“You have familial amyloid polyneuropathy and will be alive for a maximum of 9 more years, most of which you will spend in a wheelchair” is what the doctors told me in 2007, one year after I awoke in severe and excruciating pain- a sensation that felt like I was being stabbed in the chest and soon enough in my spine too.
Hearing this news may make some people sad. Me? I was confused.
You see, I was doing everything I thought I was supposed to be doing – eating right, exercising every day, managing my stress, spending time with loving, supportive family and close friends, and leading a passionate career as a physical therapist working with Olympic athletes. So it wasn’t a logical progression of events that led to my suddenly experiencing constant, severe pain that wasn’t budging despite my trying all the then available treatment options, everything from physical and hydro therapy to pain and anti-inflammatory medication.
If I was following the guidelines for nutrition, exercise, and stress management recommended among professionals and public organizations worldwide as the means to be healthy, yet I was unhealthy, that meant that someone somewhere was misinformed. So, being aware that familial amyloid polyneuropathy was a function of a mutation in my TTR gene, I began researching and meeting with clinical geneticists and genetics researchers.
What I discovered was life-saving and life-transforming.
Epigenetics. It’s the field devoted to studying the factors that impact how our genes, like the TTR gene, are expressed in the cells of our body. What epigenetics makes clear is that our genes, whether they are for illness or health, can be activated or deactivated, turned on or off. And our environment and lifestyle control the switch. At last! A solution.
The solution to turning off my TTR gene, recommended for my unique biology and genetics by some of the greatest minds in the world, led me to change my diet and move 1300 miles away from my lifelong home in Adelaide, Australia, to Brisbane. Within just a few days of moving to my new home, I knew I was experiencing epigenetic wisdom in action. I was feeling like myself again! And soon enough I was completely pain free.
The wisdom of epigenetics can be applied to any and every instance of someone not feeling healthy and happy. It’s unlikely that you have a mutation in your TTR gene, but it is quite likely that you have another condition or a knowing that you can feel and be healthier than you currently are.
That’s why I knew I had to use my new-found wellness and understanding of human health to give everyone the same chance I had to let epigenetic wisdom work in their favor. And 10 years later, I’m happy to say that it’s here. Developed alongside a global team of doctors, researchers and scientists, it’s a wellness platform known as Personal Health 360 (ph360) that applies personalized health to give each person insights specific to their unique body, from the point of view of the many facets of epigenetics. The solution to your quest for optimal health can lie in the ways you eat, exercise, think and sleep, the ways you socialize, work, and live, or anywhere in between. How incredible that we are all born with a unique genetic code and that we can each make lifestyle choices tailored to our unique code that support our body and mind every single day.
As people are discovering the right lifestyle and environment for them right now through ph360, they – like me in 2007 – are experiencing myriad improvements in their symptoms and well-being and recognizing first hand the power of their lifestyle and environment to change the course of their health and their life. And me? I’m reminded time and time again why, in the grand scheme of things, it was important that I have the arduous, trying experiences of almost a decade ago.
Our story
Those experiences of nearly one decade ago were fundamental in shaping the course of my professional career and my very existence, for they showed me, without a doubt, that optimal health is possible for everyone.
And this is where our story, the story of changing the way we experience health around the globe and impacting millions of lives, begins. It begins with acknowledging that epigenetics and personalized, preventive health are the way. And that being healthy can be simple and convenient when we integrate everything we know in health and medicine with the technology of our time. That’s why the real excitement and potential in transforming our health lies in the new generation of ph360, known as ShaeTM, the very first application to customize health specifically for your unique body and circumstances in real time. Join our global community of people who are getting informed, empowered, and healthy, and supporting Shae. Because in essence this isn’t my story. It’s our story.