Finally 2013 looking much better!!

2013 has been a rough year personally with broken bones ruling my life! As of April 12, 2013 we finally got the news that Megan’s toe was healing and she would not require surgery

Over the last couple of weeks my rib has healed enough that I rarely feel the pain unless i am stretching that specific area.

I have seen Megan walking down the stairs without crutches, climbing up the stairs without having to crawl.

She is still reliant somewhat on the chair in the shower but is standing to wash most of her body and her need for me is reducing dramatically.

We have gone out without her wheelchair! We have replaced the air cast with very high quality doc marten’s to provide the added support for her foot. But at least she feels more human!

Alex returned from Halifax completing his first year of university it has matured him so much and he is flourishing in that setting.  I got to meet his beautful girlfriend Beth. They are perfect together and were together for most of this school year. Sadly Beth is from England and had a year in Canada which ends at the end of May when she will return home and the relationship will end. This relationship will likely be the one they both look back on and compare every other relationship too as they start meeting other people. I am so happy for them for experiencing this together and I know Alex will not settle for less than what he had with Beth and I hope the same for Beth. You both deserve happiness and don’t settle for less.

Alex has struggled with finding a job in the last year. This is not unusual for students, the economy is very very hard on young adults who are looking for work. The jobs they apply for are also being applied for by adults who are underemployed and need more money.  Alex started watching job ads and saw one for a Caulking company looking for a student for the summer. He contacted them and met with them and he has now officially started working for the summer at 14 dollars per hour which is awesome for a summer job and will make returning to university in the fall so much easier!

For Megan I am always watching for opportunities to enrich her life experience. As she is not in school very much due to health over the last 5 years i try to make sure there is always something to look forward to, always something to fight for.  In February I was looking at the WE DAY website and I found http://www.metowe.com/ On this site their were summer camps with leadership streams that would be so perfect for Megan. But they are 900 for a week and there would be no way I could pay for her to attend.  I noticed that there was a bursary option with investors group and I looked into that. Megan would need to write about why she wanted to attend the camp and what she hoped to get out of it. She needed 2 other letters of recomendations. I wrote one easily talking about why Megan deserves this and her school guidance counsellor also wrote a nice letter for her.

We forgot about it for the month of April , had no idea how many kids would apply for a bursary , whether there was any shot for Megan to attend. We focussed on getting Megan walking and her toe! On April 30, 2013 Megan got a voice mail from MetoWe for her to call them. Megan and I looked at each other and i know i caught my breath thinking would they call if She DID NOT get a bursary…talked myself into that they would want to thank every student for their efforts.

Megan called them on May 1. Not only had she qualified for a bursary she qualified for the highest amount they have ever given a student from Investors group! She was given 400 dollars towards the 900.00 cost of this camp.  This is going to be so incredible for Megan, It will be in August just before she returns to school and I know she will be so inspired! They are not allowed to bring electronics and have to focus on the program. This is the program she will attend

 

Offered weeks one (July 7-13) and four (August 4-10)

This program is designed for youth who are interested in tackling problems in a new creative way that can help foster positive social change. Social Innovation focuses on providing youth with the skill set of a successful “innovator” Youth will develop not only leadership skills and a better understanding of the issues the world is facing, but creative thinking, idea generation, and collaboration skills–all important for producing ideas that change the world.

This stream will:

• Develop campers’ leadership  and life skills, including communication, collaboration, planning and decision making

• Provide a  deeper understanding of the role that social innovation is playing in reshaping the way we look at social justice issues

• Develop the skill set of a social innovator, including:  creating  social capital , networking, generating creative solutions to problems, coming to terms with and dealing with failure  and fostering the self-motivation to carry out and implement an idea

• Creating a blueprint of a business plan that uses these skills to have a positive impact on the local and global community

Ideal for participants who:

• Have an interest in business

• Are creative, forward-thinking and solution orientated

• Are passionate about a range of social justice issues

 

Stay tuned tomorrow as I share the ideas for how we will fundraise 500.00 for the rest of the cost of this camp in the month of May.

Brimming with Happiness here today!!

 

 

Depression and a New Focus

I have been depressed. Absolutely without a doubt It started a few weeks ago when we learned that Megan’s foot is not healing and continued as I realized that in order to face the rest of 2013 I will have to back out of my passions in 2012.

My intentions with Jamie Oliver Food Revolution was to spread the word about eating whole foods and making sure our kids are healthier in the future by stopping the craziness now!

