The Functional Nurse Academy Podcast

Specializing in ADHD and Autism as a Functional Nurse: Chelsey's Story

• Melissa Schreibfeder • Episode 25

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This episode is brought to you by Functional Nurse Academy

 Autism rates in the U.S. are skyrocketing, and functional medicine offers a holistic approach to addressing potential root causes like gut health, toxicity, and inflammation. In this episode, I speak with functional nurse Chelsey Rozeboom, founder of Solid Foundation Functional Health, to discuss how she successfully helped her autistic son improve through dietary, lifestyle, and detox interventions. After seeing firsthand what was possible, Chelsey went on to build a functional medicine practice where she now helps other children and families navigate autism and complex chronic conditions using a root-cause approach. Tune in to learn how functional medicine is transforming autism care and offering hope to families. 

Check out Chelsey’s practice here www.solidfoundationfh.com

Functional medicine training for all other healthcare specialties and health and wellness coaches:

This show is also syndicated every Tuesday at 10am EST on The Nurses Report on America Out Loud Talk Radio 



SPEAKER_01

Hello, and welcome to the Functional Nurse Academy podcast. This is your host, Melissa Schreibe, owner and founder of the Functional Nurse Academy. Welcome everyone, as always. So excited to be here with you guys today. I always love when I get the opportunity to interview one of my graduates at the Functional Nurse Academy, and I have been wanting to do a show for some time now on autism and how we can help this population through holistic strategies and then talking about, you know, potential um factors that can contribute to autism because we know that it used to be exceedingly rare. One in 10,000. And the last statistics, which I believe are from around 2012, were one in 35. And it is not just because solely because we're diagnosing it more. There's something absolutely going on, and it's something that we should be talking about and addressing. So my host today is, I'm sorry, it's the pregnancy brand, guys. If I ever say something that does not make sense, that's why. My guest today is Chelsea Roseboom. Chelsea, sorry if I mispronounce your name. Chelsea is a functional nurse. She is the founder of Solid Foundation Functional Health and a passionate advocate for children with ADHD and autism. As a mother of four, including a child with autism, she understands firsthand the challenges and triumphs of raising neurodiverse children. Through her own journey, she discovered the power of holistic care to create balance, build resilience, and foster growth. With years of experience in the healthcare field, Chelsea combines her professional expertise with her personal experience to offer practical, mindful strategies to help children thrive. Welcome, Chelsea. Hello, thank you. I'm so glad to be here. Well, I'm so excited to have you. So I know we connected, I think it was a week ago. So I have a functional medicine for nurses Facebook group, and you were mentioning how you have an autistic child and you did so many things to help with uh your child's recovery and you know, decrease the autism symptoms. And I was just thinking, what a blessing to be able to um help your child so much through, you know, not just so many people just follow along with everything conventional medicine says, not realizing that conventional medicine is so outdated. So um happy to have you here. I did want to um start off. Um, can you start off by um telling us a little bit about that like initial autism diagnosis? Like, did you notice that the symptoms were triggered by something else? How did all of this happen?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, absolutely. So my son, um, he's five now. He was um a typical little kid. Um, he developed pretty normally until around uh a year old. Um between a year old and his 18 months, he was still progressing in all the typical ways physically, um, but emotionally and with speech, there was pretty much no progression. Um, he never did baby babbling, mama, dad, dad, none of those things. Um, so it was something that we were always aware of that could be potentially going on. Um, you know, fast forward, he got his autism diagnosis and still was completely nonverbal at four years old. Um, and there wasn't, I I can't think of a specific thing that like triggered it or that I felt like exacerbated the situation. Um, but you know, as he got older and was unable to communicate, a lot of his behavior symptoms really manifested. The screaming, he started like banging his head. He like things just progressively were getting worse for him for a long time. Um the, I mean, like I said, we were kind of aware that he was like he had these issues with his speech. Um, and the doctors didn't really give us very much hope. They were just like, oh yeah, you can put him in therapy. Like he might uh might talk, he might not. Um, they didn't really offer anything other than, you know, some therapy. No, you know, dietary, no, that they didn't ask about what his sleep schedule was, what he ate, anything like that. So um it was pretty discouraging. And that's when I started looking into holistic um ways to help him.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, and it is just it's amazing to me how, and I I know guys, I know I gripe about this like every single week about like what's wrong with divisional medicine, but it is surprising to me that they really are not taking into consideration nutritional intake, the environment, the street, we're not thinking about things holistically. But I also know that in the standard insurance model, they have very limited time that they're able to spend with the patients that they're supposed to be serving. But when you did officially get the diagnosis, the diagnosis, what um, so so what were the treatment options that were available?

