Embracing Autoimmune Recovery to Help Others
Hi. I’m Melissa Rose, autoimmune recovery specialist, entrepreneur and passionate advocate for individuals diagnosed with a chronic or autoimmune illness, sharing hope that they can CHANGE their health trajectory.
Q. It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story? How did you get to where you are today?
It began when I was 9 years old and started to experience marked fatigue and joint pain, that I now know was beginning symptoms of what was diagnosed many years later as multiple sclerosis (MS). Those symptoms came and went throughout high school and I didn’t think too much of it until in my Junior year of high school, my mom took me for an MRI scan because she was afraid I had MS. She had MS as did most women in my family and she was recognizing the signs. The MRI came up clear so I was sent home to rest. In my 3rd year of college, my body gave out completely. I was the breakfast cook for the campus students and one morning tried to get out of bed and ended up in a heap on the floor with my legs unable to support me.
Symptoms continued to come and go throughout my early 20s as I got married and became a Mom. By the age of 33, my symptoms had progressed to the place that I was having trouble walking even on good days and I was diagnosed with MS. In the next year or so after my diagnosis, I met a practitioner who does much of what I do today with my clients, and he helped me unravel what was happening in my body. I slowly began to recover. It took 2.5 years for my last symptom to disappear.
Q. Everyone has a story behind the beginning of their business. Why did you start your business?
My story is why I do this work. I know that a diagnosis of an autoimmune or chronic illness doesn’t need to be a death sentence! Our bodies can recover! I want to shout it from the rooftops! It is our innate right to be wildly well! However, often with a diagnosis, comes the fear fostered by the unknown and from our medical encounters, others in our life and research on the computer. Nowhere is there a word spoken or written that our bodies CAN recover. We CAN know what is causing this ‘dis-ease’ and we CAN effectively address it!
Q. I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
I had to trust my body first. Then go back to school with me being the oldest student in class! Thankfully, life experience helps! I began my practice at an age when most practitioners were well into practicing for 10 plus years! I am pushing against the tide of ‘medical assumption’.
That autoimmune diseases can only be managed (with drugs that in the long run are worse than the disease they are meant to address). That we can’t know what is causing them. Thankfully there are a host of other practitioners and amazing individuals who are speaking into this now, raising awareness that this doesn’t have to be our expectation! That each of us has the innate, built-in ability to be vibrantly well! It is our right!
Q. How are you making an impact with your business or project?
I am a voice of hope to change the narrative around autoimmune conditions. A voice of hope, that recovery and full wellness IS possible! I work with clients daily, equipping them with the answers to “why am I sick?” and “how do I get better?”. Walking with them as they navigate very specific protocols custom created for their unique bodies. We are amazing! Our bodies are amazing!
Q. What do you think is the biggest challenge female entrepreneurs face today?
In the medical community, I am directly challenging the status quo. What I do doesn’t make any money for pharmaceutical companies. Helping people fully recover so they don’t need meds. My business model is perhaps terrible…My goal is that my people become well and self-sufficient in that wellness, with a full toolkit of knowledge that will sustain them in the years ahead. I am only a message away to help when they get stuck, but I want them to be fully equipped to be fully well!
Q. Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you?
I specialize in helping people who are experiencing symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain and swelling, skin problems, abdominal pain or digestive issues, recurring fever, and don’t have a diagnosis, or have been diagnosed with an autoimmune or chronic illness. Together we unravel what is causing this unwellness for them and formulate a tiered approach to their recovery that includes addressing the body, mind and spirit of each individual. Their personal practitioner then walks beside them as they recover, readjusting protocol, coaching, mentoring them as they walk their path to wellness.
Recovery can feel alone, daunting, breaking through family beliefs, personal beliefs, working through trauma responses…you name it. As the body begins to recover, we have times when our body finally feels strong enough that it will bring up things that we have “stuffed away” for years so that we could get by but now the body invites us to have another look and resolve them. It is truly a recovery journey on all levels. Our team and I have personally walked this road. Not only do we serve from our extensive clinical experience, but from our personal experience as well. This is our life’s work.
Q. If you saw a woman struggling in business, what advice would you share with them?
Often when we are on the struggle bus, it is hard to pull back for a moment and take an inventory of what is out of alignment. But that is exactly what will help to shut out the noise of the struggle and concentrate our focus on what needs to be shifted. Allow yourself to go back to your basics. What is your purpose with this business? What problem are you solving? Who are you serving? What is your end goal? Then work through your processes, team, delivery methods, marketing, everything in your business. How does it align with your basic primus? What needs to shift to be more in alignment? What are the first steps you can make to become more aligned?
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
I would love to be the voice of hope that people hear in their heads and hearts….that autoimmune disease is NOT a death sentence, rather an invitation to a full and vibrant life! I would love to be a voice that changes the narrative around diagnosis. It is just a name for a group of symptoms, it is not you, it is not me, it is merely a description. WE can change this for ourselves. When the symptoms are solved, we get to choose if we continue to be connected to that diagnosis.
Q. What’s next for you?
We have just renamed and rebranded our practice to go worldwide. Our goal, to be the voice of hope in the first page, space 3, of each search engine, using the top 5 autoimmune diagnosis names, top 5 autoimmune symptoms, and top 2 researched questions. We want to be the voice that says, “I hear you, I see you, you just got this scary diagnosis. I love you. I feel you. Here is another way…a way to truly be well that YOU can choose. It is fully within your power. Here is how to achieve it. This vision will take a whole bunch of us! I invite you to join me in this mission!”
Q. Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
You can find us at www.sagebrushwellness.com. Email us directly at info@sagebrushwellness.com. We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn under the same name.
About the Author
Name: Melissa Rose
Professional Title: Founder and CEO of AutoimmuneRecovery.org and Sagebrush Wellness, LLC
Bio: Melissa Rose, AFMP, CHHC, AADP is an Applied Functional Medicine Practitioner specializing in autoimmune disease, complex illness, mystery illness, and rare autoimmune conditions. With over 1000 clients served, Melissa has established herself as a high-level practitioner for advanced autoimmune clients at Sagebrush Wellness and AutoimmuneRecovery.org.
Website: www.autoimmunerecovery.org
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