Overcoming Chronic Illness (with Georgia Eastley) PART1

On this episode, host Karianne Jean is joined by friend, Certified Body Code, Emotion Code, NLP and EFT practitioner & chronic illness survivor Georgia Eastley to talk about her incredible journey through 9years of debilitating chronic illness that left her bedridden for majority of her teen years into her early twenties.

In part 1 of this 2 part conversation, Georgia opens up about her symptoms, what she believes caused them and how she found the strength to continue on day after day for 9 years of pain and illness that plagued her every moment.

Stay tuned for PART2 where she discusses how she found a path to healing and the therapies and doctors that guided her back to wellness.

Transcript

[00:03] Karianne: Welcome to Grounding Elevation, the podcast for open minds and open hearts to dig a little deeper and ascend a little higher on a quest to tap into our limitless potential, mind, body and soul. I'm Carrie Ann Jean. Mom, wife, daughter, sister, artist, writer, learner, rebel, entrepreneur, psychology enthusiast. I have a deep passion for self improvement that has sent me down many roads of growth and learning and unlearning. I believe that God, universe, whatever you call the highest power, the source from where we all have come from, it speaks and it all but yelled at me to do this podcast. This is my leap of faith in spite of my insecurities and self doubt and humanness. So here we go. Join us weekly as we embark together on a Grounding elevation. Welcome back. Thank you so much for listening. Today we have a very special treat. We have Georgia Easley here with us. Did I say your last name right?

[01:06] Georgia: I think you did.

[01:07] Karianne: Okay. You're looking at me funny, so I'm like, did I not say it right? She has an unbelievable story of healing that I think will resonate with everyone. Anybody who's had any kind of illness or chronic illness or even acute illness to be able to overcome adversity in any way, I think this is going to really resonate with everyone. So I'm super excited to have her. We've been trying to do this for so many months. The stars are finally aligned. So we're very excited to have her. Please welcome Georgia.

[01:46] Georgia: Thank you for having me.

[01:47] Karianne: Our Australian native.

[01:50] Georgia: Yes.

[01:51] Karianne: So you have a crazy story. It's almost unbelievable. You probably wouldn't believe it if it wasn't your life.

[02:01] Georgia: If I didn't live it? No. It's a lot.

[02:04] Karianne: So tell us about. Tell us about kind of how it started, because when I met you, we met, like, online friends. Right. How did I meet someone on the other side of the world?

[02:16] Georgia: Crazy.

[02:17] Karianne: You found my music one. Somehow the universe dropped it right into your lap. When I met you, you were chronically ill. Like, you thought you were gonna die.

[02:32] Georgia: Yeah.

[02:32] Karianne: Like, I mean, we're all gonna die, but you thought you were gonna die, like, soon.

[02:37] Georgia: Yeah.

[02:38] Karianne: And, like, music was the only thing that was, like, kind of.

[02:41] Georgia: It was a comfort.

[02:43] Karianne: Comforting. Helping you in any way. So take us all the way back to just, like, growing up. Like, when did you start having health problems, noticing your health decline? Kind of. What did that look like?

[02:56] Georgia: Yeah, absolutely. So I had a really normal childhood. Like, the best childhood. I wouldn't change anything about it. Like, really supportive, loving family of, like, my parents and older Brother and sister. We live on a farm, so it was growing up, helping on the farm. Loved school, did really well at school. The weekends were all for sport. Like it was just the perfect, perfect childhood. We would go away camping in the summer, like on the weekends and then winters we'd go snow whisking. So it was just everything? Yes, amazing. And then when I was 15, it suddenly just changed overnight. I was playing basketball and I had never had asthma or anything like that, but I was playing and I had what they called an asthma attack on the court. So I was taken to the hospital and put on like oxygen and waited for the attack to subside and then went home and slept and had like the worst headache ever and just felt like I had been run over by a truck for like days following. And so I woke up that morning, life was as it had always been, and then went to sleep that night knowing that there was something wrong with me.

[04:23] Karianne: And this wasn't like a cold, right? Like this wasn't like a virus or something like that? No.

