Hello!

Hello!  Thank you for stopping by my site, I am grateful that you are taking the time to learn more about me, what I am about, and what I hope I can do to help you (I will try my best to keep this to the Cliff notes version, do they still make Cliff notes??).

As I write this, I am a 43 year old mother of two beautiful boys, and wife to an amazing husband. I lead with this because although I am much more than a mother and a wife, at this time in my life, mother and wife is what I identify with most, and what my days are mostly consumed with. We are currently living through a strange time, when the world has been overcome with the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have been quarantined in our home in Long Island, New York for more months than I can even remember right now. 

My eldest son Mikey is who led me down the path of nutrition and wellness. He is my greatest teacher; he has made me grow in more ways than I ever thought possible. Mikey has pushed me to be stronger, more patient, more compassionate.  He has been my greatest heartache and greatest love.  Mikey was diagnosed with Autism at 23 months old on January 30, 2007 at 1:30pm, by a psychologist in my home.  I remember every detail of that day, and it has shaped who I am as a person, woman, mother.  Autism has become a significant part of not just my son’s identity but my family‘s identity as well. Mikey is currently nonverbal, I say currently, because even though he is 13 (almost 14), I still pray for the day that he will speak, and I will hear his voice, his thoughts, and his needs, straight from his mouth. You will hear more about Mikey’s journey, Autism, and his diet in future posts.

When Mikey was 6 years old, on June 30th, 2013, Mikey’s father and I decided to separate.  This day is also one that has been etched in my brain forever.  Once again, I was brought down to my knees in despair.  I thought how could I possibly raise my 6 year old son with autism alone. I had already conceded to being alone because what man in his right mind would voluntarily sign up for this life, right? I know many will blame the fact that you are raising a child with special needs for divorce rates, but in my opinion, my son’s autism was not the reason for our divorce.  Autism changed us yes, but it also exposed our strengths and weakness, and made us realize that our paths were different. Although this was also such a difficult time in my life, once again, I was shown how strong, capable and independent I was. It also showed me how much of myself I lost in my marriage.  It took me hitting that bottom to realize that I had lost who I was, I lost who I wanted to be, trying to be who I thought my husband wanted me to be.  Through that experience, I learned to forgive, and not only to forgive him, but to forgive myself. (Today we co-parent happily, and have created the best blended family possible for Mikey.)

Although I was completely ready to go through life with me and my Mikey, God had other plans for me. While I was trying to console and reach out to an old friend who was also going through a similar situation, I ended up finding someone crazy enough to sign up for my crazy life!! John was an old friend from the neighborhood (I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, I am sure that will come up many times in my posts), and someone I used to work with, someone I always had fun with, and most importantly trusted.  Without going through all the crazy details, he end up being everything I needed in my life.  He is all the things I didn’t dare to wish for, loving, compassionate, supportive, fun.  He made me feel comfortable and safe to be myself. He knew the me I was before I was Mikey’s Mommy, and he reminded me how much I liked her and how fun she could be. He took the time to understand Autism, to get to know Mikey, and to love him exactly the way he is.  I spoke to him of my passions and my dreams, something I hadn’t done in a long time, and he supported and believed in me. In August of 2015 I enrolled in Bauman College’s Nutrition Consultant distance learning program.  The program would require around 2 years of my life and time I didn’t have, to complete, but I was determined, and had my family’s support.  We married on October 1, 2016, we had a beautiful wedding and Mikey did so great and was part of the ceremony.  It was a perfect day and I felt like I finally had a handle on life, on Autism, and was ready for the next chapter.  We were excited and ready to expand our Family and have a baby together.

