is available to all.