[04:30] Georgia: So even the attack was strange. Like it was. I couldn't breathe obviously, but my arms and legs like couldn't move and they were at like weird angles and spasming, like very light headed. Headache, nauseous. It was all of these different symptoms all at once. I was literally just running down a basketball court like I'd done hundreds of times before. Just all of a sudden and just all of a sudden hit me and I had to be like carried off the court and to the car to go to the hospital. So it was a lot. And then these attacks started to happen more regularly. So I used to play a sport that's really popular in Australia called netball and it would start happening there. And netball is played in the middle of winter, in the morning time, outside, cold, very cold. You're in a really short skirt and the top, so like you're freezing. And that wasn't great for these attacks because that cold just added an element to it.

[05:32] Karianne: But it wasn't caused by the cold.

[05:34] Georgia: It just made it worse. No, but at the time, like we thought it was asthma and it just seemed to like bring it on. But then the attack started happening when I was sitting in the classroom, at school, at lunchtime, with friends, even just at home watching television. So it wasn't like there wasn't a trigger to it that we could figure out. So that kind of happened for months on end and every time it was the same symptoms, like the spasming, the breathing, everything just at once. And then for days, or like, even a week afterwards, I just couldn't get out of bed. Was sleeping, like, 22 hours a day. Like, I just couldn't move. And when I was awake, it felt like all my limbs were so heavy and I just. I couldn't move. So the ambulances were always being called to school. I had to give up netball. I got down to being able to play, like, a minute of basketball, a quarter, and then these attacks would start. So it was a lot. And then finally, like, one of the paramedics that came to school was like, it's not asthma and it's not a panic attack. Because at times, too, they thought it was. I was just having a panic attack, which I've had panic attacks since then. And it definitely was not a panic attack.

[06:52] Karianne: It was not that.

[06:53] Georgia: Definitely not. And, yeah, so they said I had to go and recommended that I go and see a lung specialist and get all the tests done. So we did that and the lung specialist was like, your lungs are perfectly healthy. There's definitely no asthma. And yet they couldn't be healthier if you tried.

[07:13] Karianne: Weird.

[07:14] Georgia: Yeah. So that had been.

[07:15] Karianne: So they couldn't find any indication that it was asthma at this point. They kept telling you it was, but then once they actually started testing, they were like, actually, it's not.

[07:23] Georgia: Yeah. And like, I did the Ventolin and everything and it was just getting worse and worse. So it got to the point.

[07:28] Karianne: So the treatments for asthma were not helping?

[07:31] Georgia: No, it just continued to get worse and more often and the attacks became more severe and took longer to recover afterwards. And, yeah, it just started happening any time of day, not just playing sport.

[07:46] Karianne: So bird's eye view. Looking back now, did anything change? Did anything happen? Did you encounter anything prior to that first attack that you think could have been a contributing factor?

[08:03] Georgia: So I always say I got sick at 15, but looking back now with what I know, I really think it started a few years earlier and there was just a few contributing factors that had an impact. Like, I remember I was 11 when I had a migraine for the first time. And then I lost someone really close to me when I was 11. So there was the grief aspect that I really didn't handle very well at the time. I tried to, like, push it aside.

[08:33] Karianne: And they say, like, in alternative medicine, like, what's the word for acupuncture type? Like, those principles, like, Western. Not Western, those types of principles, they say lung and grief, Right.

[08:50] Georgia: Are never thought of that.

[08:52] Karianne: Like, grief is bread in the lungs. Right? That's like, kind of that's true alternative when you look at the body and the emotions tied to the body.

[09:04] Georgia: Yeah, I had. I lost both great grandmothers when I was one. Was when I was 11 and one, I'd just turned 12 and I was extremely close with one, but close with like both of them. So like that grief where it was too much to deal with the grief at that time and I didn't know how to. So I kind of pushed it, pushed it down. And then I had a fall off my horse when I just turned 13 and had like a really bad concussion. Was in an induced coma for the night.

[09:37] Karianne: Oh, wow. That's a traumatic brain injury.

[09:39] Georgia: Yeah, they thought I had broken my neck and I went into fight or flight and turned into a whole different person. Like I had so much strength and aggravation in me that I would like aggression that I would never have. So they had to put me into the induced coma because all of that movement and stuff if I had a broken neck was not good for me.

[10:06] Karianne: And that's a. So you had a traumatic brain injury at. You said 13?

[10:09] Georgia: Yeah, I had just turned 13 and then 11.

[10:13] Karianne: You had. You just encountered a migraine for the first time. But you also had a lot of grief around that because you're. Your grand. Right.

[10:22] Georgia: That was like your.

[10:24] Karianne: Yeah, Nin. That's right. Yeah. That was like your person.