SPEAKER_00

Um, basically, they just said to get him into ABA as soon as possible. Um, and that was it.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, and that's behavioral therapy, correct? Okay. Yeah. And I do also know that, and when they get older, a lot of times medications may need to be used, you know, to have with behavioral things and, you know, depression and and whatnot. And there are stories from I mean, I've heard stories from so many moms that have had miraculous recoveries with their autistic children when looking into nutrition, lifestyle, detoxification, and things like that. So um, can you share with us? So, um what, like when you started looking at holistic alternatives, you know, what did you find that was really helpful?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I'm trying not to get too far into it, but what happened was I was working in the bedside um in a hospital. And I was just seeing these patients getting sicker and sicker, and it felt like we didn't act until it was like a life-threatening condition. And then all of a sudden, you know, everyone comes to save the day when I had been, you know, concerned about this for a long time. So I really just decided that I couldn't participate in the traditional medical model. Um, I felt very spirit-led to be called back into the home. Um, so I quit my job, uh, really freaked my husband out, of course. Um and once I was home, I was just seeing the things in our life. And I'm like, it just didn't feel great. At the time, I was working 12s, you know, I was busy, so I wasn't making like homemade food and doing all the things. Um, my kids spent a lot of time just like the standard American diet, standard American lifestyle, you know, I was pretty much, we were just like everyone else. So I didn't even really know that what was going on was detrimental to our health. Um, so it started with just with nutrition. And honestly, that was where I've seen the biggest progress with my son. And we have done other things as well, but just getting that junky food out of his system, not giving him dyes, and like really seriously cutting down on his sugar intake was when he within six months he started to speak.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, that's wonderful. And tell me, how old was he? He was four and a half. Okay. And then what other improvements did you see with him besides verbal?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Um, well, I mean, we're still working on some of the things, you know, it takes time. Um, but he's significantly like he screams a lot less now. Um, the meltdowns and tantrums and stuff like that are more appropriate of a five-year-old because, you know, five-year-olds still they do have tantrums and they do have meltdowns. So, um, but he also now like he knows all of his colors. We're learning his ABCs, we're learning how to write his name. And like these are things that I wasn't sure that he was ever gonna experience.

SPEAKER_01

And what I always find surprising is uh, you know, when we get a diagnosis that our child is autistic or they have a behavioral disorder, and then diet is never addressed because I I also used to partake in the standard American diet. I mean, I grew up eating like Pop Tarts and Lunchables, and I remember, and and I know all of all of the holistic things now, you know, and I understand I can't live in a bubble, but when I was pregnant with my first child, I mean, we were like hitting up Domino's pizza. I was eating, I was even eating in the hospital cafeteria, which again, that's like the worst food imaginable. And now I know to do all of these things differently because I am aware that there are toxins and chemicals in the food supply, and we've got to get back to consuming the foods that God biologically designed for us to eat. But did you ever have a provider mention anything about diet or about like, or or even food dyes? Because that's well known that food dyes can cause behavioral issues.

SPEAKER_00

No, I never had anyone even mention, not even really ask about his nutrition. The most it was like, is he eating? Like just pure, like, is he eating? And I think that, you know, it is hard with kiddos with autism because some of them are so picky that they will only eat like two or three foods. So I I understand that part, but no, it was never, it was never a conversation or really brought up.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, so it is so sad because I just I wonder how many of these children really could excel and have so much improvement. But again, um, so many parents, they love their kids and they value what their pediatrician says because they really believe that the pediatrician is the expert. And, you know, I feel like the more that I dive into functional medicine, the more I realize how little our experts actually know. And, you know, I also um think it's it's interesting just with the treatment guidelines for autism that we have so many, so many families that are reporting improvement with diet and lifestyle. And then it's not something that is integrated into the standard of care. Um, did you do any other, um, did you guys did you guys implement any other strategies besides nutrition? Like, did you do anything to support his gut, detox, anything like that?

