My Health Care Journey

When I began this journey I thought for sure I would be one of those CSI girls helping stop people from harming others. In high school that's what I thought I was gonna do. The school I attended had a program called Med-Prep and it prepared you for a job in Health care. We learned in the first quarter of school all the Medical Terminology and got college credits for this class if we wanted. We studied Anatomy Physiology, we inflated pig lungs in the mechanics shop with an air compressor, we learned how to staple pig hearts from surgery. We learned how to be incredible first aid and certified nurse aids if you could pass the test. I didn't pass the first responder test, my teacher had so much faith in me she pushed me to succeed and I loved her for that. But no matter what I just couldn't take the test or any tests for that matter, I would black out and loose everything I was taught. It kinda ruined my belief in myself to succeed in the traditional way going to school was pointless if I couldn't take tests. I took the Certified Nurse Aid state test like 6 times and failed them all. I still went to work as a care giver on the floor of a Nursing home and worked for a year and a half, until one of the ladies I was close with passed on. I was so young and this caring for 105 people was just too much, who died in threes every month. I hoped I could find something else that would suit me better and I did shortly after I quit and wrote to state and turned in the whole operation at that particular place. For the things they did at that place were appalling and I vowed then to never work that kinda place again. I haven't set foot in another institution since then, 10 years now.
I have never been the traditional person to believe in education was my only ticket to winning in life. I began work at a very small assisted living, where I tortured these poor residents with my horrible cooking at the time and lack of experience with doing anything. I started working with a young man who I had gone to high school with he had autism and we had so much fun together. We would go out to eat and movies, ride horses, do his job and just read and hang out it was a blast.
I was then wondering what else could one do in a valley this small what other places could I conquer, feeling that youthful I'm gonna take over the world. I landed my next job that was the best thing that ever happened. I was working for a Hospital owned Assisted living. I loved this job I quickly worked my self up in rank and became the Administrative Activities Director, and I preformed all the jobs that were required to fill this spot. I did medication administering they got me licensed for that, then I did all the laundry helped with prepping meals and helped give baths and showers and managed the activities calender. I learned how to cook from world class chefs it was such an amazing time. We had students come in for poetry reading, play rehearsal, Valentines Day, Christmas was always sad but a lot of fun. We tried to make it a wonderful place and help the residents with what they needed and wanted.
There were two ladies who were so particular about their food intake that it was driving our kitchen staff nuts along with us who had to serve it. I mean they were going to start a war with the Hospital about the quality of food they were given. Both coming from the generation when it was okay to have slaves and living in south Africa these women knew what it was like to eat right from the garden. That was something I never experienced before. They wanted food right from the ground and I didn't realize at the time why they wanted this so badly. I get it now and have my own garden I produce most of my own food with.
 I didn't know what was next for me so I quit and left that job so sad but I was ready for another adventure. I spent two years there, then I just kinda goofed off for a year or so, played in the snow, lived the high life in the Mountains of Snowmass in an unhealthy relationship. I got a call from my dad who was asking me what the heck are you doing Monique. I said dad I don't know why? He said I have a job for you its like nothing you have ever experienced and probably will not want to do. I said okay whats the job?
I need you to go to San Francisco and help a friend in need out, the job, he paused for a bit to catch his breath and tell me that it was to care for Transgenders going in for Facial reconstructive surgery. I was shocked but intrigued. Well I did't have much happening here for me and I was honestly getting board so I called the person up and said I will go with you, I have a back ground in care giving  and I am licence to give medicine and I can go along and make sure you heal quickly. So they got me a ticket and I met them at the air port. Here I am tiny 5' 4" and what I see riding the escalader down to my level was a middle aged lady with hair that went to her butt, dressed in a jeans and tee shirt with a Shiva goddess on it I was like yes cool we will get along great. Next to her was what surprised me. I'm not easily shocked this person was extremely tall 7' give or take dressed in a long skirt and ruffled pink shirt, adams apple very present and a facial structure that was clearly a man. I looked as excited as I could to support the reason I was here, gave hugs and introduced ourselves. We all went down and got our vehicle for the trip and headed off to our hotel. I felt outta sorts but comfortable with both of them. We had two days before the surgery and we went to a Broadway show I had never been to one, I LOVED it! We caught eyes where ever we walked but I felt so welcomed and loved I couldn't let it bother me, because really it was them being unhappy with themselves, being projected onto someone else journey and life. I went to all the appointments and learned some tricks to talk like a guy from the private vocal coach she hired. Then I also learned that San Francisco is amazing and open and wonderful, we stayed in the Castro District. While she was in facial surgery we took off to the Muir Woods forest for a little bit of nature to help everything go smoothly, took some awesome pictures and had so much fun waiting and I was wanting more of this traveling care giving. Later that day she got out of surgery and we took turns being at her side helping her through it. We spent the days and nights with her, watching the transformation take place before my eyes. The surgeon was amazing he created this procedure for transgenders. He found his calling and that was what he wanted to do was help people feel more comfortable in their bodies. What a trip!! I had been on a whirl wind over that few weeks which felt like a life time of experience landed in my lap.
I was over watching her after the nurse came by to check up on her at the safe recovery house they had for her. We were chatting about all the amazing times we had and what a joy it was to be gifted this trip. She asked me one of those questions that just changes your whole life in a second, "Monique what do you want to do?", Right then I just knew, I said to her " I want to travel and take care of the world." She smiled and said, "Well you will". When we departed I got a note from her and it was one of the sweetest most amazing notes I have ever received and we have not had contact since then. I do miss her and I thank her with all my heart for this journey she let me share with her. I hope she is well and following her heart still.
I felt it in my heart my whole world shifted into that frame of thought and thinking how could I do this. I went back to Colorado and was changed, I spent a year doing odd jobs selling art at my families Gallery and working for my parents General Store when I got the call to care for a man who had Parkinson's disease. Meeting in the beautiful home town of Marble, Colorado then realizing that guess what I'm going to spend my winter in Hawaii. Little did I know it was not going to be the beach house life that everyone dreams of and what your typical Hawaii is thought of. This was going to be a culture shocking, world rocking adventure!
When I arrived on this amazing manicured lawn and orchard I was in total awe of what I got myself into. We were 100% off grid we didn't use electricity, in fact the power lines just stop before you get to the properties drive way. Its really cool to see that on one half of the view is the last power line then no poles or wires in your view of the ocean and passing ships. AMAZING! We ran the whole place off of Hydro Power and solar, 14 acres of orchard and farm 13 acres of jungle paradise. I learned so much about sustainable life, I want so much to build my own sanctuary like that place and live off grid. It was empowering, scary and sometimes just unbelievable that people can live like that without the consumption of products and manufacturing everything you know. The trash out put of this entire ranch of 8 people was less then a single family in a week. We just re used everything and what we couldn't we tossed very little out. I was so amazed because the awareness of just how much we waste was instilled on me. I had to develop my own ways of what we had to create first aid stuff, I had to learn about the body and how it metabolizes when infected with disease. I had to learn how to handle problems with communication with in myself and with those around me.
Funny when we have our words its hard to say what we need to say, then when we loose our voice all we want to do is say what we needed to say all along. Honesty is so vital in all situations, it doesn't matter if you have to say something just say it because it hurts so much more to hold it all in. Dynamics are so diverse in this world and it is so hard to find an easy way to communicate when we have our own issues and others have issues with talking. But I did it and I had my falls and fears, I over came them in the end and I am a stronger woman because of all these wild experiences. I'm ready for my next adventure and its writing this stuff down and hopefully finding a way to generate a life with it. This experience in Hawaii was my last travel for care giving, I now work with two companies for people who need in home care. I have a daughter now and a husband house and I run two businesses from home. This one and my jewelry company Enchanted Charms, I have a great time sharing with everyone and I have lived some crazy moments but would go back and do it all the same because it was such a trip! Hope you enjoy Aloha!