I got asked to become a volunteer in April 2012 and I accepted that challenge with excitement, I focussed a ton of my energy and support into creating a wonderful event in May 2012, I got lots of media coverage and the event was an amazing success.

My intentions with Ignite Health Ontario was to take the food revolution a step further and focus on the whole body experience, we need mental balance, spiritual balance, exercise, we need to eat balanced. Any of these factors being out of balance can cause illness and we always need to remember that.

I was inspired by Ignite London and additionally the creation of Ignite Culture where a full night of topics was related to arts and culture. If that could be done why couldn’t we create a night of health related topics. I was geared up and excited. I shared the idea in an ignite london talk and I had a number of great people come to me afte that to tell me to get in touch with them about this event.

We ran this event in October 2012 and it was a great success. I am very proud of both of these events and the work I did for them.

What I stopped paying attention too was the fact it was impacting my own stress levels, my ability to focus on work and now that we have no way to predict when Megan will be able to walk again I have to raise my hands and scream UNCLE!!

I decided that I need to shelve or back out of both Ignite Health Ontario and the Jamie Oliver food revolution for at least 2013. Making that decision broke my heart I am dousing the flames of passion with my tears. So over the last 3 -4 weeks I have been sleeping a ton, I have had a number of migraines and flus hit me. My Chronic Skin picking (dermatilomania) is at a level that I am struggling to get back under some control.

I have open sores on my arms. hands, chest, face and scalp. They are sore and begging me to stop. I am having so much anxiety around what I do with my life now. How do I translate that passion to taking care of my own health needs when I have never taken care of myself. Where do I start? How do I learn at 44 how to love myself when my entire life has been focussed on helping others. How do I get passionate about work again. There are quiet times that I need to fill with projects and I need to get excited about that and just do it. How do I keep the man beside me who has come into my life as a blessing and I can barely see with the challenges of working full time and being full time caretaker to Megan and the dog too.
I have been crying a ton and finally hit my breaking point last week . I made a doctors appointment to get Megan some more Tylenol 3 for pain and at the same time I asked to have my antidepressant Effexor increased from 75 MG to 150 MG.

I do feel lighter in my thoughts, I am not crying as frequently and do not feel as emotionally lost. I am now having insomnia instead of sleeping too much, I am having cold sweats but I assume thats related to upping my dose of Effexor and it won’t last long.

I have decided that I will focus on work, my health, my daughter, my boyfriend and I will refocus some of my energy to provide direction to Fatty Liver Disease support again. There are some demons that I will need to address in some counselling sessions and its time I took that step to take care of myself again.

I am not out of the woods but I will not hide the fact that yes I am dealing with depression again. I am also taking steps to fight back against its control on me. So 2013 will look very different for me but I hope to have some positive news for you all soon.

Hugs

Michelle

Sometimes the world throws you a fast ball

I was happily feeling the glow and success of Ignite Health on October 24th. The event went so perfectly and I was so proud of my daughter. I was on a natural high feeling of success.

Less than 48 hours after the event I got a call that my only sister was dealing with a bad case of depression, she essentially hit the bottom and I went to see her the next day. It was very hard to see my little sister completely broken. She is fighting back and getting good help. I know she will be so much better moving forward and I am very proud of her.

My work environment also seemed to become toxic around the same time, bullying and power struggles seemed to be impacting me and the team I work with. It became difficult to face being at the office for a few weeks.

My daughter had a terrible weekend and stopped seeing a reason to keep fighting, she has taken on so much and she is a perfectionist who has to learn her limits and not expect so much of herself. Its ok to feel weak and lost sometimes.

All of these things seem to happen directly after a perfect high in my life of efforts I make to make a difference in my community. These challenges reset me and bring me crashing back down to earth to focus on what is important in my family. I have found myself in tears more in the last 3 weeks than I had for a year. Life is never perfect, we all deal with challenges all the time and things that are not in our control. The goal is to keep moving forward and not staying in the negative mindset. This is not easy when things keep going wrong but I know that the reason I have been able to deal with so much tragedy and pain is by looking for a bright side.. moving toward a bright side. trusting in a bright side.

I always recognize when I hit an emotional bottom for me, I then focus all my energy on bringing positive into my life to offset the negative. I have started pulling together ideas for the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution weekend and I am so excited about the ideas I have!

1. thanks to my friend Christian D’Andrea we will have a day that is focussed on Veggies. A veggie fest where we will cook some basic recipes with lesser known veggies. Blind taste tests for veggies that you have never tried!! 

