Today, my life is… thriving.
On my best days now, it still amazes me how far I’ve come.
My name is Jamie, I’m from Michigan, and today I am a thriving wife, mom, friend, coworker, and woman of deep faith. I enjoy life in ways I never imagined possible. I laugh—big belly laughs. I eat real meals. I take trips. I play outside with my kids. I live fully.
But just a few years ago, my life felt like it was slipping away.
Life Before DNRS: Isolation, Exhaustion, and No Answers
My health challenges impacted every relationship I had—especially with my husband and our children. I couldn’t care for them, engage with them, or truly be present. I wasn’t able to be a wife or a mother in the way my heart longed to be. Instead, I went from appointment to appointment searching for answers that never came.
I lived with a long, overwhelming list of conditions that grew longer with every medical visit:
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Food sensitivities, intolerances, and allergies
• Chronic abdominal pain
• Erosive Gastritis
• SIBO/SIFO
• Parasitic, bacterial & fungal infections
• Insomnia
• Leaky gut syndrome
• Chronic constipation
• Heavy metal toxicity
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Hormonal imbalances
• Cold/heat intolerance
• Sound and touch sensitivities
The symptoms consumed my life. I was in chronic pain all day, all night, with no sign of relief. I could barely walk to the bathroom. I needed help to shower, and even the feeling of water on my skin created more pain. My nervous system was raw and overwhelmed.
I was mentally and emotionally depleted—deeply depressed, isolated, and experiencing suicidal thoughts. I couldn’t be a mom, a wife, a friend, or even myself. My body and mind slipped into pure survival mode.
I was down to 88 pounds and could tolerate only five foods. Eating became something I dreaded. I ate because I knew I had to, not because I wanted to.
I couldn’t work.
I couldn’t drive.
I couldn’t hold a conversation.
I couldn’t even focus on TV.
My world had shrunk to the space of my bed and the next medical appointment.
I visited countless doctors, but nothing changed. The medications didn’t help.
At one point, my gastroenterologist recommended a feeding tube, because my body could no longer tolerate or digest food. Deep down, I knew that wasn’t my path. I knew I needed something different, even if I didn’t yet know what that was.
Doctors kept stacking tests on top of tests, all showing only minor issues while my symptoms worsened. Medications piled up—none helping.
Then my gastroenterologist delivered the blow that shattered me:
“We need to consider a feeding tube to save your life.”
I felt humiliated, terrified, and defeated. In the medical world I was labeled “failure to thrive.”
I internalized it deeply, believing I was failing at living.
But my family—especially my mom—held onto hope when I couldn’t. She advocated for me fiercely, praying for new answers. Eventually, she found a functional medicine team called Outside the Box FM, and everything about that name resonated. I desperately needed a new direction.
Their doctors took me seriously. They listened. They cared. They ran thorough tests and uncovered a long list of infections and imbalances that explained so much. I followed liquid-only diets and endless protocols, yet nothing made my symptoms better.
But then something new appeared on the horizon.
Finding DNRS: A Spark of Hope in a Hopeless Season
Eventually, I connected with a group of functional and naturopathic physicians who suggested something new—DNRS. They had just learned about the program and believed it might help me. I was skeptical. I didn’t think I had the energy or mental capacity to take on something so different. But nothing I’d tried before had worked. So I chose different. And almost immediately, something shifted. The first big change wasn’t physical; it was emotional. I felt a lift of hope. I realized: This was not my fault. I was not a failure. And I had the ability to change how I experienced life.
Learning, Laughing, and Rebuilding My Life
From day one, I committed fully. I enrolled in a 12-week coaching class, which propelled my mindset forward. I immersed myself in the community forum, where the authenticity of others helped me feel understood for the first time.
And then there were the Share Laugh classes—one of the most surprising gifts of all. When I started DNRS, I didn’t even know how to smile anymore. Now? I belly laugh. Often. And it has been one of the most healing, life-giving parts of my journey.
I also connected with another participant from my very first class. We still do rounds together twice a week. That connection has been one of the greatest blessings of this entire experience.
Real Changes: One Small Shift at a Time
About three months in, I noticed my first physical shifts:
• I could swallow food comfortably again.
• I didn’t need to grind everything I ate.
• I could drink water without discomfort.
• I gained 12 pounds in three months.
• I could sleep lying flat again.
• I began talking about the future again.
By the one year mark, I had gained 50 pounds, my cheeks returned! I was off 16+ medications and supplements, I was eating regular meals, food started to look and smell good, and I tried new foods with excitement rather than fear.
I truly began to recognize myself again—only stronger, more hopeful, and more alive.
What My Life Looks Like Now:
• I began rebuilding my strength, confidence, and independence.
• I function and am present in my life.
• I have reclaimed my faith and connection with God.
• I am able to be a mom, a wife, a friend, a coworker
• I take walks, hikes, ride my bike, swim, and play.
• I seek out connection with others.
• I am back in person at my employment.
• I drive everywhere.
• I cook and bake for my family.
• I enjoy having a meal with others and enjoy the act of eating.
• I belly laugh and it feels so good!
• I am learning to love again: Love life, love my family, love the little moments that are really the big moments in life.
• I travel. I have taken week-long trips.
• I camp.
• I can go out to a restaurant. I have eaten out with others, had food prepared for me and felt calm, relaxed and normal.
• I have gone on school field trips, taken my daughter to a rock concert.
• I play with my animals, especially with my dog.
• I seek out the joy of each day.
• I have rediscovered my love for music, dancing, being in nature, connecting with others and my pets.
• I have tools for life that I can always rely on.
Living Fully Again
Today, my life is overflowing with things I once thought I’d never do again:
I take walks.
I bike.
I swim.
I travel.
I even took my daughter to a rock concert recently.
And perhaps the most beautiful part? My kids are re-engaging with me—laughing, talking, smiling. We laugh together now. Their joy reflects the changes they’ve seen in me.
The Sky Is the Limit
It is with heartfelt gratitude that I am reclaiming my life through the DNRS program. It was an answer to prayer, to think outside the box for me. I give all the credit to my healing journey to God and Annie for this opportunity.
DNRS didn’t just give me my health back. It gave me my life back. Small, incremental changes became massive, meaningful transformation. And now, the sky truly feels like the limit.
I am endlessly grateful for Annie and for DNRS for giving me hope, and giving me a future I couldn’t imagine before.
