Taking a Health Setback and Turning it into a Blessing- DR. Jonci Jensen

How do we take a health setback and turn it into something positive? How do you find the kernel of goodness in a chronic illness and use it for the benefit of others?

 In every setback are the seeds of opportunity.

 One Saturday morning I met Dr. Jonci Jensen by chance standing in line for a cup of coffee at Lance Armstrong’s  Juan Pelota Coffee Shop that is inside his bicycle shop in Austin, Texas. I heard her mention to the cashier that she is a Naturopath with a practice in South Austin. Immediately I struck up a conversation since I’m always interested in speaking with natural healers.

 We agreed to catch up for tea at her office on South Austin in a few weeks. I’m always on the lookout for good Naturopaths and new natural healing modalities.

 When we met, the most interesting aspect of my discussion with Dr. Jonci was how she became a natural healer (though she will be quick to correct you by saying that her patients are the real healers). It was not by design or plan, but was a result of a very painful, crippling illness. Hers is an inspiring story about how we turn a setback into a positive force for change in our lives and then share the journey with others through the healing arts.

 Before the revelation journey, Dr Jonci was studying to be an engineer at the University of Michigan with the intention of going to conventional medical school to earn her medical doctorate.   After becoming disenchanted with the state of the American health care system, she began consulting on technology integration.  She quickly found herself on the corporate fast track, working on some high profile projects with a major auto manufacturer in Detroit. She was flying on corporate jets, rubbing elbows with powerful executives, and involved in business discussions that were very advanced for a woman her age. She was taking the express train to the executive suite as an ambitious young woman, but it wasn’t filling her deep down need to help people.  She was burning the candle at both ends, but not fulfilling her heart.   After reading an article about a career in naturopathic medicine, Dr. Jensen left Detroit for Arizona and Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.

 By the end of her first year, Dr. Jonci had organized the 1^st Annual Naturopathic Medical Student Conference, fought to create an Interest Group to educate MD and DO students about naturopathic medicine, lobbied twice on Capital Hill for healthcare reforms, and initiated the creation of a national organization for naturopathic medical students.   Then in her second year of school, all of a sudden her world came crashing down. She began to experience severe joint pain and inflammation in many areas of her body. She was losing mobility and in constant, crippling pain.  Her work schedule and studies had to be curtailed suddenly as she could not function in some basic ways. It was devastating to her to admit that she would need to withdraw from naturopathic medical school.  She was unable to even leave her apartment to withdraw in person so tearfully called the Registrar’s Office in the middle of her second year to leave her path towards becoming a doctor.   

 After numerous medical diagnostic tests, she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) based upon her clinical presentation. RA is a chronic, systematic inflammatory disorder that can affect many tissues and organs, but is usually associated with destruction of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis can also produce inflammation in other areas of the body including the lungs, pleura, and pericardium.  Dr. Jonci’s rheumatologist at the time said that her disease “would not kill her, but would rob her of a good part of her life.”

About 1% of the world’s population is afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis. Women three times more often than men. The disease most often affects women between the ages of 40 and 50, but people of any age can be affected. It is a painful, disabling condition that may include loss of functioning and mobility. It is diagnosed by blood test, X-rays, and clinical experience with the disease. Rheumatologists are the medical expert that specializes in the diseases of joints and connective tissues.

The conventional therapy includes physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs such as steroids, pain killers, and other drugs such as DMARDs (disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs).

Dr. Jonci refused these conventional medical protocols for RA and instead began changing her lifestyle through her knowledge and studies of naturopathic medicine. Her Rheumatologist later informed her that he “had little hope for her in the beginning”. She was already $75,000 in debt with school loans and unable to even walk down the stairs of her apartment let alone finish a naturopathic medical doctorate. 

After recovering from her doctor’s sentence to “pain and suffering without parole for the rest of your life” Dr Jonci decided to take action and pursue the natural route to healing.

Homeopathy and botanical medicine, combined with a gluten-free, vegan diet, combined with stress reduction techniques enabled her to make huge healing strides in just a few months. She reenrolled in classes, at first on the “slow track”.  She eventually finished her degree with her class and on time.  She also completed the creation of the Naturopathic Medical Student Association (NMSA), a national organization for naturopathic medical students that is the only naturopathic medical student affiliate of the AANP (American Association of Naturopathic Physicians) and AMSA (American Medical Student Association). 

After these remarkable results she decided to share the benefits of this recovery from “hopeless case” to fully functioning person, she decided to share her experience through a career in the healing arts.  She feels is it her dharma to share this inner path of healing with others.  She took her personal health setback, recovered from it and is using it as a blessing for those that are taking the same journey she took a few years ago  Dr. Jonci learned the painful way that healing was not in a bottle, prescription or otherwise.  True healing comes from inside with the help of a knowledgeable guide. 

For more information contact: Dr. Jonci Jensen, ND at www.drjonci.com

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