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It broke my heart every single time that I would have to tell my son that Mom was too tired and needed to rest. This went on for months.

I was not getting better, I was getting worse.

I went back to the Doctors and started seeing specialists. GI doctors, endocrinologists, infectious disease doctors and then psychologists. I still remember one psychologist telling me I was depressed and I burst into tears because I just could not seem to explain how I ended up this way. Yes - of course I was depressed! - but I didn't start out that way. I was depressed because there was no hope - no answers! 

I was still on the merry go round of doctor after doctor visit but after seeing numerous different specialists, I began to notice that not one of them tried to understand the underlying cause of my health problems. They kept prescribing me another drug for each new symptom. I had allergy testing, mold testing, and I developed chemical sensitivities.

My world got smaller and smaller. I went out less and less. Even a trip to the grocery store would have me exhausted for days. 

That’s the day I was diagnosed with mercury toxicity.

Finally I had an answer of sorts…but that brought about more questions...

• where had I received the exposure?
• I was asked where I grew up, how much fish did I eat?
• Had I ever lived next to a hat-making factory? (as mercury is used in the hat felting process.) I learned that’s where the phrase “as mad as a hatter” comes from.

But there was no source of how I got this mercury poisoning. 

But - finally, at least, after years of suffering I knew the root cause of all my problems even if I didn't know how I got it!

I felt hope for the first time in years. I began to hope I could finally be healthy once and for all! Maybe I could live a normal life again, I was almost giddy with hope. After all, if we know the problem - we can fix it right?

It took five years of treatment!

• I had chelation treatment to remove the mercury from my tissues and brain.
• I had all my mercury fillings removed.
• I had surgery to remove a mercury filling that was embedded in my gums and after five years, I was finally free of the mercury but by this point I was lacking the energy and vitality of a younger, healthier me.

I fixed the underlying cause of my problems, the mercury toxicity, but the very treatment required to take the mercury out of my system had left me totally depleted. I was still exhausted all the time.

It dawned on me that I needed to also replenish my body to bring myself to a place where I could not just survive or tolerate but thrive!

So, I took the advice of my practitioner and started making some key changes in my diet and lifestyle. Literally one month later, I found my vitality improving and gradually, my energy increased as well. It was amazing! 

I was so astounded by how powerfully effective the treatment was, that I decided to give up my own profession as a college professor in the biological sciences and go full-on, devoting myself to the study of Ayurveda so that I could help others to transform their health and wellbeing.   

For the past 15 years, I’ve immersed myself in study and clinical practice, merging the very best of Ayurveda and cutting edge Western Medicine and science that provide for the very best outcomes for my clients. 

I practice at The University of Pittsburgh Center for Integrative Medicine and remain a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, where I have developed a personalized system to manage chronic disorders by incorporating fundamental changes in diet, behavior, and stress while focusing on genetics. 

This individualized program is so successful that many of my clients have achieved maximum healing and vitality after years of chronic problems, often after trying countless other approaches before finding me. 

I'm now feeling more energized then ever and the impact to my life - to my practice, to my son - has been massive. (Even my son is part of The Holistic Highway.)

But I could not have done this had I not gone through my own health challenges first. I suppose I want you to know that I "get it" in a different way, because I’ve been through my own journey of chronic illness and dis-ease.  I know what it's like to feel despair little hope.

Since becoming free of my own chronic illness, it is my mission to help others do the same.