[10:28] Georgia: Yeah, she was like my best friend. So to lose that and I mean, she was 93 years old, but it's going to sound weird, but it was a huge shock to everybody that she died. Like, it was the person you thought would make it to 100 easily. So it was. It was the shock value of that. Like when I lost my other great grandmother, we knew it was coming. So as horrible as it was and sad as it was, you were prepared to a degree. So, yeah. And then the year after, I think it was after my horse fall, I started having like some hormonal issues with cysts and things on my ovaries. And I missed quite a few weeks of school with that. It was just like, just under the like size that it needed to be to operate. So, like the only thing we could do was wait and wait for them to go. But I missed out on the cervical cancer. Like, I think it was like the third cervical cancer vaccine while that was happening because I was away from school. And they came around the school and you'd get them done there. So I was off school that day with the cyst and missed it. So when I went to the doctors to get like the checkup on the cyst, they did the vaccine then. And I think because.

[11:51] Karianne: And that was the third dose of the.

[11:53] Georgia: I believe it was the third. Yeah. And because I think my immune system was already under pressure and there was so much going on in my body, I had a really bad reaction to that vaccine. And from that day on, like, that was kind of when the attacks started to happen. Like these asthma attacks started to happen.

[12:16] Karianne: Kind of everything compounding on itself.

[12:19] Georgia: I think there was just so many things. It's like if you take a, a beaker in science, right, and you, you put a little bit in it all, just at some point it overflows. And that is kind of where I got to, at that point where it was like too much and it just overflowed. And that's when the system, all the symptoms started to sneak in and yeah, my body just couldn't take it. It was way too much. So, yeah, it was a lot. And then obviously the attacks started to happen and from there, like it just kept snowballing.

[12:58] Karianne: So you had probably. How long, how long was it before you went to the lung doctor when these attacks started?

[13:06] Georgia: It would have been a few months.

[13:07] Karianne: I think so, just consistently happening.

[13:11] Georgia: Yeah, it was happening. It started off maybe it would happen once a month or something and then it was multiple, like a few times a week. For a while there it felt like the ambulance was having to be called to the school a lot. A lot. And yeah, it wasn't until the paramedic was like, you need to, there's something seriously going on right now. And it's not asthma and it's not anxiety. You need to like, find out what it is. You need to go and get all the tests done, go see a heart specialist.

[13:44] Karianne: So they run all the tests on you, they tell you it's not asthma. Did they give you any indication on what it was?

[13:51] Georgia: No, I remember that asthma, asthma specialist said, like, it's not asthma, but I can tell that you're really sick. And they were just like, go and demand all the tests at your doctor. So we kind of started that process of going to the doctors, like every week getting more tests done. Every test was coming back fine, quote, unquote normal. Yes. And it just got to the point where the doctors were like, well, it must be in your head. You're a 15, 16 year old girl. Like you're just seeking attention, you're jealous of your siblings, you just have no passion, you're depressed. Like all of, all of that.

[14:37] Karianne: Did any of that speak to you at all.

[14:40] Georgia: No, all of that was the opposite of who I am as a person. Like I'm introverted, so I hate, I hate the attention, take it away from me. And I am like extremely close to my brother and sister.

[14:55] Karianne: So you don't feel jealousy towards them?

[14:58] Georgia: Oh my goodness, no. And I am a very passionate person for things that I'm believe in. I feel like saying, sit and watch a football game with me for five minutes and you will see. I don't like passion. Like I can scream.

[15:14] Karianne: I have the passion.

[15:15] Georgia: Okay, Scream as well as anybody else at a football game. Like I.

[15:20] Karianne: When you had drives, you had goals, you liked school.

[15:24] Georgia: I knew from, gosh, grade eight what I wanted to do. When I graduated, I went and visited on a holiday the university that I wanted to attend. I took my parents with me and I knew the course. I had all the subjects picked out for year and 11 that I needed to get into that course. Like I was so driven. And I think in part that played into my health as well was that I am the overachiever type A personality. I'm a perfectionist, I need to get straight A's and if I don't, I'm failing. And I put a lot of stress on myself and it was all internal. Like nobody else was putting that pressure on me to succeed, but I needed to succeed internally. And so I do think part of getting sick was also that. And I have seen that a lot with chronically ill people. A lot of type A personalities, perfectionists like you do put so much pressure on yourself to succeed and that takes.

[16:26] Karianne: A stress that's cortisol and that's, yeah. Energetic and hormonal and. Yeah, so it was, it was definitely not what the doctors were telling you.