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah, definitely. Um, we addressed um some heavy metal toxicity that he had um had. We um, of course, lifestyle changes, getting him outside because little boys need to run and play and get dirty and jump and climb and do all the things. Um, so that was another thing that was really big for him was, you know, spending more time outdoors. Um, but yes, we like I said, we addressed the metal toxicity that he had been dealing with and really supporting his gut. That um I attribute the gut support to what we're seeing now, which is him learning and um being able to communicate. Um, like the other day, um, he said something, I forget exactly what he said, but his older sister is seven and her name's Addy. And he said, Mommy, where's Addy? And I heard her from the other room. She was like, Mom, he knows my name. Like, it's just, it's crazy, this, you know, what we're seeing with him. But definitely, um, in his case, and I think with autism and with different kiddos, there's all different kinds of like root causes. As we know in functional medicine, there's different root causes for everything. Um, but I firmly believe that his was being driven by inflammation. And this inflammation in his gut was just wreaking havoc on the rest of his body.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And it's not a coincidence that so many of these autistic children have GI issues. And we know in functional medicine that there is that connection. There's that gut-brain connection that is so important. And again, the gut is central to everything if we have gut issues that can cause systemic issues throughout the body and also impair our absorption and um utilization of essential nutrients and minerals. I would love to talk a little bit more about the heavy metal toxicity. So, you know, what did he test high in? And like what methods did you use for testing for him?

SPEAKER_00

Um, so we did the hair tissue mineral. Um, I don't have it in front of me, but um he was high for like most of the, most of everything that was on it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, interesting. And and then there's also some evidence coming out, and again, it has been so embarrassing that the CDC has just thrown money away on testing genetics when we know when we see an increase like this, that like, of course, that can be a genetic susceptibility, but it's not genetics that are causing us to go from one in 10,000 to one in 36. But there's a lot of evidence that many of these children who are suffering with autism may have impairments in their detoxification pathways. And many of them may have genetic variations, such as MTHFR, which can impair methylation, which again is this very complicated process of detoxification. But we know that um in association to metals and autism, we actually have studies showing high levels of aluminum in brain tissue of um, you know, post-mortem patients who had autism. So um, do you happen to have any insight of like, you know, exposures to heavy metals for him?

SPEAKER_00

That I can think of besides his routine, you know, childhood vaccines. I mean, we lived in a newer house. So I don't, but I also we were like, you know, we weren't being really careful with things. Like now, if you look, um, you know, they're finding heavy metals in everything from like, you know, cereals to deodorant to, you know, it's it's in everything. So I'm sure that he absolutely was getting it from the environment also. Um, but I don't have a specific source of where I suspect that all of it came from.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. And and there's actually some reports coming out because we know, you know, we don't really know what the FDA does all day. But anyway, um, there are reports coming out about how there are levels of heavy metals that exceed recognized safety limits and things like baby food. And then we also know with vaccines, and and I I you guys hear me talk about this every single week too, but the FDA has also said that they just don't have a way to regulate how much aluminum adjuvant is in the vaccines. And then that is a really big deal because um, when we are injecting adjuvants, like heavy metal adjuvants, such as aluminum hydroxide, we are bypassing the digestive system. We are going straight intermuscularly, where um near 100% of that is going to be absorbed and it hasn't been properly safety tested. Whereas it's also not good to be, you know, consuming foods that have been tainted with heavy metals, which that can happen in the manufacturing process. Um, there's actually, you know, uh naturally occurring heavy metals that are in our crops. However, we have small amounts in the food, but what we have in the food naturally is bound to things like other minerals and silica, which further prevent the absorption when you're having that orally. Um, but there are a lot of different factors, you know. I mean, there's so many different things that, you know, we are exposed to in the environment. And I know one of one study that I snagged and I put it in Functional Nurse Academy, it was like the first published case study ever on mold and autism. And there was actually a little boy who was autistic who was in remission from all of his autism type symptoms after being treated for mycotoxins. And mycotoxins are these like toxic spores produced by mold species. But yeah, there's a lot of like, there's so many different things that we can be exposed to. And like we don't want parents to just be scared of everything all the time, but it is good to be aware. Um, when talking about detoxification, so since you identified that like, okay, detoxification is likely an issue and heavy metal exposure, did you implement any detoxification strategies that helped him?

SPEAKER_00

Uh, we did. We I do very gentle, you know, especially with little kiddos. Um, you want to be gentle with them and go slowly. Um, so we did um like I would make him like the detox smoothies and with like fulvic acid and um, you know, some of the other herbal supplements that are known to pull metals. Um, and he reacted really well to them. Um, sometimes, you know, there would be periods where the behaviors would escalate a little bit. Um, so that's just kind of how we knew that, you know, it was where what we were doing was working. Um, but of course, you know, not over, overdoing it because you have to be, you know, very gentle. Um I can't think of the what the other there is another like herbal tincture that we used, but it's not coming to mind right now, the name of it.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, I'm sure my pregnancy brain is wearing off. But um, but yeah, sometimes. And again, like I love that you're talking about how, you know, how important it is to be exceedingly cautious with little ones and and really with with everyone, because this is something that I've seen functional medicine do wrong. This happened to me. I had a provider that totally tanked my system because they were just detoxing me too fast. And with detox, you know, some of these things that may bind to certain toxins. Um, some examples are, you know, bentonite clay, activated charcoal, uh, zeolite, and um chlorella, things like that, they can be really, really great as a tool to help the body to properly flush out toxins. However, um, many um supplements that are that have that binding capacity also may have the capacity to mobilize toxins. So that's why you want to go low and slow. And then also you want to make sure that the gut is supported and like minerals and nutrients are repleted because you need to have those mineral and nutrient cofactors for detoxification processes. So um what um, so what specific um when we talk about like the detoxification supplements, um, which ones do you think helped the most with him?

