A simple head cold was brushed off as an inconvenience to her ‘high achiever fever’ career, and she returned to work without properly recovering. A chronic cough resulted in her larynx [vocal box which allows air to travel through to the windpipe] becoming inflamed. This obstructed the air she needed to breathe. Struggling to breathe was a challenge, and it also resulted in losing the main tool that she used for work every day, her voice. Back and forth to general practitioners, with an overprescription of antibiotics, along with an emergency referral to an ENT, the inflamed larynx was diagnosed as laryngopharyngeal reflux. This diagnosis did not sit comfortably with Bridget and she was prescribed Somac, a well-known stomach acid reduction medication to ‘fix’ the larynx. This medication is what resulted in a pharmacological reaction; a severe bacterial overgrowth in her intestines, low white cells, and a 16kg weight loss in 8 weeks. Bridget experienced chronic pain throughout her entire body, was unable to eat, deemed clinically anorexic at 40kgs, and was suffering from marasmus. Marasmus is when the body can no longer absorb the nutrients from the intestinal tract. As a result, muscle, memory, hormones, vital organs, and fat storage were wasted away, leading to starvation, and ultimately a point of anorexia.

Her body had completely shut down - a systemic reaction occurred.

So Bridget ventured further afield and devoured the internet, blog posts, books, medical articles, and social media posts. She studied and consulted with alternative practitioners to understand how to regulate and rebalance the body. However, it was not until she discovered the works of Dr. Natasha Campbell Mc-Bride (MD) and scientist, Robert Gourlay from PHION, that she realised the only solution to overcome this hardship was to ensure that:

Her gut microbiota was rebalanced, as this is the home to health and immunity.
Her internal organs were clear of obstructions.
Her detoxification pathways were active.
Her toxic exposure was reduced.

From here, she completely walked away from the conventional medical system. As an educator, Bridget discovered that there was more power in unlearning than learning and commenced working with functional practitioners (nutritionists, naturopaths, acupuncturists, colon therapists, and scientists). This was the beginning of her healing journey.