[16:35] Georgia: No, definitely not.

[16:37] Karianne: Clearly. Usually you don't have any drive or focus or passion and you're like, you don't know me at all. But thank you so much for telling me who I am.

[16:46] Georgia: Yeah, it was, it was tough though being like a 15 year old kid because I mean, that's the thing, you're still a kid, you're still a child. And being told that over and over and over again was. It kind of like planted that seed in my brain of, okay, like there's something wrong with me but nobody else. That's not true. My family and like close friends believe me, but like it felt like outside of that the whole world didn't. And so it became like this battle of needing to prove that I was sick, but also knowing internally there is something seriously wrong with me, like I could feel that it wasn't just a minor virus or something or like something that antibiotics or like rest would fix. Right. I could feel my body was like shutting down and like all of these new symptoms are coming on and it was terrifying. But to have that then be questioned and be like put the blame onto you when you're just a child, like it's like a lot.

[17:58] Karianne: Yeah.

[17:59] Georgia: And a lot of yeah.

[18:01] Karianne: So how did it escalate from there? You're having these attacks now. It's hard for you to go to school. They're getting more and more frequent now. You can't play the sports that you typically like to play, that you were really good at, that gave you purpose and all that. Now you're missing a lot of schools. It probably feels like you're behind.

[18:24] Georgia: That was one of the hardest thing was it got to the point where by the time I was 16, I was kind of at school for a week off in bed for a week. And like I said, I was a straight A student. So that was really difficult to then be missing all of these tests, be missing all these assignments and for the first time in my life, failing, like falling behind. Yeah, yeah. Like I remember the first time I did a test and I hadn't been there, but I still, some of the teachers were amazing and said, look, as long as you get all your assignments handed in by the one week left of term, that's fine. You don't need to hand them in when everybody else does it. I know you will do it.

[19:09] Karianne: More grades?

[19:10] Georgia: Yes. Other teachers were like, no, if you weren't here for that lesson, it doesn't matter. You're still sitting the test and you're doing it the same as everybody else. And I remember the first test I ever failed in my life was then for science. And I just felt like the biggest failure in the world. Like it was like so hard. But the week that I wasn't at school, I was in bed, I was sleeping 22 hours a day. I had the worst headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, I had the worst brain fog. My memory was just like a 90, 90 year olds, not 16 year olds. It was just you were sick. It was all of these symptoms. And the thing is it wasn't just one at a time, it was all the symptoms at once and it was never ending. Like it just constant. And then I would go to school and push myself for that week and then I'd have to sleep to make up for it. So I, yeah, I started losing the Ability to do everything that I'd done all my life. Like, I. I dropped. I had to drop netball first, and then I couldn't even do basketball. And I, like, no socializing, like, school was going down the drain. So it was like everything I'd worked hard for was just taken. And then.

[20:37] Karianne: Then you do get depressed.

[20:38] Georgia: Exactly. They said you're having all these symptoms.

[20:42] Karianne: Because you're clearly depressed and you're like, no, I'm not. And the symptoms continue. You're like, well, now I am.

[20:47] Georgia: Exactly. It was.

[20:48] Karianne: Nobody knows what's going on.

[20:49] Georgia: It was really scary being 15, 16 years old and having something that's very real happening to you, but nobody can tell you why it's happening or how to fix it. And so you would go to every doctor's appointment and you would have hope, oh, this doctor, he's going to know. He or she is going to know what's wrong with me. They're going to know how to fix it and then I'll get my life back. That's all I wanted was. I just wanted my old life back and that never happened. And, like, I went to hundreds of doctors and none of them knew. And it was just depressing, like, really depressing. I got to the point where I would, like, beg my mom and dad for me not to have to go to the doctors every week because I was like, they're not doing anything. How many.

[21:44] Karianne: Did any of them have any, like, solutions for you?

[21:48] Georgia: No, like, they.

[21:49] Karianne: They just were like, hey, we don't know what's wrong. Sorry. Best of luck.

[21:52] Georgia: Yeah, pretty much.

[21:54] Karianne: They didn't try anything.

[21:56] Georgia: There was one doctor, I think, by the time I was 16, I got diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. So we had done all the tests, nothing came back as abnormal. So it's kind of an, I guess, an umbrella term. And I remember the doctor was like, just go home, sleep well, eat well and just get on with your life. And by then I was, like, pretty much completely bedridden. There was like, how do I get on with my life when I can't get out of bed?