2. A community Garden to be created. A friend of mine Helder is working on finding a plot where we can plant seeds and then as attendees we will take turns managing the garden and we can all share in the results!

3. Back to Basics cooking lessons – lets think back to what the pioneers did for cooking we have lost basic cooking skills and haven’t provided to our children lets do this with parents and kids!

4. Growing Chefs childrens events- will certainly be back in touch with my friend Andrew Fleet to host and create awesome kids events!

I Am also looking forward to creating Ignite Health Ontario II in February 2013. Looking for a facility and to pick a date before the end of this month.

These things remind me of the good I can do and the impact I can have on a greater cause.

I am staying in touch regularily with my sister and Megan is back to looking forward. I am also looking forward to my son getting back to ontario for a visit from Halifax in December!

Christmas is coming and I am ready to restart my life again!

Don’t stay stuck! Find a reason to move forward, pick yourself up and just do it!

 

Love

 

Michelle

Ignite Health Ontario I – Reviews!

Ignite Health Ontario ran successfully on Wednesday night in London Ontario. I am still processing how wonderful this night really was but let me share some comments that others have made. We had about 40 attendees and I am over the moon happy!: Enjoy the comments while I continue to process! Blaire Rymer – Hi Michelle, Thanks again for putting together Ignite Health Ontario, It was such an amazing event! I can’t wait for the next one! Nina Jogia – I loved the presentations and the variety of presenters. bravo to those who were able to share such personal stories. Nothing Changes if no one has the courage to speak out. Wanda Davis – Great Job last night, Great Energy! Erika Faust – Had an awesome time at ignite health ontario last night. Met some great people and learned a lot Thanks to Michelle Clermont and all speakers. Great Job! Karma Yoga Studio – Had fun connecting with other Londoners interested in Holistic health last night at Ignite Health. Fabulous people, Fabulous presentations!! Christian D’Andrea – Great Ignite Health ontario event. Congrats to Michelle Clermont for organizing a wonderful program. Next up Food Revolution 2013! Pam Clark – Thanks to Lisa Merriam for presenting her story on diminishing the stigma of mental illness. Thank you for your amazing courage . You are an inspiration. Pam Clark on Emory Ediger – His poem made me cry. Very moving images too. Pam Clark – Congratulations on your first event Michelle, and Congratulations to Megan for so many reasons! Lisa Merriam- Today was the day! My Mental Health and stigma speech for ignitehealth ontario. It was Anxiety busting, thought provoking and amazing! High Hill Reiki – Had an amazing time at ignite health ontario tonight. So proud to be a presenter and sponsor. Was wonderful to meet all the guests and speakers.! Tammy Lee Marche – Thanks to Michelle Clermont for organizing ignite Health ontario I enjoyed many of the presentations with Denise Testa! Tanya Parker – Just heard a very moving speech from a Long Term Care patient about lonliness in a LTC facility. Tim Felsky – Just did my first Yoga Stretches as part of Ignite Health Ontario Cheryl Takaoka – Enjoyed an educational night that included yoga ( I am not as flexible as I used to be) Enlightenment and some great questions to ask myself. What is my Why?( I will have to get back to you on that) What makes me Smile every day? (Happily I can answer that most days) and How can I help make change ( not the monetary kind) Thanks Ignite Health Ontario! Koreen Melnick – Awesome event Michelle Tanya Park – Megan did a fabulous job. She had the audience engaged and inspired. That young lady is going places!

Voting with your Dollar – Guest Post Tommy Caldwell

Living well is expensive. There are people that will tell you that it isn’t- but as someone who chooses to live well I can assure you it is. It is definitely more expensive than living like crap anyhow. People who face this reality are often looking for a deal. They are looking for ways to make living well more affordable, more sustainable, and more accessible. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that task is nearly impossible. There is always a way in which you can live better on a budget- but better doesn’t mean best- and right now I am talking about ‘best’.
The good news is that living well and to the best of your ability, whilst expensive, is not impossible for most of the population; at least not for the majority of the population that thinks living the best ‘health life’ possible is out of reach. It is really just a matter of realizing what you truly value in your life and what sort of power you choose to put behind your dollar. You have to ask yourself “what am I voting for”?