The Cannabis Miracle

Today, I was in Marble with my family discussing back pain and treatments for it and what could be of help because my father suffers from chronic pain.  Dad is the strongest guy I know, I have never met anyone else with his endurance to withstand the coldest of cold working in the Yule Marble Quarry for 16 years, running heavy equipment, driving some of the rockiest roads Colorado has to offer on a daily basis in through the summers of our (my three sisters and I) childhood. All of it did a number to Dad's back, his disks are completely collapsed he also has Spinal Stenosis which creates calcium deposits around his spine and discs also scoliosis from the collapse. He could barely walk for two years, he couldn't get up out of bed, he had spinal seizures and spasms that almost paralyzed him. He would have to army crawl to the john and well lets just say he needed assistance getting up off the thing. Dad was 54 when all of this came down hard on our family, now 57. He tried it all, chiropractors helped as much as they could knowing that what he had was so severe that surgeons would recommend he have his lower lumbar bones completely chopped out of his body!! Dad tried going to a witch doctor which was really, really amazing, helped move some energy that had been trapped inside his body for years and years, acupuncture and all these exercises the practitioners gave him. Everything made him hurt more and weakened him. He was in so much pain finally that he broke down thinking he needed morphine shots to kill the pain. Knowing my dad morphine was not going to kill the pain just make him really depressed and sleepy and that is no life for this guy.
I got bold  and suggested to my Dad who right now at this moment in time was completely against the MaryJane movement. So much so that I thought he was going to kill me when I suggested, I make a medical cannabis ointment for him with coconut oil.
Dad said "Shit, I'll try anything at this point".
I just about fainted on the floor when he said yes, and I was stunned my dad just said yes to me going to a pot shop and getting some medical marijuana. So I went in and got the strongest most pure Indica plant I could find. This strain is for pain and sleep. This stuff was like holy hell damn stanky organic earthy stuff. I began the break down process of making this ointment. I had seen someone make it before but never tried it myself. Intimidated as I was, I had to get my Dad back on his feet and moving again. Four hours of slow cooking the stuff in coconut oil with green tea leaf, Echinacea, flower and straining pressing the goodness out of the plants also I added many, many prayers. I placed it all in a jar and let it cool down. I gave it to my mom and she had dad start using it immediately.
What happened over the next week was a miracle, Dad started feeling better he wasn't sure why. He was on numerous vitamins, mineral supplements, Ibuprofen for pain, Amino Sculpt a supplement of collagen he was taking all this and using the salve at night.
My dad decided to try an experiment on him self, he is kind of known for this kind of thing. He stopped his regimen of vitamins and minerals pain pills and salve. Just to see how long he could go without it. Dad did okay for the day time, you could see he was in extreme pain but was biting through it by breathing it out. Bed time rolled around and at about 2 am he started to spasm so bad he couldn't move, he waited two hours in this spasm before he forced himself out of bed screaming and growling his way to the bathroom where he kept his salve. When he applied it he felt a sensation wash over him, he laid on the bathroom floor for about 15 minutes before trying to move. Scared out of his mind to move, he tried and he could! He got up and walked, WALKED to his bed and passed out he didn't have any more spasms that night or the next day! Dad was in tears when he called me and told me he could move and was not in agonizing pain, he started using it every night.
Dad went to bed one night and had a dream of building a machine that would help his back. This machine was his new obsession, the next morning he called my brother in law who is a welder and explained his idea to him. He was impressed and said sure I will build you some prototypes. When my dad sets his mind on something he gets it done! He started his machine and everyday he got better for about three months, Dad did his machine three times a day all week. He is now pain free, pain med free and salve free. We are in the process of patenting this machine so we can market it to all who suffer from lower back pain and we hope to have it out by next year.
It was a crazy three years without my dad being able to work  and my mom running her art gallery with no marble products but for the first time in three years my dad is able to be himself and he has a new found respect for his body and ability to move it. "He likes to move it move it!"