[22:30] Karianne: Right?

[22:31] Georgia: Like, these symptoms, like I said, we're just getting worse and just there constantly. And then just after that, we'd actually booked to go to America for a family vacation. And it was. We were going into Mexico for part of that, and it was when the swine flu was happening. So because my immune system was so under pressure already, we got this one flu vaccination and after that I was just completely bedridden pretty much straight away.

[23:07] Karianne: Kind of like the straw that broke the camel.

[23:09] Georgia: Yeah. It was just too much. And actually doctors after that were like, you can't get another vaccination in your life because it will either send me back to where my health was at the lowest or it will kill me because my body, after the, after the cervical cancer and then the swine flu, it sees it as like danger and it tries to shut it down.

[23:33] Karianne: Right.

[23:34] Georgia: And like, I just can't have that reaction. So we did come over to America. I spent a lot of it in bed and then others I like got through on adrenaline and it was the best time in my family. But as soon as I got home, I was completely bedridden for quite a few years after that. Like, it just years. I dropped out of school. I think I did one week of year 11 and then dropped out because I just, I couldn't. I had to quit my. I had a part time job that I loved and kind of, they were very understanding and very flexible that I could do it on the weeks that I felt kind of human. And so I had to quit that. I just. Everything in my life just.

[24:25] Karianne: So from 16 to 19, I was.

[24:32] Georgia: Pretty much 16 to 24. I was either bedridden or mostly bedridden.

[24:42] Karianne: So that's not a few years, that's eight years.

[24:45] Georgia: Yeah.

[24:47] Karianne: That's a long time.

[24:48] Georgia: It's a long time.

[24:50] Karianne: And in this time you're seeing doctors, they're all telling you basically that there's nothing wrong with you, which is just the most infuriating thing in the world when there is actually something wrong with you and you know that it's changed your whole life. Yeah, I actually, I was, I had like a panic attack and I went to urgent care and I was having heart palpitations. And it was something that they could see like on an ekg. They're like, oh, you are having a heart attack. Palpitations. So they sent me to a heart specialist.

[25:19] Georgia: Yeah.

[25:20] Karianne: And the heart specialist was like, there's nothing wrong with your heart. Your heart is perfectly healthy. Everything's fine. And I'm like, well then why is it doing this? You know? And he was like, you know, do you find yourself to be somewhat of an anxious person? And I was like, maybe. And I, you know, asked all these questions and. And they were like, look, we run all the tests like, there's nothing wrong with your heart. And I didn't leave there going, no, there's something wrong with me. I can feel it. I left there going, oh, so it's my anxiety that's doing this. And I think that that's a really. If that's the case, if it is a mental health situation that's causing physical manifestations in your conscious mind, that's a common reaction. Right. I wasn't leaving going, no, you guys aren't listening to me. I left going, well, ****. Yes, it is my anxiety. And I found that when I lowered my anxiety levels and took it from the approach of, like, handling the anxiety, rather handling, you know, my physical manifestations, it went away.

[26:33] Georgia: Yes.

[26:34] Karianne: Over time, it went away. And obviously I didn't want to be feeling that. You didn't want to be feeling that. So you were obviously going home, going, okay, maybe it is this. Like, maybe I do need to just push through. And you would.

[26:47] Georgia: That's. That's a really good point. The pushing through that contributed so much to how low my health got. Because at that beginning those first few years, maybe like 15 to 17. Right. I pushed so hard to just get through.

[27:05] Karianne: But you had to push just to go to school.

[27:07] Georgia: Yes.

[27:08] Karianne: Not. That's not normal. That's not. Everything's fine.

[27:12] Georgia: No. And it was like, there was definitely a plant seeded in my brain of, maybe this is just my fault. Maybe it is. Like, maybe I just need to push through the pain barrier and get on with it. And, like, just. I was so desperate to have my old life back that I was like.

[27:33] Karianne: You would have done anything.

[27:34] Georgia: Pushing through. Like, I'll get it. I'll get it. It'll pass. I was in denial about the fact that, okay, there's something seriously happening. Whether the doctors know what it is or not, there is something major happening. So, yeah, that was. I learned going forwards that I had to listen to my body and get that balance right. Of, yes, pushing, but not so that it's detrimental to my health. But that took many, many.