The Power of the Dollar

Some people love money, and some think money is evil. Some think we should be able to make as much as we want even at the ‘expense’ of others, and some feel as though wealth should be spread evenly in order to sustain the world’s population. Whether you believe one, the other, or neither, there is one thing that can’t be argued: Where you choose to put your money is a direct correlate with what you value in your life at that moment.
Example- If I claim that I can’t afford to eat organic produce because it’ll cost me an extra $75 per month, yet I pay $50-$100 dollars for cable television, it isn’t really a matter of cost, is it? It is a matter of having a nightly source of entertainment trumping the importance of what I put in my body. I value television over food quality. This is one of many examples that people refuse to face in a realistic manner when it comes to all of life’s values. In most cases it isn’t a matter of affordability- it is a sense of misplaced value and a lie that you tell yourself to justify your poor lifestyle choices. There are of course the populations which truly cannot afford to live well, but that percentage is a massive minority in this country and not the topic of this article. If you are reading this on your laptop via your internet connection that you are using at your job or home- don’t kid yourself into thinking that food accessibility is a matter of money or lack-there-of.

The Greater Importance of Being True to Your Dollar Value

On one level it is important that you understand the value of your purchases because it directly affects your life within a short span of that purchase time. This is what we discussed in the previous paragraph with your purchases being a direct correlate to your value system. On a much deeper level, however, where you put your dollar can affect your entire community and even the entire world.
No company, organization, distributor, or small business produces any products, services, or materials that you aren’t currently voting for. Every time you buy a product that tests on animals, you are voting for animal testing. Every time you buy food that is covered in pesticides you are voting for sprayed foods. Every time you buy a genetically modified product you are voting for GMO’s- you get the idea.
This is exactly what you should be thinking about when you spend your money; what am I voting for and supporting?
And it doesn’t relate strictly to food either. When you watch reality TV every night you are voting for useless entertainment and the dumbing of your society. When you buy 40 video games for your child and allow them to play XBOX for 6 hours a day you are voting to crush the creative potential of budding generations.
I don’t mean to sound judgmental- and I truly am not- but I am trying to stress the importance of choice, value, and what your dollar really says at the core of its purpose. This isn’t about judgment, it is about IMPACT.

Make Life a Series of Votes- Not a Series of Spending

When you can change your mindset and begin to understand the depth at which your choice of spending can affect this world, it becomes much easier to put money in more valuable places. Instead of being just another person caught up in buying more of less, you can become the person who buys less of more. Instead of being the person who shops at Wal-Mart so you can get a lot of crap you really don’t need at an ‘affordable’ price, you can be the person who gets a little less from a small business, but less of what brings you far more ultimate value. You not only get greater quality, greater service, and greater care from supporting places that you can truly value, but you are likely supporting someone who has their heart and soul behind what they are offering to the world- and you are directly allowing that person to continue offering passionately.
This is about getting beyond the instant gratification- getting beyond the routine and false sense of needs- and letting your dollar do something far more substantial for you and those around you. Stop looking at each dollar you place in this world as a loss, trade, or direct exchange- and start looking at is as a vote, a change, and an investment in your own personal values.
You’d be amazed at how a simple change in spending perspective can not only better your life in a direct sense, but allow you to feel as though you are creating purpose with every decision you make. It is quite fulfilling and eliminates a lot of needless financial stress.
So when you spend more at the local food co-op, just remember that you are supporting sustainable food practices, organic products, local business, and progressive food thinking. When you spend $100 on a REAL water filter you are supporting clean water, true health, and poison free sourcing for you and your entire family. And when you avoid the big boxes, the big selections, and the big savings, you are revoking your vote for unsustainable business, low value services, poor farming practices, and negligent responsibility.
You are always voting on how the world operates with every single dollar you spend. So you need to ask yourself “what is more important- Value, or Values”- and then you must answer honestly and live accordingly.

Getting Stuck in Someone Else’s Ideals – Tommy Caldwell

We all have people we follow. They may inspire us, speak in terms that we understand and bring us clarity, or uncover topics or information in areas that we don’t frequently research. Whatever your reason, learning from others is the fastest and most efficient way to learn and adopt new ideas and life strategies. But when do we take it too far? When do we get so caught up in what someone else is saying/doing that we bypass our own logic and judgment in exchange for the excitement of a new thought? I’m sure you are all reading this and saying “that’s not me; I think for myself and make my own decisions in life”. I beg to differ, and I think we all need a bit of self reflection now and then.

