Awaken your body’s innate capacity to heal.

Ultimately, I had to question what I had always been taught. Raised in a large Italian-German family with a deep trust in traditional medicine, stepping beyond it meant going against the grain. But after more than a decade of hands-on experience within the American medical system, I knew I would not find the long-term recovery I was seeking from chronic illness there. It could treat acute illness and manage some symptoms—but I was no longer willing to spend the rest of my life masking those symptoms while living only a fraction of my life. I wanted more than symptom management. I wanted to understand what was driving my illness, to restore my health, and reclaim my life.

That decision began an incredible unfolding. By surrendering what I thought I knew and embracing a whole-body approach, rather than a compartmentalized mindset, I began to understand healing differently—and to recover significantly, against extraordinary odds. I have come back from a multitude of deeply debilitating, long-term diagnoses that nearly ended my life. Although I am still healing, I now understand how much can change when we begin connecting the whole story. Had I understood these connections sooner, my path would have been far shorter and less painful. This is why I created Awareness Rising Wellness: to raise awareness around whole-body restoration and help others regain a sense of newfound direction, possibility, and control within their own health journeys. After all, these are our lives—and we deserve the knowledge, power, and possibility to reclaim them and live vibrantly.

My understanding was not learned from books, lectures, research, and clinical studies alone. It was forged through nearly 18 years of serious, debilitating illnesses that took me from a full, active life to being completely bedridden and unable to function or participate in the everyday world. Personally, I know how frightening and exhausting it is to watch life become unrecognizable while answers remain out of reach. But I also know that greater knowledge and understanding can illuminate a path forward—and that even after years of struggle, hope can begin to rise again.

To recover, I had to stop viewing my symptoms in isolation and begin connecting the whole story: body, brain, nervous system, environment, emotional/mental health, and the foundations that make healing possible. I also discovered that recovery is not only physical—prayer, meditation, reflection, nature, laughter, and a deepening relationship with a Higher Power became essential parts of that healing—restoring strength, peace, and hope through some of my darkest seasons.