Hi! My name is Vickie Washburn. I am a Mom, a Nanna and a believer in our ability to heal ourselves with the right mindset, faith and the gifts God gave us. I grew up in rural Kansas, spent endless hours with my grandmother, who lived to be almost 98, in her garden, in her kitchen, canning, cooking naturally, with real food, real herbs, in a time when the milk was fresh from the cow, the meat was antibiotic and hormone free and veggies were fresh from the garden or canned with veggies fresh from the garden. My journey looking for Abundance in Health and in Life actually started way back then, with the knowledge I learned from my grandmother’s and the other ladies in our community. Hepatitis C, cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia, ADD, ADHD, autism are all on the rise and are affecting those around me more and more. It seems like there is a new disease or condition daily. I set out on a search for answers other than main stream medicine, which seems is less and less effective over the long run without causing more harm, many many moons ago and the search continues to this day.
My mother experienced the unthinkable. She lost a child when she was just 21, I was just 2. The doctors prescribed Valium to help her get through the grief and that set into motion an addiction to prescription drugs that I believe continues to this day.
My father was diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder in his 50’s after years of weird behavior that would surface sporadically then all would return to what seemed “normal”. He seemed fairly stable for many years. He became an empty nester, started a business that he quickly lost and his life started unraveling. The next 15+ years were a Bi-polar nightmare I would not wish on anyone.
As for me, I was a young mom with 2 boys that were 13 months apart. I went to my doctor because I was exhausted. My thought at the time was that the doctor would prescribe a high powered vitamin or maybe iron as I thought I might be anemic or something simple. I just wanted to regain my energy after back to back pregnancies. My youngest son was constantly sick due to allergies, ear infections, tonsillitis etc. and I had very little support in the way of a spouse at home to help or other family around to relieve me for a bit so I could catch up on my rest. It was 1977. The doctor did not give me a vitamin or iron pills, he gave me an anti-depressant called Sinequan. He told me to take one before bed each night. I took one at 9 pm the first night and did not fully wake up for 48 hours. I faded in and out but for the most part I slept. Thankfully my sons were with grandma. I threw the bottle away after that and have not taken much in the way of prescription drugs since. As a mom, I always tried my children’s medications before giving it to them. I was shocked sometimes at the way my children’s medications would make me feel let alone how it made them feel. It was very concerning and made me very cautious with medications they were given.
I have seen prescription drugs all but destroy many in my family and wreak havoc on relationships of my family and friends. I nearly lost my mother several times due to drug overdose or attempted suicide, nearly lost a son due to Meth and a daughter due to Loritab (prescribed due to an auto wreck). Thankfully we did not lose them but have lost many young people who were near and dear to our family including my daughter’s biological father and two young men who were like sons/brothers to us.
I have watched as depression, diabetes, cancer, COPD, PAD, Hep C and many other diseases affect family members and friends. What was causing this seemingly epidemic growth in these diseases and issues? Why do all the treatments seem to lead to scarier side effects and conditions than the original disease or condition?
In early 2011, my marriage started to unravel and I was devastated, heartbroken and depressed. I could not think straight. I cried all the time. My blood pressure was through the roof. Again the doctors and even my counselor’s first responses were to put me on anti-depressants and blood pressure medicine. I knew I did not want to get on the merry-go-round of drugs and their side effects and then drugs for the side effects. I discovered through my research and information from a pharmacist that Red Yeast Rice and CoQ10 are good for reducing blood pressure. Within a couple of months it brought mine back in line with no side effects! I learned that meditation and affirmations can help heal your heart. I discovered there are many little things we can do daily to help us achieve and maintain more Abundance in Health and in Life.
This brings me to my longtime friend. She has a degree in Pharmacology but she left the practice several years ago as she had lost faith in big Pharma and the medical “business” as well. She shared my views in many ways and began sharing many alternative options that she had discovered over the years. My journey to emotional and spiritual healing began. A year ago she shared her discovery of essential oils and how they had helped her recover from fungal pneumonia, something I had never heard of. I began to read all I could on the power to change health with meditation, prayer, vitamins, herbs and eventually essential oils. I started using the oils and have been amazed at the power I have personally experienced and that my family, friends and associates have experienced physically, emotionally and spiritually.
So this blog will be about finding Abundance in Health and in Life. Physical, Emotional, Spiritual Abundance. We will explore the link between these three. It will be about getting the chemicals that assault our systems daily, out of our lives as much as we can to allow our bodies to function as designed. It will be about dealing with toxic and dysfunctional relationships. It will be about forgiving yourself when you don’t do such a good job. It will also be about these amazing things, I believe God has given us called Herbs and Essential Oils to help in the process. We will learn how to use them to support Abundance in Health and in Life!
Join me on this journey and I will send you information on how you can makeover your cabinets with Cabinet Makeover and what to look out for in products you buy in Monsters in your Cabinet. Start today, Stop the Chemical assault on your body and have Abundance in Health and in Life.