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I thought I was healthy. I thought I had it all together. Until my world exploded and told me otherwise!
I've spent the last 28 years raising my kids, and working my tail off. I'm sure you know the drill. The last 18 years I've been a single Mom (something I wouldn't trade for the world) to three amazing humans! My oldest is special needs, and let's just say, there's never a dull moment :)
My world seemed somewhat normal, until...
Hi! I'm Kim, and my passion for health and autoimmunity began from my healing journey with chronic illness, and the need for me to become the “Healthiest Me” that I possibly could become. I suffered from allergies, sinus infections, ear infections, and hypoglycemia my entire life. It was my normal…I didn’t know anything different, other than shots, medication, a lifetime of respiratory suffering, and a love/hate relationship with sugar. As I grew older I started to feel aches and pains from 30+ years of athletic abuse, suffered a severe MCL tear, and then the camel that broke the straws back…I was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease and Celiac Disease (both autoimmune diseases). Well, that was it! No more!! I had had enough.
…or so I thought. What happened next was life changing, to say the least.
A few weeks into taking medication for my Grave’s Disease, I became deathly ill, and was admitted into the ICU. The medication I was taking was killing me, literally. I had one of the most severe reactions ever on record, and I had to listen to the doctors say “she might not make it”. I was deathly ill with SEVERE Agranulocytosis (zero WBC, zero neutrophils), Sepsis, severe Tachycardia, severe Hypotension, Neutropenia, and a host of other conditions. It took more than 10 days before my white blood cells and neutrophils began to rise above zero. After two weeks in the ICU, a mere shell of my former self looking like a skeleton, I didn’t become weaker, I became stronger. A fire was lit within me like never before to discover how I could change my life and become a healthier me.
Traditional medicine was not the answer for me any longer whether I liked it or not. My doctor gave me two choices when I left the ICU...have my thyroid removed or die! I could never take medication for my Grave’s Disease, and I didn’t believe that surgery was my only choice. I opted to follow my own path, and began the journey of healing myself. And healing myself is exactly what I did!
I followed my gut instincts, and 6 weeks after barely being able to walk out of that awful ICU room, my thyroid levels were in the "normal range", and a year later my Grave's Disease was in remission!
The relentless driving force pushing me to heal and survive was my kids. I have three amazing humans counting on me to be around for a very long time, and my oldest, especially…she is special needs, and literally the fire within my soul! You'll hear more about her later :). My sons are the rocks, the balance, and the unconditional support! My life has been blessed more than I could possibly ever imagine with those three. They truly inspire my relentless determination every single day.
My passion for research, discovery, and just being as informed as I possibly can be, first came out of me being a young Mom trying to navigate the world of being a Special Needs Mom, and feeling lost.
The journey with my daughter has taught me more than most will ever learn in a lifetime. She is an absolute gift, and lit many fires within me to not just accept what I was told, to research, learn, and know myself. This didn’t happen overnight…it has been a lifetime of research, 25+ years to be exact, with the first 10 years being life changing. I realized that doctors can be wrong, and that you HAVE to advocate for yourself and your loved ones. My daughter was a toddler, and a highly regarded Pediatric Neurologist was treating her disability in a way that I knew was wrong with every fiber of my being. Turns out I was right, thus began my quest for knowledge and a passion to make sure it never happened again.
As a young Mom this was the biggest lesson that I could have learned…
You have to advocate for yourself and your loved ones and do your due diligence when it comes to your health and your loved one's health. Yes, listen to doctors. Yes, take their advice and listen to their expertise regarding your health, but also be informed in your own right. It possibly could change your life or a loved one’s life! At the time I had no idea what was in store for me some 20 years later, and the immense need I would have to advocate for myself.
From the 25+ years of experiences with my daughter and my Grave’s Disease and Celiac Disease diagnosis', I began my pursuit to discover how I can become the “Healthiest Me” possible today! I was drawn to learn more and more, and to share my knowledge with everyone by becoming quintuple certified as a Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, a Holistic Nutritionist, a Holistic Health Coach, a Health & Wellness Coach, and an AIP Certified Coach. Through countless hours of research, late nights studying, relentless years of learning priceless information, and vetting the best equipment geared for true health and healing, I founded Salt n’ Sauna Wellness. Shortly after, I began my coaching business, Coach Kim Carr, and my cup runs over every single day because I'm able to do the one thing that inspires me to get up every morning...teach people how to heal themselves, how to advocate for themselves, and empower others to become the healthiest version of themselves they can be.
Your body is wired to heal and be healthy, you just have to find a way to let it!