[28:06] Karianne: Well, there's pushing and just trying to ignore. Right. Which is what you were trying to do because that's what everyone was telling you to do.

[28:13] Georgia: Yeah.

[28:13] Karianne: They're like, just ignore it. Like, it'll be fine. It'll pass. Because they're thinking, oh, she's just a little blue because the boy she likes at school doesn't like her back. Or, you know, they're, like, thinking on such a small scale.

[28:24] Georgia: Yeah.

[28:25] Karianne: Oh, she's a typical teenage girl. And these are the issues that a teenage. Right. Like, they're thinking on. On that without knowing you. Right. Like, without having any kind of personal care because they don't know you as a person. They don't. They can't treat you in a holistic way because they don't know anything about you. They know what the tests say. But, like, I had this feeling of, like, relief.

[28:46] Georgia: Yes.

[28:47] Karianne: Right. Like, I think that's. I think that's the big difference. Because your mental health does affect your physical body.

[28:54] Georgia: Oh, absolutely.

[28:54] Karianne: 1,000%. But when it is something like that, when it is like, oh, you're stressed, lower your stress levels and you'll feel better, or, oh, you. You know, this is caused by anxiety. Your mind is creating these symptoms inside your body. There's a sense of, okay, yes, there's nothing wrong with me. Someone skilled has confirmed that. Right. Like, and anxiety, too, as well as depression, are fueled by physical. It, like, keeps the cycle going. Right. Like, yeah, I feel anxious. I'm having a physical response now I'm anxious about the physical response. Right. And I'm having more of a physical response, and now I'm more anxious about the physical response. And now it's happening more. Right. Like that. Can. I don't discount that at all, because that. I've experienced that myself.

[29:43] Georgia: I get that.

[29:45] Karianne: But that was not your experience, and you were very clear about that.

[29:49] Georgia: Yeah.

[29:50] Karianne: With all of these doctors, and just nobody was really listening. Listening to you.

[29:53] Georgia: No. It got to the point where pretty much every doctor's appointment went the same. I would go in, and there was always, like, my parents or my siblings with me, and they would either not look at me, they would just talk directly to whichever family member was with me as if I was not there, or they would just look at the ceiling or the ground. And it started off for those first couple of years where there's nothing wrong with you. It's all in your head, blah, blah, blah. And then when I got to about the end of 17, like, age 17, close to 18, it changed, and it was no longer, there's nothing wrong with you. It was. There's something serious wrong with you. You're too sick. Your body is beginning to shut down, and there's nothing we can do to help you. Your case is too complex that we don't know what's happening.

[30:49] Karianne: Right.

[30:50] Georgia: But it's. It's happening, and there's nothing we can do. And so, like, my family were amazing, and they just kept trying to find me new doctors. They just never gave up avenues to go to. And everyone was the same. And some of them were really, like, sympathetic and empathetic about it and were like, we're so sorry. There's just nothing we can do. Your case is too complex. Try this doctor. And we'd do that. And it was just the same, same thing. And by then, another symptom I had was like excruciating pain. When I ate, even if it was just a tablespoon of food, it was rolling around in agony. And so I went quite a long time without eating. I went, I think it was maybe 18 months without eating anything because the pain was just too extreme. And then for quite a few years after that, until I was 24, I would maybe have a mouthful of food a day, maybe two.

[31:51] Karianne: It's enough to keep you alive, essentially.

[31:53] Georgia: Yeah. So the doctors were saying at that point I was a polar bear and my body had shut down and it was hibernating and if I could stay hydrated, I had a chance of survival. And so it was just keeping my hydration up and that was, that was all. And so I lost a lot of weight. That added more stigma to so much stigma already because then people like, oh, you're choosing not to eat your, you have an eating disorder. As if an eating disorder isn't a serious condition in itself. That deserves respect and right and understanding to work through it. But it was like, no, I mean agony. And I think if anybody was in excruciating pain every day, you don't want to be in excruciating pain. You avoid what causes that pain. And if eating is causing you to just be like screaming in pain, you're.

[32:51] Karianne: Not going to do it.

[32:52] Georgia: You're not going to do it.

[32:53] Karianne: There's only so much like, especially acute, rapid, sharp physical pain. Right. There's only so much pain your body can endure before it makes a change.

[33:05] Georgia: Yes.

[33:06] Karianne: Right. Like mentally, you, you don't want to inflict pain on yourself.

[33:10] Georgia: No.