Research Smesearch…It’s always a matter of opinion
Most things we learn in the age of information have some sort of stemming ‘research base’. When someone cites a reference or some sort of scientific experiment it somehow legitimizes what they have to say. For most of us this is enough to get our ‘eyes up’ and take some questioning away from any given persons spiel. I personally don’t cite references or research for any of my writing or findings because research is biased and quite frankly a bunch of bullshit.
Everyone has their motives- as both the speaker and the listener- and both will find a way of legitimizing what they want to say and what they want to hear; and research is a great way to falsely support our own inner investments. Here are some examples- If you frequent facebook you have seen the picture of the distance runner next to the elite sprinter; the sprinter looking muscular and cut, while the distance runner looks skinny, loose, and frail. If you’re someone like me who promotes explosive movements (sprinting) and somewhat condemns degenerative activities (distance running) it is easy to look at this picture and say “here’s your proof, sprinters look good and perform well and distance runners are flabby losers!” I’ve seen this picture posted by my colleagues and fitness folk alike to prove their point in a totally illegitimate and lame way. They can say ‘research shows that distance runners typically have a higher body fat and lower muscle mass when compared to a sprinter’- and they may very well be right… based on the research they chose to search out.
The worst part about this is that ‘proofs’ like this spread like a disease- with a bunch of agreeable people jumping on the bandwagon and spreading their new found ‘proof’ without asking a single question or looking into how one sided the information may be. You won’t hear questions like “do you think that perhaps big jacked muscular explosive people gravitate towards sprint based activities and excel at them while skinnier, lighter, fiber 1 type people gravitate towards and excel in distance based activities?”. Not to mention the fact that you could easily find a really jacked distance runner and a slightly overweight sprinter, place their pictures side by side and make the same adverse argument; but neither of those things will ever happen with a group of speakers and an audience of listeners that find it more important to prove THEIR point than to prove the point that is most legitimate in the most legitimate way.
You may be saying ‘ok, I get it, but that isn’t really research, that is an optical comparison’. You’re right, it is, but here is a legitimate research paper example that is equally moronic.
I was reading an article in a journal of strength sciences regarding how plyometric exercises (jumping, bounding etc) cause more harm than good. The article explained how they did a 6 week course of varying plyometrics in one group, and then a basic light exercise course in the other. After the full 6 weeks they had several minor injuries in the plyometric group resulting in very little overall gains, and in the other group they showed positive gains in strength.
Well, I did some further research on this article and dug up the stats that they didn’t tell you. Like most lame exercise research papers spread to the average reader, they used a population of elderly people for this testing. So in group one they were having 60+ year old degenerative participants jump around on their old brittle bones and weak stagnant muscles and via their conclusion that jumping around is bad for old people they publish a paper stating that plyometric movements may be bad for ALL PEOPLE. Junk science at its finest, and consequently the most abundant science we have these days.
The point is that you never get the whole story on research, the participants, or the environment- and even if you did, YOU WEREN”T THE ONE BEING TESTED!!!! Research on any other person other than you will never give you a result that should be followed specifically by you. So read your research with caution and skepticism.

Joining the Modern Day ‘Cult’
It’s great to be a part of something. As Seth Godin would explain we all have this deep seeded instinct to find our ‘tribe’ and belong to it. In other words, finding like minded people with similar values to share a portion of our lives with. This is a healthy, effective, and sustainable approach towards becoming part of a good cause, movement, change, or whatever you want to call it. But when does it go too far? When does it get to the point when you’re not so much a part of something as you are ‘under’ something? Where do you draw the line between belonging to something and becoming something?

Losing your true individuality
I come from the mindset that no person should ever just ‘be’ something. I don’t think someone should just be a republican or a democrat. That someone should be a Buddhist, Christian, or atheist. Why can’t someone just be who they are without subscribing to a pre planned train of thought, belief system, or set of ideals?
As soon as you decide ‘this is who I am, and this is what my people are called’, your individualization and potential for growth are over with… done. You build a box around yourself and remove your potential that pertains to everything outside of that box. You are essentially subscribing to one way of thinking in a given subject and blocking out all other sources of competing information.
I can’t think of a worse way to live your life. Having pre-determined thoughts and understandings of everything that surrounds you because you want be a part of something and attach a name to that group.
Unfortunately it is now all around us. In fitness, health, religion, politics and all other topics that allow some sort of adverse thought. You could argue that these different groups allow us to exchange ideas and create discussions, but people are only interested in spreading their own ideas and not truly interested in absorbing others. People these days argue to be heard and spread information to be known- not a lot of people do it to ‘get people thinking’ and create a platform for the open expansion of the mind.

