From Chronic Pain to Empowered Healing: My Story
"All you have is your health. That’s where it starts—and where it ends. And healing? It begins with Love. The kind that starts with yourself.”
Kelsey Pew
Since I was a little girl, movement was my medicine and creative joy.
Whether it was dancing, hula-hooping, or learning a new sport, I thrived on the rush of syncing body and mind. But by my mid-20s, that ease disappeared. Movement became painful. My body felt like a rusty old tractor, weighed down by allergies, asthma, intense menstrual pain, and strange recurring infections.
To say the least, I was completely out of balance.
After university, I lost access to the only female doctor I trusted. Navigating the medical system was discouraging—clinic visits led to generic answers and dismissals. One doctor even told me to accept a lifetime of antibiotics. Deep down, I knew this wasn't the answer.
My body wasn't broken; it was speaking a language I hadn't yet learned.
Can you relate?
Then I met Olga—a Russian healer giving a corporate wellness talk. She introduced me to energy work and a biofeedback machine, describing our bodies as icebergs: only the symptoms show, while deeper issues lurk below. Skeptical but curious, I booked a session. After one appointment, I felt real, physical relief.
It wasn't magic—it was clarity. And it gave me the courage to take the next right step.
Olga told me to cut out gluten and dairy. At that time, I was drinking milk like a growing boy, and was eating cheese like it was my job, and had no regard for the impacts of 'processed' anything, but I committed to the change. Over the next five years, I went all in. I took Qigong lessons, head tapping classes, liver cleanses, and family healing workshops—I did everything to understand my body and unearth the emotional roots of my pain.
My progress looked like chaos: a few wins, followed by what felt like even more unraveling.
And let me tell you, the judgment was constant—Eastern medicine was “weird,” and people questioned whether healers were “real.”
But intuitively, I knew better.
My infections stopped: my body was healing, but my life wasn't. Due to the physical relief, I realized my environment, relationships, and especially my marriage, were stuck in old patterns.
I had to keep going.
Letting go became the theme.
First food. Then, painfully, my husband. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life. People wanted me to “fix it,” but I couldn't. The deeper truth was this: I had no boundaries. Not with my work, my friends, or even myself.
My healing journey had to include emotional detachment from anything misaligned.
Including the man I loved.
But life had another surprise.
After our separation, my husband Luke went to California. There, he had his own awakening. He realized he had been sabotaging our relationship out of fear—of abandonment, of not being enough. When he came home from his trip – he called me up and said, 'I would like to sit down with you and have a chat.' At that point, I anticipated the talk being about how we were going to split up our lives.
(little did I know)
Instead, he was clean-shaven, with a bottle of wine, a pizza, and a list of ways he wanted to show up differently.
1. Keep life simple
2. Take her dancing
3. Do the little things
4. Be the man of the house
5. Think for two
6. Drink wine
7. Don't work too much
8. It gets done when it gets done
I was stunned. It was everything I needed to hear—and never expected. That moment wasn't about getting back together. It was about hope. It was the end of one chapter, and the messy, beautiful beginning of another.
That was 2012—the year of the snake. Since then, we've shed many skins.
Today, I no longer have asthma, allergies, or chronic pain, and I rarely take painkillers. Let me be clear, healing didn't come from pills or miracles. It came from hard work, showing up for myself, and keeping my integrity even when it would've been easier not to. Healing meant being honest, making scary decisions, and letting go of what no longer served me.
I used to think self-healing was for other people—gurus or mystics. But it's not. It's for all of us. I healed because I had no other choice. And I share my story because maybe, just maybe, you're ready to start healing too.
With that I have two questions:
What beliefs or patterns have you had to let go of in order to begin your own healing journey?
How do you discern the difference between discomfort that leads to growth and discomfort that signals misalignment?
I would love to hear from you, so leave a comment below!
Until Next Week!
Stay Wild,