[33:11] Karianne: And it's so funny that all of a sudden you're like, I've been bedridden for years and now you think I have an eating disorder. Like, I'm not even seeing any. No one sees me. No, I, I'm in bed all day. What are you talking about? No, it was, that's just so indicative of like anti personal care.

[33:32] Georgia: Yeah, it was. And that came from like, just random comments from people in the like, community and things like that. Like, oh, I don't know why you're choosing to do this. Like, I'm not choosing anything right now. Like this, this isn't a choice. Everything that was happening at any point.

[33:52] Karianne: Out of my control over those eight years. At any point, did you find anybody who was able to give you any kind of like, support? Like as Far as doctors are concerned.

[34:03] Georgia: Like, I found a few incredible ones in Australia. It took me a long time and then by some miracle I found them all at the same time.

[34:11] Karianne: So it was like, when is this around age wise?

[34:13] Georgia: I think I was maybe 19 or 20, possibly it all like blurs into one. But I found an osteopath that was incredible. Just kind of helped give some relief to my muscles and the pain. But also she became a friend and kind of like a psychologist in a way that she was one of the very few people that I could actually talk to about.

[34:38] Karianne: She was actually listening to you and treating you like a human being.

[34:42] Georgia: Absolutely. And then I had a Chinese medicine doctor who was great. He, it was like I maybe would have relief for five minutes to start with after a thing, but after years of excruciating pain, 24, seven, you take five minutes. Like it's amazing. And it got to the point where, you know, if I felt like I was having a virus coming on or something, he would get me in straight away and just help me through. So he was great. And then like I had a couple of chiropractors as well. And then I had a chronic fatigue specialist in a different state. And he was incredible, very supportive, tried everything. He mixed it like western medicine with like supplements and just he got me onto trial drugs from Germany. I think it was like there was very few people in Australia approved for it and he got me onto that to try and help repair my gut a bit. But he was just very supportive. Nothing was ever questioned in terms of my symptoms. It was like, I am feeling this and he's like believed it 100%. It wasn't have to prove it trying.

[35:58] Karianne: To figure out if you were lying or not. It was trying to figure out how to help you.

[36:01] Georgia: Yes, it was always about really nice, above and beyond with the support, not just to me, but to my immediate family as well, because they were there every step of the way. Like, it didn't, this didn't just happen to me, it happened to them as well. So he was incredible. And he, I always say he saved my life and no, he kept me alive until I ended up coming. I, spoiler alert, went to America and ended up getting treatment. And so he kept me alive somehow for those years where honestly it was against all odds. I don't know how but. And I think just finally having a group of professionals that believed in me completely, that knew I was not faking, that they didn't know what was happening or why it was happening, but they believed it. And they supported it and that was all I needed. Like, to stay alive. Yes.

[37:04] Karianne: Not to fix the problem. They didn't, they weren't able to fix what was going on necessarily, but at the very least they were able to manage your pain and manage your symptoms.

[37:17] Georgia: Help manage it and just, and just keep you going. Yeah. And they would, you know, when I was really struggling, they would offer that support, that encouragement, like that belief, like, you're gonna, you're gonna get through this. Like, you're very strong, you're brave. You can, you can do this. Like, we will help, we'll keep trying to help you.

[37:36] Karianne: They spoke life into you instead of speaking doubt and, and bs.

[37:42] Georgia: Yeah.

[37:43] Karianne: That you had been getting for so long.

[37:45] Georgia: Yeah.

[37:45] Karianne: That's amazing.

[37:46] Georgia: I know. It gave me hope for the first time.

[37:51] Karianne: So you have a handful of years where you've got these doctors supporting you. They, they aren't fixing anything. You're not radically better, but you're alive, which is more than any other of the doctors could say. They thought you were a goner, essentially. So take me to, take me forward to like, what, whatever your breakthrough moment was that led you to finding the treatment that you're able to find in America.

[38:29] Georgia: So it came after my lowest, lowest night of my life. It was just setting the scene for where I was at health wise before that. I ended up having quite a few diagnoses by then. So I had endometriosis. I had two surgeries for that in the nine months leading up to then. I had depression, severe depression, extreme anxiety, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue.

[38:59] Karianne: Like there was a whole host of diagnoses.

