After decades of living with diverticulitis and surviving necrotizing MRSA, I rebuilt my health using integrative and functional medicine principles.
Those experiences reshaped how I approach healing.
Long term stability requires more than crisis care.
It requires preparation.
The Pattern I Lived With for 20 Years
For over two decades, diverticulitis quietly shaped my life.
Every flare followed the same script: pain, antibiotics, wait, repeat.
I was never taught how to reduce the inflammatory load driving it. No one explained motility, microbiome disruption, or nutrient depletion. I was treated when things escalated, not guided on how to prevent it.
In 2018, after repeated flares, 8 inches of my colon were removed when one section became severely damaged.
For six years after surgery, I had no flares.
Then in 2024, symptoms returned in a different area.
When I went to urgent care, my white blood cell count was 21,000. In 2018, a similar number had put me straight into the hospital without a diagnosis.
At urgent care, I was given antibiotics and told to follow up with my primary care physician if I didn’t feel better in a week or two.
I understood the protocol. But I also understood my body.
After surviving MRSA and rebuilding my health through integrative medicine, I knew repeating the same cycle and hoping for a different outcome was not the answer.
This wasn’t about rejecting medical care. It was about recognizing that stabilization required more than a prescription.
So I returned to the functional framework that had rebuilt me before.
This time, I chose a different response.
If diverticulitis is part of your story too
You do not have to wait for the next flare to become a crisis.
The 5-Day Diverticulitis Reset was built for the early warning window — the first 12 to 24 hours when structure matters most.
The Day That Everything Changed
In 2020, my life changed overnight.
What started as a routine hernia surgery spiraled into necrotizing MRSA, an aggressive infection that nearly took everything from me.
I went from living independently to living in hospital gowns, hooked to IVs, fighting day by day to stay ahead of the infection.
For almost a year, I faced:
- Repeated surgeries
- Complications that kept stacking up
- Antibiotics that weren’t working
- Doctors who were running out of answers
Eventually, I was told there wasn’t much more they could do.
But I wasn’t done fighting.
What Actually Worked
This wasn’t luck.
It wasn’t spontaneous healing.
It was evidence-informed, whole-body support.
I strengthened my immune system.
Lowered systemic inflammation.
Rebuilt my gut and microbiome.
Supported my cells with the nutrients they were missing.
And gave my body what it needed to recover.
The results were undeniable.
I healed fully.
The Turning Point
Lying on the wound care table, staring at the ceiling, I realized I had two options:
- Surrender to the infection, or
- Fight for my life in a completely different way.
I chose the second path.
I turned toward integrative medicine, rebuilding my body through targeted nutrition, immune support, gut repair, and inflammation regulation.
For the first time, I stopped reacting and started rebuilding.
Once my body finally had what it needed, everything shifted.
Within two months, my recovery accelerated in ways I had not experienced during the previous year.
The Scars + The Mission
The scars I carry are more than physical. They are proof of what it took to survive.
They remind me of the nights I prayed for another chance, the nurses who became like family, and the moment I realized I would live.
But survival was not the end of the story.
My healing exposed a gap I could not ignore.
Patients are often prepared for surgery logistically, but not biologically. They are told how to scrub their skin, not how to strengthen their systems.
That realization became my mission.
I created the Surgery Optimization Protocol™ to provide structured, evidence-informed preparation designed to support resilience, recovery, and confidence before and after surgery.
This Protocol Was Born From Survival
The Surgery Optimization Protocol™ was not created from theory.
It was built from lived experience, evidence-informed integrative strategies, and everything I wish someone had explained before my surgeries.
If you are preparing for surgery, recovering from one, or simply want to strengthen your body before a major procedure, this framework was designed to give you structure.
You deserve preparation that goes beyond a checklist.
👉 Show Me How to Prepare for Surgery