An ‘Open Air’ Approach
People are always complimenting me in somewhat flabbergasted ways in regards to the shape I’m in, the sacrifices I make, and how well I take care of my body. I couldn’t see things more differently. I think getting in shape and taking care of yourself is a fairly easy task. In fact, I think it’s insane that the whole world population doesn’t take better care of themselves because it is the easiest thing you can do. It’s no different than brushing your teeth, going to work, and combing your hair.
What impresses me are the people in this world who have 100% control of their mind, emotions, stress, and intellectual outcomes. I have spent the last 3 years putting far more focus on the health of my mind than the health of my body- and I am nowhere near where I’d like to be. I literally exercise my mind with the intent of making it stronger and more efficient every day of the week, and I am literally moving at ‘crawl speed’ when I think about where I would like to be.
One of the big challenges I faced with the reconstruction of my mind was the ability to understand others first, and not let my own ‘interests and opinions’ affect how I perceived the information I received from those people. Truly listening to another individual who sees something differently than you with the full intent of utilizing their information over yours if it seems more logical is a very difficult feat. The ability to say “I’m wrong, they’re right, what else can I learn from them” is a trait that seems to go against every grain of human nature; but the more I work on it, the better I get, the better I feel, and the more I grow on a personal and professional level.
My point is that we subscribe to an ideal that likely isn’t even ours, from sources that are self serving, and then we put a name on our ‘group’ and shut out all adverse arguments and points, regardless of logic. None of us want to admit it, but we all do it in a completely selfish and childish manner. If you can realize this part of yourself and accept that it is how you deal with a lot of your ‘mental subscriptions’, you will see that you can still have the feeling of belonging to something great and contributing to that movement and yourself, without compromising who you are as an individual and as an independent thinker.
Listen to what others say. Get excited about new ideas. Listen to many many many many different people; but don’t get stuck in a single path of thinking in any given subject, and never think that you or the leader you are following has the answers to all your questions… or even their own. And if you find yourself following someone who is never wrong, constantly condemns others ways of thinking, or suggests that ‘their way is the only way’- you have unknowingly become a member of a modern day idealists cult. I suggest you get out IMMEDIATELY!

Why did I create Ignite Health Ontario?

Ignite Health Ontario was created for a number of reasons. My daughter Megan was diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease in 2008. In the Ontario medical system we have seen the worst of what is offered. She has had doctors tell her to her face that her symptoms were all in her head. When doctors do not easily identify an illness you get to see the worst of who they are professionally. They get flustered, frustrated, impatient and can easily take it out on the patient. The number of times a doctor has talked to Megan in a condescending voice implying she is causing her illnesses is disturbing. Very rarely do you find a doctor who will treat her with respect and be on her side.

The focus of that 5 year journey based on what doctors said was always food related. They never gave concrete advice about what to eat, they would just say low fat. This was not easy to accept. How could all the low fat, diet foods that the companies I trusted be making my daughter so sick? But over that time I did find that processed foods do hurt her. I did learn not to trust the companies selling the food.

I didn’t focus on the alternate options in the health care sector, That was a sector i didn;t understand, I had never been exposed to anything other than massage and chiropractors.

I blindly trusted doctors who put Megan on birth control pills which likely created the 10 month of extreme vertigo. Why would doctors prescribe drugs that are going to cause other health issues? and why would they do that to a child?

I reached my breaking point after Megan spent a week at the Hospital for Sick Children, I was so thankful that Megan was FINALLY being seen by the best kids doctors! I love that hospital it was all I ever wanted for Megan.  But that hospital did nothing for Megan. They were the ones who put her on anti depressants, they were ones that were pushing that she had psychological issues creating her illnesses. They broke my heart. They were not supposed to give up on kids and here they were..writing her off as a mental case. She was 13 years old. How dare you?!!

Now I do also keenly know that mental stress can create medical symptoms in the body. This completely depends on your bodies coping mechanisms and if this is what is causing your illnesses then please by all means talk to a professional and find your answers. This was not the answer for Megan.

After that experience I did not know where to turn. I was approached by a friend who was selling supplements and she was certain that the supplements would fix Megan. At this point I had nothing to lose so I took the chance on the supplements. The supplements did nothing for Megan , no changes in any symptoms. This was disappointing and hurt financially too.

I felt so defeated, I could not turn to doctors, I could not trust the corporations making our foods, I could not trust the drug companies. How would I help my child?