SPEAKER_00

Um so really I I seen some, you know, improvement with the metal treatment, the heavy metal um treatment, but really I didn't see the rapid um recovery for his symptoms until I did the gut protocol. So that's really realistically what did the most for him. Um and I I knew that he had some level of gut issues because um he, if I would, if he would take like probiotics and stuff like that, it would always upset his stomach. Uh so I knew that something wasn't quite right with his gut. And um I think, you know, doing them both pretty close, I did them both pretty closely together. Um so I really think most of the um success that we seen was with supporting his gut.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, awesome. And it it really should be, it really does like oh, you know, and I struggled with with an autoimmune condition, and that really was what sent me just like running for the hills from conventional medicine when I knew I had a diagnosed inflammatory condition. But they did not know to, you know, recommend an anti-inflammatory diet. So, um, but there's just so many things that that that don't make sense. And we know that because of so many of the herbicides and pesticides that we're exposed to in our food, such as glyphosate, like that can really wreck the gut. The hybridized wheat can also wreck the gut. And, you know, there's I I have seen so many people just from individuals that I've worked with and the, you know, healing experience that like I have been through, you know, with autoimmune and Lyme disease, how important it is to make sure that you're supporting the gut. So, um, what did you do for his gut? Did you do any like anti-herbal antimicrobials or um, you know, leaky gut powders? Like what kind of things did you use for that?

SPEAKER_00

So we did. We um did we use biocyten for his um gut to kind of get control of that. Um, and he responded really well to it. Um, we're still working on it. Like I said, you know, with kiddos, we like to go low and slow. Um, so we're still working through that, but the progress that I have seen is just been absolutely amazing. Um, I am planning on adding some other things in, especially for um gut barrier support, um, because we know, you know, if as some of the studies have suggested that if you have barrier integrity issues with one organ, then you're more likely to have it with another. So if you do have a leaky gut, you potentially could also have leaky brain. And then the inflammation from your gut is traveling around the body and going to the brain. Um, so definitely planning on getting some barrier support on board for him.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. And I really love that you mentioned biocyten. And one thing that drives me crazy is, you know, we have all of these like mainstream influencers that they just idolize the medical system. And they think that the vaccine schedule is basically the messiah. And they are, I've heard people like this mocking moms that are using gut support and detoxification for their autistic children, and they're saying things like, oh, they're just trying to sell snake oil. And it's like, you know, who is going to go do this, like, you know, these large double-blinded randomized controlled trials on like nutrition and herbal supplementation and gut support for autism when we know that autism is a moneymaker for industry. I will say I actually do have some hope that in the future we may see some good studies coming out of government, but we cannot, like, especially when we're using herbal therapies that have such a great safety profile. I mean, just ignoring all of this anecdotal evidence that, you know, um parents are having, I think is very irresponsible, you know, for the medical community. Well, we are at about that time to cut for a break. And uh, yeah, it goes by quick when you're on these hot topics. If you are a nurse that is fed up with the sick care model, I have a solution for you. My name is Melissa Schreibfetter, and I am the owner and founder of the Functional Nurse Academy. FNA is the most comprehensive functional medicine training program on the market, specifically tailored to nurses. It is self-paced and equips LPNs, RNs, and nurse practitioners to practice functional medicine, address the root causes of dysfunction, and start their independent functional medicine practices. At FA, you will learn how to order labs, functional health reports, create customized wellness plans, package and price your services, and even how to market your brand effectively. Graduates earn 90 nursing CEUs, and then they qualify for multiple board certification titles. They also will have access to our exclusive tools, such as our functional nurse toolkit, our social media and marketing kit, and I don't want to just train you and send you on your way. So you also will get access to me each month via the Functional Nurse Academy monthly mentorship program, where you will be able to attend a live class with me each month. So say goodbye to Sit Care and start your dream career as a functional medicine nurse. Enroll today at functional nurseacademy.com. This show is also syndicated on America Out Loud Talk Radio on the Nurses Report Radio Show and Podcast. So you can also find me there on any major app. Welcome back, everyone. This is Melissa Schreibbetter, and I am so excited to have one of my functional Nurse Academy graduates here today, Chelsea, who started her own practice and is helping child um helping families that have children who have been diagnosed with disorders such as autism and helping them to learn about holistic strategies that are available for them. And she is the founder of Solid Foundation Functional Health. Welcome back, Chelsea. Yeah, thank you. So I wanted to say your last name again, but I was like, did I botch her last name? You're great. Yeah, you're good. You got it. It's Roseboo. Oh, I did. Okay, great. Yeah. So I'm Shribe Fetter, which is, you know, I mean, I went from pit to shribe fetter. He's worth it, though. Well, anyway, um, so yeah, this the show, it always goes by so incredibly fast. But I know we were just talking about how, you know, detoxification and gut support can just help tremendously with these cases for these children um that are struggling with autism. And I would love to, because I know we talked about how, you know, you uncovered that he obviously had some, you know, gut health issues. We talked about the gut brain connection, we talked about detoxification and nutrition. Um, what are some um, and I know that with autism, it's not just like one thing that's causing autism, right? It's like multifactorial, but what is your impression of um some factors that you think should be looked at as far as um potential causes of autism?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so, and I mean, you know, for all kiddos, it's different. Um, so really being able to dig in and figure out what's going on is the best option. I know that, you know, some kids can um develop autism from like a brain injury. That's been, you know, noted. There are um heavy metal exposures, but I also think that the chemicals that we are encountering um in our food and in our environment and in our water are responsible for a lot more than people really think, especially when it comes to like these xenoestrogens and the dyes that are in our food. Um I don't necessarily think that it's a root cause causing autism. But like we talked about earlier, if there's a genetic susceptibility to things like this, and the body's detox pathways are impaired, then obviously these toxic chemicals are gonna build up and affect these children.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. And sometimes it can be just something that breaks the straw that breaks the camel's back. And I did want to circle back around um about vaccines. I know that you mentioned that you didn't notice anything specifically after a certain vaccine, but just from like being a mom with a child with autism, um, you know, when you connect with other mothers um that have children that are autistic, have you heard anyone say that they noticed changes in their child's behavior after vaccination?