Gut Health

Science is discovering the gut is the most important organ because it feeds us, it gives the body what it needs to run at optimum health. We must learn the importance of our guts, how can we do this when we are bombarded every day by the advertisements and temptations of fast food.
How can we begin helping ourselves discover the benefits of gut health.
Our days are packed full of the hustle and go, go, go mind set, this includes stopping by fast food to eat and picking up sweet fast snacks and drinks. All these things are processed in our bodies but are we getting health out of these habits? I mean it has been answered in may documentaries and specials on news. But what is the motivation that you need to help you change your habits?
We have to look at our life styles and see the value in eating new foods allowing our selves to change our perspective on whats fast and easy to grab on the go. It doesn't get more convenient then your own kitchen and yard. I don't like leaving my house for stuff. I don't do the grocery shopping unless its a short two or three things. My husband does that mostly because I get anxiety in those places.
When I lived in Hawaii and experienced eating Macrobiotic, I learned all about processed food and it really was a wake up call to all the crazy habits we have been lead to believe are okay for us to be doing. The mass production and chemicals they add are stunning. I am not saying that I don't indulge in those foods to this day but I limit them and my family limits them. We added foods into our lives that make us healthier and stronger.
There are several amazing women out there making a huge difference in how we are eating and how our bodies function. I love the book "The Body Ecology Diet", by Donna Gates and Linda Schatz. This book is full of information that awakens the mind to what an amazing world our guts are. It also is a really intense diet that has recipes and will boost your immune system to the max. It is challenging and requires discipline. Cultured foods are making a come back and people are teaching how to do this within your life. It does take time and you must be committed to learning how it works and how it helps you.  "Cultured Food for Life" by Donna Schewnk founder of Culturedfoodlife.com. She is amazing and has lots of great recipes and is a joy to read. Another new book almost out on the market is, "Skinny Gut Diet" by Brenda Watson C.N.C, October 7th is the release date. I am so excited for this book and what it has in store for the amazing world of eating and health.
I started with Kombucha it is super easy and it helped me with my hormone imbalance from drinking to much caffeine, coffee and my horrible addiction to Mountain Dew, yes I am human and I grew up on the stuff and I work really hard to limit my intake now. I used to buy it off the shelves then I learned how easy it is to start and how it benefits the body, mood and gut. Kombucha is called the "Golden Elixir". The properties are still being discovered in modern day science but so far it it full of anti oxidants, micro organisms that feed the smallest of cells creating awareness and openness in all parts of the body. The drink is "ALIVE" teaming with life that feeds your cells on the most amazing level. It is really, really exciting.
Our ancestors used to live off of cultured veggies, you know back when we didn't have electricity to store food. They had cellars, for their roots and canned food and pickled and had a whole pantry dedicated to food for the winter. They put in the work to grow the foods they needed and then processed them in the home kitchen. Its difficult and challenging to over come the fear of trying to implement new foods and learning to take time to learn to feed ourselves is so important to our lives. I am in the process of building some tools to help you learn how to make this a reality in your weekly schedules. I am really excited about sharing this information with you.
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I look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks Have a LOVE FILLED DAY!!