I tripped over an ad for a personal coach who was offering free advice and looking for someone to build marketing around. I decided to contact Brandon Krieger and take the step.

I did not know how important Brandon would become to Megan and I. I did not know he would help me research and find solid answers for Megan but thats what happened.

Brandon is a Holistic Coach, focussing on the whole person not just medical symptoms. The focus quickly moved away from my health and it was clear my biggest challenge was trying to help my daughter. He reached out to resources all around the world to get advice from health advocates and leaders in nutrition to create a specific diet for Megan which would be kind to her liver. All foods were from the ground, the animals and the water and nothing was processed. Megan hated this but she started to feel better.

Brandon introduced us to an Osteopath who determined that Megan’s uterus was twisted which explained her uncontrollable menstrual cycle. He found that she had blockages in her brain stem and others that would impact her hormones. He found her liver was not processing clearly.

Brandon and others researched the birth control pill Megan was on and we determined it could certainly cause the extreme vertigo. Megan was moved to another pill and we waited.

We changed her diet, we added exercise, we added Osteopathy. Megan started to feel better, She was able to get past the extreme vertigo. The answers were in the natural world for Megan not the medical community.

So that is the reason I am passionate about igniting a passion in you to take your health into your own hands, Listen to your body signals, do not blindly trust doctors, corporations or supplements. It is Never a 1 solution problem to fix. You need balance, Food , Exercise, Spiritual, Mental. You need to consider alternate therapies , you need to share your stories to find others who have travelled a similar path. You may have found an answer that someone else hasn’t considered.

I don’t expect everyone to walk away from the event and change their life overnight. I don’t expect anyone to take every piece of information shared and use it. I want you to make 1 change to improve your health , just 1. Remove pop, Start taking walks, see a chiropractor, talk to a professional about your anxieties, learn to meditate, take a yoga class.

Find what works for you and make small changes that you can live with. If you listen to your body you will start noticing clues and you can determine if the changes are positive.

Those changes can easily make you feel worse initially. But give it 6 weeks. If after 6 weeks you are still feeling worse. STOP doing what you are doing! Find another option. Do not give up on yourself!

This is my story and why I am passionate…I hope I can help you find some natural solutions to symptoms.

Michelle Clermont

 

Teenage minds- Not ALL the same!

My name’s Megan I am 16 years old and I live in London, Ontario. Seeing into the minds of people my age can be difficult for anyone who isn’t my age. My generation faces new problems, new social norms, and new expectations. The way teenagers thought 30 years ago isn’t how we think today and the way we think now won’t be how teenagers 30 years from now will think. And within that every teenager will have different priorities and different hopes and dreams so clearly you can never have a full understanding of every teenagers mind. I have been sick for the last 5 years of my life and have been removed greatly from people my age so I can’t tell you much about the way they think but I can tell you about the way I think.

The thing about being sick for so long is I had a lot of time to think.  Most people envy being able to stay home all day and relax but being that isolated can become boring and tedious; you can only check facebook so many times. For the first few years of my illness I found small things to entertain me, video games, books, television shows, but as I grew older I spent more of that time thinking. I thought about my future and if I would get the chance to have one, I thought about my family and if I would always be a burden on them and I thought about the world and would I ever be able to do anything for it. I started spending more of my time reading about what was going on in the world and I started seeing things that I couldn’t believe were happening. For example a couple months ago in Iran 70 university programs were closed off to women because they were surpassing the men within them. And in many places around the world, such as Uganda, it is legal to kill a person for being a homosexual. Reading all this I wanted to fix it but never thought I would have the opportunity to.  At that point in my life I didn’t let myself dream or hope for anything but sickness, after five years of nearly constant illness how could I? So I ignored these problems and went back to my tv or video games.

Something changed for me a few months ago, I got tired of letting my illness stop me, I got tired of not trying to do anything because no one thought I could succeed, and I got tired of accepting that I would live the rest of my life being ill. I don’t know what changed for me but I did. I started researching universities and looking at careers in human rights and I started working towards a future for myself. I started volunteering in the community and doing things to see if I could handle going back to school. And now after five years I’m fighting my illness so I can do something with my life. I have decided I want to become a human rights lawyer and be the person that helps solve the types of issues mentioned above. So this year I’m working my butt of to do well in school and to get more involved so I can get into a good university and eventually a good law school. It is hard, I get tired and I get sick but I keep working because I have to, because I’m tired of letting illness rule my life.

