Cindy provides living proof of the wisdom of the adage, "Heal thyself." A childhood wrought with asthma, allergies, skin problems, intestinal disorders, and other recurrent illnesses led her to personally begin practicing herbal medicine and nutrition in the late 1970s. Much to her surprise (and her various physicians!), her medical issues disappeared. She went on to raise her two children on plant medicine and organic foods and has continued her health disciplines for 40 years, which she feels has enabled her to experience the degree of health and vitality she possesses today. Read her story:

"The doctors told me I would be on medication for the rest of my life and there was nothing anyone could do for me. I had been suffering with asthma and allergies since the age of 5, spending many frightening evenings alone in the hospital. Four allergy shots each week for many years did little to alleviate the constant battle with sneezing (which then, of course, led to wheezing), and because of the chronic overuse of Benedryl it no longer had any effect. The eczema on my body had spread nearly everywhere. The steroidal creams and ultraviolet light treatments barely kept it under control, while the black tar ointment my mom applied smelled just awful. The constipation was so severe it would occasionally tear my rectum when the bowels did move, so as a child I was hospitalized several times undergoing upper and lower GIs after not having a movement for nearly two weeks' time. The recurrent kidney infections meant I would miss even more school, and the dye used in one of the medical procedures to study my kidneys caused my body to go into anaphylactic shock. Chronic ear, throat, and lower respiratory infections, and boils in my armpits meant constant antibiotic and steroid use that lead to recurring yeast issues.

Desperately seeking anything that would help, I turned to herbal medicine. After meeting a practitioner who studied herbalism and naturopathy in Germany, he taught me how to heal my body in less than one year, versus simply masking the symptoms. In 1979 I attended my first holistic health seminar. Afterward, I asked the speaker how he came to be so knowledgeable in a field where there was no formal training. He told me he studied Native American herbalism and teachings from the earliest publications he could find, some even on microfiche, and then would put into practice what he learned.

Thus, during the next several years I studied every spare moment I could and practiced healing my family and friends. I raised two children on herbal medicine and with healthy diets (much different than the "party store diet" I was raised on.) I read book after book on holistic health and healing, easily studying 500 or more resources during the late 1970s and early to mid 1980s. As a result of this new-found knowledge and a passion to share healing, I opened my first practice in 1983 in Hartland, Michigan on highway M-59 -- the Center for Traditional Folk Remedies. I became somewhat of a local celebrity and people flocked to my door. Later I moved my practice to Brighton and, ultimately, to Ann Arbor in 1989. My office has been in The Parkway Center since 1997."