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely, yeah. Um, actually, a lot of the parents that I've talked to had their kids regress around their 18-month um vaccinations, typically within a couple days.

SPEAKER_01

You know, and the medical community, they say, well, that's just when autism happens. It has nothing to do with the vaccines. And they also say that the vaccines were rigorously tested and do not cause autism, but then they actually don't have those studies. I mean, they've had to admit, I think one of the um the uh top vaccinologists in the world, Catherine, Dr. Catherine Edwards, in a deposition in 2020, she admitted that they do not have studies showing that the vaccines, especially the ones given in the first sixth month of six months of life, that they don't have those studies to say that those vaccines do not cause or contribute, which is really interesting because, you know, with my first child, I believed what I was told in nursing school. And I would just, you know, parrot the same talking points that everyone else was saying about how they're safe and effective, but I didn't know that they were not placebo safety tested. And I did not know about the vaccine ingredients. And I do think that we need to listen to parents. And, you know, when we have, we actually have now several studies showing that when you compare vaccinated versus unvaccinated, that you do see a much higher rate of things like neurodevelopment disorders, such as autism. And again, um the information that I have learned was enough for me as a mom to be like, okay, hard stuff. Because, you know, I know that when we talk about like common childhood illnesses and things like that, there are ways that we can treat those conditions and that we can support the immune system. But I just wasn't comfortable, you know, seeing that so many of the inserts um encephalopathy and encephalitis, which are things that lead to brain swelling, which brain swelling can cause brain damage. That was just not a risk I was willing to take, especially knowing the products were not rigorously safety tested and there was no placebo. So um now I am curious too, as a nurse, like when you have this experience, and and then I'm sure you being plugged into the autism community, you're probably hearing the same things over and over about vaccines, which is the same thing that I hear over and over as well ever since I, you know, came out of the closet as a holistic nurse. Now everyone's telling me about their vaccine injuries. But um has that like how would that change your views on things like vaccines?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it it definitely, definitely changed the way I feel. Um, not even necessarily just like with my son, but like when you look at these studies that correlate things like vaccines and SIDs and things like these are like horribly atrocious, you know, things that that there's just like you said, there's not good science. And the deposition that you were talking about, I actually watched it, it was hours. I wanna, I think it was like seven or eight hours long. And you know, this is one of our top health officials, and she says, I don't have them either way. I don't have a safety study that says it does, and I don't have a safety study that says it doesn't. And that, I mean, that it's just it's crazy that they're allowed to claim something like that just because there's no, you know, I don't think that that's fair.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and it, you know, I feel like for a lot of people, it's become a a religion, you know. And I notice a lot of these people, they, you know, will say things like, I believe in the science. And I'm always wondering, I'm like, what about God? You know, and I think again, like I feel like when you have that connection with God, that that really helps with our wisdom and with our discernment. But a lot of times with, you know, pediatricians, which I talked about this last week, about there absolutely are financial incentives for them to keep your children on that schedule. Um, there's a lot of bonuses that go on with the insurance companies and things like that. And, you know, uh when a pediatrician tells you we don't have any data to support that vaccines cough autism, that's because the studies have not been done. And there actually are studies showing that there may be an association, but they're ignoring those studies because they're like, oh, those studies are bad. But then when we have, you know, hepatitis D vaccine that was only tested for three to five days, supposedly that somehow is a good study and they're added. So you can really pick up on a lot of like the hypocrisy. So while I also wanted to ask you, because I I and again, I mean, you know, I know when I started my practice and when I started my educational platforms, it was through the experiences I had with my own health. And, you know, I mean, I feel like it it is like the most valuable learning experience when you go through something like this. And, you know, I feel like moms are some of the best researchers. So, um, when did you decide to start a practice?

