My journey from veterinarian to classical homeopath.
Growing up in the foothills of Virginia, I spent the abundance of my childhood riding my ponies, exploring the woods of our family farm, and visiting my grandmother who lived across our little country road. From a young age I was interested in healing, declaring as a first-grader that I would be a nurse. As a freshman in high school, I fell in love with medicine during my spring break with an ambulatory equine veterinarian. Driven by the dream, I earned a BS in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and four years later a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.
With a love of working with individuals, I embarked in a career of small animal medicine where I could build relationships with clients and their pets one on one. And this is where my heart first broke.
Veterinary Career
Over the years, I saw my veterinary patients struggle with allergies that plagued them every spring or fall. Itching all night and restlessly keeping their owners awake, their symptoms returned annually, usually worse each year. I could only suppress the itching and discomfort with medications like antihistamines and steroids.
One beautiful yellow tabby cat had begun vomiting a few times a week but otherwise looked healthy to his owner. On a physical exam, I heard a heart murmur. Within 3 hours, I completed diagnostics, developed a treatment plan, and educated his owner about his lifelong condition. Meanwhile I contemplated how our conventional medical system needed eight weeks to do the same for a dear friend with a heart condition.
A final blow struck me when a beloved Miniature Schnauzer was presented one month after a routine wellness and vaccination visit; the owner, a strong outdoorsy gentleman, wept openly as his little dog succumbed to a life-threatening blood disease, called immune-mediated anemia. His tears still shake me.
This could not be the limits of health, of life…could it?
A Major Shift
My shift from exclusively relying on conventional medicine began…
A few years later, my perspective shifted further as I watched my own child struggle with chronic issues. A friend introduced me to homeopathy. You know, those little blue vials found in local health food stores? The idea of using ultra-dilute substances flew against my medical and scientific training, but as a mother I needed an ounce of hope. Over the next few years, I soothed various sunburns and bruises, and I delved deeper into learning this modality. Like many moms, I purchased a remedy kit and a few books.
But, I still wanted more. I wanted to see resolved or relieved the chronic health problems of the people in my circles. Homeopathy is a healing modality that supports the body physically but also mentally and emotionally. So I enrolled in a professional homeopathy training program with the Academy of Homeopathy Education. Over four years, I studied dozens of books, attended hundreds of lectures, and completed a rigorous supervised clinical program.
And I am seeing healing!