On October 18, 2016, just 17 days after we got married and while we were still living in the newlywed glow, Mikey had his first seizure (I will post more about this in the future). It wasn’t a grand mal seizure which are the ones we mostly hear about; it was a partial complex seizure.  His seizure happened while he was falling asleep and caused his eyes and head to dart to his left side, and right after he vomited. I remember hearing him cough (because his airway was blocked), I went in the room to check on him and saw his eyes darting to one side, I yelled for John and we called 911.  I NEVER even thought to worry about seizures (although it is common for children with autism).  I can tell you that THIS, SEIZURES, are the SCARIEST thing I have ever experienced.  THIS was my ROCK BOTTOM.  THIS put LIFE in FULL perspective.  Once again, I was completely shattered and as much as I thought life had been difficult in the past, THIS was far worse. I was extremely nervous and hesitant to put him on medication, and because he was having seizures about one time a month, the neurologist we took him to did not insist. I spent one year trying to control his seizures through natural supplements and diet.  I moved a bed into his room to sleep with him so I could watch him. We learned that his type of seizures only happened at night when he was falling asleep, but that could mean anytime he wakes up and falls back asleep.  I “slept,” with one eye open, waiting, worrying.  Since he would vomit, while still not fully out of his seizure and wasn’t able to sit up, when they happened, I would jump from my bed to get him on his side and scream for my husband.  With each seizure I swear I lost a year of life. This is the first time I have ever actually written down that he had seizures because my hope was that they would just go away. After 1 year of trying to control with no avail, we put him on medication, and I am so happy to say that the medication has been effective.  We have had only a few breakout seizures (I am actually scared to even write that down that’s how crazy I have become). Needless to say, this changed my course for completing my nutrition consultant program.  I was sleep deprived to say the least, as I spent most of my hours watching Mikey.  I was fortunate to be granted a 6 month extension to complete my work.  Although my life was crazier than ever, I felt even more determined to complete my course and learn as much as I could about nutrition, to not only help Mikey, but also the mothers like me who were caring for children like Mikey.  I am proud to say that I completed the course with honors.

Now back to this whole let’s start a family thing… seizures, put all of that on hold. So by the time I was in the headspace to try again I was already 41. It never actually occurred to me that I would have a problem conceiving because I was in good health, and well no one really talks about your egg health at gynecologist appointments.  We were not getting pregnant naturally and we did not have a lot of time to wait trying, so off to the specialist we went.  Over the course of one year, I had 6 unsuccessful IUI’s (Intrauterine insemination) and 1 unsuccessful IVF (Invitro Fertilization). I mean seriously, I thought I was due for a little break, I mean God haven’t I been through enough, can you throw me a bone here (or a baby).  IVF was difficult for me mentally, because of all the shots and medications involved and being someone who always tried to go the natural route, it just made me nervous because I was messing with my hormones.  It was emotionally and physically draining.  But I had to shut off any preconceived feelings I had about “drugs,” and not research it, and trust in my doctor and the process (which was a little hard at first), but I had to keep my eye on the prize, my little baby at the end of all of this.  I just knew that God had another one up there for me, so I did my part down here to get him to us.  On February 14. 2019, a month after my 42 birthday, I had my positive pregnancy test after my second IVF.  The BEST Valentine’s day gift EVER! On October 20, 2019, my baby boy Frankie was born, and I instantly forgot about every shot, every disappointed pregnancy test, none of it mattered, because my boy came to me exactly when he was meant to, and he is perfect.  

In my life I have experienced many moments that have brought me to my knees, but I am blessed that they have always been followed by Thank You Jesus Moments after.  What I have learned from all of my experiences is that life is always going to have it’s ups and downs, so when you are in an “up,” savor and appreciate it, and when you are in a, “down,” know it’s temporary and things will be looking up before you know it. I also learned that there times when, “modern medicine,” is a necessity, and we need to find that balance between, medicine and holistic approaches.  This is how I approach nutrition as well, there is no one size fits all approach. We each have our own biological needs and differences, and I try to work with my clients to find what is the right approach for them.

Thank you for stopping by and learning more about me, and my story. I hope to use this platform to share more about my experiences as well as share information on nutrition, supplements, beauty, home, and overall wellness.  This is my passion, and I am grateful to be able to share it with you.

xo

Chrissy

Me and Mikey

these pictures were taken at Frankie’s first birthday. It was a circus theme because I thought it was appropriate! Welcome to my circus :)