SPEAKER_00

Um, so like, you know, we talked a little bit about it earlier when I was in the hospital, and like things were just, I, you know, decided that I couldn't participate in that anymore. Um, and I started looking into like the holistic things for my son. And then when I found the functional nurse academy, it was, and I pray, I remember praying for like a week before. I'm like, you know, I'm very spiritual, I'm very, you know, in tune with the Lord. And I definitely prayed about it. And I knew that that was, it was like one of those moments where like everything in your life just kind of makes sense for a second, where you're just like, okay, this is this is it. For whatever reason, this is what I'm supposed to do. Um, so I did the Functional Nurse Academy, and I've met some of the greatest people. Um, there's another girl that's in the Functional Nurse Academy also that has an autistic child. And we've been kind of walking through what I did with my son together, and she's also seeing dramatic increases um in her son's language and being able to like try new foods and things that she didn't think was going to be possible. So it's definitely um being able to really help people. It's one thing to be able to tell my story, but it's another thing to be able to like really share my heart with people and share the things that I have seen work repeatedly.

SPEAKER_01

You know, and I really do think that, and I am um I I am, I I love to talk about the Lord. It's like that, it's like my favorite thing ever. But, you know, in the Bible it says that like all things work out for the good for those that that that love the Lord, you know, and you know, and I've seen too where horrible things that have happened in my life. And when I was so sick and chronically fatigued, and I, you know, really felt like I was not served well in both conventional or functional medicine, even though I did finally find a good functional provider, but it took me a while. Um, but anyway, you know, those horrible experiences that we go through, it is like the most beautiful thing when the Lord like makes something wonderful out of it. And then you see that trickle of that because it really does help other people. And I know, you know, with nursing, we go into nursing because we want to help people, but then you get into that field and oh my goodness, like I would rather clean toilets than go back and work in the hospital. You could not pay me enough to go back. And also, I probably would get fired because I don't think I could keep my mouth shut about these things. But um, but no, it's like the most rewarding thing ever because I mean, we were lied to. Like, I, you know, I mean, like, do you remember being told that, you know, oh, chronic diseases, they're just, you know, progressive. They're just gonna get worse, you know. I mean, they're just gonna be taking more medications and and whatnot. Like, did you did were you taught those same things?

