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Kimberly S.
Geck, B.S., M.S., MT (ASCP) |
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We all have story to tell –
the moments of sheer joy, the rough patches
when things just didn’t go our way, and all
the small but priceless moments that make up
the story of our lives. Part of what I love
about my work is the opportunity to listen
to each of my client’s stories. To hear
from them the road that brought them to this
appointment. To have them bring to life the
facts and details written on their health
survey forms. To help me understand and
know them as the unique person they are so
that I may put the pieces of their health
puzzle together and find a solution that is
right for them. Our desire to be heard and
tell our story is human nature. When we are
ill and suffering we need to be understood
as more than a diagnosis or result of a
test. Our story is our guide – we are not
beholden to it, but it can give us clues to
finding our way to the next chapter of our
journey – a chapter that is filled with
vibrant health and endless possibilities.
As far as stories go, mine is
not the stuff of drama – no compelling movie
or TV show or even well written book could
leave the audience with bated breath,
waiting to see how it all turns out. But
what I do have is a story that shaped my
life and changed its course to bring me to
here and now. I hope my rather ordinary
story will help you to understand me and my
practice more that just a list of degrees
and credentials ever could. I hope it will
encourage you to take charge of your health
care and explore new possibilities.
I never really planned on
being a holistic health practitioner. I had
always been fascinated by how the human body
works and marveled at the intricacy involved
in the coordination of millions of processes
occurring simultaneously to be able to
simply breathe, talk, and move all at the
same time. Maybe somewhere in the back of
my mind I wanted to be a doctor – but never
a surgeon or someone who gave drugs and
shots – that just didn’t appeal to me. So I
stayed with what I thought were my strengths
in relationship to medicine – science and
math. I entered college to become a
biomedical engineer to design and develop
artificial joints and organs. Well, as
often happens in college, I realized halfway
through that engineering was not for me and
I decided to pursue a technical field in
traditional medicine. I earned a B.S. in
Biology with a minor in Engineering Physics
and then completed graduate work in Clinical
Laboratory Science and became certified as a
Medical Technologist.
It was while working in the
‘Hallowed Halls of Western Medicine’ (a
hospital), that I became ill. The only part
of my story that has any claim to being
dramatic is the day I refer to as ‘crash and
burn’. I was under an enormous amount of
mental stress – in particular, financial
problems and a demanding work schedule. One
morning while getting ready for work, I
became very light-headed and shaky. My
heart started racing and pounding. I
thought I was going to pass out. I had a
glucose monitor because of a few
hypoglycemic episodes in the past. I
couldn’t get a reading – it just read <20.
I was now starting to feel a bit numb in my
hands, so my husband drove me to the
hospital and I was immediately given glucose
solution which reduced the near paralysis
and numbness I was now experiencing
throughout my body. What I thought was just
a very bad and scary episode became daily
blood sugar ‘crashes’. I could barely move
due to the fatigue. I thought I was going
to die each time it happened. I remember
thinking, I work at a hospital with the best
medicine has to offer right at my fingertips
– I’m so lucky. But after 6 weeks of this
intense fatigue and unstable glucose levels
and seeing ER doctors, internists, and
family practitioners, I was sent to a
specialist – an endocrinologist. This, as
the saying goes, was The Last Straw, on my
medical merry-go-round of doctors visits.
After taking my health
history and hearing about my ‘episodes’ as I
now called them, I was told no tests were
necessary as he knew what was wrong with
me. Ah, I thought, maybe this doctor would
be the one; he was a specialist after all.
But disappointment quickly set in as it had
with all the others. This one managed to
stand out due to his ‘diagnosis’. And I
quote, “You are a young, thin, white
female. There is nothing wrong with you.
You just need to go home and eat more”. All
that was missing was the pat on the head
that came with the patronizing and
dismissive tone.
It was with that dismissal
that everything changed. I decided that if
I was going to be well again, then it was
now up to me to take charge of my health.
The pedestal that I had put medicine on was
taken down and the real work of
understanding health began. I knew all
about pathology and disease – it was at the
core of my training in medical science.
What I realized is that I knew nothing about
what it meant to be healthy and how to
achieve it.