[39:02] Georgia: Yes. Okay. And we, like, there was Lyme disease under the surface, like all this stuff that we just was happening that we didn't know for sure was happening. I was in a really tough spot where outside of my family and a few close friends, like, I just felt like nobody believed or supported. And after nine years of that, like, I was just at my lowest spot. The doctors that I had that were so incredible and I'm forever grateful for, like, they weren't able to help anymore because, you know, my body was shutting down and they just, there was just nothing else that they could do. They tried everything and it just wasn't working. So I'd run out of options. In Australia, I was at the point mentally where I was exhausted after nine years and I'd always tried to be positive and strong and just get through. And I was like, I. I'm just exhausted. I've tried everything. I had no hope. I had just turned 24 years old and truly didn't believe I'd make it to my 25th birthday. So that night, I kind of wrote. I kind of came to acceptance of where I was at and that there was nothing in Australia and that I was gonna die, most likely. And I remember I wrote letters to my family in case that happened. And then, yeah, I. By some miracle, the next day, I came across an alternative health clinic in America, and we went over there for three weeks. And, yeah, I just started my healing journey.

[41:10] Karianne: This. And this is a part of your story that I know, that I want to make sure you touch on, because it gives me the goosey bumpies all the time. So you. You were very close with your nan, who passed when you were 11, right here at grounding elevation, we believe in the spiritual side of things. You don't have to worry about scaring anybody. But you had, like, on that low night, you had reached out to her, right, like you were talking to her?

[41:38] Georgia: Yeah. So back then, I never let myself cry. I think I can probably count on, gosh, two hands, the amount of times I cried in that nine years. And that was partly my depression, but it was also. I knew that if I let myself feel those emotions, it was so big that I just.

[42:00] Karianne: You were scared.

[42:01] Georgia: Recover. And so I never let myself cry. But that night I did. I cried myself to sleep and I just kind of prayed and talked out loud to Nan and just basically said, like, I've done it all. Like, I've tried so hard. I've tried everything. I've tried to be strong. I've tried to get through, but, like, nothing's working. And if I don't, I didn't have any hope left. So I said, like, I just need the tiniest glimmer of hope and I'll keep fighting, but without that, I don't. Like, I don't know what else to do. I was like, if something doesn't happen, I'm going to be with you soon. And I don't. I don't want to be like, yeah, I don't want to die at 24. Like, that can't be my life purpose. Like, get sick at 15, die at 24. Like, it just. It can't be what my purpose in life is. And, yes, I kind of just begged for something, any bit of hope, and fell asleep crying.

[43:06] Karianne: And then it was the next day that you found this alternative, like, healing center, Is that right?

[43:12] Georgia: Yeah, that's correct. Yeah. It all fell into place. Thanks, Anne.

[43:17] Karianne: Thanks, man. Oh, come on. That's good. I mean, I just, I love that because I love any, any, like, winks or to me, it's proof. But any winks that, like, our loved ones are still with us and they're listening and they're supporting and they're guiding us. Like, I feel like that gives hope to a lot of people too.

[43:43] Georgia: It gave me a lot of strength too, because leading up to that, like, before any big doctor's appointment, like, I would just kind of, I guess be like, help me out here, like, get me through this. So it definitely.

[43:58] Karianne: She was like a sense of comfort.

[43:59] Georgia: Gave me strength because I think before she died, like, she was someone that saw the best in me and, like, always believed in me more than I could ever believe in myself. So it was like. And I needed that. I needed to harness that belief to get me through. So it definitely gave me a lot of comfort and strength to get through those crazy years.

[44:26] Karianne: Thanks, man. So we're going to pause here and this will be a two part interview because I want to share with everybody all the amazing things that you had to go through essentially to heal. Um, you've done so many different therapies and they all played a role in your healing.

[44:55] Georgia: Yeah. I mean, and that healing journey has been just as long as.

[45:00] Karianne: Yeah, right. It was, it was a total thing. So we're going to do part two. Spoiler alert. Part two is much more uplifting than part one. Um, and we'll get into what was going on, how they figured it out and what led you to now. You're rocking and rolling. You're here in America, you're working, you're working towards your degree in psychology. You're healthy and you can eat.

[45:39] Georgia: Yeah.

[45:40] Karianne: And, and you have been excited exploring the United States for the better part of this last year.

[45:46] Georgia: Yeah.

[45:47] Karianne: And you're living a very, not just normal, but like a thriving life.

[45:53] Georgia: Yeah. At this point, it's crazy how it's changed.

[45:56] Karianne: It's. It's night and day. So we will talk in part two. Stay tuned next week for part two of George's story, her healing journey.