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. That and like the it's the luck of the draw type, you know, it's all genetics, you know, if your mom was sick, you're gonna be sick. Um, so definitely was taught that as well. But we know that, yeah, I mean, you can have a susceptibility to be sick, but if you're able to, you know, be proactive and be able to take care of yourself and avoid the common triggers that we know of that cause these conditions. And I know with some people, you know, some people get sick and it's it's unfortunate, but I don't believe that even a quarter, you know, of these cases couldn't be prevented.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. And I, I just, I, I will never, I will never, I will never forget this. Like, because even before I went holistic, I still was like, this doesn't make sense when you're going and like you have morning medpaths, and for one patient in the morning, you're like, here's your 30 medications. And then, and and I think that patients are um less trusting now because of the uh COVID shenanigans. I mean, they accidentally woke up a lot of people, but anyway, but back then I felt like people were just so trusting, you know, of their medical provider. But I remember doing my morning med paths. I had the sweetest patient. He was like, you know, 70-year-old grandpa. He had pictures that his like grandkids drew him all over his hospital room, and he had a lot of issues going on. And we were bringing him the worst food. It's like, okay, here's your pizza pizza and your chocolate cake and your coke. And then his sweet family, um, he loved like little Debbie's and Twinkies. He had boxes of this junk. And I remember thinking, and I was like, Oh, is this man getting like any nutritional content from what we're feeding him? And then we know that medications further increase the toxic burden. And it's kind of like, what are we doing here? Are we just trying to like ensure that we have repeat business? And then also, um, when it's been a while since I've been in the healthcare setting. Um, but I wanted to ask, when did you officially leave the system? Um, it's been coming up on a year. Oh, congratulations. It is like, oh, it's great to be out, isn't it? It is. Definitely. So you were in the system more recently. Um, let's see. So what are you seeing from like, you know, other healthcare professionals? Like, do you do you think that like COVID also woke a lot of them up? Or were you still seeing just like a lot of indoctrination?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, with other, I mean, I didn't even really come across another person with similar views as mine until really finding like functional nurse academy. Um, so I think that a lot of people I don't know. I think it's still partly indoctrinated and partly like people don't want to see that. Um, I know for me, when I when I had my realization, it very much changed my worldview. Um, it changed how I thought about everything. And for, I mean, thankfully I do have my faith because there was a point where I remember thinking, well, how do I know what is true anymore? How am I supposed to know if everything that I've ever learned and been told is I know is a lie now. So what is true? And I feel like that identity crisis is what keeps a lot of people from speaking up and really using their critical thinking skills to be like, okay, this isn't right. Um, because it it drastically changes you as a person when you go through something like that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And I remember when I first, and it was actually, okay, the first functional medicine physician I ever went to, which I did not progress well in that practice. But the most important thing that she said to me, um, she asked me, I had my my baby was less than a year old. And she was like, Are you vaccinating your baby? And I was like, of course I am. And she said, she told me, she was like, the vaccine schedule is BS. And I like, but they're safe and effective. And, you know, but but it was like hearing that. And then I was like, well, why did she say that? But it took me a little longer to look into it because I knew I had started out giving my child the schedule. But it was harder for me to research that. But then once I saw it, you can't, you can't unsee it. Like there's no going back from there. But but yeah, I think that there's A lot of like guilt that people have because, you know, we're taking all of them, we're giving it to our kids because we believe in it so much. And then we're administering it at work. So I think that there's a lot of like roadblocks there. But again, having that connection with God, I think gives you the strength to just face it and walk through it and move forward. So, well, I am so glad that you were like out of the system and you're doing great things with functional medicine. So can you tell me a little bit more about your practice? So I know that you mentioned that you work with um the pediatric population. Um, what kind, um, what what are other like conditions that you work with?

SPEAKER_00

Um, so I have, I recently um, very after much prayer and deliberation, um decided to focus on kiddos. Before this, I was more um focused on autoimmune conditions like MS and lupus, very familiar um with autoimmune and um like skin conditions, alopecia, stuff like that. Um, but I did decide to move more into helping kiddos. Um, my I have my autistic son and my daughter is ADHD. So, and you know, just the the trickle effect from the things that I've done for my son have greatly improved her life too. So um, you know, ADHD and autism is I feel like I belong there right now. You know, I have this experience and I just feel like that's where I need to be. Um, there are definitely, you know, other conditions that doing the same, you know, kind of interventions can help with. Um, but that's just that's where I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I love, and I and again, I was so excited and I saw that you were working with the pediatric population because I think some of the best niches are um pediatrics. Um, because again, I mean, you know, this this it's a vulnerable population. And when we're talking things like autism or pans, pandas, behavioral disorders, there are not like these parents are not being given very many options or education about the condition. I also love the niche of like prenatal, postnatal, because again, we're also, I mean, you know, it's like we have this increase of chronic diseases in children. And I'm like, why are we not upping the game in prenatal care? And I mean, they're not even telling like pregnant women about how important it is to filter your water and get the fluoride out of your water, which that's finally coming out now with the study showing that um it can be damaging, you know. Um, especially, I mean, the study showing that um fluoride consumption can actually lower IQ, which is just stunning. But um, so what kind say that you're working with um a new client? Um, do you are are you offering any like functional medicine testing in your practice?