So that is how I think, it may not be how every teenager sees the world but those are the challenges I am currently facing and I hope this gives some insight on a teenagers brain even if it is just mine. One thing I want to add is a quote from novelist John Green.

“When adults say, “Teenagers think they are invincible” with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don’t know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”

― John Green, Looking for Alaska

Ignite Health is building steam!

I am off and running to create my next event in London Ontario! Ignite Health was given more space in my thoughts after I presented at Ignite London in July and I told the audience about my plans to make a difference in London Ontario with The Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Ambassador role I have and by starting Ignite Health.

I had Katy, Christian, Tanya and Pam all approach me after my speech to tell me that they want to be part of this event. I met with Timothy who is involved in the Ignite London event and he shared his ideas and support for the idea of Ignite Health.  I have had meetings with a number of people to pull together ideas for sponsorship, speakers, location, date, video, and photography!

Here is what I have determined so far!

1. The event will be on October 24, 2012. This also happens to be FoodDay2012 in the United States.  This will be a great alignment of ideas!!

2. The pillars of this event will be the following topics.

Food – For Farmers, Cooks, Researchers, Nutritionists to share their knowledge about food!

Exercise – For Athletes, trainers, to guide us into exercise concepts to strengthen our ability to deal with stresses.

Mental - For counsellors, advocates, to expand our knowledge and understanding of things that impact mental health

Spiritual – For coaches, guides to provide us ways to keep our spirit calm and strong.

Practitioners – For any practitioner that feels they can raise awareness of their services. Osteopath, Chiropractors, Naturopath, and more!

3. I plan to have a total of 10 talks in each Ignite Health event. 2 for each pillar , to create balance to help people to raise awareness of multiple ways they can improve their health! 

4. A slightly different format for the Ignite Health events.

We will start with a physical or mental exercise to get us ready and open to the ideas provided by our speakers.

We will wear name tags so that we can connect and network more effectively.

The talks will be 5 minutes in length and 20 slides that will automatically advance every 15 seconds.  For Speakers this is a true challenge and I would suggest you look at this as an elevator speech. You are introducing you, the idea, and why people should care!

So the presentations will run for about an hour in total. we will take a break in the middle to allow for thoughts to process.

After the speeches we will have 60 minutes of networking time. There will be healthy snacks available and the speakers will be asked to plan to stay at the end of speeches to allow audience members to ask questions or to find more information out about your topic. Speakers will be provided a small table to provide data to attendees.

To support the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution I will be sure to introduce the ambassador program and where it is headed at our first event!

I have been asked if I would be interested in having guests post on my blog. I think its a great idea and I will allow topics that fall into the 5 pillars of Ignite Health. So if you have something to share that will help people manage their health naturally then I will consider sharing your story on my blog.

I will say that I will NOT be providing a forum for Supplements , or anything that offers a quick fix. This is about a commitment to eating foods from the earth, from things that walk the earth and things that swim in the ocean.  This is about you taking ownership for your health and listening to your body for the clues it provides!

Any idea that is spoken about or written about in my blog is not to be taken as gospel. Please speak to your doctor, or practitioner to make sure that the idea will not cause other problems for you. Always know that every change you make will take time and commitment. You will feel worse before you feel better and you need to be patient and ignore the path of least resistance. If you are STILL feeling worse instead of better after 6 weeks then this is your body saying PLEASE STOP!. Listen to your body and try something else!

My First Guest blogger will be Jim Rollince , Jim is the head of creative writing for Gym Source out of New York city. He will provide insight into exercise for healthy living!  I am looking forward to sharing Jim’s post with your tomorrow or Thursday!

Thanks to all the amazing folks who are finding my blog when they search for healthy living and are taking the time to comment or email me. I will make this a much bigger and better blog with the addition of the 5 pillars of Ignite Health!

Take Care of YOU!

Mothers Day Letter 2012 from my Megan!

Dear mom,

I hope you have an amazing day even though I couldn’t get you everything you deserve. You have done so much for me this year and I can’t say how much I appreciate everything. From continuing to work hard for my health, to encouraging me to explore my interests. I am so proud of all the work you have done this year. I couldn’t be prouder to call you my mom. You have helped so many people and are just getting started. You have not only helped thousands of people with their health you have also helped Alex and I become who we are today. All we can do is hope that you are proud of what we are becoming. You support us both with our dreams no matter how big from university in another province or where ever they may take us! Neither of us could ever ask for more from you. I love you , thank you for being you and doing all you have for us. I hope I can make you proud!

 

Megan