So began my journey, over 12
years ago, to understand how to heal
myself. The road back to health was not
always smooth, but the experiences taught me
more about myself and healing than I ever
imagined. So just what did I do? I made
major dietary changes, both in the quality
and ratios of nutrients. I evaluated my own
metabolic and biochemical individuality. I
utilized whole food concentrates and
protomorphogens to rebuild and replenish. I
had issues with adrenal fatigue, B complex
deficiency, mineral deficiencies, and
sub-par digestion. A major turning point
came when I employed homeopathy to deal with
the stress and emotional anxiety that I
believe were the final straws that put me on
the downward spiral of ill health. Reaching
to the energetic and miasmatic roots of my
health problems enabled me a degree of
health and vitality that I intuitively knew
was possible. It was the integration of
biochemical and biophysical (energetic)
therapies that enabled me to rebalance
myself physically, mentally, emotionally,
and spiritually. I realized that healing
came from within and worked in the same way
that nature worked. When this philosophy
was combined with the understanding that we
are each unique, I had found the solution to
my health problems and a paradigm upon which
I could help others as well.
It was during this process
that I realized I had found my passion – to
help others find their way back to optimal
health holistically; to educate, counsel,
and facilitate; to provide individualized
and integrated programs backed by solid
science and sound methods. This new
direction led me to obtaining my Master’s
Degree in Holistic Nutrition with a
concentration in Homeopathy and I am now
finishing my Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition.
The focus of my doctoral research is
anaerobic and dysaerobic cell membrane
imbalances in Autism Spectrum Disorder. It
has also led me to developing my program of
Integrated Holistic Nutrition and the
founding of Holistic Solutions, LLC. |
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Holistic
Solutions, LLC |
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For the past 12 years I have
worked in both traditional medicine and
holistic health. In that time, I’ve had the
opportunity to work with professionals
across the health care spectrum in both the
hospital and private practice settings.
These experiences have all been valuable and
have contributed to my desire to create a
place where people come first instead of the
name of their condition.
So often a person’s problems
are seen only in the context of the
diagnosis or symptoms. Little, if any, time
and attention is given to who the
patient is – what makes them different from
someone else with the same problem, what are
their needs and goals, what are the
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
factors that have combined to bring them to
their present state of ill health. To know
and understand someone beyond the diagnosis,
symptoms, or test results requires the very
thing that is sacrificed in most health care
settings – time. It also requires a
partnership with your practitioner and
taking responsibility for your health and
decisions. We are encouraged to abdicate
all responsibility for the state of our life
and health to others when what we need is
empowerment, education, and a partner to
help us find our way. It was these very
important but all too often neglected
factors of time, individualization,
education, and partnership that inspired
me to bring this high level of care to my
clients.
While these principles
provide the philosophical framework for
Holistic Solutions LLC, there is also a high
standard of scientific and practical methods
for addressing the myriad of disorders that
people can have. In order to determine the
most balanced and scientific holistic and
nutritional therapies, I relied on my solid
background in the sciences – biology,
biochemistry, nutrition, physiology,
anatomy, microbiology, hematology,
immunology, and physics. This, in addition
to my understanding of how the body works
with nature to heal itself, provide the
measure against which holistic and
nutritional therapies were and continue to
be evaluated.
As anyone who has gone to the
health food store knows, much of what is on
the shelves is worthless and the product of
fad, hype, or misrepresentation of fact.
Some of it is good; occasionally a great
product sneaks its way in there. The
problem with all this is how to determine
good from bad and what is good for you in
particular. The same goes with various
forms of therapies – some are backed with
real science and others make claims based on
pseudo-science. Again, how is the consumer
to know the difference with all the hype and
marketing?
The answers lie in education,
both in real science and how nature works,
and addressing the individual needs of each
person. At Holistic Solutions this means
providing quality information and utilizing
various methods to determine the correct
course of action, not a generalized standard
recommendation. In practical terms what
this means is that two people with the same
diagnosis of diabetes by their medical
doctor could have two entirely different
health plans because it is determined by
their individual needs, not the standard
recommendations. In other words, it is
based on you, not the name of your health
problem. This is not only important for
nutritional products, diets, and lifestyle
changes, but of critical importance for
homeopathic therapy. Therefore, by
determining each person’s unique needs, an
effective action plan is formulated. To
simply state this another way, what worked
for me, may be entirely wrong for you. In
addition, not all health issues can be
solved with diet, nutritional products, or
lifestyle changes. Oftentimes the locus of
a problem is deeper and must be resolved on
the energetic level with homeopathic
therapy. This is the benefit of a truly
holistic and individualized integrated
approach. This is the service that Holistic
Solutions LLC strives to offer each of its
clients.
It is my passion and
privilege to work in partnership with you as
you take charge of your health and healing.
Please read through the site and contact us
with any questions on how we may be of help
to you on your journey to health and
well-being. |
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