SPEAKER_00

Yes. So um I you I do, I prefer to do like a six-month um program for the kiddos. Um, but some parents don't really want to, you know, sign up for like a six-month thing right off the bat. So we've been doing um three months with two functional tests. So usually um we look, you know, at different things. Sometimes it's after we heal the gut, we'll do like an allergen test, a GI map, um, organic acid along those lines. Um and so far it's been very helpful for seeing, you know, a nice overview.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, wonderful, wonderful. And and again, if you guys are not um familiar with functional medicine, we do have access to these more advanced tests that have been clinically validated. And we're using this data to really figure out, okay, what what is causing this? You know, is I mean, you know, we we have all these chronic diseases, but then mainstream medicine is like, well, let's just give you drugs to manage the symptoms and there's no thoughts or root causes. But um anyway, I love the tasks that you mentioned because um those tests are not invasive. So we know how horribly traumatic it is um to go and like do a needle stick with a child. So, well, I know the majority of the tests that you mentioned are offered via um, stool tests, urinary tests, hair tests. Now, I do know the food sensitivity testing usually is a serum test. So again, I mean, um, for our listeners, blood test. But my my husband, who's an engineer, um, he's traveling and he listened to my show for like four and a half hours in the car, and he was like, Melissa, you need to like explain what the words are that you are saying. And I was like, Okay. Um, but um, so and what are some other things like um when we're talking lifestyle and nutrition, or or just with like, I know with functional medicine, there's so much education. We can really empower people and change lives through education. But when you're working with parents, like um when you're educating them, what are some of those like moments that they're like, what are some of the things that they are like really surprised to hear about the education?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So, you know, even kiddos that don't have like neuro, neurodevelopmental delays or anything like that, they absolutely can benefit so greatly from the same things. Um, so a lot of the parents that I work with also take this information and apply it to their other children as well. So um some of the things are like um when we talk about exposure to plastic and artificial scents and things like that being endocrine disruptors and potentially having an effect on the brain. Um, that's one thing that a lot of parents are pretty surprised about. Um, and one thing that I've found is um plastic is like a lot of people read that it's like BPA free and they think that it's safe and you know there's nothing wrong with it and they're you know that it's it's okay to use in the microwave and with hot food and stuff like that. So um that's been one of the areas that I've tried to really, especially with little kids, because you know, they break they break stuff, they're they're clumsy, so it's hard to, you know, have like glassware and stuff like that, which I understand, but um, the plastic I feel like was a big um and water talking to people about water and the microplastics that are in bottled water, the chemicals that are in, you know, our regular water between chlorine and fluoride and all the other, you know, whatever they um pharmaceutical waste and stuff like that, you know, at the hospital, you just like dump everything down the drain. So all the things.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I I think that getting a good water filter is one of the most important things. And like I know that these things are more expensive in the beginning, but when you look at like long-term health outcomes, I mean, getting like getting clean water is so, so important. And and I see a lot of people that come to me, and that's on my assessment, is like, what kind of water are you drinking? And a lot of people are using like the fridge filter or the Brita filter. And and a lot of people don't know about fluoride in the water. And I'm like, good God, like we are like one of out of the only countries in the world that's fluorinating our water. I mean, other countries like think this is insane because it's medically like it's a ridiculous thing to do. But but yeah, I mean, um, I I I I love that like, you know, by teaching people these things, because again, I mean, it's like I I wish I had known this 10, 15, well, I mean, 10, 15, 20 years ago, whatever. But but but it's like now I know. Once you know, you can do better. So, well, I definitely think that we are going to have um, you know, some of our audience that is going to want to work with you. If somebody wants to work with you, um where um where do they need to go to find you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so you can go to my website. Um, it's solidfoundation uh fh.com or um Facebook also you can send me a message and I'm usually pretty responsive. Um, Solid Foundation Functional Health LLC.

SPEAKER_01

Awesome. Okay, so if they go to your website, is a way that they can get like on um a call with you, like for free if they have questions about your programs and your services.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. I do um free uh it's called behavior breakthrough clarity calls. So there's a couple different places on there um that you can get scheduled with me as soon as the next day.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, wonderful. So and I I really wish that like more functional providers would would do this because again, I mean, you know, you have amazing functional practitioners that are changing lives. And then you also have people that maybe aren't practicing like with the best integrity. And again, you know, I feel like if I get on, you know, if I'm gonna hire a healthcare professional, I mean, I think it's important that you're able to talk to that person initially for free, you know, and then decide if that's going to be like a good fit for you. So, um, well, I am so excited that you joined us today. And that's about all of the time that we have. So yeah, we're gonna also post all of Chelsea's links in the show notes. So definitely check her out. Well, that is all the time that we have today. Thank you so much for tuning in. And again, if you want to learn more about the Functional Nurse Academy, please feel free to register for our next live webinar. And you will see that link in the show notes. You can also check out Functional Nurse Academy on our social media platforms or on our website at functional nurseacademy.com. Until next time, be safe, be well, and God bless.